Are UC PIQs supposed to be creative writing?Answered
I've heard both that UCs want you to "show, not tell" but also that UCs want you to just tell them directly your answer to the prompt. I'm really confused by this. I have no idea what the UCs are looking for in the PIQs anymore. Do they want me to tell a narrative about a specific event in my life? Or do they just want me to blandly talk about something specific?
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1 answer
Well, no, but not completely so. You're supposed to be showing not telling in the way that the AO doesn't care about the scene--ie the background or colors or sounds, etc. Don't fluff it up too much. However, don't just say "I did this, then I did that, but this happened". Give a bit more nuance, put some emotion into it (explain how you felt), sprinkle, just sprinkle some interesting writing but don't do any more than that. Don't be bland; you need to show your engagement to the topic or your dedication to a certain activity, but they don't want a narrative. Give them the facts, but don't make it a list.
However, you could just make it a list. You can literally do that and they're fine with it, but I personally wouldn't recommend it. It just shows that they don't really care how you do it, but just give them the information they need to know.
TL;DR: Partially. Don't waste your time on storytelling, but don't make it so dry as to bore the reader. Show your interest/dedication through some "show" and some "tell".
PS: Take this information with a grain of salt. I'm applying to the UCs like you, however, I have read a ton of essays and tutorials.
I hope that helps! Good luck with your UC applications!
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