一起来看一下Rice University 申请人，在写作时的相关经典真题解析
1. With the understanding that the choice of academic school you indicated is not binding, explain why you are applying to that particular school of study. Characters available 2,000
【类别】选择原因型
【关键词】choice of academic school, why applying, particular school of study
【题目翻译】在了解所选专业院系是不受限制约束的前提下，解释为什么申请你所选择的学院。
【题目分析】作为一道经典的选择原因型问题，这道题要求申请人解释为什么申请所选的学院。那么在写作时，就需要遵循选择原因题型的原则——既要体现出对所选学院的详细了解，又要表明自己的兴趣、目标和未来规划。对于前者，必须越详细越具体越好，如果只是泛泛而谈，实在是让人怀疑你选择该学院的诚意。因此，申请人在确定要选择的学院后，可以去官网查阅相关信息，那里会有很详细的介绍。通常，可以从“about us”、“message from the dean”等类似部分了解到该学院的概况、优势、办学特点等;此外，其旗下每个系的网站都有该系的具体信息，比如课程设置、导师概况等内容。了解的越多，对自己的启发便越多，在申请essay时用到的素材就越多。利用了解到的信息和素材，挑选可以与之相对应的自身情况，包括兴趣、目标和未来规划等，进行essay写作，所表达的内容就会变得充实，从而避免了泛泛而谈的情况。
【范文】
If you asked me which course is my favorite at school, I would answer “Geography!!” without any hesitation. Geography has allowed me to acquire knowledge about the world. It has shown me what a wonderful and miraculous planet this is, and how full of various natural phenomena! Tectonic plate drift, ocean currents, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions…they all make me wonder what power gives rise to them all.
I remember the first time I heard the phrase “continental drift,” I was astonished. A child as young as me just could not believe that the continents on the earth, looking so firm and fixed, are still moving! Then I learned that the current continents of Africa, South America, Australia, India and Antarctica were once joined, and saw that their edges matched. There was more evidence, such as fossils and glacier sediments, suggesting the same conclusion. That rocked my mind. I couldn't wait to go buy a map of the world. As soon as I got back home with my new map, I used scissors to cut all the continents out, and then tried to put them together like doing a jigsaw puzzle. It didn’t take long for me to fit them all together. This amazed me; and then I began to wonder what the world must have been like when all the continents were joined, what happened during the process of moving, and what reasons there were for their shifts. Was it caused by the ocean water or something else from inside the earth? I was desperate for answers.
I have continued to pay attention to other natural phenomena as well. In recent years earthquakes have been occurring quite frequently all over the world. In my home country, there was a violent earthquake in 2008. The epicenter was in a small town named Wenchuan in Sichuan Province, and was thousands of kilometers away from Beijing. I can still recall being in my classroom then, and suddenly my chair started to shake, which lasted for a couple of seconds. My first thought was that there might be an earthquake going on somewhere. Soon that thought proved to be true; however, what I didn't expect was the severity of the reports from the site: the earthquake was so powerful that it almost destroyed the whole town, and nearby cities and even provinces were seriously damaged. Tens of thousands of people died, and even more injured. I saw so many heartbreaking scenes in the news and felt so sad for the victims of the disaster. At the same time, I thought of quake warning technologies; I knew of its existence, but has it ever worked?
I once doubted the scientific prowess of China in seismology, but in 2011 the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in East Japan changed my mind. A quake-prone country like Japan, whose scientific community and government have done so much related research, couldn’t even foresee or respond to the disaster. I felt confused and helpless. There are still so many things we don't know about the earth, despite humankind’s best efforts to explore and understand it.
Influenced by all these experiences, I discovered a desire to study our planet so that I can possibly do something to advance and apply science in useful ways, especially in reducing the damage caused by earthquakes and other violent phenomena, I now want to pursue a course of study in earth science.
The Wiess School of Natural Sciences at Rice University is therefore very attractive to me. It is a school with marked prestige in research, and I appreciate the exciting research environment there. Especially in studying earth science, we need multidisciplinary influences, such as physics, chemistry, biology, and others. The interdepartmental cooperation in the Wiess School makes it possible to study and work in many relevant disciplines. What’s more, I can participate in cutting-edge research and also have various opportunities to engage in hands-on experiences, department and institute activities, and student employment and internship. I believe these activities will facilitate the research and application of the knowledge I will have gained. I am also interested in the Rice Science café, and hope to be a regular and contributing attendee. It is a wonderful venue to talk about what is happening in the natural science world and receive inspiration.
