50 Harvard Essays

Essays are for reference only. Do NOT copy or imitate anything! 
Plagiarism is severely punished! 
style, eloquence, wit and originality, is Contestant number…” 
“Five! One! Five! Five!” roared the electrified crowd. 
My heart pounded furiously. My breathing reduced to shallow gasps. 
“Contestant number five!” exploded the presenter in confirmation. 
For a few sacred moments, time stopped. My ears screamed, and my lower jaw, 
defying the grip of my facial muscles, dropped like a draw-bridge. Then I rushed 
forward, bear-hugged the presenter and embraced everyone else I could lay my 
hands on! Amidst the tumult, the Manager of KLM Airlines mounted the stage, 
presenting me with a meter-long Accra-Amsterdam-London return ticket. As I stood 
brandishing my sky-blue cardboard ticket, posing shamelessly for the cameras and 
grinning sheepishly at the throng, a pang of regret shot through me. If only my 
mother could have been in that crowd to witness and indeed be a part of this most 
poignant of all memories. 
ANALYSIS 
“ The unusual experience” is a staple of college entrance essays, but in this case the 
experience is truly unusual-a personality contest for men. It’s also interesting to see 
Antwi’s transformation from shy to superstar. Antwi concentrates on a fixed event in 
time and uses it to show the spectrum of his personality-shy, confident, excited, 
lonely- in an amusing and entertaining way. 
It’s no wonder Antwi won the contest. He’s a great storyteller. He has an acute sense 
of detail-“one thousand and two hundred curious eyes,” “the fashion of an Asante 
monarch”-and is good at heightening drama. The essay is also upbeat and fun to 
read. 
It would have been nice to know what Antwi said in the third paragraph instead of 
simply reading about the “unparalleled candor and cadence” with which he spoke. 
Also, Antwi does not explain the what, where, or why of the contest, which are all 
important to know. Overall, however, his personality shines through as stellar. 
Banana 
By Nathan W. Hill 

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