Creating and Resolving Narrative Conflict in College Essays

When college applications prompt you to ‘tell your story,’ that is exactly what you should do, literally. Great college application personal statements tell a story using time-tested narrative techniques, with the most important being the creation and resolution of conflict. Most students learn basic storytelling skills simply by reading fiction or being exposed to literature from a young age. We as readers are primed to recognize a story when we encounter conventional aspects of narrative, such as indicators of time and setting, character introductions, action, and various types of dramatic tension, such as conflict. In this post, we will briefly explore narrative conflict, its role in storytelling, how to create it, and how to resolve it.

First, conflict is an essential aspect of storytelling because it drives the reader’s interest and keeps them engaged with the text. Conflict is the engine that powers the story. Conflict comes in two varieties, internal and external. Internal conflict is experienced by a character struggling against themself in a meaningful way; it is a conflict within the mind of the character. External conflict happens when a character struggles against an exterior force or with another character. A good story must have at least one type of conflict. Great college essays often have both internal and external conflicts working in tandem.

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Second, conflict is not an accident of storytelling. It must be created by the writer during the act of conceptualizing a story and developing its characters and action. As a creative product, conflict can come in many forms; there is no formula for producing it, but there are common themes associated with conflict that can be deployed in any story. Since most college essays tell your personal story, you become the protagonist. Thus the reader encounters the conflict you experience as you grapple with some aspect of yourself or with the world around you. As the author, you must help the reader see the world through your eyes, feel your emotions, and ultimately come to understand and identify with you enough to envision you as a member of the incoming cohort of freshmen.

Third, conflict can be created in a story by introducing certain themes that imply antagonism or a back-and-forth abstract relationship. At Seneca, we encourage our clients to generate conflict by pairing opposites and writing scenarios that clearly illustrate both sides of an antagonistic relationship. It is not enough for a character to have doubt, for instance. The story must also show what confidence looks like somewhere else in the story. The following is a select list of themes, their opposites, and how they might work within a story to generate conflict:

Self-doubt (confidence)

An entrepreneur pursues a goal with confidence until they encounter an obstacle, then must decide whether or not to quit or persevere.

Fear (courage)

A performer has an embarrassing moment before a large audience, then must overcome their fear to get back on the stage.

Skepticism (certainty)

A budding philosopher observes others convinced by an idea, but until the character has their own discovery they are skeptical of its validity.

Disinterest (curiosity)

A soccer player is disinterested in science until learning the essential role of physics in kinetics, which awakens a passion for the discipline.

For each of these pairings, we see that one term of the equation is activated by the other. Without first fearlessly performing on stage unaware of the potential pitfalls, the performer must encounter a trauma to adopt a fearful attitude. Fear is not believable unless there is a trauma that causes it or unless there is a genuine threat to life and limb. Likewise, courage is meaningless unless the character experiences genuine fear, then overcomes it. For the conflict to be convincing, the writer must craft plausible scenarios that imply these ideas using dialogue, action, gesture, and brief prose. It is not always necessary to name these abstract concepts within the story. In fact, it is often better to wait until the reflection portion of the essay to identify the story’s main themes.

Creating external conflict can be done using a slightly more nuanced, situational pairing system that accounts for humans’ relationships to each other and to the material world:

Meeting the expectations of others (following one’s own path)

The aspiring business woman must risk disappointing her mother who wants her to be a doctor.

Being dependent on others (being dependable, having self-reliance)

An unlikely mechanic must recall her father’s lessons to fix a broken van and get the volleyball team to the tournament on time.

Letting the world shape who you are (remaking the world according to your vision)

A designer must wrestle with uncooperative and unfamiliar materials to craft a prom dress that will be the ultimate statement piece.

In this set of pairings, we witness the protagonist struggling with an outside force, be it a parent, a machine, or art materials. It does not matter what the object is: you could have a conflict with a BBQ sandwich if you are a cook trying to perfect your brisket recipe. To qualify as an external conflict, it just has to be outside the main character’s mind and be the opposing force in a struggle. I say “mind” because it is perfectly conceivable to encounter a scenario where a character must deal with an unruly body, such as through an illness, injury, or disability. In such an instance where the character struggles with their own body, this should be read as an example of external, not internal conflict. Moreover, as in the example of meeting or failing to meet the expectations of others, going against the wishes of a parent may cause an additional layer of internal conflict based upon a desire to please them, but the actual conflict is with another human. Likewise, the designer struggling with whatever crazy materials the prom dress is to be made from may encounter moments of doubt, an internal conflict illustrated above. But these peripheral internal conflicts must not be confused or conflated with the external conflict and how it is told through action, gesture, and dialogue.

Finally, all narrative conflict must have an actual or implied resolution. At Seneca, we coach our clients to introduce the conflict within the first several sentences of the story. Before the resolution is provided, the story is paused, and the reflection portion of the essay begins. The reflection makes explicit the point, themes, and meaning of the story. After the reflection, the story resumes with a brief passage of narrative in which a resolution is suggested through vivid imagery, action, or dialogue. For instance, in the example of the volleyball player, we might end the story in a locker room or on the sidelines of the court with the protagonist pulling on her knee pads, hands still stained with motor grease, suggesting the van was fixed and the team made it to the tournament on time.

In conclusion, all college essays must tell a story to fully capitalize on the power of the personal essay form. Every story needs a compelling conflict to animate the characters and activate a period of growth and awakening in the protagonist. The conflict should be clearly established at the beginning of the story, but should not be resolved until the end of the essay and immediately following the reflection. This keeps the reader reading. The conflict you create should be unique to your experience, but you can make it clear and legible to the reader by following these time-tested storytelling techniques.