<p>Hi so I’m a little confused about the 5 sentence essay. I was assuming that since it’s 5 sentences…that it would be just a list of 5 statements, sort of like a personal statement.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I am nice.</p></li>
<li><p>I am happy.</p></li>
<li><p>I like to read.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>etc.</p>
<p>Of course my sentences would be much more elaborate and fancy and beautiful but I’m just giving an example of what I thought this essay would look like. However I’m seeing a lot of people say that this 5 sentence essay can actually turn into a 1-page thing? Or that each sentence can turn into three lines? Do they mean they’re going to use a a lot of semicolons and conjunctions…or am I missing something here?</p>
<p>Just write five eloquent sentences. I wouldn’t number them like a list, but instead approach it as a short answer. If you’re not a creative nor skillful writer, don’t go crazy on the semicolons, dashes etc. to get an entire page. In my opinion, if not done well, you’ll come off as 1. foolish and/or 2. a smart a**. Be yourself. Plus, it’ll probably be obvious that you’re trying too hard if the style of writing in this response isn’t consistent with your other essays. Good luck, and don’t over think this prompt!</p>
<p>I agree that I would not present the sentences in a list format, rather as a short paragraph which as a whole gives an accurate picture of who you are. With the use of commas, you can incorporate quite a bit of information into one or two of your sentences (I would suggest not using this technique in all of the sentences). For example:</p>
<p>As the captain of my school’s co-ed wrestling team, I have learned to incorporate my love of sweat, with my desire to take on a leadership role with my peers. However, there is more to me than just being an accomplished athlete. My friends would describe me as a loyal individual with a kind heart. I am an ambitious student whose interests include playing the tuba, investing in the stock market, bird watching, belly dancing and making my own jewelry. As my high school years come to a close, I aspire to someday enter politics and become the first female president.
(Please note, that I totally made all that stuff up, although, that would be one interesting kid!).
Good Luck!</p>
<p>Take my advice with a grain of salt as I am an applicant just like you, but keep in mind that this prompt is optional. Don’t put too much worry into it. Mine was only about 60 words, but I feel that I effectively described myself. Of course, you could make it much longer if you want, but I think the point of having a 5 sentence essay is to test your ability to condense yourself into a short space.</p>
<p>I just wrote mine like a very, very short essay with only five sentences. Except I was actually confused by the actual number of sentences I wrote because I put a sentence in parenthesis and used a colon at one point, and I wasn’t sure if what came after the colon was considered another sentence or not (the first letter was capitalized regardless because it was a name). Grammar probz. Whatever. :P</p>
<p>I picked aspects of myself that I really liked about myself/made me the person who I was. But I also used semi colons since I’m a pretty experienced writer and I also get paid to teach kids to write. It ended up being a solid paragraph length but I tried to split it up into things I was interested in and give details. This was by far the most difficult supplement question I had to write but my tour guide at Emory actually pulled me aside after the tour and told me that if this was my top choice, I should definitely write the optional.</p>