约翰霍普金斯大学（ Johns Hopkins University, JHU）在其本科招生页面上设了一个专栏，叫做 “Essays That Worked”。专栏每年不仅会收录数量不等的优秀文书范例，还会附上官方点评。
【Essays That Worke】专栏链接：
https://apply.jhu.edu/college-planning-guide/essays-that-worked/
JHU近期公开了2029届新生文书范文，下面跟着老师一起来欣赏并借鉴这6篇出色的成功文书吧！
2029届新生文书范文查看链接：https://apply.jhu.edu/hopkins-insider/tag/essays-that-worked-2025/
1、Dancing Together一起跳舞
I cannot dance.
This is not something I often admit willingly; in fact, it is quite baffling to me how horribly incapable I am at performing even the most basic movements on command. My grandmother often describes it as “a tragedy” as she is forced to watch her grandchild absolutely butcher our country’s cultural dances, beautiful expressions of our unique West African roots turned into poor facsimiles by my robotic movements.
And yet, year after year, I find myself taking the dance floor at my family’s events, seemingly unaware of my objective lack of skill. Eventually, my display proves to be so amazingly unbearable that I am removed from the floor and shown the correct movements over and over again until I am able to replicate them well enough to come back. Bizarrely, despite my previous declaration that I cannot dance, for the past three years, I have found myself performing an entire choreographed routine at my school’s yearly pep rallies.
It is through looking back at these events that I realize that I have created a mischaracterization of my dancing abilities through my decisive first sentence. I can dance and am, in fact, very capable of doing so, but not when I act insularly. My ability to dance correlates directly with how willing I am to collaborate, the input and support of others turning the uncoordinated and unwieldy into the near-graceful.
My attempts at dancing have led me to value community and collaboration greatly, and I find myself seeking and being drawn towards environments that will allow me to continue to develop both of these values as I learn and grow. Through my internship with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, I was exposed to and became fascinated by the collaborative spirit that lies at the heart of Johns Hopkins. The idea that one cannot discover or innovate when working alone was affirmed during my research, and I have come to see that mutual collaboration and community are integral aspects of Johns Hopkins’ unique culture. From the research initiatives that breach the boundaries between class levels, to the many organizations such as the Tutorial Project, relying on the shared initiatives of different students to directly make an impact on Baltimore and its many communities, and the distinctive access to especially interdisciplinary topics such as neuromorphic systems, I view that Johns Hopkins exemplifies the peak of collaborative achievement in education.
招生官评语
在Dayann的文章中，我们了解到他的几个特点。
首先，他热爱参与。尽管他坚称自己不会跳舞，但我们看到整篇文章中他一直在舞蹈。
其次，他意识到自己其实可以跳舞，但需要与他人合作才能激发自己与团队的最佳状态。
第三，他能将这一点与自己的未来联系起来。他认识到为了实现自己的潜力，他希望在一个能与同龄人协作、相互挑战共同进步的环境中获得成长。
作者写作心得
选择将我的文化背景和曾经的不自信经历结合在一起，是因为这可以成为一扇窗口，让我得以展示这种背景如何塑造了如今的我，还有我的价值观，以及我在学术和研究兴趣上的追求。
写作这篇文书最具挑战的部分，在于如何搭建一座桥梁，将我从自我反思中的所获，与我渴望在大学获得的特定经历连接起来。这本质上就是识别并清晰地阐明，我为何将JHU视为我的理想之地。
可借鉴：文书可以展现成长与反思。将个人故事与学校的核心价值（如JHU的合作）关联，能强烈暗示你的“匹配度”。
2、Left and Right Don't Exist
左右并不存在
The first lesson I learned as a student pilot is that left and right don’t exist. Maybe driving on a highway or in a parking lot, left and right is precise enough to describe the location and movements of slow-moving bikers, pedestrians, and cars. But at 36,000 feet in the air in a steel tube hurdling almost 200 miles an hour? Left and right just don’t cut it.
