Share Your Passion in an Essay
by Kathleen M.
You have always loved math (or whatever subject is your passion!) and now is your time to shine – you are applying for a summer program or college and one of the short essay questions is for you to explain a subject you feel passionate about.
If you are tempted to start with “I am passionate about math”, I would ask you to step back for a minute and remember the difference between showing and telling details in your writing.
So instead of “I am passionate about…”
Think about starting your response with a concrete example from your experience.
Or demonstrate your depth of knowledge in a short anecdote.
Or reveal the passion by stating your future aspirations.
Or reference an internship or course you took.
Or describe a person you met who confirmed for you your passion.
Any of these will work – you can also combine them depending on how long your response needs to be.
Remember when writing about something that is important to you that you are sharing with an audience who may not share your passion. So re-read your essay for jargon and make sure all of the terms you use are ones that can be readily understood.
Also be sure that you are communicating your excitement. You want readers to understand that you are enthused about this topic and can’t wait to learn more about it. This may involve you having a little fun with your language or telling something personal about yourself.
And finally, be sure to use all of the words you can in the word limit – you should have a lot to say about a subject you are passionate about, so give yourself editing time. Write as much as you can and then cull the very best parts for the response.
