1.4 - How to Decide on a Topic

In this lesson, I’ll cover:

  • Qualities That Can Make a Montage Essay Topic More Likely to Stand Out

  • A Quick Test of How Well Your Montage Essay Might Stand Out

  • A List of Common Topics

Time:

10 minutes

Module Content

A few quick contextual notes:

  • This can be one of the hardest things to teach. Why? It kinda' takes a Spidey Sense to know which topics are likely to work, and that Spidey Sense isn't something you can develop in 5 minutes. Your counselors (and I) have developed this sense by reading hundreds (or thousands) of essays over many years.

  • There's no perfect way to decide on a topic and— to be honest— I kinda' like it that way, as this whole personal statement process is, in my opinion, more art than science. Speaking of "my opinion" ...

  • Bias alert: What I'm about to share is based on my own experience and does not represent the opinions of every counselor or admission officer, so take it with a grain of salt.

Qualities That Can Help an Essay Stand Out

I believe a montage essay (i.e., an essay that is not about challenges) is more likely to stand out if the topic or theme of the essay is:

  • X. Elastic (i.e., something you can connect to variety of examples, moments, or values)

  • Y. Uncommon (i.e., something other students probably aren't writing about)

For clarity, here are some quick definitions and examples:

For montage essays ...

  • X. Elastic topics kind of depend on how much you (the author) know about your topic. For example, a very elastic topic for me, Ethan, would be "games" (since I play them a lot and can connect games to pretty much anything), whereas "Australian History" would not be a very elastic topic for me (since I don't know much about it). So I may want to choose something more like games over Australian History for a personal statement topic.

  • Y. Uncommon topics are things that other students aren't likely to be writing about. Common topics include things students write about a lot, like mission trips, sports, or music. Click here for a non-exhaustive list of common and uncommon personal statement topics.

Important note: These aren't binary; they're on a spectrum. In other words, it's not like every topic is either SUPER ELASTIC or NOT ELASTIC or SUPER COMMON or SUPER UNCOMMON.

In fact, the reason we labeled them "X" and "Y" above instead of "1" and "2" is that you can kinda' put these on a graph, with X and Y axes.

For those like me who are visual learners (or math nerds), that might look like this:

montage 2.jpg

And an essay topic that's closer to the top right corner (more uncommon + elastic) might be more likely to stand out than an essay that's in the bottom left corner (more common + not elastic).

Quick side note: This is a guideline, not a rule. While it might be easier to stand out with a topic that is elastic (because you'll know a lot about it) and uncommon (because the reader may not have seen your topic before) ... you can still write a great essay with a very common topic—more on this later.

But given these distinctions ...

Quick self-assessment: Where do you think your essay topic lands on the spectrum of possible topics?

If you're unsure, the checklist of questions below might help.

For montage, ask ...

  • How elastic is your topic?

    • Quick 1-Minute Test: Take a look at this Values List. How many values can you connect your topic to in one minute?

  • How uncommon is your topic? Where does it sit on the Common vs. Uncommon spectrum?

    • Remember, an uncommon topic isn't always better—great essays can be written on all sorts of topics—but it can help you to stand out.

    • If you really want a list of common topics—and in case you missed it—here's a non-exhaustive list of common and uncommon personal statement topics. Spoiler alert: Many of the most common topics are extracurricular activities.

  • Considering writing about mental health challenges in your college application? 

    • Read this step-by-step guide first—it'll help you think through if (and how) to do it. 

    • Additionally, check out the FAQ below for more information

+ FAQs on Picking a Thematic Thread for a Montage Essay

(I.E., "IS THIS A 'GOOD' TOPIC OR NOT?")

Q: If I read an example essay I like, can I "steal" the thematic thread?

A: Never plagiarize. In other words, don't use the same words or phrases another student uses. You may, however, take inspiration from a thematic thread if you do it in a different way. (Example: You might write your own essay about plants or how you've developed your problem-solving skills, but the examples you use should be very different from those of the example essay.)

Q: Are there any "don'ts" or things I should be wary of when choosing a thematic thread?

