Ivy Talent的文書專家-Adam 教授曾有在哈弗和衛(wèi)斯理執(zhí)教15年的經(jīng)歷， 更是一度擔(dān)任衛(wèi)斯理的招生官。他多年的英語創(chuàng)作教學(xué)經(jīng)驗(yàn)，使他能夠指點(diǎn)學(xué)生寫出最有特點(diǎn)的個(gè)人文書，幫助學(xué)生提高批判寫作和閱讀技巧。亞當(dāng). 施瓦茨博士也為很多學(xué)生寫過推薦信，從教師和撰寫者的角度，他可以提供給學(xué)生如何寫推薦信的寶貴指導(dǎo)意見。下面是Adam教授的正文：On my first day of orientation at the admissions office, the Dean of Admissions gave me an application file to read. It consisted of The Common Application, including the personal statement, transcripts, test scores, recommendations, and the supplemental essay. After I spent about twenty minutes reading through everything in the file, the Dean asked me, "What is this student’s story?" She had clarified for me the challenge faced by every admissions officer—to see a compelling individual story cohere from so many different sources of information.在我到衛(wèi)斯理大學(xué)招生辦上班的第一天， 招生辦主任就給了我一個(gè)學(xué)生的申請資料， 里面包含了學(xué)生的統(tǒng)一申請表、學(xué)生陳述書、學(xué)生成績單、標(biāo)準(zhǔn)考試成績、推薦信、和學(xué)校要求的支持文書。 在我花了20分鐘完成這個(gè)文檔后， 主任問了我一個(gè)問題：“這個(gè)學(xué)生的故事是什么？” 她用現(xiàn)實(shí)行動告訴了我招生辦工作中每天都會遇到的挑戰(zhàn)： 你必須在短時(shí)間內(nèi)用學(xué)生的資料信息拼湊這個(gè)學(xué)生個(gè)性化的故事。When I helped my students with their applications, we focused on how their transcripts, academic strengths, interests, extra-curricular activities and achievements all contributed to a story about them, the stories my students kept in mind as they drafted their personal statement. This six-hundred and fifty word essay is the student’s best opportunity to shape her story and to individualize herself, which is no doubt why it induces so much anxiety.當(dāng)我在幫助我自己的學(xué)生完成他們的申請資料時(shí)， 我們總是以學(xué)生故事為主線來看學(xué)生的其他資料（比如成績單、學(xué)術(shù)興趣、課外活動、得獎經(jīng)歷等等）， 看這些資料是否在一定程度上支持或者來源于學(xué)生長久以來一直構(gòu)思的個(gè)人故事。 在個(gè)人陳述書的650個(gè)字是學(xué)生總結(jié)、整理、甚至升華自己個(gè)性化故事最好的機(jī)會， 但是不得不承認(rèn)這也是學(xué)生在申請過程中面臨的一大挑戰(zhàn)。 The personal essay can also be difficult because most high school students don’t have a great deal of experience with this type of writing; if they have written personal or "creative" essays, they usually haven’t written the numerous drafts that the very best writers require to produce a compelling essay. Indeed, the personal essay is the anti-five-paragraph essay; keeping this in mind is key to writing an excellent personal statement.個(gè)人陳述之所以是學(xué)生的一大難題往往是由于高中學(xué)生對于這一類型的文章寫作練習(xí)很有限。 他們往往在練習(xí)創(chuàng)作性或者自由寫作時(shí)不能做到像大多數(shù)成功的作者的寫作那樣一遍遍的修稿完善。 確實(shí)， 個(gè)人陳述書不屬于學(xué)生習(xí)慣的5段話文章， 我把它歸類為“反五段話文”。記住，反五段話的關(guān)鍵就是寫出一篇成功個(gè)人陳述的重要因素。 The anti-five-paragraph essay? What exactly does this mean?什么是“反五段話文”？ 它的準(zhǔn)確定義又是什么？It means that you don’t begin your essay with a sentence that sounds like a thesis statement; it means that the main point or thesis of your essay will emerge near the end; it means that you’re probably going to write many more drafts to produce an outstanding personal essay than you would for an accomplished five-paragraph essay.不同于傳統(tǒng)的五段文（不了解文段文定義的同學(xué)可參照托福等標(biāo)準(zhǔn)考試的作文類型）， 反五段文的開始不需要寫你文章的中心論點(diǎn)。 你極有可能將會在文章的寫作尾端才能總結(jié)出自己文章的中心思想。 這也就要求學(xué)生不斷的調(diào)整自己的寫作已達(dá)到清晰表達(dá)自己故事的需求。 所以不同于你在寫五段文是擁有的清晰的寫作提綱， 個(gè)人陳述書的寫作需要你在自己一篇篇的草稿中找到最貼合自己的故事。Personal essays are journeys of self-discovery. You don’t need to write about a Dramatic Adventure or Big Idea in order for your essay to be interesting. As someone who has read hundreds of personal statements, I can say that the most effective way to hold an admissions officer’s interest is to keep the reader in suspense about the meaning you discover in the experience you narrate.需要注意的是個(gè)人陳述書更像是一個(gè)個(gè)人的自我總結(jié)和挖掘潛力的過程， 所以你不需要費(fèi)盡心思去寫那些戲劇性的人生經(jīng)歷和冒險(xiǎn)。 作為一個(gè)閱讀了成千上萬個(gè)申請文檔的招生官， 我可以負(fù)責(zé)的說， 往往是那些可以把自己最真實(shí)的挖掘通過故事的描述展現(xiàn)出來的文章最能吸引招生官把文章讀完。 In order to write an essay that creates a meaningful moment of self-discovery, you need to permit yourself to digress in early drafts. I realize that students are conditioned to stay on topic, but you can’t discover something about yourself unless you get lost, and the best way to get lost on the page is to digress. As author and psychologist Adam Phillips says, "Digression provides occasions in which people are surprised by their own minds."而想要寫一篇有意義自我挖掘的個(gè)人陳述書， 學(xué)生需要有自我否決的勇氣，不要局限于你自己最初寫作的想法和構(gòu)思。 在我的教學(xué)和招生的經(jīng)歷中， 我意識到學(xué)生往往習(xí)慣于為了抓住話題約束自己甚至去控制自己的寫作。 但是學(xué)生需要明白， 你永遠(yuǎn)不可能在掌控中完全的挖掘自己。 你需要跳出你的慣性思維圈，而最好的辦法就是“離題”！ 正如英國的心理學(xué)家和作家亞當(dāng).菲利普斯說的那樣“離題往往能給人提供一些自己在常規(guī)思考中意想不到的思維成果?！?div>