2021美国本科Common App最新文书破题！-新东方前途出国

“Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you.”

即为：“回顾某人为你所做的事，一件以令人惊讶的方式使你高兴或感恩的事。这种感激（亦或是其他正面的影响）如何影响或激励你的。”

根据Common App的说法，他们初衷是“（让学生）提供大学所需的信息，其目的是让学生在此处一次性把COVID-19相关的问题阐释清楚，并在他们的其他材料中像以前一样分享自己除COVID-19影响以外的兴趣和观点。”

但是，Common App发现大多数学生都使用此处来撰写单独文章，其实他们在FAQ部分中提到过，是特别不建议这样做的：

上方图片内容：

在哪里我可以讲述COVID-19对我的影响？

COVID-19 在很多方面都显著地影响了学生。如果你需要，在此你可以解释COVID-19和其他自然灾害对你的影响。

这个额外的问题不是要你额外写一篇文章，你也没有必要去描述你的学校怎么应对COVID-19这类问题的。你的升学指导会有机会给我们描述学校停课、线上教学、疫情期间成绩政策等等。反之，你需要考虑的是这些事件如何影响了你、你的家人、以及你的学习环境，包括：

 （因疫情而产生的）

因此，主文题目提示发生改变最有可能的原因是，Common App意识到，许多学生想写疫情期间他们自己的故事，所以2020对他们来说是值得感恩的一年；所以，Common App目前的问题提示显然满足不了申请者这个欲望，还需要创建一个更宽泛文书题目，以给不想讨论疫情事件的学生一个谈论他们感恩之人的机会。

破题：拆分提示&如何作答

此提示中的关键词之一是“某人”。我们不是在寻找您要感谢的“东西/事情”（例如你的健康或家庭），而是你生活中某人对您有积极影响的所说所做，即TA的言语或行为。这与“人生楷模”或“崇拜之人”非常相似。这个经典问题会使许多学生把过多笔墨放在“某人”身上，提供太多他们的背景信息，使文章最终展示了祖父（比如学生最崇拜的人是他的祖父）的出色表现。事实非也，这个文书题目的重点应集中在此楷模的语言或行为对你产生了什么影响，以及你由此产生的回应与改变。

我想给学生们提供的一个建议是最好不去讨论最近发生的事情。提示要求你“反思”，六个月内发生的事情通常不足以让你足够了解或思考清楚这件事情可能产生的深刻影响。但是，这并不意味着你无法用六个月以内发生之事的素材撰写出一个引人入胜的故事。

2006年大学毕业后，我曾有机会创办一所音乐学院，但是我对自己即将面临的挑战感到恐惧。我和包括我家人在内的很多人讨论了这件事，大多数人都表达了他们的担忧。但是，有一位学生家长向我要了商业企划书。我花了一个星期写出了草稿，那位学生家长读完我的计划后，对我说：“我相信你。” 这句话非常有力，这力量来源于我不记得之前有人这么对我说过。他的话激励着我不要怀疑自己，而要去寻找投资者来建立我的学校。

更重要的是，我也意识到那些重要言辞对年轻人的重要性。学生很少因他们出色表现而得到称赞，因为他的卓越深固于家长和周围人的脑海中，他们的优秀被习以为常地期待着。他们的压力来自学校，家人，朋友，甚至他们自己。这就是为什么我总是努力告诉我的学生“我相信你！”。

Why The Change?

Last year, Common App also included an additional space that allowed students to talk about how COVID-19 impacted their lives.

According to Common App, the original intent was “to provide colleges with the information they need, with the goal of having students answer COVID-19 questions only once while using the rest of the application as they would have before to share their interests and perspectives beyond COVID-19." However, Common App discovered that most students used this space to write a separate essay, which they specifically discouraged in the FAQ section:

Common App most likely realized that many students wanted to write about their personal stories during the pandemic, and 2020 was the year to be thankful. However, Common App also needed to create a prompt broad enough to allow students who did not want to discuss events during the pandemic. Thus, this prompt provides an opportunity for students to talk about a person they are thankful of.

Breaking Down The Prompt

One of the keywords in this prompt is “someone.” We are not looking for “something” you are thankful for (like your health or family), but rather words or actions that someone in your life said or did that positively influenced you. This is quite similar to “role model” or “person you admire” prompts. The classic problem that many students will run into is providing too much background information on the “someone,” and the essay will end up being about how amazing your grandfather was. The main point of the essay should focus on what impact those words or actions had, and what you did in response to it.

One word of advice I offer my students is that you may not want to discuss an event that has recently happened. The prompt asks you to “reflect,” and anything under six months is generally not enough time for you to understand the impact something may have. That’s not to say you can’t write a compelling story. While in quarantine, one of my students realized her parents had different ways of expressing their love. My student thought about the continued pressure children were facing from their parents to maintain academic excellence during remote learning. Therefore, she created a “Parent-Child Math Test” so children would understand their parents’ requirements and perspectives, and parents would develop more empathy and patience to allow time and space for their children to grow. She was thankful for the interaction she had with her mother while in quarantine, and therefore she wanted to help other families with their relationships. What will make this story stand out to Admission Officers are the specifics. What did her mother say to her? What did her mother and she do that sparked her motivation? What was the result of her action? Being specific is vital to making your story sound unique.

I can offer a personal example of how I would write this prompt. In 2006, I had an opportunity to develop a music academy after I graduated from college, however I was terrified of the challenges that I would encounter. I talked with many people, including family, and most of them expressed their concerns. However, one of my student’s parent asked me for a business proposal. I spent a week drafting one, and after the parent read my plan, he said to me, “I believe in you.” Those words were very powerful, simply because I couldn’t remember anyone saying that to me before. His words motivated me to not doubt myself and find investors to establish my school.

More importantly, I realized the importance words have on young people. Students are rarely praised for what they do because excellence is expected. Their stress comes from school, family, friends, and themselves. This is why I always make an effort to tell my students, “I believe in you.”