<p>In the Common App essay prompt about failure, it asks for how the failure affected you, and the lesson you learned from it. Should the effects/lessons be explicitly described, or is it okay to let the context of the failure (for instance, mine describes a hobby of mine in which i constantly fail in efforts to reach success) imply them? I feel like my essay is best written and ended as it is, and I think it would be hard to make a conclusion that doesn’t seem trite or contrived.</p>
<p>Well, you are right that conclusions can be really trite and contrived, I read a bunch of em. I think the point is they want to see that you have some insight or can be analytical about it. More than that I can’t say because this is all too vague. Post in the College Essay forum when you want essay feedback.</p>
<p>I’d say that the fact that you didn’t explicitly say what you learned is a GOOD thing. Colleges want to see that you can show instead of tell. This means showing your readers the moral of your story instead of just summing it up at the end. I’d say that as long as the lesson you learned is easily inferred from your story that the essay is gold. But definitely have some other people read it like your counselor, teachers, parents, and even peers to see if the lesson evidently comes across. If it does, I’d say you’re good to go.</p>