写作首先面临的就是选材，文书写作亦是如此。因此，避免常见的写作话题，在选材上不落俗套，从而写出打动招生官的文书，是大家在初期写作过程中必须要考虑的问题。

      要想避免常规套路，在选材和立意上推陈出新，那么，我们需要知道：为什么会出现大量申请文书内容雷同的现象？这是因为：

      首先，这些经历已经成为了常规中学教育的一部分，具有广泛的适用性，从而可以大面积推广来激发学生的体能和心智的成长。比如，体育、音乐、乐器、舞蹈训练、旅行、志愿者……

这些经历作为我们学校和社会教育的一部分，大部分学生都有体会，所以你去写赛场的拼搏、舞蹈训练的痛苦、社团组织的领导力等等，很难写出特色，且难免落入俗套。

      其次，不少事情许多人都会遇到，而且经历以后容易产生类似的反应或者行为，常见的有：

      a) 失败后努力奋斗，终于取得成功；

      b) 因病魔失去了亲人，立志成为医生；

      c) 坚持学习，坚持某个兴趣或训练，突出自己坚持不懈的精神；

      d) 组织某个社团活动，努力去协调沟通，终于让活动成功举办，突出领导力

      ……

      不可否认这些经历对一个人的重大影响，但也正是因为这些影响比较重大，也非常好预判，读到开头就知道结尾是什么，所以很难引起读者的阅读兴趣，难以让读者对你形成独特的印象。

      常见的话题容易让读者打瞌睡，独特的经历似乎又不是人人都有，怎么办呢？其实，文书写作第一要义是坚持自我，如果你觉得特别想写某个经历，但刚好又是很常见的写作内容，怎么办呢？我的建议是不要轻易否定自己，不妨先写出来，再说修改的事情。

我们先来看两个例子。

      左撇子，因与众不同从小被嘲笑，受到困扰，因而产生了一些自卑的情绪。文章开头用看似平静的语调回忆到小时候遭遇的“与众不同”的困扰：

I don’t think much of it now. I have lived with it for my whole life. From its being a conundrum, something disturbing, to a simple fact, sometimes funny and unique, and finally I just take it to be what it is

 “Why do you use your left hand to hold the crayon?” The innocent girl sitting next to me asked curiously. It’s the drawing lesson in the kindergarten, and we kids were free to draw whatever we like together.

      接着他回忆道，偶然的机会他开始喜欢打羽毛球，发现左撇子有独特的优势，因技术好还得到了周围人的赞赏。于是慢慢接受自己的特点，并发现所谓的弱点也可以成为优点，与人不同并非低人一等。不仅收获自信，也获得自我认知和成长。A同学写到：

In high school I played in school matches and soon got to known as the badminton lefty player hard to defeat. For many of my opponents, even though they had played thousand times with me, they still felt very difficult to defeat me because I could hit the ball to the place they could not easily hit back. They always forgot that I am a left-hander during the match.

Now, my lefty label comes to mean something more positive and unique…

      文章的结尾同样令人印象深刻：

At present I may still be introduced by my friends as “that lefty guy”. Lefty as a word in Chinese is a slang of discrimination. They may mean something good, or funny; I am not sure for that, but just comfortable for both. Anyway, God may give us something special-people can laugh at it, or shame you for that, or evilly destroy you. It is the specially endowed persons themselves to find the right place and make it shine.

      从小生活在一位优秀的哥哥的阴影下，觉得自己什么都不如哥哥，很有挫败感，且在开头第一段就表现出自己小时候充满嫉妒的心情，语言大胆且充满创意：

View your actions and aspirations simply as a reflection of your brother’s. Realize the unfairness of it all: your sibling has and always will be better than you. Feel the urge to reach across the dinner table and punch him in the face as he discusses the “dire state of our economy” and how the works of Hegel are fundamentally flawed. Clench your fists in frustration as you simply ponder how tough your day was. There is nothing you can do to alter your mindset of inferiority towards your brother.

      接着用诙谐的笔调，叙述随着自己成长，发现自己并非一无是处，且哥哥同样也有缺点，比如，哥哥只会读书，讲一些深奥无趣的道理，一点都不会聊天，方向感也差，驾照都考不上，而且哥哥跟自己一样是个色盲：

Witness an extremely odd and rare occurrence. Your brother just failed his driving test. He turned left on a red light. Remember that, like you, he’s colorblind. Realize that he has failed something significant. He is not invincible. Gain confidence. Know that you yourself possess qualities which your wicked smart brother doesn’t. Comprehend that perhaps you’ve been improved both as a scholar and a person because of the competition and expectation.

      最后作者通过一个揶揄哥哥场景描写，加上狡黠的语气，从侧面反应自己的自我认同。当一家人围着餐桌吃饭时，哥哥又开始卖弄自己的知识，要跟大家解释“达尔文主义”，这时作者机智的打断了哥哥——咱还是换个有趣的话题吧，不要坏了吃饭的雅兴！作者用幽默的语言，真诚和毫不掩饰的挖苦，给读者留下极深的印象。

Sit at the table with your family. Listen to the chatter about the day. Eye your brother. Prepare yourself for the barrage of useless facts that you know he is about to deliver. Wait patiently for the upcoming lesson about The Heart of Darkness, or the complex principles behind Darwinism.

He begins, “So guys, did you know that Darwinism is actually a form of --.”

“You know what, Percy, I’d prefer to talk about something interesting for a change. As much as I’m sure we’d all love to immerse ourselves in the world of Darwin, let’s not.” Look around at your family members, your eyes resting on Percy. Begin giggling. Attempt an insincere apology, “Sorry, Perc, you’re just such a damn nerd!”

      对比两篇文章，我们发现，A同学虽然写的是常见的体育活动，但并没有写成那种坚持不懈、努力拼搏的套路。反而因为左撇子的特点，让自己简单的一个体育活动在内容上就具有很强的区分度，加上学生用成熟的思考展现自己的心理成长和变化过程，读完之后让人印象深刻。

      B同学，写的是失败的经历，但没有写成“失败是成功之母”的常见主题，而是大胆承认败给了哥哥，并不掩饰自己小时候的嫉妒和攀比心理。小时候兄弟姐妹的嫉妒矛盾等是人之常情，读者也不会因此而对作者人格有所批评。并且，B同学是英语母语使用者，对语言把控能力很强，把失败感、自卑心、兄弟相隙等常见的心理和经历用诙谐的笔调糅为一体，颇具特色，丝毫不会让读者觉得无聊。

      总结起来，两位同学的共同点是：都经历了某种困境，挣扎于一个自我发现的过程，同时显示出自己独特的思考能力，和顽强的自我认知精神，最终都获得了自信心的增长，心智变得成熟。

      实际上，文书的主要申请功能是评估学生的写作能力和思维能力，附加功能是突出申请者的形象特质。优秀的申请文书通过准确到位的英语表达，展示自己的经历和思考，并且在这个过程中体现自己独特的一面。

      哪怕是常见的经历和主题，只要申请者真的有所思考和感悟，就完全可以写出优秀的文书来。同样，哪怕是非常独特的经历，比如攀登珠峰和阿富汗支教，也会因为申请者缺乏对自己和世界的认识，而写得流于表面，乏善可陈。