Journalists are taught never to “bury the lead.” The lead is the first sentence of a story. When well-crafted, it clearly and concisely communicates the main point. A busy reader should need to read only a sentence or two to know what a story is about—everything after that is just secondary details for particularly interested readers.
Identifying and communicating your lead can also help you craft stronger college applications.
If you spend more time playing the violin than doing just about anything else, don’t bury that fact in a long list of activities.
If you write your essay about the part-time job you took after school, don’t leave out that you did so to help with your family’s finances (that would be burying by omission). That’s an important part of the story that deserves to be shared.
If you won an award that’s unique to your school, don’t bury the significance by neglecting to explain what the award actually represented.
Most admissions officers are patient and thorough readers. But you can make their jobs easier—and your case stronger—when you avoid burying your leads.