Become a Writer Today

Essays about Culture and Identity: 9 Examples And Prompts

Writing essays about culture and identity will help you explore your understanding of it. Here are examples that will give you inspiration for your next essay .

Culture can refer to customs, traditions, beliefs, lifestyles, laws, artistic expressions, and other elements that cultivate the collective identity. Different cultures are established across nations, regions, communities, and social groups. They are passed on from generation to generation while others evolve or are abolished to give way to modern beliefs and systems.

While our cultural identity begins at home, it changes as we involve ourselves with other groups (friends, educational institutions, social media communities, political groups, etc.) Culture is a very relatable subject as every person is part of a culture or at least can identify with one. Because it spans broad coverage, there are several interesting cultural subjects to write about.

Our culture and identity are dynamic. This is why you may find it challenging to write about it. To spark your inspiration , check out our picks of the best culture essays. 

IMAGE PRODUCT  
Grammarly
ProWritingAid

1. Sweetness and Light by Matthew Arnolds

2. how auto-tune revolutionized the sound of popular music by simon reynolds, 3. how immigration changes language by john mcwhorter, 4. the comfort zone: growing up with charlie brown by jonathan franzen, 5. culture and identity definition by sandra graham, 6. how culture and surroundings influence identity by jeanette lucas, 7. how the food we eat reflects our culture and identity by sophia stephens, 8. identity and culture: my identity, culture, and identity by april casas, 9. how america hinders the cultural identity of their own citizens by seth luna, 1. answer the question, “who am i”, 2. causes of culture shock, 3. your thoughts on dystopia and utopia, 4. gender inequality from a global perspective, 5. the most interesting things you learned from other cultures, 6. the relationship between cultural identity and clothes, 7. describe your culture, 8. what is the importance of honoring your roots , 9. how can a person adapt to a new culture, 10. what artistic works best express your country’s culture, 11. how has social media influenced human interaction, 12. how do you protect the cultures of indigenous peoples, 13. are k-pop and k-drama sensations effectively promoting korea’s culture , 14. what is the importance of cultural diversity.

“… [A]nd when every man may say what he likes, our aspirations ought to be satisfied. But the aspirations of culture, which is the study of perfection, are not satisfied, unless what men say, when they may say what they like, is worth saying,—has good in it, and more good than bad.”

Arnolds compels a re-examination of values at a time when England is leading global industrialization and beginning to believe that greatness is founded on material progress. 

The author elaborates why culture, the strive for a standard of perfection, is not merely driven by scientific passions and, more so, by materialistic affluence. As he esteems religion as “that voice of the deepest human experience” to harmonize men in establishing that ideal society, Arnolds stresses that culture is the effort to “make reason and the will of God prevail” while humanizing gained knowledge to be society’s source of “sweetness and light.”

“Few innovations in sound production have been simultaneously so reviled and so revolutionary. Epoch-defining or epoch-defacing, Auto-Tune is indisputably the sound of the 21st century so far.”

Reynolds shows how Auto-Tune has shaped a pop music genre that has cut across cultures. The article maps out the music landscape Auto-Tune created and examines its impact on the culture of song productions and the modern taste for music. While the author debunks accusations that Auto-Tune destroyed the “natural” process of creating music, he also points out that the technology earned its reverence with big thanks to society’s current custom of using technology to hide blemishes and other imperfections.

Looking for more? Check out these essays about culture shock .

“… [T]he heavy immigration that countries like Italy are experiencing will almost certainly birth new kinds of Italian that are rich with slang , somewhat less elaborate than the standard, and… widely considered signs of linguistic deterioration, heralding a future where the “original” standard language no longer exists.”

American linguist McWhorter pacifies fears over the death of “standard” languages amid the wave of immigration to Europe. On the contrary, language is a vital expression of a culture, and for some, preserving is tantamount to upholding a cultural standard. 

However, instead of seeing the rise of new “multiethnolects” such as the Black English in America and Kiezdeutsch in Germany as threats to language and culture, McWhorter sees them as a new way to communicate and better understand the social groups that forayed these new languages.

“I wonder why “cartoonish” remains such a pejorative. It took me half my life to achieve seeing my parents as cartoons. And to become more perfectly a cartoon myself: what a victory that would be.”

This essay begins with a huge fight between Franzen’s brother and father to show how the cultural generation gap sweeping the 60s has hit closer to home. This generation gap, where young adults were rejecting the elders’ old ways in pursuit of a new and better culture, will also be the reason why his family ends up drifting apart. Throughout the essay , Franzen treads this difficult phase in his youth while narrating fondly how Peanuts, a pop culture icon at the time, was his source of escape. 

