What the Cliché & Generic-Treatment Check Checks

This review looks at whether a familiar subject, phrase, or story shape is made personal through your own actions, observations, choices, and reflection. A common topic is not a problem; what matters is showing how you experienced it and what you did or understood within it. It also checks that details and claims support the essay’s point rather than relying on labels, prestige, or broad statements.

What We Check

Mistakes We Flag

Letting the topic do the work

Sports, service, loss, family stories, moving, identity, and achievements can be meaningful, but the subject alone does not show the reader who you are. Keep the focus on your role, what you noticed or chose, and what happened next.

Using a broad lesson or slogan

Lines such as “this taught me,” “never give up,” or “make a difference” can announce meaning without demonstrating it. Show the earlier belief or situation, the fact that challenged it, and a specific later choice or result.

Centering someone else’s story

A relative, mentor, teammate, or public figure can be part of the essay, but their biography should not carry the whole narrative. Give the reader your exchange with that person, your decision, or your response.

Rushing from setback to triumph

A quick leap from difficulty to strength can leave out the thinking and effort that make change believable. Include an adjustment, attempt, correction, or limit along the way.

Relying on labels, names, or decorative details

Traits such as resilience or leadership, a selective program, or unusual details do not explain themselves. Keep details that affect what you did, noticed, decided, or understood.

References

Frequently Asked Questions