Essay guide
Academic interest, research, and problem-solving essays
These prompts test whether your interest survives contact with detail. Write about the question that hooked you, not the field's importance in general.
How to approach it
- Start from a specific question or problem you could not let go of, stated plainly.
- Trace what you actually did about it: a project, a course you sought out, something you built or measured.
- Include one moment of being wrong or stuck; real inquiry has friction.
- Point at the edge: what do you not know yet that this program or award would let you pursue?
Do
- Define one technical idea simply enough for any reader
- Show self-directed work
- Name what you want to learn next
Avoid
- Recite the syllabus of your interest
- Hide behind jargon
- Claim certainty about a career at 17
Example essays
Real published collections, not our own writing. Read a few before drafting; notice how specific they get.