Tuesday, October 27, 2026 · 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Central Library in Copley Square — 700 Boylston St., Boston, MA
NOTE: This is a 2-session in-person workshop. Attendees will need access to Google Classroom using a non-school Gmail account to make full use of these tools. In-person attendees will be provided computer access, but may choose to use their own device. Each year, millions of high-school seniors compose a 650-word essay for the Common Application. Before clicking "Submit," too many of them sit idle by their computer screen, waiting hours for the perfect idea to strike them as they struggle to shake off those all-too-common anxieties: What am I supposed to write about...? How do I write an essay about myself...? What if there's nothing special about me...? This 2-session seminar will walk high-school seniors through the DOs and DON'Ts of the Common Application essay, using a variety of strategies to help students think first about what they want colleges to know about them, and second about how to show that through effective, candid narration. Through studying a variety of models, students will learn a set of techniques and approaches to make their story honest, revealing, and memorable; a variety of writing exercises and live commentary from trained, qualified library staff will…