... are effective evidence—especially in essays about people—because they help the readerform a picture that illuminates your ideas. In the following thesis, the writer addresses a college application ... However, you need to avoid thecommon pitfall of that prompt, which is to write about the person, and not about yourself. The writer of the sis-ter essay needs to relate her sister’s story to herself, ... question she asked them. This gives the reader a much clearer sense ofher survey and helps him or her better understand the results. Then, instead of generalizing the responses, she offersmore specifics,...