How To Use Our AI To Write An Essay?


Anne: But I also think that ultimately it's what we were encouraging our applicants to do with the diversity essays anyway, right? We're not approaching these too differently. I think it just, like Tom said, helps students feel a little bit more comfortable digging into their own experiences and thinking about things they believed the schools traditionally wanted, when, in fact, the schools wanted to hear about all of these things all along.
Anna: Some law schools do require this type of essay, and we'll get into that soon, but these ones that we've just looked at are optional. So, what are your all thoughts? Should everybody write these? Should only certain types of applicants write these? How should listeners determine whether they should write this essay or not? Tom: I think that is pretty common, and it does seem a lot broader. I think when an applicant might be applying to 10 or 15 schools, they could get overwhelmed with trying to categorize the different ways that the schools talk about this type of essay, but what I usually encourage them to do is to just think about, these essays, broadly speaking, are talking about how your experiences sort of shape your perspectives, how your perspective might be shaped by your history, all of the experiences that you've had and how that might be something that you utilize either uniquely or not uniquely in the law school environment as a peer, as an attorney, as a student working in a clinic. So how do those experiences shape your perspectives on working with others? Generally speaking, I think if you think about it on that level, students can really come up with some really creative ideas and some strong essays. This writer has done an excellent job talking about two very different aspects of their identity. What I love about this essay is that the structure of the essay itself shows the writer’s creativity and precision. The essay is well-organized and precise, but the writing has a unique and creative flair. It demonstrates the writer’s point exactly. I also appreciate how the writer doesn’t just talk about these parts of their identity. They explicitly connect their creativity and precision to their future goals as a scientist. Tom: Yeah, I think that's a great way to describe it, Anne. And I think some students feel like if they don't have a story about grit and distance traveled, maybe they shouldn't write about it, but I think it's really good to pause and brainstorm. If someone was a caregiver, or if someone had some sort of client relationship that wasn't even related to the law. I read a beautiful essay today about someone who worked in a grocery store. So, you know, ideas about how they connect with others and how they build rapport with people, I think those kinds of topics can be really wonderful for this type of essay. If it's not required by a school, I think maybe you should still consider and really spend some time trying to brainstorm what you might bring to a client relationship, to working with peers, or to helping people tell their stories, or to empowering peers, what kind of role you play in teams—think about that perspective and how that might help an admissions officer get in your corner as they're reading your application. Anna: Let's get specific here. Diversity statement prompts, I think, certainly had differences between various schools' prompts, but I think by and large they were pretty similar. Now, the range of prompts that law schools are giving applicants under this umbrella term that we are using, "experience/perspective essays," "E/P essays," there are so many different options, and they take many different forms. Some of them are optional; some of them are required; some of them have seven different options for you to choose from; some are just one general, broad prompt. Anne: But it was what I learned about people and myself from waiting tables, and just how working in the service industry really helped me interact with a wide variety of people and understanding kind of the commonalities, but then also meeting people where they were, and I love how you brought that in with the caregiver. Maybe my essay is not as cringy as I'm remembering it, because I'm sure that I wasn't as good a writer, and I'm sure that I wasn't incorporating all of this great advice, but I am hoping that maybe one day I can find it and polish it up to make it look as good as our clients' might.

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Tom: I feel like some of my clients, when I talk to them, are more interested in writing these types of essays than they were when they had the traditional diversity statement title. Because it does feel like, while the schools may still be looking for similar things, students, applicants feel a little bit more licensed to talk about things that aren't related to protected categories or ability or religion or sort of immigration status. And so now they are able to talk about things that are a little bit broader, and they feel like they might have the license to do that.

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So we've been talking about these optional E/P essays. Let's look at a required essay prompt. Most schools do not, but some schools are requiring this general type of essay, and I think that is a different category that people have to think about, especially if they ultimately determine, "I don't think I'm going to write these optional ones."

wasn’t sure what to write about in her essay.

And so in the past, they had these prompts that were designed to give folks who've had unique, defining experiences, particularly experiences that may have come about as a function of someone's race or class or gender or some other marginalized and/or protected group, and now I think questions have evolved, because of the Supreme Court case, to be more broad, so that people who don't necessarily have defining experiences in that tight little box because you're part of some underrepresented or otherwise marginalized group, but they just want to know, hey, what have been your experiences? Everybody. What are your experiences? What's your perspective? What's informed it? Ultimately, I think the goal is, to use an analogy, to get more of a multidimensional picture of a person, as opposed to just a straight—maybe a 2D version that could be just your numbers. And maybe your personal statement, again, adds a little depth, but these experience/perspective essays or the diversity statements—those are all designed just to give a different angle, a different perspective on still you. So the goal of getting to know you: unchanged. Just how they frame the question: updated for contemporary times.

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I'm going to read out one law school's required experience or perspective essay prompt. It reads, "The admissions committee makes every effort to understand who you are as an individual and potential X Law School student and graduate. Please share how your experiences, background, and/or interests have shaped you and will shape your engagement in the X Law School community and the legal profession."