Literary Devices
Language that appeals to the five senses. In your essay, it puts the reader inside your moment.
What is imagery?
This free federal form is how students apply for grants, work-study, and federal loans.
What is the FAFSA?
In the study, one group ate cookies. The other group had to eat this vegetable instead.
What are radishes?
The opening sentence or two that grab the reader's attention
What is a hook?
The speaker of the TEDx talk on college admissions we watched in class.
Who is Alex Chang?
"My grandmother's kitchen was as loud as a subway platform."
What is a simile?
One online application accepted by over 1,000 colleges, with one main personal essay.
What is the Common App?
After the snack, both groups tried a puzzle that, unknown to them, was this.
What is impossible (unsolvable)?
The Common App personal essay has a maximum of this many words.
What is 650 words?
The university where Chang earned his bachelor's degree.
What is Harvard?
"My after-school job was a classroom with a cash register." No "like" or "as."
What is a metaphor?
This early application plan is binding: if you're accepted, you must attend.
What is Early Decision?
Cookie-eaters kept trying for about 19 minutes. Radish-eaters lasted about this long.
What is 8 minutes?
"I am a hard worker" tells. Rewriting it as a specific moment that proves it follows this rule.
What is "show, don't tell"?
Chang argues this part of an application matters less than most students believe.
What are grades?
An object in your essay that stands for something bigger, like a set of keys standing for independence.
What is a symbol (symbolism)
Schools you will very likely get into, schools that fit your profile, and long-shot schools are called these three things.
What are safety, match (target), and reach schools?
Heath says what looks like laziness is often this. Then explain how that idea changes the way a teacher should respond to a student who stops working.
What is exhaustion? Self-control, so support and structure work better than blame.
The part of the essay where the writer explains what the experience taught them or how they changed. Admissions readers often call it the "so what."
What is reflection (insight)?
Chang's advice is to follow this instead of collecting activities just to impress admissions officers.
What is your passion (what genuinely interests you)?
A conclusion repeats the same opening phrase: "I learned to listen. I learned to lead. I learned to ask for help." Name the device AND explain why it works in a conclusion.
What is anaphora (repetition)? It builds rhythm and emphasizes growth, which leaves the reader with the essay's reflection.
CUNY's SEEK and SUNY's EOP are examples of these programs, which give admission plus academic and financial support to students who meet income guidelines.
What are opportunity programs (educational opportunity programs)?
Heath opens by announcing he will "stick up for the lazy people," then backs it with a psychology study. Name the appeal the study creates and
What is logos (with ethos from research)? He sets up a counterargument to a common belief so the evidence feels surprising and persuasive.
Revise this into a showing sentence: "I was nervous on my first day of work."
Any sentence with concrete sensory detail or action (e.g., "My hands shook so hard I dropped the first tray of fries.") Award points for specificity.
Chang says applicants need to stand out. Agree or disagree: is "follow your passion" realistic advice for every student? Give one reason.
Open response. Award points for a clear position plus a reason (e.g., access to money, time, or family responsibilities)