15 Questions To Help You When Writing Your Essay

What I Did (Day-to-Day):

  • Did I list all my tasks, or just a few? What’d I forget? Go back and check.
  • Did I list things I did that may have been outside the scope of my responsibilities?
  • Did I leave off any awards? Any uncommon achievements?

Problems I Solved:

  • Did I consider the internal problems I solved–any personal challenges?
  • Did I name the external problems I solved–for my friends or family? School? Community?
  • Was I tackling a much larger (perhaps global) problem?

Lessons I Learned & Values/Skills I Developed:

  • What were some of the soft skills I learned (patience, communication, etc.)?
  • Did I learn any specific software (Photoshop, Final Cut Pro)? Languages (Spanish, C++)? Survival skills (how to start a fire or clean a fish)?
  • What am I better at now than I was before?
  • What would I have done differently?

Impact I Had (On Self, School, Community and/or Society)

  • Did I consider the impact this had on my family? Friends? School? Who else benefited?
  • What impact did this have on me personally? Did this change my life/perspective? How?

Applications to Other Parts of School/Life:

  • What skills did I develop and lessons did I learn that will make me a better X (tutor, debater, advocate, volunteer, programmer, fill in the blank)? How so?
  • What did I do to build on and take what I learned to the next level?
  • What surprised me about this experience?

Okay, your turn.