Writing an attention-grabbing essay can be very tricky for college applicants. The Snowman Structure, nicknamed by journalists, is effective in crafting compelling openings to hook the attention of admissions officers. 

When we build a snowman, the head is a small snowball on top, the body is a bigger snowball in the middle, and the base is an even bigger one. True to its name, an essay using the Snowman Structure begins with a vivid or surprising anecdote as a hook, and then elaborates on the context of the anecdote before concluding with deeper analysis and broader implications.

While the traditional Inverted Pyramid Structure is widely used in news writing, the Snowman Structure is best suited for feature stories that focus on human interest. In a 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning news story about California’s Dust Bowl in the Los Angeles Times, journalist Diana Marcum opens with two Latino fieldworkers pretending to weed non-existent plants to secure more work. “The two fieldworkers scraped hoes over weeds that weren’t there. ‘Let us pretend we see many weeds,’ Francisco Galvez told his friend Rafael.” This vivid anecdote draws readers into the human impact of California’s drought. The article then discusses the severe drought in the Central Valley and the economic struggles faced by farmworker communities.

How can we use the Snowman Structure for a college application essay? Now let’s look at a hypothetical example in traditional structure: 

“Since I joined my high school’s robotics team in my sophomore year, I have been deeply involved in robotics. In a competition, our robot malfunctioned during a crucial match, causing our team to be eliminated. Despite the setback, I spent countless hours learning more about robot design and programming, which honed my skills and deepened my passion for robotics engineering.” 

This paragraph can be revised using the Snowman Structure:

“The countdown clock ticked down to zero, but our robot stood motionless on the floor, with its wheels spinning aimlessly. The crowd’s murmur faded into a heavy silence as our team realized that we had been eliminated.”

“When I joined the school robotics team in my sophomore year, I was excited to channel my STEM passions into designing and programming our robot for the regional competition. We were confident in our creation, but as the contest progressed, a critical malfunction rendered our robot inoperable. ”

“Yet, this setback fueled my interest in robotics. I immersed myself in learning about robotics systems and troubleshooting techniques. I came to see that innovation and perseverance are key to overcoming challenges in robotics engineering.”

The revised version starts with an engaging hook that describes the robotics accident during a competition, then details the preparation and the cause, and ends with a reflection on the lessons learned.

However, the Snowman Structure can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes it needs to be used very subtly so the hook can perfectly lead into the rest of the essay without spoiling too much. If the Snowman Structure places all of the tension and excitement on the hook, admissions officers might lose interest in continuing through the rest of the essay. 

The ultimate purpose of the Snowman Structure is not to let the opening shine alone, but to build interest for admissions officers to keep reading. An attention-grabbing hook is crucial, and yet the effect should not be undone by a sense of anticlimax.

写出一篇能抓眼球的文书，对大学申请者来说并非易事。有一种文章架构，被英语新闻记者们昵称为“雪人结构”，如果能够巧妙借用，可以帮助我们的申请文书开头引人入胜，吸引招生官的注意力

我们在堆雪人时，头部是一个小雪球，身体是一个中等大小的雪球，底部是一个更大的雪球。顾名思意，如果一篇文书采用“雪人结构”，它以生动或出人意料的小事例作为引子，然后描述引子的来龙去脉，最后再深入分析、推而广之、甚至适当拔高。

虽然传统的“倒金字塔结构”在新闻写作中广泛应用，但“雪人结构”更适用于关注人文关怀的新闻特写。例如，《洛杉矶时报》在2014年关于加州干旱“沙尘碗”的新闻报道，获得普利策新闻奖，记者黛安娜·马库姆在这篇报道的开头部分，先讲述了两名西裔农场工人假装在没有杂草的农田里除杂草，以混得更多工时。她这样写道，“两名农场工人用锄头假装清理那些不存在的杂草。‘让我们假装看到许多杂草，’加尔维斯对他的朋友拉斐尔说。”马库姆以这个生动的引子，使读者身临其境，感受到加州干旱对人们生活的影响。在这个引子之后，报道再深入讨论加州的中央山谷地区的严重干旱以及农场工人社区面临的经济挑战。

那么，如何将“雪人结构”应用于大学申请文书呢？让我们来看一个传统结构的文书例子：

“自从我在10年级加入学校的机器人队以来，我一直积极参与机器人项目。在一次比赛中，我们的机器人在关键时刻发生故障，导致我们队被淘汰。尽管遭遇挫败，我投入大量时间，学习更多关于机器人设计和编程的知识，这不仅磨练了我的技能，也激发了我对机器人工程专业的热情。”

以上段落可以采用“雪人结构”稍加修改：

“倒计时钟指针归零，而我们的机器人却一动不动地停在赛场，轮子无目的地旋转。当观众们的低语议论转为沉默，我们意识到已惨遭淘汰。”

“在10年级加入学校机器人队时，我满怀热情地将STEM兴趣应用于设计和编程我们的机器人，全力备战区域比赛。虽然我们对自己的作品满怀信心，但随着比赛的进行，一次关键的故障使我们的机器人无法操作。”

“然而，这次挫败的经历却激发了我对机器人技术的兴趣。我沉浸于学习机器人系统和故障排除技术。我开始认识到，应对机器人工程的挑战，创新和毅力是关键。”

修改后的文书版本，以一个有趣的引子开始，先形象描述了比赛中机器人意外出现故障，然后讲述了准备过程，最后以讲述作者如何从挫折吸取教训、并激发他进一步学习机器人技术的热情。

然而，“雪人结构”也有其双刃剑的一面。有时，我们需要非常巧妙地运用它，以使引子在不“剧透”过多信息的前提下，吸引读者阅读文书的其余部分。如果“雪人结构”将所有的惊心动魄都只集中在引子上，招生官可能会失去继续阅读整篇文书的兴趣。

运用“雪人结构”的最终目的，不是让文书的开头部分独自闪耀，而是需要激发招生官接下去阅读文书全文的兴趣。所以说，写出一个抓眼球的引子固然至关重要，但它不能造成一种“反高潮”的效果，否则会适得其反。