“…Culture is… your background… and Identity is formed where you belong to… Leopold Sedar Senghor and Shirley Geok-Lin Lim both talks about how culture and identity can impact… society…”

In this essay , Graham uses “To New York” by Senghor and “Learning To Love America” by Lim as two pieces of literature that effectively describe the role of culture and identity to traveling individuals. 

The author refers to Sengho’s reminder that people can adapt but must not forget their culture even if they go to a different place or country. On the other hand, Lim discusses immigrants’ struggle to have double identities.

“Culture is something that surrounds all of us and progress to shape our lives every day… Identity is illustrated as the state of mind in which someone or something distinguishes their own character traits that lead to determining who they really are, what they represent.”

Lucas is keen on giving examples of how his culture and surroundings influence an individual’s identity. She refers to Kothari’s “If you are what you eat, then what am I?” which discusses Kothari’s search for her identity depending on what food she eats. Food defines a person’s culture and identity, so Kothari believes that eating food from different countries will change his identity.

Lucas also refers to “Down These Mean Streets” by Piri Thomas, which argues how different cultural and environmental factors affect us. Because of what we encounter, there is a possibility that we will become someone who we are not. 

“What we grow is who we are. What we buy is who we are. What we eat is who we are.”

Stephens’ essay teaches its readers that the food we grow and eat defines us as a person. She explains that growing a crop and harvesting it takes a lot of effort, dedication, and patience, which mirrors our identity. 

Another metaphor she used is planting rice: it takes skills and knowledge to make it grow. Cooking rice is more accessible than cultivating it – you can quickly cook rice by boiling it in water. This reflects people rich in culture and tradition but who lives simpler life. 

“Every single one has their own unique identity and culture. Culture plays a big role in shaping your identity. Culture is what made me the person I am today and determines who or what I choose to associate myself with.”

Casas starts her piece by questioning who she is. In trying to learn and define who she is, she writes down and describes herself and her personality throughout the essay . Finally, she concludes that her culture is a big part of her identity, and she must understand it to understand herself.

“When it comes to these stereotypes we place on each other, a lot of the time, we succumb to the stereotypes given to us. And our cultural identity is shaped by these expectations and labels others give us. That is why negative stereotypes sometimes become true for a whole group or community.”

In this essay , Luna talks about how negative stereotyping in the United States led to moral distortion. For example, Americans are assumed to be ignorant of other countries’ cultures, making it difficult to understand other people’s cultures and lifestyles. 

She believes that stereotyping can significantly affect an individual or group’s identity. She suggests Americans should improve their intellectual competence by being sensitive to other people’s cultures.

14 Prompts on Essays about Culture and Identity

You can discuss many things on the subject of culture and identity. To give you a starting point, here are some prompts to help you write an exciting essay about culture. 

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips and our round-up of the best essay checkers .

Understanding your personality is vital since continuous interaction with others can affect your personality. Write about your culture and identity; what is your personality? How do you define yourself? Everyone is unique, so by writing an essay about who you are, you’ll be able to understand why you act a certain way and connect with readers who have the same values. 

Here’s a guide on writing a descriptive essay to effectively relay your experience to your readers.

Sometimes, people need to get out of their comfort zone and interact with other individuals with different cultures, beliefs, or traditions. This is to broaden one’s perspective about the world. Aside from discussing what you’ve learned in that journey, you can also focus on the bits that shocked you. 

You can talk about a tradition or value that you found so bizarre because it differs from your culture. Then add how you processed it and finally adapted to it.

Essays about Culture and Identity: Your Thoughts on Dystopia and Utopia

Dystopia and Utopia are both imagined worlds. Dystopia is a world where people live in the worst or most unfavorable conditions, while Utopia is the opposite. 

You can write an essay about what you think a Dystopian or Utopian world may look like, how these societies will affect their citizens, etc. Then, consider what personality citizens of each world may have to depend on the two worlds’ cultures.

Today, more and more people are fighting for others to accept or at least respect the LGBTQ+ community. However, countries, territories, and religions still question their rights.

In your essay , you can talk about why these institutions react the way they do and how culture dictates someone’s identity in the wrong way. Before creating your own, feel free to read other essays and articles to learn more about the global gender inequality issue. 

The world has diverse cultures, traditions, and values. When you travel to a new place, learning and writing about your firsthand experiences with unique cultures and rituals will always be an interesting read.

In this prompt, you’ll research other cultures and how they shaped their group’s identity. Then, write about the most exciting aspects you’ve learned, why you found them fascinating, and how they differ from your culture.

Those proud of their culture will wear clothes inspired by them. Some wear the same clothes even if they aren’t from the same culture. The debate over cultural appropriation and culture appreciation is still a hot topic. 