Yes, a few:

  1. Be wary of choosing socially stigmatized topics (in other words, things that people often judge). Examples:
    1. Video games (common judgment: "a waste of time")
    2. Pop culture figures, makeup (common judgment: "superficial" things)
    3. Illicit, morally questionable, or illegal activities like lying/cheating/stealing (common judgment: should be condemned)

To be clear, I'm not saying 100% don't write about these things, but (if you can) consider other topics first. Why? These can be extremely difficult to write about. Is it possible to write about these things well? Yes, but a) you might have to eat up some of your word count addressing or debunking the social stigma, and b) it might take you a very, very long time to do it well. (One example is this essay about makeup, which took many, many drafts to write and was written by an extremely accomplished student.)

  1. Be wary of choosing extremely common topics. These include:
    1. Common sports: basketball, volleyball, football, soccer, running, etc.
    2. Common interests: video games, anime, manga, etc.
    3. Common extracurricular activities: mission trips, volunteering, debate, etc.

If possible, consider other topics first. Why? These can be extremely difficult to write about. Is it possible to write about these things well? Yes, but a) the reader will have likely read many essays (as in, hundreds of them) on this topic, so yours has to be among the very best of that genre (i.e., the "mission trip essay" or "basketball essay" genre) to stand out, and b) it might take you a very, very long time to do it well.

Q: My parent/counselor/friend said I shouldn't write about COVID-19. What do you think?

A: It depends. One thing I've noticed is that boring essays are often boring because they describe a common topic, make common connections, and use common language. In other words: they describe something many other students will describe in a way that many other students will describe it. A stand-out essay, on the other hand, often describes an uncommon topic, makes uncommon connections, or uses uncommon language. (I'll say more about this in the "Upleveling Your Paragraphs" lesson coming up.)

COVID-19/coronavirus will probably be a common topic. So it's going to make it harder to stand out. But if you really want to write about it, you'll probably need to make some uncommon connections and use uncommon language, just as you would with any other common topic.

Quick Tips for Writing about COVID-19

Narrative Structure Tip: If you want it to be The Main Thing for your essay (like you want to describe it as the main challenge you've had to overcome), first check in with yourself: Are you choosing this because some part of you believes, or someone told you, that it's "better" to write about a challenge for your college essay? BECAUSE IT'S NOT TRUE. :) You'll find many examples of amazing essays written by students who do not discuss significant challenges. Many of them are in this Tool.

Also, the Common App includes an optional COVID-specific response section in its application this year. So ask yourself, Could I just express this in a few sentences there? At least consider it!

But okay, if you feel like this is The Best Way to Show Who You Are, then follow the principles of the Narrative Structure and make sure that only the start of your essay describes the challenge, then devote most of your essay to relating what you did about it and what you learned from the experience. Why? Because (remember) your goal with the personal statement is to demonstrate skills, qualities, values, and interests. If you're committing to COVID-19 as a topic, you're basically saying that you feel this is the best way to show the many sides of who you are. Is it the best way?

Montage Structure Tip: If you'd like to mention something you did/learned/experienced while being shut in during COVID-19, but you don't necessarily need this to be The Main Thing for your essay, consider making it just one paragraph in a montage essay. How do you do this? Again, connect it to a value. What's the main value you connected with during that time? You can probably express it in just a few sentences. Then get on with describing all the other amazing things that make you ... you.

For more on this, click here.

Q: Wait, remind me: What's the difference between Montage Structure and Narrative Structure again?

Whereas the Narrative Structure helps you go deep by discussing a challenge or set of challenges that changed your life or perspective in a big way, the Montage Structure can help you go wide by discussing a variety of experiences/moments/memories that changed your life or perspective.

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Next STeps

Given this, what should you do? 

  • If your topic is elastic or uncommon (or both!), great. It may be a good topic.

  • If your topic is not elastic or uncommon (i.e., it may be kind of cliché), go back and do the brainstorming exercises here, then come back. If you’ve already done those exercises, click here for a few additional brainstorming exercises. 

IMPORTANT: If at all possible, check in with a counselor or mentor on which topics seem most likely to pass the test above. If you don’t have a counselor, try your best to think it through yourself using the questions and spectrum exercise above. 

If after considering the questions above you feel like the answer is ...