During one of my first flights in a small Cessna-182, my flight instructor ordered me to scan the horizon for approaching aircrafts. To my right, I caught a glimpse of one: another Cessna with maroon stripes, the sun’s reflection glinting off its windows. Gesturing vaguely to my two o’clock, I informed my flying instructor, “There’s a plane to the right.”
“No, to your right. From his position, what direction does he see you?” From his angle, I was to his left. In that moment, I realized that perspective and precision of language is everything. The radio chirped: “Cessna One-Eight-Two Sandra, heading north to John Wayne Airport. Over.”
I navigate using my compass’s north, east, south, and west directions because every pilot’s vantage point differs from each other both vertically and horizontally, creating opposite perspectives. My right was that pilot’s left.
Through flying, I began to consider all points of view, regardless of my personal perspective.
Perhaps it was my ability to scan the horizon to communicate a single story, uniting contrasting outlooks, that drew me to my love for journalism and the diverse melting pot that was my community.
To me, journalism modernizes the ancient power of storytelling, filled with imperfect characters and intricate conflicts to which I am the narrator. As editor-in-chief for my school newspaper, The Wildcat’s Tale, I aim to share the uncensored perspective of all students and encourage my editorial groups to talk — and listen — to those with whom they disagree. Starting each newspaper edition with a socratic, round-table discussion, I ask the other journalists to pursue stories that answer the questions: why did this happen and where will it lead?
Expanding beyond the perspectives of my classmates, I began writing articles for the Korea Daily, and later, the Los Angeles Times High School Insider. I schedule interviews with city council candidates, young and old voters, and mayors of my town, obtaining quotes and anecdotes to weave into my writing. My interviews with both Democratic and Republican voters have taught me to thoroughly report polarizing-opposite opinions through an unbiased lens. As a journalist, I realized I cannot presume the opinions of the reader, but instead simply provide them with the tools necessary to formulate their own conclusions.
However, differences in perspective in my articles are not solely limited to politics. I found that in my suburban community, people love to read about the small-town hospitality of their own friends and neighbors. Quirky traditions, like our Fourth of July carnival clown and local elementary school’s Thanksgiving talent show, are equally as important to me as national headlines are. My favorite stories to publish are the ones taped onto fridges, proudly framed on the mom-and-pop downtown diner, or pinned into the corkboard in my teacher’s classroom. I discovered the size of my story does not matter, but the impact I leave on the reader does.
In my time as both a student pilot and journalist, I grew to love these stories, the ones that showed me that living life with blinders, can not only be boring, but dangerous. Whether I was 36,000 feet in the air or on ground level, by flying and writing, I realized that the most interesting stories of life come straight from the people most different from me.
招生官评语
Stella以学习飞行的经历作为文章的开篇。然而，这个轶事的重点不在于飞行本身，而在于这段经历教会她如何转换观察视角。她成功地将这些感悟与生活的另一个维度——对新闻事业的热爱相联结。
在深入阐述自己从事新闻工作的方式及其产生的影响时，她清晰地展现了飞行教给她的智慧始终贯穿于工作中。从在新闻编辑室倾听他人的想法与观点，到以均衡缜密的视角审视报道题材，我们得以充分了解她不仅如何对待热爱之事，更如何融入所处的社群。
这篇文章通过分享新锐观点和拓展影响力，为整体申请材料增添了亮色，但其核心在于展现她如何将一种经历中的领悟迁移应用到生活的其他领域。当我们思考Stella将成为校园共同体中怎样的成员时，这篇文章让我们相信：她将成为乐于倾听、持续学习、知行合一并为社群创造价值的存在。
作者写作心得
我选择将飞行与写作这两大爱好作为文书主题，是因为唯有书写真心热爱之事才能展现最真实的自己。
这篇文章捕捉到了我对日常事务的思考过程与创造性处理方式——这些无法在简历中罗列的特质。我没有刻意撰写自以为能打动招生委员会的内容，而是学会了聚焦于真正体现个人特质的表达。以自然对话的笔触保持专业水准虽具挑战，却最终让我收获了真挚表达的成就感。
可借鉴：用一个独特的具体经历作为“钩子”，引出你核心的思维模式或价值观，比罗列成就更有力。
3、Queen’s Gambit后翼弃兵
No, Dante. Stop, think, and look at the entire board.
