I’m checking off my UC Prompt #1 essay with all the advice I have found from admissions websites online, and I just realized that some of them (specifically UCSD and UCSB) make a mention against scene setting. This being said, what if I am describing my experience, and instead of telling the situation, I am showing it. Considering that it is inherit to my experience, and I only do it once, should I still remove it?
Don’t spend time “setting the scene.” That’s what admissions folk are balking at. Images and scene are great, they just need to be relevant. So if you feel like you’re using more than one sentence to establish context, see if you can cut it down.
Showing is WAY better than telling.