補充文書寫作之難 難于上青天

芝加哥大學首當其沖要我命

是連韓美娟看了都要說一句“差點過去”的程度

最近幾年很多大學的補充文書都挺難，一打開文書題目，就懷念陽間……GSS今天哭著帶大家看一看這五所（芝加哥大學、耶魯大學、哥倫比亞大學、南加大、弗吉尼亞大學）被我們文書老師點名的美國大學補充文書。（流下貓淚QWQ）

因為篇幅有限，今天只介紹芝大和耶魯，表白夢校么么噠！

芝加哥大學

芝大的文書不僅字數(shù)要求多，題目也年年變，唯一不變的是不管你怎么看，都摸不到頭腦。（笑中帶淚）

Essay Option 1

Who does Sally sell her seashells to? How much wood can a woodchuck really chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Pick a favorite tongue twister (either originally in English or translated from another language) and consider a resolution to its conundrum using the method of your choice. Math, philosophy,linguistics… it’s all up to you (or your  woodchuck).

—Inspired by Blessing Nate, Class of 2024

Sally是誰？她為什么要賣貝殼？土撥鼠夾木頭夾幾根？還要我用數(shù)學、哲學或語言學去解決繞口令的難題？而我當時滿腦子都是德云社的報菜名……

算了看一下第二題~

Essay Option 2

What can actually be divided by zero?

——Inspired by Mai Vu, Class of 2024

什么可以被0整除？

“應(yīng)該是我的腦子吧，晃一晃，空蕩蕩……”

Essay Option 3

The seven liberal arts in antiquity consisted of the  Quadrivium—astronomy, mathematics, geometry, and music — and the Trivium—rhetoric, grammar, and logic. Describe  your own take on the Quadrivium or the Trivium. What do  you think is essential for everyone to know?

—Inspired by Peter Wang, Class of 2022

the Quadrivium是啥？the Trivium又是啥？默默地打開了翻譯器的我看懂題目后選擇繼續(xù)看下一題。

Essay Option 4

Subway maps, evolutionary trees, Lewis diagrams. Each of  these schematics tells the relationships and stories of their  component parts. Reimagine a map, diagram, or chart. If your work is largely or exclusively visual, please include  acartographer’s key of at least 300 words to help us best  understand your creation.

—Inspired by Maximilian Site, Class of 2020

這題我懂是懂了，可是我辦不到，設(shè)計不會、美術(shù)不會、展示需要動態(tài)的話更不會……

這時的我，想買彩票的欲望已經(jīng)熄滅了百分之八十。

一個漂亮的進化樹示例

Essay Option 5

“Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?” –Eleanor Roosevelt. Misattribute a famous quote and explore the  implications of doing so.

—Inspired by Chris Davey, AB’13

“你感到幸運嗎？廢物？”——埃莉諾·羅斯福。錯誤地引用一句著名的話，探究這樣做的含義。

注：這是電影《Dirty Harry》里面的一句經(jīng)典臺詞。LOVEFiLM網(wǎng)站曾將這句臺詞評為十大常見錯誤引用臺詞之一。

等我去問問我們的文書老師吧……畢竟，我看到punk的時候以為在內(nèi)涵我。

Essay Option 6

Engineer George de Mestral got frustrated with burrs stuck to his dog’s furand applied the same mechanic to  createVelcro. Scientist Percy Lebaron Spencer found a  melted chocolate bar in his magnetron lab and discovered  microwave cooking. Dye-works owner Jean  BaptisteJolly found his tablecloth clean after a kerosene lamp was  knocked over on it, consequently shaping the future of dry  cleaning. Describe a creative or interesting solution, and  then find the problem that itsolves.

—Inspired by Steve Berkowitz, AB’19, and Neeharika Venuturupalli, Class of 2024

工程師George de Mestral對狗的皮毛上粘有毛刺而感到沮喪，并采用了相同的技術(shù)創(chuàng)造了魔術(shù)貼?？茖W家Percy Lebaron  Spencer在他的磁控管實驗室中發(fā)現(xiàn)了一塊融化的巧克力棒，并由此了微波烹飪方法。染廠的老板Jean Baptiste Jolly打翻了煤油燈后發(fā)現(xiàn)桌布很干凈，因此塑造了干洗技術(shù)的未來。請你描述一個創(chuàng)造性的或有趣的解決方案，然后找到它可以解決的問題。

呵呵呵打開外賣APP，可以解決我餓肚子的問題——干飯人的自我修養(yǎng)。

耶魯大學

耶魯大學的補充文書，最起碼能讓人看懂了，開心！

文書老師給推薦了一個耶魯官方宣傳視頻：Why Yale，先看視頻后寫文書。（強調(diào)一下，我不是在逃避）

看完視頻回到正軌~耶魯大學的補充文書看起來覺得還可以嘛，如果你一開始和我一樣想，那我們可以一起抱頭痛哭了。

Short Answer Questions

Students at Yale have plenty of time to explore their academic interestsbefore committing to one or more major fields of study. Many studentseither modify their original academic direction or change their mindsentirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from  the list provided.

Why do these areas appeal to you?(125 words or fewer)

What is it about Yale that has led you to apply?(125 words or fewer)

以下問題回答每題不超過200個字符（大約35個單詞）

What inspires you?

Yale’s residential colleges regularly host conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What question would you ask?

You are teaching a Yale course. What is it called?

Most first-year Yale students live in suites of four to six students. What do you hope to add to your suitemates’ experience? What do you hope they will add to yours?

Essays

以下兩篇文書要求每篇不超過250個單詞：

1.Yale’s extensive course offerings and vibrant conversations beyond the classroom encourage students to follow their developing intellectual interests wherever they lead. Tell us about your engagement with a topic or idea that excites you. Why are you drawn to it?

2.Respond to one of the following prompts:（三選一）

2A. Reflect on your membership in a community. Why is your involvement important to you? How has it shaped you?  You may define community however you like.

2B. Yale students, faculty, and alumni engage issues of local, national, and international significance. Discuss an issue that is important to you and how your college experience could help you address it.

2C. Tell us about your relationship with a role model or mentor who has been influential in your life. How has their guidance been instrumental to your growth?

Engineering Essay

申請工程專業(yè)的還需完成一篇不超過250個單詞的文書：

Please tell us more about what has led you to an interest in this field of study, what experiences (if any) you have had in engineering, and what it is about Yale’s engineering program that appeals to you.

太難了，寫一篇長篇還能想一想怎么開頭結(jié)尾，但是250個字講到重點，還要細節(jié)生動，還要描述準確，還要突出自我……

咋，要我寫英文版文言文嗎？

雖然各位補充文書像一個個刁蠻的小公舉，但是如果你很特別，再投其所好，就非常容易得到她的青睞。

吉斯文書學員在春節(jié)期間剛收到被芝大ED2錄取的好消息，人間真實——文書寫得好，芝大跑不了。