I was thoroughly confused. I thought I had procured the complete solution to this elaborate chess puzzle. What am I missing? A knight fork, a bishop move? Am I in check? After a quick glance at the left side of the board, I slapped my hand on my head as I suddenly realized what my chess coach was telling me. My queen was sitting unused, positioned all the way on the other side of the board, and I had no idea. If I were to sacrifice my queen, the opposing rook would be forced to capture it, allowing me to finish the game in style with the illustrious “smothered mate.”
If you begin to look at the whole chessboard, then these puzzles will become a breeze for you.
Ever since that chess lesson, those words have stuck. Indeed, my chess skills improved swiftly as my rating flew over the 1000 Elo threshold in a matter of months. However, those words did not merely pertain to chess. Looking at the whole picture became a foundational skill that I have utilized throughout my life in school and other endeavors. I particularly remember making use of it on the soccer field.
Now, I’m no Arnold Schwarzenegger. Weighing in at a monstrous 125 pounds and standing 5 foot 8 inches, my opponents made it a habit to tackle me to the ground. Once again, I found myself face to face with the defender, and before I knew it, I crumbled to the ground, left isolated and dispossessed. Laying dazed on the pitch, my mind flashed back to the chessboard. It occurred to me that soccer, much like chess, relies on the proper position of the many pieces that combine to create a finished strategy. The “whole picture” of soccer is not just how fast or strong one is or how many tackles you put in; that is only one element of the puzzle. The intelligence and creativity needed in a playmaker is also an essential part of a well-rounded soccer team. I realized that my most significant advantage would always be my in-depth understanding of the game of soccer—where to pass the ball, when to make a run, if the ball should be in the air or driven. I picked myself off the ground, and when that same defender came barreling towards me again, I was zoned in, oblivious to the noise around me. I chipped the ball into the open space right behind him, knowing my teammate would run into the space without even looking. From then on, I continued to hone my skills through intense practice to become the best playmaker I could be, working in conjunction with my faster and stronger teammates to become a well-balanced, unified team.
Through chess and soccer, I have discovered that every piece in a puzzle has a purpose. This new perspective has enhanced my ability to stop, stand back, and analyze the whole picture in the many dimensions of my life. In my scientific studies, it was not enough to examine just one C. reinhardtii cell, but it was necessary to zoom out the microscope to capture all of the thousand cells to truly understand quorum sensing and its consequences. In my studies of music, it was not enough to listen to the melody of the finale of Beethoven’s 9th symphony, but one must realize that the true beauty of the composition lies in the whole orchestra handing off this simple melody to every instrument. All these facets—music, research, soccer, chess—are not only completed puzzles but also parts of a greater whole: my life. Every aspect of myself matters as much as the other. As high school comes to an end, the pieces on my board are set, and I only have success in mind.
Your move.
招生官评语
Dante的文书通过生动展现而非空洞陈述，向读者清晰传递出他充满好奇心且兴趣广泛的个人特质。他巧妙地将国际象棋中领悟到的策略思维与足球场上的实战表现相联结，重点着墨于自己的成长收获而非对比赛过程的平铺直叙。读者能明显看到Dante具备将不同领域的知识融会贯通的能力——这种跨学科应用能力正是在JHU获得学术成就的关键。招生委员会从这篇文书中能明确看出，Dante的思维方式完全契合我校 interdisciplinary curriculum（跨学科课程体系）的培养理念，足以证明他将在这样的学术环境中蓬勃发展。
作者写作心得
在整个大学申请过程中，“全面展示”（whole picture）一直是被强调的重点。我对此的理解可能有些字面化了——我将申请文书作为整合所有材料的纽带，让每一项经历都超越简历上简单的罗列，被赋予更深层次的意义。
我希望招生委员会明白，我参与各项活动并非只是为了填满简历；相反，我想向他们展示，我的每一个行动都有其明确的目的，并且我都全神贯注、全力以赴，以此实现自我成长。
可借鉴：深度挖掘一个爱好或经历的深层含义，比泛泛地谈多个兴趣更能体现你的思考深度。
4、Red Over Black红胜于黑
“Bring the ace of spades up,” my Grandmother said as we started our first game of solitaire after I got home from school. “Now, put the black eight onto the red nine.” We played solitaire often, working together to reorganize the cards most efficiently. While it was meant to be a single-player game, solitaire was the one thing we did together, moving and dealing the cards in a symphony of order: red to black, red to black. Pulling the pattern out of the random array of cards.
