亚历克西斯为她的普通申请论文选择了选项7。这是2020-21应用程序上流行的“您选择的主题”选项。问题是，

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

普通申请表上的其他六个论文选项给了申请人很大的灵活性，以至于很少有一个主题不适合其他地方，但在某些情况下，“你选择的主题”确实是最好的选择。下面亚历克西斯的文章也是如此。

关于“你选择的主题”选项的样文

My Hero Harpo In middle school, I took part in an essay competition where we had to write about one of our strongest role models—who they were, what they did, and how they had influenced us. Other students wrote about Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, George Washington, etc. I, the youngest of five sisters and one of the quietest people in the school, chose Harpo Marx. I did not win the competition—to be honest, my essay wasn’t very good, and I knew that, even at the time. I had bigger, better things to worry about, though. I was taking swimming lessons, and was terrified of discovering a shark in the deep end. I was making little hats for my dog Alexa, which she did not appreciate. I was busy working on a clay chess set in art class, and learning how to garden with my grandmother. I’m getting off-topic, but my point is: I didn’t need to win a competition or write an essay to feel validated. I was learning who I was, and what was important in my life. Which brings me back to the Marx Brothers. My great-uncle was a big old-movie buff. We’d go over to his house most mornings during summer vacation, and watch Philadelphia Story, The Thin Man, or His Girl Friday. My favorites, though, were the Marx Brothers’ films. Duck Soup. A Night at the Opera (my personal favorite). Animal Crackers. I can’t logically explain why I found these particular movies so hilarious and entertaining—there was something about them that not only made me laugh, but made me happy. Now, of course, watching those movies again, I’m reminded of those summer mornings, and of being surrounded by the people I loved, unconcerned with the world outside, that adds another layer of appreciation and joy. The brothers each brought their own unique humor to the pictures, but Harpo—he was perfect. The hair. The wide ties and crazy trench coats. The way he doesn’t have to say anything to be funny. His facial expressions. How he offers people his leg when they try to shake his hand. The way you can see the change in him when he sits down at the piano or the harp. The subtle shift from comedian to musician—not a complete shift, of course, but in that moment, you know just how talented and hard-working he must have been. I love that rather than being a full-time, professional musician, which he certainly could have done, Harpo (known as Adolph off-screen) instead devoted his time and energy to entertain, to make people laugh, to be a big goof with a bicycle horn and a killer whistle. I identified with him—and still do. Harpo was quiet, funny-looking, not the most outgoing or famous performers, silly, and still insanely dedicated and a serious artist. I don’t plan on going into show business. I mean, never say never and all that, but I don’t see myself as ever really getting bitten by that particular acting or performing bug. But the lessons I’ve learned from Harpo (and Groucho, Chico, Zeppo, etc.) are the kind that can transcend careers. It’s ok to fall down (a lot.) Learn to laugh at yourself. Learn to laugh at your family. Making faces is a perfectly good way to express yourself. Wear the weird clothes. Don’t be afraid to show off your talents when given the chance. Be kind to children. Have a cigar, if you want. Make up a silly song, or a goofy dance. Work hard at what you love. Work hard at what you don’t love, but what is still necessary. Don’t shy away from being the strangest, brightest, wildest, wackiest, passionate you you can be. And also carry a bicycle horn with you, just in case.

亚历克西斯的“你选择的主题”评论

随着“您选择的主题”文章选项，第一个要考虑的问题之一是文章是否应该呈现在一个更集中的公共应用提示下。你很容易懒惰，只需选择“你选择的主题”就可以避免太过费劲地思考最适合写一篇文章的主题。

对于亚历克西斯的文章《我的英雄哈波》来说，“你选择的主题”选项实际上效果不错。这篇文章可能属于普通应用文章选项#5中的一个“激发个人成长期的认识”。亚历克西斯观看《马克思兄弟》电影的经历确实导致了对个人身份和生活平衡的理解。尽管如此，一篇关于喜剧演员的文章并不完全符合这个选项的一般严肃性。然而，最终，大学更关心的是你论文的质量，而不是你选择什么。

现在让我们来分析一下亚历克西斯文章中的一些重要元素：

文章的题目

哈波·马克思（Harpo Marx）是一篇招生论文中相当不同寻常的焦点。这可能是件好事，因为亚历克西斯的论文不会是招生办公室收到的其他论文的翻版。同时，有人可能会说，哈波的闹剧喜剧对于申请论文来说是一个相当肤浅的焦点。如果主题处理不当，这当然是真的，但亚历克西斯成功地将一篇关于哈波·马克思的文章变成了一篇真正比马克思更重要的文章。亚历克西斯认同哈波，她解释了为什么她认同他。最后，这篇文章既是关于亚历克西斯的，也是关于哈波的。这篇文章揭示了亚历克西斯的自我意识、分析能力和幽默感。

文章的语调

许多申请者错误地认为，申请论文需要对作者的成就亮起一道亮光，同时隐藏任何缺点。然而，现实是，我们都是古怪、有缺陷、复杂的人。揭示对这一事实的认识是成熟的标志，这在入学论文中通常会起到很好的作用。亚历克西斯在这方面取得了令人钦佩的成功。这里的总体基调是对话式的，有点自嘲。亚历克西斯认同哈波的愚蠢，他决定专注于为他人带来幸福，而不是个人声望。我们在结束亚历克西斯的文章时，感觉到她沉默寡言、愚蠢、能够自嘲，但却很自信。总体印象肯定是积极的。

写作质量

亚历克西斯的语言清晰动人，避免了常见的文体错误。这篇文章有很强的声音和个性。事实上，这篇文章确实有几个句子片段，但这些片段显然是故意用于修辞的，这并不是因为亚历克西斯是一位语法不熟练的作家。

这篇文章的总体影响

从一篇应用文章中退后一步，考虑一个大问题：从文章中获取什么？亚历克西斯的文章没有表现出任何非凡的成就或令人印象深刻的才能。然而，它确实展现了一个深思熟虑、自我意识强、慷慨大方、才华横溢、野心勃勃的学生。亚历克西斯给人的印象是招生人员希望加入他们的校园社区吗？对

使你的文章尽可能地有力

如果一所大学要求你提交一篇普通申请的论文，那是因为学校有整体招生，招生人员希望了解你作为一个整体，而不是简单地汇编分数和标准化考试分数等数字数据。除了课外活动、推荐信，在某些情况下还有面试，论文可以在招生过程中扮演重要角色。确保你的身体尽可能强壮。

当你写你自己的文章时，一定要避免不好的文章主题，并遵循以下技巧来获得一篇成功的文章。最重要的是，确保你的文章给人留下好印象。它是否体现了你的个性和兴趣，而这在你的应用程序的其他部分并不明显？它是否将你呈现为一个以有意义的方式为校园社区做出贡献的人？如果回答“是”，你的文章很好地完成了它的目的。