4 Easy Steps from Brainstorming to Writing the Community Essay

In recent years, the number of colleges and universities that have added a “community” essay to their requirements has increased significantly. Why? There are likely many reasons, but an important one is that the process of admitting students into a class is, at its core, an exercise in community building. 

Where these essay topics are important, admission offices use your response, along with your academic records and other required materials, to better understand what each student might contribute to the larger community. Admission officers want to know how you’ll get involved, give back, and impact their campus. 

Examples of “Community Essay” prompts include:

“Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.”

"Discuss one of your personal qualities and share a story, anecdote, or memory of how it helped you make a positive impact on a community. This could be your current community or another community you have engaged with."

“What have you done to make your school or community a better place?”

Let’s get to work on your community essay! 

Step One: Identify Your Communities

One of the best ways to start identifying the many communities you belong to is using your resume or extracurricular activity list as a guide. 

Once you have exhausted that list for communities, think more broadly and more personally about other communities that play an important role in your life. 

Begin creating a list of your communities. 

Step Two: Brainstorm

From your list of communities, choose three or four that feel most important to you or that you are most excited to potentially write about. For each community, work through these brainstorming questions, skipping over those that might not apply to a particular community, and taking notes of your ideas as you go. (Spend time on this, as it will likely turn into the content of your Community Essay.)

What Connects Me to This Community? 

Using the University of Michigan prompt as a loose guide, communities can be connected by “...shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage.” What connects you to this community? 

Is This a Community of Impact? 

If yes: 

• What challenges did you face with this community? 

• What impact did you have together? 

• What did you actually do, accomplish, set goals to achieve?

• What did you contribute individually? 

• How is the community a better place because of your contribution? 

Is This a Community of Shared Interest?

If yes:

• Why/how does this shared interest connect us? 

• What does this community provide to me? 

• What do I provide to it? 

• Why is this community important to me personally? 

• Why is it important that this community exists? 

• What challenges did you face with this community? 

What Make Me Proud of This Community? 

When we feel pride in our community or in ourselves, it generally means that we see our values aligning with our actions. 

• What makes you proud to say that you are member of this community? 

Step Three: Select the Community

Repeat the process outlined in Step Two for three or four communities that are most significant to you. Once that is complete, it’s time to select the community you most want to write about in your university application. But how do you choose?

WHAT HAVE YOU ALREADY SHARED?

If you have already begun drafting your personal statement, or maybe you have already tackled several different essays, it’s wise to pause for a moment and review those essays before selecting the community you will highlight. 

Ideally, you would choose a community that you have not already written about in another essay, and you would find yourself sharing a new story with different details about your experiences to demonstrate your engagement with a community. 

CONSIDER YOUR APPLICATION NARRATIVE.

When your application is reviewed, the goal is to present the story of yourself that is real, authentic, and also cohesive. In other words, each part of the application – from the major you selected to the Community Essay you write – should work together to tell a cohesive narrative about you, your journey, your character, and why you should be admitted. Ask yourself if one of the groups you brainstormed for the Community Essay better accomplishes the task of telling your entire story. 

Step Four: Outline + Draft

If you are writing about a community that have overcome challenges together, consider setting up an outline like this: 

1. Group + Major Challenge We Faced

2. What I Did

3. What We Did

4. Greater Impact of This Action

5. Impact of This Action on Me (i.e. What did I learn?)

6. Why This Matters

If you are writing about a community that comes together in shared interest but not in shared action, consider setting up an outline like this: 

1. Group + How We Are Connected

2. Who Has Been Most Significant to Me in This Group + Why

3. Values We Share + Examples of When That’s Obvious

4. Importance of This Community

5. How This Community Helps Me Understand Myself

Now, you’re ready to a rough draft. 

Final Tip

As you work on outlines and rough drafts for this essay, don’t limit yourself on word count. At least not yet. 

If you haven’t already landed on the best version of your personal statement, it is possible that the content you create with this exercise can turn into the perfect material for it! 

The Community Essay is a common one, and it is one of the most versatile. Content created for Community Essays can create some of the best statements about your personal growth through action and connection with those around you and who matter to you most. 

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