As Dirk mentions, genres are not just categories to put novels under, but rather headings fo every type of writing we encounter or create. The college admissions process requires essays to be submitted. Even if these essay questions are broad, to some extent, we (as the student who is applying)  know what they are asking because this type of writing falls into it’s own genre. Dirk says, “… specific choices that writers make result in specific actions on the part of readers; it only follows that our own writing must too be purposefully written” (Dirk 254). This can be applied directly to the genre of admissions essays. The admissions board is giving the applicants these essays because they are expecting specific responses while still looking for those who stand out.

For my college essay, I was told to pick one moment where my view on life changed. Trying to find an exact moment was very difficult. I talked about an experience I had while talking to a friend over the summer which altered my view of the world and myself. Throughout my essay I tried to highlight the parts that I though admissions would like as I am sure many students did. In doing this, I was  writing under the genre of college admissions essays without even knowing that such a thing existed. There were a few steps in my writing process for this essay. I knew and was told what admissions wanted to hear, I then wrote what they wanted to hear, admissions then read what they wanted to hear, and chose to accept me into their university because they liked what they heard. While writing my essay I put a little but of a unique twist, talking about my climbing carrier and deciding that I wanted to train for bigger competitions in the future such as the Olympics. I did this because it was a great way to pull in the attention of my readers while still giving them what they wanted to hear.