There is one other affair which is a top priority: the Mayans alleged long ago that “doomsday” was coming on December 21st, 2012. We are getting closer to that day now. Something unpredictable may happen to human beings and the earth, and I think I’d better be well-prepared to help keep the world safe from natural disaster. (770 words)
【范文解析】
在进行本题的写作时，作者在开头说明了自己在上学时最喜欢的学科是地理，简述了原因后告诉读者地理课令其印象最深刻的是各种自然现象。接下来的几段中，作者先讲述了大陆漂移说对其的冲击，并且介绍了自己剪地图验证的经历;紧接着又提到2008年的汶川地震和2011年的东日本大地震发生时和发生后自己的感受与想法，引出了自己对这些自然现象产生原因的好奇，以及对现今的知识无法对自然灾害进行有效应对的惋惜。随后作者表明自己因此想要学习地球科学，不仅要学到尖端的知识，还要利用这些知识造福社会。经了解，莱斯大学的Wiess自然科学学院不仅在研究上颇有声望，并且给本科生提供很好的研究环境和跨学科学习的机会、提高动手能力的机会以及院系活动、兼职或实习机会;更有名为Rice Science Cafe的主题系列活动，学生可以与业内外人士交流探讨最新的自然科学研究成果。作者被这些深深吸引，认为莱斯大学的自然科学学院是非常符合其目标的一个地方。结尾，作者别出心裁地指出，目前的当务之急还有玛雅人预言的世界末日，自己应提前做好学习地球科学的准备，以便在灾难来临之时对世界做点贡献，借此幽默地表明自己对学习地球科学确实非常热心。
2.What motivated you to apply to Rice University? Please be specific and limit your response to 200 words.
【类别】选择原因型
【关键词】what motivated you, apply to Rice University, specific
【题目翻译】什么促使你申请莱斯大学?请具体描述并将答案控制在200字以内。
【题目分析】这道选择原因型题目要求申请者讲述促使其申请莱斯大学的原因，并且字数控制在200以内，那么就一定要注意避免长篇大论。既然申请人想要申请莱斯，那么这里必然有不同于他校的一些特质吸引了申请人。因此，需要在莱斯大学的特点中选择一个对自己来说有特别意义的点进行言简意赅的描述，表明自己因某一点而受到了什么启发，有了什么规划。莱斯大学的小规模、优美和谐的校园、住宿制、融洽的师生关系、与设立在休斯敦市的科研机构的合作等特色，都可以作为写作的出发点。此外，需要注意尽量言简意赅，字数不要超过200字。
【范文】
The Closer, the Better
When I first learned of the number of students at Rice University, I was surprised. I thought the size of Rice had to be much larger. Another Rice characteristic that encouraged me was its cordial and harmonious atmosphere.
To tell the truth, although my first grade teacher was a middle-aged lady, she treated us quite severely. As a seven year-old girl, I was scared of her even though I knew her intentions were good. Because of that “trauma,” I have experienced some negative feelings toward some teachers. It hasn't had a negative impact on my studies but has caused me to remain somewhat distant from my teachers. I understand that at Rice, the faculty are very approachable and participate in many activities with students and foster good relationships with them. This too is very attractive to me.
Even the students at Rice seem to be very close to each other: the residential college system contributes greatly to this, and each randomly-assigned college reflects the academic, geographic and cultural diversity of the overall undergraduate population. This is very attractive to me, too.
I know that I will find a wonderful academic home at Rice. (216 words)
【范文解析】
本题的要求之一是“be specific”，即暗示申请人不应该泛泛而谈莱斯的成就如何吸引人，因为招生委员会比申请人更加了解这些，他们并不需要在成千上万的申请中看到这种老生常谈的内容。因此如题目分析所说，最好选择莱斯大学某一个具体的与众不同的特质。
作者选择了莱斯大学融洽的师生关系作为出发点完成了本题。在第一段，作者表达了自己惊异于莱斯大学的小规模与和谐融洽的人际氛围，并且十分欣赏这两者带来的莱斯人之间的紧密关系。接下来的两段展开具体解释，先说了自己的一点经历——因为第一个班主任太严厉而对老师有阴影，因此莱斯大学的教师们平易近人，经常与学生一起参与活动，与学生互动良好这些特色深深吸引了作者。随后讲到莱斯的学生之间的关系，因为有了住宿学院系统，不同专业的学生被随机分到各个住宿学院，一起生活学习，共同参与活动，保持了学术和文化等方面的多样性，也带来了学生间的亲密关系，作者同样非常向往这一点。作者觉得这些密不可分的关系只有在莱斯才能感受得到，因此想要申请这所大学。