Minutes a day n e w y o r k

E x p e r t   O p i n i o n   a n d  A n a l y s i s
During a trial, lawyers often call upon expert witnesses to help them make their case. These witnesses were not
involved in the crime, but they have expertise that can help the jurors determine the guilt or innocence of the defen-
dant. Similarly, in many essays, and particularly in research papers, much of your support will come in the form
of expert opinion and analysis. The experts you call upon can help you demonstrate the validity of your thesis.
You can collect expert opinion and analysis in two ways: by interviewing sources yourself (primary research)
or by finding print or other recorded sources of expert opinion or analysis (secondary research). Sources of sec-
ondary research include the Internet, periodicals, journals, books, and transcripts.
8 1
When writing a college application essay, remember that regardless of the topic, the essay needs to reveal some-
thing personal about you. Writing an essay about your sister in response to the prompt “Indicate a person who
has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence” is fine. However, you need to avoid the
common 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, not simply explain why her sister is the person she
admires most.