For hours, we sat at our glossy kitchen table, playing game after game. If there were no more moves to make, I would always sneak a card from below a column without my grandma seeing. She always did. I couldn’t understand- What was the big deal of revealing the cards? We might win one out of ten games played. But if we just ‘helped ourselves,’ as I liked to call it, we could win them all. I didn’t understand her adherence to the “Turn Three” rule. Why not just turn the cards one by one? It was too frustrating to see the cards go by, but turn exactly three and not be able to pick them up! After one game we lost, I asked my grandma, “Why do we play this way? There’s a much better way to play.” In response, she quickly explained her adamancy to the rules, what before had made no sense to me.
Her polished fingernails scratched against the cards as she shuffled them and told me. “Solitaire isn’t just a game for one person.” Her deep brown eyes sharply glanced at me, “No.” It wasn’t just a game for one person, but rather for two sides of a person. It was an internal battle, a strengthening of the mind. One playing against oneself. “If one side of you cheats, how would either side get better?”
Red lipsticked lips slightly grinned as my grandma saw me trying to understand, but I didn’t agree with this thought at once. The cards rhythmically slapped down onto the table as my grandmother, small yet stoic, effortlessly moved the cards with frail hands. I watched her. I thought about any other way to understand this idea. I desperately wanted to. Trying to think, I couldn’t imagine another instance where this sense of tranquility, bringing the melody of organization out of a cacophony of random cards, came from such intense competition.
The slow manipulation of life around her precedent made me think back to my grandma, to what she told me, and made me understand. Two years later, pushing myself harder than I ever had before in a field hockey match, I realized how much I had been cheating myself and my team by not putting this effort in before. Four years later, I was helping my parents clean after dinner when I saw the value in not taking the easy way out. Five years later, I found once again the difficult ease in pottery. Lifting the pot off the wheel, I found satisfaction. Looking back, I hadn’t realized that this notion of self-accountability appears in almost every aspect of my life.
Seven columns. Four aces. Fifty-two cards. Laying these down, I’m brought back to playing solitaire with my grandmother. Through time, her inner spirit never crumbled as her body began to deteriorate. Her mind stayed strong and proud. I admired her for that more than she could’ve imagined. Each challenge I face, or will face, in life, I think back to her lesson one inconspicuous afternoon. Never let myself cheat. Always hold myself accountable. Work hard in every competition, especially the ones against myself, as those are the ones that better me the most. I did not understand what my grandmother meant that day. Now, with each day, I do more.
招生官评语
许多学生都希望在大学申请文书中讲述一位对自己影响深远的人或家庭成员。这种做法面临的挑战在于，必须确保文章的核心仍然是申请者本人，而非仅仅描写那位重要人物。
Elizabeth的文书出色地做到了这一点：她既融入了祖母这个关键角色，又始终将焦点放在自己身上——她从那个特定时刻学到了什么，以及这种经历如何塑造了她的人生。更重要的是，虽然Elizabeth从童年经历切入，她却巧妙地将故事引回日常生活，展露责任感与勤奋如何贯穿她的方方面面。
通过理解Elizabeth的为人与价值观，我们能预见她将在校园社群中成为怎样的存在。她证明了自己对勤奋与自我问责的坚守绝不限于单人纸牌游戏，而是贯穿于体育运动、兴趣爱好、家庭生活之中，并注定会在大学新社群中持续闪耀。
作者写作心得
我希望能通过这篇文书向招生委员会展现我的个性与我最珍视的价值观。文书中列出的那些品质，例如自我负责、勤奋努力、不断自我提升等等，往往很难通过申请材料的其他方面让人真正看到。我希望委员会能了解我如何看待这个世界，以及这种视角形成的根源。
可借鉴：写对他人的敬意时，最终一定要回归到“它如何塑造了我”。招生官录取的是你，而不是别人。
5、Stepping out of My Comfort Zone走出舒适区
If you told me I would be playing a sport called squash at 11 years old, I would call you crazy. But in seventh grade, I was at a new school 10 times bigger than my last one. I felt like a little fish in a big pond. I was quiet, withdrawn, and very introverted. A lot of the time, I stayed where I was comfortable.
