<p>thoughts, ideas, strategy, advise. What do Duke addmission personnel want or expect?</p>
<p>1) Use correct spelling…
*ADVICE</p>
<p>woops, that’s imbareissssing</p>
<p>be frank
show yourself
write about what you like, not what you think adcoms would like
appeal to senses (visual, perfunctory, olfactory, gustatory, auditory, tactile…)
…</p>
<p>If you’re a funny person, write a funny essay. I began my Duke essay writing about uppity British cavemen. Or, if you’re a more serious person, write a more serious essay. Avoid absurdity, but also avoid melodrama. Write in a way that you feel comfortable. There really are no limits.</p>
<p>That being said, essays should also convey a sense of depth. </p>
<p>My best advice is to think about what kind of niche you fill in your classroom/extracurricular/family/group of friends/whatever and elaborate on how that represents you as a person. Look up Gardner’s 8 intelligences–which one are you? Duke is looking for you to be staightforward, but to also be deep, which is a very difficult balance to achieve. By discussing your role in society as a whole and how you contribute to it, you will ultimately be able to convey your true character to the admissions panel.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>