research essay

[mk2009]

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Hi guys.
I'm trying to finish off my research essay and am running into some problems.
My problem is that the contribution that I am writing about is published (2nd author) and mine reads just like the paper...
How do I make it personal while still discussing the relevant conclusions?
I would really appreciate any help.

p.s. Does anyone have a research essay from previous years that I can reference to? Thanks!

 

[ecoli]

scale back on the technical details and talk about your contributions, what excites you about the project, why the work is important, etc.
(just some suggestions)

I'm also applying this cycle.

 

[blazinfury]

In our research essay, can we also include awards and conferences that we had attended, even if it may be a slight repetition from the Activities section of AAMCAS?

Can we also include research related activities that we pursued on top of our research, Ie running a science lecture series, science clubs to promote research awareness?

Although I did a SURP program one summer, I was wondering if I should include it in the essay. My reason for wanting to omit it is that it was a very short stint and I really did not accomplish much because the project was animal work and there is not a lot of data that one can get in 8 weeks from that. However, I made a significant contribution to the research that I performed in my undergrad, so I was thinking that I should focus more on that. I am open to suggestions. I do know that no one wants to ready a 10,000 character essay or whatever the max length is.

 

[Neuronix]

My problem is that the contribution that I am writing about is published (2nd author) and mine reads just like the paper...
How do I make it personal while still discussing the relevant conclusions?
I would really appreciate any help.

You need to make the writing general enough that any physician or scientist can understand it. Papers are written in very specialized fashion with dense jargon. Essays should be stated simply, with the overlying problem, the general approach to addressing that problem, the experiments and other ways that you contributed, and then what you got out of that work.

In our research essay, can we also include awards and conferences that we had attended, even if it may be a slight repetition from the Activities section of AAMCAS?

Yes, don't assume the adcoms are reading both sections. They often don't. But, just mention it in passing at the end of discussing the research. "This work culminated in ..."

Can we also include research related activities that we pursued on top of our research, Ie running a science lecture series, science clubs to promote research awareness?

Why not? Just tie it in to your dream/passion/selling point of becoming a physician-scientist.

Although I did a SURP program one summer, I was wondering if I should include it in the essay. My reason for wanting to omit it is that it was a very short stint and I really did not accomplish much because the project was animal work and there is not a lot of data that one can get in 8 weeks from that. However, I made a significant contribution to the research that I performed in my undergrad, so I was thinking that I should focus more on that. I am open to suggestions. I do know that no one wants to ready a 10,000 character essay or whatever the max length is.

Up to you. I would mention it, especially if you have a LOR from that experience.