Writing Tips for STEM Students
Writing Tips for STEM Students
True or false? STEM students are inherently bad writers and the college application process will be painful for them because of its abundant essay requirements. Most definitely, false.The truth is, writing compelling personal statements and supplemental essays is a challenge for every student, regardless of his or her main academic interests. Both future engineers and journalists alike must spend hours of self-reflection and then more hours of revision to achieve the level of writing that will move admissions officers in their favor. Even novelists must push past the dreaded writer’s block to achieve creative gold.We understand why some STEM students feel diametrically opposed to writing personal essays, why some are convinced they are in fact allergic to the whole ordeal. A common reason that draws people to math is that most problems have simply one solution. Essays on the other hand can take multiple forms, have no sole direction for arriving at the final product, and lack metrics for determining whether a narrative is right or wrong; each reader interprets the essay differently, in part due to his own subjective experiences and biases.Whether they realize it or not, STEM students come in with many strengths to the writing process because math and science require rigorous, detail-oriented thinking and attentive observation. You must make a hypothesis and then back it up with data and evidence.Let’s take a closer look at some ways to tap into these skills as you draft personal essays.
Write a Science Report About Yourself
Some of the first botanists would literally watch grass grow to understand the innerworkings of the plant world, noting miniscule details like colors, location, size, and habitat.Imagine you are the subject. If you had to write up a detailed report about who you are and your academic goals for an audience of strangers, what characteristics would you highlight? What important details would convey the DNA of your personality?
Reverse Engineer Your Thesis
Think about a hypothesis you want to prove and then work backwards to find stories that support it. Powerful, engaging narratives “show” rather than “tell.” For example, instead of telling readers that you love astronomy, you could instead talk about how you stargazed with your dad since age six and memorized all eighty-eight officially recognized constellations before your teenage years. In high school, you fundraised to buy a Celestron telescope and organized monthly school trips to the local observatory, where you study the orbital patterns of Jupiter and Saturn.What qualities define who you are? And then what stories—or pieces of evidence—illustrate these characteristics? You can write out the stories in narrative form or make a list of them to be fleshed out later.
Ask Yes or No Questions
College essays are open-ended because admissions officers want to give diverse students freedom to write about their experiences. In the Common App, you can pick from seven prompts, with the last allowing you to write about a topic of your choice.If you feel stuck with decision paralysis, ask yourself yes and no questions to find a strong response for a prompt.Do I have many stories to tell about my leadership experience? Did I fall in love with biology as a child? Will this detail show me as a mature and dedicated individual? Is there stronger evidence to prove this point? Have I already highlighted this characteristic in another essay?Yes and no questions will not always come with easy, black and white answers. Sometimes the answer is “maybe” or “yes and no,” but these questions can help you to make decisions and think deeper about meaningful stories to share.
Use Creativity and Critical Thinking
Your left brain is responsible for logic, reason, and analytical thought, whereas the right brain underlies imagination, creativity, and emotional processing. The cultural myth is that “left-brained” people excel in STEM fields and “right-brained” individuals tend to be creatives, writers, movie directors, and painters.In reality, the two hemispheres are inextricably linked. Brain activity, according to current research, is approximately equal on both sides of the brain for folks in any industry. Indeed, writing—like science and engineering—requires both creativity and critical thinking.However, don’t approach your first draft with the expectation for reason and structure. Let your imagination run wild so that you are able to easily generate material about your life and interests, otherwise the process of telling your story can be quite arduous. Think of this as letting your right-brain take rein.After this comes the editing and revision process, where you identify themes in your stream-of-conscious draft. Use your critical thinking to find the best parts to keep and the extraneous parts to cut. As you write and rewrite, you will have to switch between the two—creativity and imagination to generate more material, then critical thinking to restructure and refine.
Get Nerdy, But Not Too Technical
Go all out about your love for the Pythagorean theorem and how you have tested the Drake equation maybe more than a thousand times. Confess your admiration for Carl Sagan and discuss how you have personally investigated the Theory of Everything in your own backyard.However, remember that the reader on the other side may not be familiar with the niche subject you’ve devoted yourself to learning. When talking about your STEM passions, infuse your personal story into it—how you came to love a subject, the ways you have explored it, and ideas that keep you up at night. Define and explain terms when necessary and avoid filling your essay with jargon.Ultimately, your personal essay should reveal more about you than an idea that interests you. Give yourself a deadline to write and then sit down to write. Don’t believe the myth that STEM students cannot produce compelling and beautiful stories. But do believe in yourself and trust in the revision process.The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.Ready to get started? Schedule a complimentary 20-minute conversation today!Want to stay informed? Subscribe to our newsletter.See what others are saying about us