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Gathering Information and Developing a Theme获取信息构思主题

After you've completing your brainstorming, you'll want to filter the fruits of your brainstorming and identify ONE area you wish to pursue in more detail. Look for areas that might seem interesting or different to a reader. A good way to do this is to group similar ideas together to highlight patterns; these patterns can then uncover a potential theme for your essay. (Your essay's theme is its controlling idea.)找出需要重点描述的方面。文章的主题一定要吸引读者。

For example, if after brainstorming and grouping your ideas, you find that your talent for writing shows up in your hobby as a budding novelist, your community service as a teacher of creative writing to youngsters, your extracurricular work as a writer for the school newspaper, and your award for outstanding history essay, then you should consider focusing your essay around this talent and how this interest in writing shapes your place in the world and your goals. 从各种经历来看，你可能显示了写作能力，那么就应该强调这个主题。

Remember--it is the quality of your experience as you describe it that matters, not the number of experiences. 注意，是经历的质量，而不是数量，起决定因素。

STEP ONE 第一步

Begin to focus your thoughts by examining your actual experiences. Use the information you've uncovered through brainstorming to address the following topics.

• An achievement that made me feel terrific... 重要的成就。

• Something I have struggled to overcome or change about myself or my life...努力想克服或者改变的东西

• An event or experience that taught me something special....独特的经历或者事件

• A "real drag" of an experience that I had to get past...需要弥补的致命弱点

• Someone's act of strength or courage that affected me...某人的优点或者勇气影响了你

• A family experience that influenced me in some powerful way...产生重大影响的家庭经历

• A lesson, class project, activity or job that had an impact on my academic or career goals...对学习和职业目标产生影响的课程、活动或者工作。

• A time I blew it, failed, made bad choices, and how I got past it...做出错误决定或者失败的一次

• Some memorable event or advice involving an older person...与年长者有关的留下深刻印象的事件或者建议。

• An event that helps to define me, in terms of my background...塑造你性格的事件。

STEP TWO

Choose one or two of your favorite respones from the list above (or combine a couple that evoked similar responses). Check to make sure your written description addresses the following three questions. If it doesn't, add details so that the experience you describe will be vivid to a reader who doesn't know you.选择给出最佳答案的问题

1. What were the key moments and details of the event?事件的关键因素和细节是什么

2. What did I learn from this event? 从经历中得到了什么

3. What aspect of this event stays with me most?事件的最大影响是什么

STEP THREE

Decide on a theme for your essay. Taking the experience you wrote about in Step Two, answer the following questions:

What does this event reveal about me? 事件反应了你的哪些素质

What makes it special or significant?事件哪些方面是重要和特殊的

How does this event make me special or make me stand out?事件将使得你如何独特

What truth about me is revealed through this event?Your answers will reveal your theme.

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