在现如今的网络时代，信息的传播已完全脱离纸质传媒，小小手机已取代传统方式成为信息获取和发布的基本工具，并且以日新月异的速度在加快，读者已很不认可纯文字的长篇大论，因为不愿意花时间。

一直以来也尊重社会主流，以短小、活泼、易读、易懂的方式发布推文，受到广大同学、家长的推崇和喜爱。

但今天，一反常态的发一篇纯文字的力作：如何写自我介绍 （美本申请的主文书）。

这不仅是当下留学一族的应景之需，更是由于深知对文书写作的理解之于中国学生是急需得到提升的一件事情，因此这篇干货满满的纯文字推文成为发布的不二之选，也彰显文书对于申请成功的重要性。

我们殷切希望学生和家长们花费点宝贵的时间来仔细阅读此文，并从中得到启发和受益。

如何写自我介绍 （美本申请的主文书）

早在8月1号已经开启的通用申请，标志着2019-2020申请季已正式开始。毕业班的同学这时候各种成绩 （GPA， SAT/ACT， SAT2， 托福） 和活动基本上已经成型， 现在我们的关注点应该放到了申请文书上面。

申请文书是什么？

通用申请（common app）里有7个命题， 学生可以任选一个， 其中6个命题题很广， 比如你的家庭背景， 你遇到过的困难， 受到过什么挑战，解决过的问题， 描述你的一个成就／事件， 最后一个让学生自己选题， 所有可以说选题范围是很广的。回答common app问题的这篇作文我们称主文书， 也叫自我介绍， 除此以外， 很多学校还有专对这个学校需要回答的问题， 叫补充文书。

主文书的写作

今天我们先讲讲主文书的写作：

洞察你的个性

这篇文书最重要的作用是让招生委员会了解你的个性以及你对学校社区的作用。你好奇吗？雄心勃勃的？关怀？这些品质会对你的大学经历产生深远的影响，但很难根据高中成绩单来确定。

基本上，这篇文章将您的申请情景化，并显示您在GPA和标化成绩外是怎样的一个人。

比如说有两个学生，Jane和Tim：他们都有3.8 GPA和1400 SAT。Jane住在科罗拉多州，是她的田径队的队长，而Tim住在佛蒙特州，经常为学校报纸做贡献，但他们都想成为医生，他们都是当地医院的志愿者。

虽然Jane和Tim在纸面上看起来一样，实际上他们是完全不同的，他们的独特视角在他们的文章中得以体现。

Jane写了一篇关于如何研究她的家庭历史的学校项目，让她意识到如何发现抗生素和疫苗等现代医疗方法改变了世界，并促使她开始从事医学研究的职业生涯。

而Tim讲述了一位善良的医生如何帮助他克服对针头的恐惧，这种互动让他想起了同情的价值，并激励他成为一名家庭医生。

这两个学生可能看起来外表相似，但他们的动机和个性却截然不同。

如果没有一篇文章，你的申请将仅仅是一系列数字：GPA，SAT成绩，准备竞赛碗比赛的小时数等等。而一篇好的个人陈述， 可以让招生官从个人层面上了解你，甚至可以建立情感上的联系， 是你作为个人脱颖而出的机会。

“大学申请文书不是工作面试， 而更像是和招生官聊天“

主文书写作时一个常见的误区是罗列学生的个人成就 （这个现象在申请美高的同学中尤其参见），认为把自己的高大上的那些活动描述一番一定能打动招生官。实际上， 这是非常不可取的。

首先这样的文书不够个人化， 其次通用申请专门有活动部分让学生填写活动， 文书里再写一遍不但没有用好文书做为一个很好的机会让招生官了解自己，而且弄不好还会给人自我吹嘘的感觉。当然， 如果学生选择某项活动， 描写参加这项活动的心路过程那就另当别论了。

文书的四个中心问题

所有优秀的Common App主文书应该回答的四个中心问题：

“我是谁？”，
“为什么我在这里？”，
“我的独特之处是什么？”，
“对我来说重要的是什么？”

第三个问题比较难回答，它涉及到为什么你的人格特质，思维方法，兴趣领域和有形技能形成了独特的组合。第四个问题是一个可以简单回答的结论，通常在结论段落中。

总的来说，没有一个“正确”的话题。只要您对自己的想法感到舒适和热情，并且它回答了四个中心的问题，您的论文就会很强大。

写作过程中记住 ”展示， 不要说“ （show， not tell）， 你可以通过具体描述发生的事情或心理活动， 让读者得出结论， 而不是把结论告诉给读者。

比如：“I struggled to make friends when I transferred schools,” 可以改写为：“I scanned the bustling school cafeteria, feeling more and more forlorn with each unfamiliar face. I found an empty table and ate my lunch alone.” 后面这种具体描述的方式给人更印象深刻。

范文分享

以下是主文书的一些范文 （范文是缩减版，来自网络。 尊重隐私，不公开学生文书）， 这些范文好在写的是个人化的故事， 而且可以看到作者有反思， 有成长， 读完以后， 读者感觉更了解学生了。

范文1， 回答文书命题：

有些学生的背景，身份，兴趣或才能如此有意义，他们相信如果没有它，他们的申请就会不完整。如果这听起来像你，请分享你的故事。

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, please share your story.

