How to Write on a Social Issue
by Kathleen M.
You have selected your top ten schools to apply to and at least one of them has asked you to write a short essay about a social issue or community issue that is important to you.
What happens if you don’t really have an activist cause?
It is always a good idea to start with a list.
What is important to you? Compare the list of what’s important to you to the activity list you are working on.
Then select one or more of the topics on your what’s important to you list to think and write a little more about. When did you hear about this as a social issue? Where did you learn more about it? What did you do to get involved?
See which topic sticks out to you and continue to gather information before starting to write about just one of the topics.
So here is an example of a possible topic:
I was four years old when I became a regular. I went once a week for story time at first. But then I was hooked and the public library became my favorite place to visit. I have continued to be a regular, and now am a volunteer in a summer reading program at my public library…
Or here is another example:
I used to be a super shopper. I would order clothes online and wear new outfits for every major occasion in my life. Then I read about how destructive this was after seeing a TikTok about it. Now I am a clothes recycler – I rent clothes when I really need a new outfit readymade. But I also took a sewing class, so I could create clothes that meant something to me. I took parts from my old outfits and transformed them…
Remember that the topic doesn’t have to be something that is regularly in the news. It has to be important to you and show the admissions committee something about you.
