同学们在美国留学申请过程中，除了要提供成绩以外，还需要提交文书材料，其中一个重要的组成部分就是Essay。Essay是我们在申请美国留学的时候，在申请系统中上传的文书，在写作的时候要给面试官留下好印象。大多数同学和家长在Essay面谈时经常会问：申请美国留学Essay怎么写？essay写作是每一个留学生都逃不掉的难关，尤其是对各位新生来说，不仅是语言上的不适应，还有对Essay格式的不了解。

接下来我们重点了解Essay的格式和注意事项。

一、了解Essay的框架结构。

1、Introduction （介绍）

一般占文章总篇幅的10%左右，作为Essay的绪论，需要突出论文的核心内容，吸引读者的阅读兴趣。

一般围绕以下几点进行写作：

①　对topic的背景进行介绍，简述选题的原因，以及研究的价值和意义。

②　说明研究目标，概述论文的中心论点。

③　结尾介绍文章将采用什么结构来完成研究目标。

不同类型的Essay会在此结构基础上有所变化，可能会要求某部分内容介绍更详细或者调整一些要素，通常情况下Introduction部分内容结构是比较固定的。

2、 Main Body （主体）

一般占文章总篇幅的80%左右，是一篇Essay至关重要的部分，要放在开始去写。body部分是对题目的论述，需要列举一系列的论据论证来回答问题。

一般围绕以下几点进行写作：

①　这一段是关于什么的？——介绍该观点

②　这到底是什么？——明确概念

③　你对此的论点是什么（与问题有关）？——提供一个论点

④　你的证据是什么？——提供并讨论证据

⑤　结论是什么（与问题有关）？—-得出研究的观点

一篇高分Essay需要有清晰的main ideas，且各段落间逻辑关联性要强。此外，主体部分也是个人观点和文献引用的体现。

3、Conclusion （结论）

一般占文章总篇幅的10%左右，Conclusion相对比较简单，通过简单的一两句话概括文章的主要观点，重点体现结论即可。

一般围绕以下几个点进行写作：

①　对论文所研究的内容、结果及意义进行总结概述。

②　研究使用了什么方法，得出了什么结论。

③　结论具有什么实用价值，有什么创新成果或见解，能解决哪些实际问题，应用前景如何。

④　研究存在的缺陷和不足，即哪些研究没有做，哪些研究可以做的更好等。

二、Essay写作的注意事项

1、怎么让我的Essay和别人的不一样？

Q：特意去做一些别人没有的活动，可以吗？

A：有些同学为了突出自己，会去做一些别人没有做过的事情，来吸引面试官的眼球。但是大家要注意，面试官想看到的，其实不是你做了什么和别人不一样的事，而是你有没有和别人不一样的收获，如果只写“我”如何努力去完成一项别人没做过的事情，这只是写出了“结果”，过程中的体会和反思如果不曾提及，那跟描述一些平凡的事情，没有太大的区别。

2.、要在Essay里突出我的成绩吗？

Q：我有很好的成绩，写进Essay里会不会加分？

A：官方网站明确表示，希望学生在主Essay中分享除考试、课程和成绩以外的故事。主Essay的目的是向申请院校介绍自己。（The Common App is designed to help students introduce themselves to colleges and universities.）其中，面试官最想看的其实是你的“品质”、“能力”和“主张”。

截图选取自commonapp.org

Q：可以写我从小就给某孤儿院捐钱来表现我的爱心和对社会的贡献吗？

A：不能。因为申请者的身份是高中生，大多数时候招生官是默认这个年龄段的学生是还没有自己挣钱的能力的。如果是数额过大，一般会默认这是将父母的努力嫁接到自己身上，这并不符合题目的要求。那我们可以怎么转化这个捐赠的事情呢？这就要回顾自己是否在真的在慈善项目做了实事，列举出细节补充到故事中展示自己的特质。

3、写作的时候有哪些注意事项呢

Q：可以用中文写然后机器翻译吗？

A：万万不可。中文和英文的结构是有很大区别的。如果直接使用机翻Essay，往往招生官会看不懂你想表达的内容或觉得内容结构混乱。一定要用英文的思维去检查终稿，再提交。

Q：Common主Essay可以偏口语化写作吗？

A：Common不可，UC可。Common主Essay需要注意语言规范，避免出现wanna, cause’, dude或网络词汇等口头用语。

三、斯坦福大学录取Essay范文

When my parents met, my mom was a 16-year-old, straight-A student from Indiana and my father was a 26-year-old convenience store employee. "Don't date him," they told her. "He's too old for you, and it will be nothing but trouble." My mom didn't listen.

But those people were right.He was nothing but trouble. He isolated my mother from her family and convinced her that things would be better if she moved in with him. Before long, she was pregnant with me. "Don't have the baby," they told her. "He'll just leave and you'll be raising the baby on your own." My mom didn't listen.

But those people were right.My father left shortly after I was born, and she was alone with me at 17 years old. "Don't drop out of school to raise the baby," they told her. "It will be too hard and you won't be able to make to make it work without an education." My mom didn't listen.

But those people were right. By the time I was in middle school, my mother was selling drugs to pay the bills, and she used them as well. She thought I didn't know, but she wasn't very good at hiding it. "The daughter is going to end up just like the mother," they said. "Her father's gone and her mom's a drug dealer, she'll never amount to anything."

But those people were wrong.

I may not have had parents to guide me, but I had books that showed me a better way. I could see myself in the characters and experience the same range of emotions that I read on each page. I learned about things that were possible with hard work, and envisioned worlds that existed only in fantasy. But in every book, I got inspiration.

Whereas some people saw tragedy when they read about Anne Shirley being sent to Green Gables, I saw a young woman who put in the work to achieve her goals and disprove everyone who made assumptions about her. And when I read about Mary Lennox's quest to find the Secret Garden, I didn't see a spoiled rich girl. Instead, I saw a young woman who used imagination and inspiration to create her own happy endings.

Reading was the one thing I could do without having to ask for money, or a ride to the bookstore. I could check out an eBook from my library and download it right to my phone as I sat on my front porch. I was able to tune out everything else going on in my life and focus on what was possible. And it wasn't just the characters who inspired me, but the writers as well. I decided that if these strangers could create stories that captivated and motivated readers, then I could do it too.

Instead of reading every day, I started writing. Paragraphs became pages, which became chapters. By the time summer arrived, I had written an entire book with 36 chapters and an array of adventures. I hope to share the book with young adults in the future so they can be as inspired by my words as I have been by the writing of others.

But my book isn't ready for its debut yet. It sits in a file on my computer, waiting for the right time to bring it to light. What's important is that it's there, telling the story of a young girl who overcame her challenges and went on to life of strength. Her family's situation didn't pre-define her, and the opinions of others didn't shape who she became.

It's a story that I'm proud to have written, and I'm not worried about whether anyone ever reads it. What matters is that it's possible for a girl like me to create my own ending.

Essay是美国大学申请中最重要的材料之一，如何写出一篇好的essay是很多小伙伴头疼的问题。希望同学们在2023申请季中提前规划，认真审题，多多留意身边的大小事，这样Essay的质量才能稳步提高。