During the first week of school, a group of people visited the school and they introduced themselves as Squashbusters. At that time, I’d only heard of Squash once before, but I didn’t really know what it was. Because the program combined the sport of squash with academic support, mentoring, and service opportunities, I decided to sign up. It’s been six years and this program has made a monumental difference in my life.
Being a part of SquashBusters is a program that really pushed me out of my shell to the point where I’ve grown accustomed to challenging myself. In SquashBusters, they tell us to push ourselves past our limits on the squash courts, but that mindset has transferred to other areas of my life as well. From team trips and tournaments to cringy karaoke moments and participating in eccentric traditions like our annual SquashBusters Olympics, my comfort zone has steadily grown larger. My peers brought out a side of me I didn’t even know existed. I haven’t transformed completely from introvert to extrovert, but I’ve become more social as the years go by.
At Hopkins, I want to do something similar. I want to try new things and embrace the campus traditions. Even though I will develop intellectually from the many academic classes and clubs/activities offered on campus, I feel as though a true community is birthed from exploring beyond what one’s used to. From traditions like Blue Jay Opening Day and the Spring Fair to the many world-changing clubs like the Amnesty International club and the Foreign Affairs Symposium, the different ways to be involved in the Hopkins community is limitless and invigorating and I can’t wait to be a part of the Hopkins family.
招生官评语
Samuel的文书深刻反思了如何将自我推出舒适区——这不仅是一堂重要的人生课，也是JHU学子每日践行的准则。我们的学生不断拓展发现的边界，在课堂内外迎接挑战，并执着追求新发现的激情。
通过习惯于挑战自我，Samuel展现了这些特质，并成功将壁球场上领悟的经验迁移到生活的其他领域。他表明，若有幸获得机会，他必能在我校丰富的学术与课外机遇中茁壮成长，并且他已具备克服一切挑战的能力。
作者写作心得
我给正在撰写文书的同学们的建议是：请记住，初稿往往难以尽善尽美，因此尽管去写，即便一开始感觉杂乱无章也没关系。同时，务必为修改留出充足的时间，无论是来自同学、老师的反馈，还是自己的反复推敲，都至关重要。
可借鉴：直接表达你对学校精神的理解与认同，并证明你已具备这种品质，会让招生官认为你就是最适合JHU的申请者。
6、Lifelong Learning终身学习
The white yarn slipped off my aluminium crochet hook, adding a single crochet to rows and rows of existing stitches, that looked to be in the form of a blob. Staring at the image of the little unicorn amigurumi lit up on the screen of my laptop, and looking back at the UMO (unidentified messy object) number five, I was extremely perplexed.
This had seemed so easy. Round 1, construct a magic circle with 6 single crochets. Done. Round 2 was an increase round resulting in a total of 12 stitches. Also done. The remaining rounds were blurred into hours and minutes that should have resulted in a little white creature in the likeness of a unicorn, but sitting on my desk (much like the four days before today) was a pool of tangled white yarn. It was not until day seven that a creature with a lopsided head whose horn was the only identifier of the mythical being emerged.
Very much like learning how to crochet, my journey in forging my own path and finding a passion was confusing, messy and at times infuriating. Even in primary school, I had heard all the stories of individuals finding their own route in life. I had been told stories of those who found their passion at a young age and were exceptionally proficient at their craft, of those that abandoned their interests and pursued a lucrative career, even those who chose their dreams but regretted it afterwards. This weighed heavily on me, as I was determined to have a success story as many of my other family members had. The only problem was that I did not have a direction.
