很多家长认为，文书是要英文好，其实这个对也不对。文书其实有两个方面比较重要，英文好只能完成一个方面。
第一是文书的思想。每个人不同，写什么，体现什么，给目标学校看什么，这些是最重要的。这些需要对你熟悉，对目标学校的需求了解的顾问，和你一起筛选你身上的各种特质，找到最合适的描绘出来。这还包括，哪些特点放在主文书里面，哪些放在小文书里面，这样架构起来的整体效果是什么样的。就像服装搭配一样，单一样好不行，要考虑搭配。第二才是语言，也就是常说的润色，润色其实有三个方面，
1.要保证读懂读通，没有语法错误。
2.写作手法符合美国人的习惯，桥段的呈现把握好节奏。3.保证在细节上没有因为国籍，人种不同而产生误解或者认知差异，这就是所谓的三观必须一致。这些方面的确需要英文功底，在后面这点的驾驭上，外籍文书老师可能更好一些。很多孩子喜欢仿写头牌学校，比如哈佛的文书，但是实际上，不同目标校，需要不同的特质，如果仿写，那可能就不是你了。哈佛学生的文书，让申30-50名的学校学生在模仿，这样写出来的，其实根本不对路，虽然哈佛文书好，但是不是通用的，这点大家一定要注意了。说到这里，大家可能没有方向了。我找了有一个比较有效的文书学习方式。我们需要找的不是文书模板，而是学生身上可能被学校喜欢的特质，下面是几种特质对应的文书，大家这样参考，然后对应思考，看自己是否也有类似的特点。自我管理，自我激励的能力是非常重要的。如果说，高中生还有老师提醒，大学则很少，或者说基本不会。你必须学会自我管理，招生官喜欢看到学生有自我激励，自我管理的能力。能够独立的把握住各种可能机会。参考文章提供者录取了普林斯顿，杜克。
The movement of each blade illuminated a musical harmony, and each insect scurrying around the grass was an instrument of the orchestra. When it was time to leave, the pleasant music in my head faded into a simple, unpleasant, dissonant noise as I encountered an exhibition on how climate change was destroying thousands of species of grass. That’s when I decided to dedicate my life to saving those special plants.
The next day, I built myself a garden bed out of wood and plastic that I found leftover in my uncle’s car dealership to begin researching how grasses adapt to challenging thermal scenarios. I read classic books on grass like Charles Veron’s Grasses of the World. I looked at my research from a strictly rational, mathematical and logical perspective. After months of tracking the growth rate of Chloris gayana grass under elevated temperatures, my results reflected my biggest fear: grasses will never be able to evolve that fast.坚持和追求，不计代价，不怕失败，这是一个优秀的孩子应该有的品质。A magical portal from the future--though perhaps not so distant in the future as we once thought. In every Star Trek ship, there’s a room with the power to change the world. It’s called the Transporter Room, and it has the ability to teleport people and equipment thousands of miles in an instant. … Meanwhile, new technological advancements are even beginning to resemble the infant phases of a teleporter. In 2017, scientists in China teleported photons 1,400 km from a satellite in orbit, and a team in Switzerland is working on a device which, once completed, may allow quantum teleportation of thousands of atoms at the speed of light through fiber optic cable. Teleportation captured my imagination completely…It wasn’t easy to join the Anderson lab as a high school student. I reached out without any references, and it took weeks to get on the phone with one of the investigators. He was skeptical that I would be able to contribute, but my answers impressed him enough to arrange a second interview. It took four rounds, with hard studying before each interview, but I landed the internship. [...] I am determined to build on my experience at the Anderson lab and make practical teleportation a reality within my lifetime.
大胆提问，对一些社会现状，一些哲理问题的思考，也是优秀学生应有的品质。“The participatory budgeting process, allocating resources individually, intrigued me. I was excited to be doing something tangible for my community. […] In initial outreach discussions, with a goal to involve more participants, we were told to emphasize altruism, telling teens to consider other Austin communities too, since the fund is limited and must be allocated fairly across communities.
But then I asked myself, “Will this really work?” As a voracious reader of philosophy, history and economics, I had a gut feeling that it wouldn’t. I had just read John Locke’s theory that “general interest is achieved with the advancement of individual interests.” I thought about Adam Smith’s idea that “self-interested competition could benefit the society.” I decided we should tell people to be "selfish" and focus on their own needs.
I hesitated to propose this idea to my team however. As I was about to say it out loud, I realized it sounded “unnatural.” I sat and thought about it, knowing that “being selfish” could be misunderstood and come off wrong if I presented it in the wrong way. I didn’t speak up during our next meeting out of fear of rejection. However, feeling guilty about my reticence and truly concerned about the program, I went home and wrote my thoughts down. I felt compelled to tell the team my idea.
I presented my idea at the next meeting. I carefully defined “selfishness” as self-focus, a driving force to involve more teens and eventually benefit more of them. Addressing questions from my teammates, I felt great relief to hear people’s enthusiasm. Teaching teens to be “selfish” does not sound very forward-thinking, but people are more willing to participate in programs that benefit them directly.
冒险精神是一个潜在的成功人士应该具有的品质，这种冒险可以是尝试开一个新的公司，在科研上的创新等等。We decided to tack the sails and head further offshore, so that the gusts of the cold front emanating from the shoreline and preceding the storm would propel us home. However, as the other two were significantly smaller and lighter than us, they caught the updrafts far more easily than Harry and I, rocketing them several hundred yards in front of us. My concern grew as the moments passed. If they moved incorrectly during a strong gale, their inexperience and light weight could cause the boat to tip and throw them overboard.
And, of course, that is exactly what happened.
At first sight of the capsized children, we cranked to full speed, ditching extraneous lines and equipment to the ocean’s depths—my favorite lawn chair now rests inside Davy Jones’s Locker. I manned the rudders, the tiller, and the back ropes, while Harry controlled the jib and the boom. Harry circled them as I jumped into the waves to flip the catamaran.
Climbing atop and falling off that skiff repeatedly filled my heart with despair and my lungs with saltwater. After righting the fallen vessel, I swam back to Harry, whose circular sailing reminded me of the sharks that infest those waters. This was ample motivation for my best Michael Phelps impersonation.
创造力是一个优秀的孩子拥有的基本素质。在科技上，组织模式上的创新，都可以归纳为创造力。参考文章提供者录取了耶鲁，哥大，宾大，康奈尔和布朗。Parliamentary debate has always been a search for the truth in round, but it has also become for me a search for truth on a personal level. At my first tournament, I noticed that I was the only girl and person of color in the room; I soon learned this is normal. A few disparaging remarks from judges about my “feminine” voice peppered otherwise positive feedback. To better appeal to judges, my first instinct was to mimic my successful male peers. But I soon realized that it was much more fulfilling to enhance my existing strengths.
When I realized I wasn’t the only one in this situation, I sought opportunities to mentor girls across the state. Through practice rounds, we empowered each other to build upon our strengths and preserve our diverse identities. Not only was I able to recruit more minorities to my team, but I also helped girls in Wisconsin begin small debate teams at their schools. Creating new forums for discourse has resulted in a more understanding student population, and I look forward to encouraging dialogue on campus[...]
学生可能拥有的特质还有很多种，今天只能先举例这么多了。家长可以转给孩子们看看。
