<p>Can anyone help me with the #1 prompt for the optional essay?
‘Don’t play whats there, play whats not there’ - Miles Davis</p>
<p>I’m kinda stuck… but i was thinking along the lines of thinking outside the box etc. </p>
<p>Any help would be appreciated!
Thank u</p>
<p>Of course you have to think outside the box, it’s all about creativity.</p>
<p>any help on the other essays would do as well</p>
<p>no i meant talking about thinking outside the box?</p>
<p>Sorry about that.
I am going to do the one about the Cartesian coordinate system.</p>
<p>Max is two pages right or how many words? For essays in general, would you recommend double or single spaced.</p>
<p>umm i’d say single spaced…maybe 1000-1200 words max</p>
<p>wow…number 4…if u can nail that…u’d be a shoo in</p>
<p>I dunno if “thinking outside the box” might be a little too cliche. However, I can’t read this prompt without thinking of music and band… and there’s a good chance that this is cliche too.</p>
<p>I kind of like number 2. Still, I’m going to sit with the prompts a little while longer before I make my decision.</p>
<p>“Max is two pages right or how many words? For essays in general, would you recommend double or single spaced.”</p>
<p>It’s single spaced. As far as number of words, don’t worry about it, just try not to go over two pages. That’s all.</p>
<p>is there any prejudice against making up your own prompt? I think I may end up doing that…but how will I know if it’s any good?</p>
<p>the prompt doesnt need to be good, the essay does.</p>
<p>I would think that a good prompt would make for a good essay and that a prompt can show creative thinking. And if you are going to bypass all of the topics that they came up with, yours should be just as good. That said, the essay itself needs to be great and is more important than the prompt.</p>
<p>Writing the Chicago essay requires a good deal of soul-searching. A few suggestions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Write an essay you would like to read, not necessarily one that you think sells yourself the best.</p></li>
<li><p>Brainstorm and free-associate with the topics given to you. You may take an extremely literal interpretation of the “don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there” and decide to talk about your passion for Miles Davis, but you may also decide to talk about something else. If you look at these questions and want to cry because you can’t decide what to write about, don’t worry-- it’s natural.</p></li>
<li><p>If you want to make up your own topic, go ahead. Two pieces of advice you don’t necessarily have to follow-- don’t take a question directly from another school’s application, and don’t just supply a common app prompt along with your common app essay.</p></li>
<li><p>Try writing the short response first (the “why Chicago?” and the “talk about the things you enjoy”.) Those are more concrete prompts, and writing them might boost your self-confidence about applying to Chicago and help spur on some thoughts.</p></li>
<li><p>Go out on your porch, go to a park, go to a place you like and try “freewriting” there. You never know when college essay inspiration will hit-- most likely it will happen when you’re in the shower or you’re about to fall asleep-- but nonetheless you may end up with something that you’d like to submit for a college essay.</p></li>
</ol>