How to Write for Common App Prompt #6 – What Topic Do You Find Most Exciting?
by Michelle P.
Common App prompt #6 asks:
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
A lot of students find it fun to write for this Common App prompt, seeing as the entire focus of the prompt is about a topic or idea that you personally find exciting or are passionate about.
The second part of this prompt is just as important, where it asks ‘What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more [about this topic]?’
In essence, you want to 1) Write about a topic that you really love and 2) show how you get involved with the topic or research or study on your own about it.
One path an Essay Narwhal might choose to take for Common App prompt #6 is to write about how you first got interested in a topic related to your college major, like robotics or international relations.
One positive for this prompt is that it’s a good opportunity to present a persuasive case of why you love one specific major over other majors. One downside though, is some supplementary essays also ask about your interest in a major—but it is possible to write a good essay for both, if you’re discerning.
Students can show how they learned more about a topic in many ways, whether through an advanced class or an outside activity. It is best to focus on specifics over generalities—instead of writing on how a STEM club made you appreciate mathematics even more, instead you might focus on how perplexing problems involving Mobius strips helped you value mystery and doubt during a learning process.
Besides classes or extracurriculars, it can be even better if you can show how you independently branched out and tried to learn more on your own on a field. You can mention examples like reading through recommended history books about the Cold War, or watching trustworthy educational video series on the chemistry involved in chocolate-making.
Lastly, does the topic or idea you find engaging have to be related to a future college major?
No, it does not! Sometimes, it may make for an even more exciting essay if it isn’t.
Maybe one student has a side hobby of making their own pasta from their grandparents’ recipes. Or maybe what one student gets really excited about is historical fashions. Another student may have in-depth knowledge on the minutiae of video game economics and supply-demand on the game’s marketboard.
No matter the topic, as long as the student can show their passion in the subject AND indicate actions they took to learn even more about it, Prompt #6 is a good choice to show more depth and detail to who you are as an individual through your interests.