In the years following primary school, I stepped out of my comfort zone in a frenzy to find a passion. I joined the school orchestra where I played the violin, and a debate class to practice public speaking and become much more eloquent. At my ballet school, I branched out to contemporary and jazz dance. I stuffed myself with experience similar to an amigurumi engorged with batting. I found myself enjoying all of those activities but soon enough, I was swamped with extracurriculars. Just like the tangles of white yarn on my desk, I was pulled in all directions. I still felt lost. To make things worse, it seemed as if everyone else had found their path in life, and they had all become white unicorns while I was still doubting the stitch I just made.
It was not until high school that I realised that I could view this mission to find a passion from another perspective. While successfully completing a crochet project is an accomplishment itself, the motions of making slip knots, single or double crochets takes you on an adventure as well. The knots that I had encountered in my craft were evidence of my experiences and what shaped me as an individual. My exploration of various paths through detours may have sometimes resulted in roadblocks, but I continued to persevere and learn from my experiences, applying the skills that I have gained to future knots. The mini adventures that I went on were all crucial to me in the greater journey of life.
Through trial and error, the current adventure that I am on resonates the most with me, taking me down the path of service and environmental activism. However, I have learnt that no one path is static, and I can be on more than one path at a time. While I may only be halfway to the proportionate unicorn amigurumi that some others may have already achieved, I still have so much to learn and so much that I want to learn, and so my journey to grow continues.
招生官评语
Rozanne的文书通过钩针编织这一新爱好，巧妙地隐喻了她探索人生热情的历程。她深刻反思道：尽管两种过程初看都杂乱无章，但只要投入必要的时间和努力，终将收获更有意义的成果。文中还提及她在舞蹈、环保行动等领域的实践，但更重要的是，这篇文书让招生委员会看到了一位善于把握机遇、积极融入社群、勇于突破舒适区、且具备持续自省能力的申请者。当我们考量她将如何为JHU社区作贡献时，可以确信的是：即便她仍在寻找确切的 passion（志趣方向），她也必将全身心投入，在大学的每一刻都能绽放光彩。
作者写作心得
在我的活动列表里，我选择呈现的是自己最投入的社团与项目。而这篇文书让我能展现其他维度的自我——无论是钩针、折纸、阅读这类爱好，还是那些塑造了今日之我的重要人生经历。它就像一束聚光灯，放大诠释了我参与各类社团活动背后的深层动机。
可借鉴：用一个看似平凡的小事作比喻，可以生动地展示你的人生哲学和学习态度，非常独特且亲切。
2029届优秀文书共同特点
1.深刻的自我反思与成长：
所有文书都超越了简单的经历描述，重点展现了作者从经历中的所学、所悟，以及如何通过这些经历成为更好的自己。这体现了候选者的成熟度和反思能力。
2.出色的叙事技巧与独特视角：
它们都用引人入胜的故事来传递信息，而不是枯燥地列举优点。每个人都有其独一无二的故事和视角，这是文书最吸引人的地方。
3.与JHU核心价值的紧密契合：
许多文书都或明或暗地表达了与JHU文化（如合作精神、跨学科学习、突破边界、服务社会等）的契合，清晰地向招生官传达了“为什么是JHU”以及“为什么你是JHU想要的人”。
4.跨学科的应用能力：
如Stella将飞行的感悟用于新闻工作，Dante将象棋策略用于足球和生活，这完美体现了JHU推崇的跨学科思维。
文书写作建议
由小见大：从一个具体的瞬间、物品或故事切入，再引申到更大的感悟，比泛泛而谈更有力量。
展现而不只是讲述：用具体的事例和细节来“展示”你的特质，而不是直接说“我是一个有毅力的人”。
精益求精：好文书是改出来的。多次修改、征求意见是必不可少的过程。
老师的分享就到了这里啦，希望大家能够从今天的文章中得到一些启发～
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