Admission Essay Writing Prompts: Using Humor

Reading most of the admission essays that are written for colleges it becomes increasingly difficult for an author to express their true personality in the essay. This is because of the weight that is attached to the essay itself. If a person performs badly then they don't have a chance to attend the school of their dreams. That is why many people stay away from humor in their admission essay writing but that could be a huge mistake. There are many students who have an appropriate sense of humor and it brings out their personality and lets it shine for the world. There are some very specific ways that humor should be used to help and not hurt the chances of a student gaining admission into the school of their dreams.

Self Deprecating Humor

Sometimes the situations that we find ourselves in are just humorous. There is nothing wrong with recognizing this and presenting it in an essay. Applied in the right dose, being able to laugh at yourself shows a healthy bit of understanding about life. Every person in history has had embarrassing things happen to them. There is nothing wrong with including this in an admission essay. Simply make sure that it is only a part of the essay and not throughout the whole thing. Many writers use a humorous situation to draw the reader in and make them be invested in the student and what they right. The introduction is the best place for this along with a little referral back in the end of the essay. If there is too much self deprecating humor then a person might think that you lack self esteem.

Address a Serious Situation

There are some circumstances in life which are inherently not funny, for example the death of a loved one or contracting a serious life threatening disease. That doesn't mean that humor isn't appropriate when addressing them. This can appeal to an admissions board and allow a student to mention a tough time in life that they have overcome. The use of humor shows strength of character that is going to contribute positively to whatever school community that they end up attending. The use of humor in addressing a serious situation will elicit empathy from the reader as well. Which just might be the small push that you need to gain admittance into the school of your dreams?

Remember to use humor as a part of your repertoire of essay writing but not as the whole essay. A student can be funny at times but there needs to be a serious side shown so that a school will take your application seriously.