College essay admissions question
 

this is probably a dumb question, but, if the instructions say to write an essay, and that you should respond to the following five questions, e.g.: 1) what are your goals; 2) what is your preparedness, etc. --

should one number and refer to the questions themselves as set out in the instructions; or

integrate the answers into the body of the essay.

I'm inclined to do the latter--I think it makes for more elegant writing, but I don't want to not follow the instructions!

I would probably write an intro, then devote each subsequent paragraph to answering each question, then conclude with a nice wrap-up para.

But then, I didn't have to write one -- my fine academic establishment isn't so picky! :) You got money? You got a pulse? You're in!

Seconded.
But they'll probably be so gobsmacked to find correct spelling and grammar that they'll roll out the red carpet for you :)

Yes, if they use the word essay, they want a cohesive essay. They're just making sure you understand exactly what information needs to be covered somewhere in there.

Don't number them, just make sure the assigned topics are covered.

I agree that your answers should be integrated into the body of your essay. Five questions won't necessarily mean five paragraphs, though. Depends on your writing style, and what their questions are. Steps you've taken to achieve your goals might reflect your preparedness and motivations, for example.

they give you a pretty detailed breakdown of what they want. Kind of a challenge to put that all in there without making it seem like I'm simply answering the questions.

Thanks!

Sometimes they want you to basically answer the questions that way so its easier for them to grade a bunch of papers. I found that several of my college profs didn't want to have to read through a well written paper to "search" for their criteria. They simply wanted a written answer to their questions. This made for EXTREMELY boring and dumbed-down papers on my part, but it got me the A's that I was looking for.

I find it more important to give the individual teacher what they are looking for and highlight that which they discussed in class - it shows you were paying attention. Just my :2cents:

Well, they want your "best writing effort" to show that you are capable of graduate-level writing.

Don;t be scared of the essay format. If you are addressing the questions it is already an essay.

Write them out for yourself as answers or bullet points, or whatever you are most comfortable with - THEN make it a cohesive essay.

And don't be too embarrassed to refer to the question. This is not creative writing, this is an application. So that if a question is, "What is your preparedness?" (WTF?) feel free to start a paragraph something like, "I have shown great preparedness all my life. Even when I was 15 I was already taking condoms on dates" etc etc etc.

This is what they are looking for at this stage - boxes being ticked.
Can read/ comprehend/ write/ spell - tick.
Goals - tick.
Preparedness - tick.
Etc etc etc,

yeah, okay, I can do that.

just as soon as I figure out the answers to the questions!

I agree with the integrated approach. It does make for more elegant writing.

I think the singing telegram is highly underrated.

just put a picture of your boobs in there.

I vote integrated, also, and I'd triple check to ensure that each question had a clear answer, even if it cost me a couple of points for style. Their priority is the response to each question. You can blow them away with your elegance later when they have you in class. :)