<p>My essay right now can be fit into 2 different prompts, and it seems like it would fit failure better. But since this kind of topic’s kind of been beaten to death already, how do you avoid falling into cliches like “never give up” or “we all had each other in the end”?</p>
<p>I wrote a failure essay last year. I think it’s not so much the “moral of the story” as how you tell it - for example, if you write something fairly typical like “I didn’t make the varsity team but that just inspired me to work harder”, that would usually be a cliché essay. But, if you write about an experience that is truly your own, a story only you can tell, it’s probably not going to have a cliché essay. I hope this helps. :)</p>
<p>To be quite honest, I’m sure most essay reviewers are bombarded with such “gloomy” essays on a daily basis. You want to give them something fresh, new, and somewhat more enthusiastic than simply a failure you had in life. Unless you could somehow prove how that this failure ultimately had a beneficial impact on your life, I would strongly consider writing about another topic… (BTW if you’re confused, I’ll gladly read over your essay and critique it for you)</p>
<p>It’s also helpful to focus on a small failure instead of a generic failure. Maybe you wish you had handled some small moment in your life differently. Here’s some help about that specific prompt: <a href=“Common App Essay Help: Prompt No. 2 - YouTube”>Common App Essay Help: Prompt No. 2 - YouTube; </p>