I've been searching the forum for advice on the relevant research essay but haven't found answers to my particular questions. How technical was your essay? I don't want to waste space explaining certain things about my research if I don't have to. Did any of you write it as something akin to an extended abstract? Was your essay very dry - ie. no anecdotes or other personal tidbits? I want to get started in the next couple of weeks since it's going to take me FOREVER to edit this beast down to an easily understandable 10,000 characters (not to mention write those other two essays I'm currently ignoring).
AMCAS Research Essay
- Thread starter j-weezy
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no anecdotes. kinda abstract form.
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mine was not dry. no anecdotes, but definitely a lot about why different things are exciting and interesting.
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i began with a quick tidbit about myself then went full-on into my "research-speak". there is just NO space for technical explanations! i wrote it with it, and ended up with 20K characters haha. so, two choices: A) choose a single project you really like and write it in superb detail. or B) choose a few projects explained well, but minus the technical crap. i did the latter. i'm hoping to get accepted soon, and if so, i will definitely share my essay if you'd like.
EDIT: oh yeah, and i agree with SpeakLittleB as far as the mentioning how EXCITING things are!
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i started out by cutting and pasting together my abstracts and independent study papers...but realized that it was just too overwhelming (too much information). so i took that, figured out what the most important ideas were, and cut everything else. it can be hard to leave out entire parts of a project, but i think it's important to keep in mind that most interviewers will spend about 2 minutes reading your essay...what do you want them to retain?
i agree with the others about putting in a bit about what was exciting/interesting and why -- show that you were into your project, and that you understand the significance of your work.
i agree with the others about putting in a bit about what was exciting/interesting and why -- show that you were into your project, and that you understand the significance of your work.
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hehe. isn't that the ****tiest part? trying to cut out things? To YOU everything you did is important, that's why you did it! but really, think of it as good practice for when you are a PhD candidate wanting and attempting to organize and squeeze years of data into a single manuscript, when in reality putting everything in one big paper may not be the best way to get a top publication.
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