"What Makes You You": The Discursive Construction of the Self in U.S. College Application Essays

• In Event: Reading and Writing in Personhood and Childhood

Abstract

As colleges move away from requiring standardized tests for admission, the importance of college application essays has increased. Yet no clear guidance exists for this genre, and this lack of transparency has serious consequences for first-generation and low-income students who may not have access to experienced college counselors or expensive college admissions programs and coaches. To better understand this genre, we analyzed 20 exemplar college application essays using systemic-functional linguistics to investigate the representation of self through field, tenor and mode. We found that successful essays portrayed a unique and authentic self through extended metaphors, micronarratives, and verbs suggesting learning and change. We share implications of these findings for both researchers and practitioners.

Authors

• Sarah W. Beck, New York University

• Amanda J. Godley, University of Pittsburgh