Essay topic questionAnswered
I plan to write my personal statement on my ethnic group and how its decline over the years has led me to pursue a career in international relations.
Would this kind of essay be too boring/commonly seen? I live in a pretty diverse area, so I know a lot of people that also wrote about their ethnicity, so is this really a common topic or just in my area?
Is it a good idea to have the last 50-100 words be about why I want to go into international relations? I've seen a lot of personal statements that don't mention an intended major/career specifically, so I'm a bit unsure.
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to help!
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4 answers
While the topic may be more on the common side, it should be okay if you are able to tell a unique story. I also think that it tying into your major makes it inherently more personal; it shows what you're talking about is truly an important part of your life and who you are. Make sure to keep things very specific to your personal experiences, and try to provide unique and interesting insight wherever possible.
I would say you can definitely dedicate space to why you are choosing your major, but only do so if it fits very well within the scope of your essay. Try not to mention it just at the end, show the development of the interest throughout the essay. Explain small bits of it throughout the essay and then use your conclusion words to tie everything you wrote in your essay together. Generally you want your essays to flow and feel as interconnected as possible.
Hi there @shannen,
I agree with other users here, especially @LonB! If you can write your story in a new and engaging manner, you should be able to craft a strong narrative that stands out to admissions officers. If your prospective major and future career goals are essential to this story, you should definitely include this in the tail end of your essay.
You want to end your personal statement on a future-facing note - something that tells admissions officers the point of your narrative, and where you plan to go next. While you're not writing a "Why Major" essay, you can still definitely smoothly incorporate future-facing language in order to round out the conclusion of your essay.
Hi!
I actually just asked a question yesterday about writing an essay on cliché/"boring" topics so I completely understand how it feels.
As for my answer, I would say it really depends on how you write it! Sometimes you can turn "cliché" essays into something that's unique to you and your experiences. I also see that you would like to write about your ethnic group's decline over the years, and I see that as an opportunity to show a quality of overcoming challenges and growth! Also, I think that it would be a wonderful thing to write about your interest in international relations as long as you write it in a way that is engaging and relevant to your narrative.
In recent times, essay topics have become very tired and have become the same type. This probably raises the issue of writing them and opens up different possibilities when opinions in different essays on the same topic become more and more similar to each other. Therefore, most universities began to dilute the subject of essays with various topics and write them on the topic of books and movies that are newer than, for example, old literature. One such film is The Great Gatsby, which is difficult to analyze and find approaches to. Therefore, before the essay it will be very important to read some opinions of https://www.bookishelf.com/the-great-gatsby-analysis-and-study-guide/ critics or articles on this topic. And this may apply not only to the Great Gatsby, but also other works or films of our time in which you can find complex storylines.
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Nope! This would actually be an interesting topic. Since your experiences directly relate to what you plan on studying, I'd say go for it!