这篇文书选择描写学生背景 - 一个人的背景包括经验，培训，教育和文化。您可以讨论成长经历，与家人互动，以及人际关系如何塑造自己。背景可以包括与艺术，音乐，科学，体育，写作和许多其他学习技能的长期互动。背景还包括您的社交环境以及它们如何影响您的感知。此外，您可以突出显示多个背景之间的交叉点，并显示每个背景的组成部分。

文章描写了一个贫穷的越南移民家庭中成长的学生如何激励她抓住重大机遇，即使他们有风险或具有挑战性。她描述了开办和经营家庭杂货店的情感需求。

“An opportunity knocked on my parents’ door: a grocery store in the town of Dennis, Mississippi, was up for rent. My parents took the chance, risking all of their savings. On the first day, the business brought in only twenty dollars. Twenty dollars.

My mother and my father wept after they closed the shop. Seeing the business as a failure, my mom commenced her packing that night; returning to Vietnam seemed inevitable. The next business day, however, sales increased ten-fold. More and more customers came each successive day. My mom’s tears turned into—well, more tears, but they were tears of joy. My mother unpacked a bag each night. Fifteen years later, my parents now own Blue Ravine Grocery. My parents work, work, work to keep the shelves stocked and the customers coming. The grocery store holds a special place in my heart: it is the catalyst for my success. So when the opportunity to attend the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science presented itself, I took it and ran, as did my parents by leaving Vietnam and by buying the store. Although the opportunities that my parents and I pursued are different, our journey is essentially the same: we walk a road paved with uncertainty and doubt with the prospect of success fortified by our hearts and our hands.”

范文2，回答文书命题：

反思您对某个信仰或想法提出质疑的时间。是什么促使你思考？结果是什么？

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

这个命题看似很难回答，因为大多数高中生没有机会参加过有重大意义的社会活动。同学们可以讨论需要对某些事情做出改变的时候， 比如你发现医疗记录经常是手写的， 别人很难读懂， 你想出电子记录的方式， 并开发了一个应用软件挑战传统的医疗体系的做法。再比如你与一个看起来像被抛弃的人成为朋友，这些都是文书的好素材。

总的来说，这个命题有助于通过你的思维过程与读者交谈。在许多情况下，对您的思维过程和决策的探索比实际的结果或概念更重要。简而言之，这种文书非常关注“思考”，反思和调查。对于这种命题，一个很好的头脑风暴练习就是将你的问题写在一张纸上，然后针对问题制定各种解决方案，包括简短理由。你在文章中证明和解释你的解决方案越全面，你的反应就越有说服力。

下面这篇范文描写了作者因为她独特的名字带来的烦恼， 让她觉得她必须与众不同， 从而放弃自己的爱好做出与众不同的选择。最后她挑战这种为不同而不同的想法， 找到自己真正的兴趣。

“Whenever someone hears my name for the first time, they comment “Wow, Jensina is a cool name.” She must be pretty cool. She must be from somewhere exotic. She must be musical and artsy. When I was little, these sentiments felt more like commands than assumptions. I thought I had to be the most unique child of all time, which was a daunting task, but I tried. I was the only kid in the second grade to color the sun red. During snack time, we could choose between apple juice and grape juice. I liked apple juice more, but if everyone else was choosing apple, then I had to choose grape. This was how I lived my life, and it was exhausting.

After 8th grade, I moved to Georgia. I soon discovered that my freshman year would be my new high school’s inaugural year. Since there were students coming in from 5 different schools, there was no real sense of “normal”. I panicked. If there was no normal, how could I be unique? I realized that I had spent so much energy going against the grain that I had no idea what my true interests were. It was time to find out. I joined the basketball team, performed in the school musical, and enrolled in chorus, all of which were firsts for me. I did whatever I thought would make me happy. And it paid off. I was no longer socially awkward. In fact, because I was involved in so many unrelated activities, I was socially flexible. I had finally become my own person.”

范文3， 回答文书命题：

讨论引发个人成长和对自己或他人产生新理解的成就，事件或认识。

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

回答这个命题的关键是清楚地描述是什么让你成长了，然后详细描述你的成长， 以及它与你对自己和他人的看法有何关联。你必须花足够的时间具体、深度描述你是如何成长的，而不是简单地解释你的经历，然后说，“我成长了“。

下面这篇范文中学生描写了她的单身母亲的健康危机如何促使她在十四岁时迅速承担更大的责任。这篇文章描述了她所承担的新任务，以及作者现在如何更加珍惜与母亲共度的时光。

“I had anticipated a vacation in Washington, D.C., but unexpectedly, I was rushing to the hospital behind an ambulance carrying my mother. As a fourteen-year-old from a single mother household, without a driver’s license, and seven hours from home, I was distraught over the prospect of losing the only parent I had.

Three blood transfusions later, my mother’s condition was stable, but we were still states away from home, so I coordinated with my mother’s doctors in North Carolina to schedule the emergency operation that would save her life. My mother had been a source of strength for me, and now I would be strong for her through her long recovery ahead.

As I started high school, everyone thought the crisis was over, but it had really just started to impact my life. My mother was often fatigued, so I assumed more responsibility, juggling family duties, school, athletics, and work. I made countless trips to the neighborhood pharmacy, cooked dinner, biked to the grocery store, supported my concerned sister, and provided the loving care my mother needed to recover. I now take ownership over small decisions such as scheduling daily appointments and managing my time but also over major decisions involving my future, including the college admissions process. My mother remains a guiding force in my life, but the feeling of empowerment I discovered within myself is the ultimate form of my independence.”