Did that title get your attention? That's what you want your essay to do the instant the reader opens your file. Let's examine techniques, other than kitschy titles, for creating interest. Specifically let's look at surprise, irony, and suspense. * Surprise -- Start your essay in an unexpected manner. For example, open an essay about your background by discussing what happened today or
will happen tomorrow and connecting the opening to your background. Make sure you spend most of the essay answering the question and discussing your past. * Irony -- "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Dickens understood that irony grabs interest and opened his classic Tale of
Two Cities with that intriguing line. Learn from the master. Are you writing about someone who influenced you greatly? Highlight the contrasts
while explaining why he or she was your greatest influence. Was your proudest accomplishment conceived in failure? Open with the failure and
discuss how it led to your later success. Use the irony and contrast inherent in these situations to grab attention and tell your story. * Suspense -- Arouse curiosity by using suspense. Ask a question at the beginning of your essay, but don't answer it until the end. Implicit in these suggestions: Don't start with the common or expected. Don't begin your goals essay or statement of purpose with the typical
declarative statement like "I want to be a doctor because ... " or "I was born in ... " Grab your readers' attention so they will read your essay because they want to, not because they have to.
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