In this essay , you may start with the traditions of your community or observances your family celebrates and gathers for. Then, elaborate on their origins and describe how your community or family is preserving these practices. 

Learning about your roots, ancestors, and family cultures can help strengthen your understanding of your identity and foster respect for other cultures. Explore this topic and offer examples of what others have learned. Has the journey always been a positive experience? Delve into this question for an engaging and interesting essay .

When a person moves country, it can be challenging to adapt to a new culture. If there are new people at work or school, you can interview them and ask how they are coping with their new environment. How different is this from what they have been used to, and what unique traditions do they find interesting?

Focus on an art piece that is a source of pride and identity to your country’s culture, much like the Tinikling of the Philippines or the Matryoshka dolls of Russia. Explore its origins and evolution up to its current manifestation and highlight efforts that are striving to protect and promote these artistic works.

The older generation did not have computers in their teen years. Ask about how they dated in their younger years and how they made friends. Contrast how the younger generation is building their social networks today. Write what culture of socialization works better for you and explain why.

Take in-depth navigation of existing policies that protect indigenous peoples. Are they sufficient to serve these communities needs, and are they being implemented effectively? There is also the challenge of balancing the protection of these traditions against the need to protect the environment, as some indigenous practices add to the carbon footprint. How is your government dealing with this challenge?

A large population is now riding the Hallyu or the Korean pop culture, with many falling in love with the artists and Korea’s food, language, and traditional events. Research how certain Korean films, TV series, or music have effectively attracted fans to experience Korea’s culture. Write about what countries can learn from Korea in promoting their own cultures.

Environments that embrace cultural diversity are productive and innovative. To start your essay , assess how diverse your workplace or school is. Then, write your personal experiences where working with co-workers or classmates from different cultures led to new and innovative ideas and projects. Combine this with the personal experiences of your boss or the principal to see how your environment benefits from hosting a melting pot of cultures.

If you aim for your article to effectively change readers’ perspectives and align with your opinion, read our guide to achieving persuasive writing . 

Cultural Identity Essay

27 August, 2020

12 minutes read

Author:  Elizabeth Brown

No matter where you study, composing essays of any type and complexity is a critical component in any studying program. Most likely, you have already been assigned the task to write a cultural identity essay, which is an essay that has to do a lot with your personality and cultural background. In essence, writing a cultural identity essay is fundamental for providing the reader with an understanding of who you are and which outlook you have. This may include the topics of religion, traditions, ethnicity, race, and so on. So, what shall you do to compose a winning cultural identity essay?

Cultural Identity

Cultural Identity Paper: Definitions, Goals & Topics 

cultural identity essay example

Before starting off with a cultural identity essay, it is fundamental to uncover what is particular about this type of paper. First and foremost, it will be rather logical to begin with giving a general and straightforward definition of a cultural identity essay. In essence, cultural identity essay implies outlining the role of the culture in defining your outlook, shaping your personality, points of view regarding a multitude of matters, and forming your qualities and beliefs. Given a simpler definition, a cultural identity essay requires you to write about how culture has influenced your personality and yourself in general. So in this kind of essay you as a narrator need to give an understanding of who you are, which strengths you have, and what your solid life position is.

Yet, the goal of a cultural identity essay is not strictly limited to describing who you are and merely outlining your biography. Instead, this type of essay pursues specific objectives, achieving which is a perfect indicator of how high-quality your essay is. Initially, the primary goal implies outlining your cultural focus and why it makes you peculiar. For instance, if you are a french adolescent living in Canada, you may describe what is so special about it: traditions of the community, beliefs, opinions, approaches. Basically, you may talk about the principles of the society as well as its beliefs that made you become the person you are today.

So far, cultural identity is a rather broad topic, so you will likely have a multitude of fascinating ideas for your paper. For instance, some of the most attention-grabbing topics for a personal cultural identity essay are:

  • Memorable traditions of your community
  • A cultural event that has influenced your personality 
  • Influential people in your community
  • Locations and places that tell a lot about your culture and identity

Cultural Identity Essay Structure

As you might have already guessed, composing an essay on cultural identity might turn out to be fascinating but somewhat challenging. Even though the spectrum of topics is rather broad, the question of how to create the most appropriate and appealing structure remains open.

Like any other kind of an academic essay, a cultural identity essay must compose of three parts: introduction, body, and concluding remarks. Let’s take a more detailed look at each of the components:

Introduction 

Starting to write an essay is most likely one of the most time-consuming and mind-challenging procedures. Therefore, you can postpone writing your introduction and approach it right after you finish body paragraphs. Nevertheless, you should think of a suitable topic as well as come up with an explicit thesis. At the beginning of the introduction section, give some hints regarding the matter you are going to discuss. You have to mention your thesis statement after you have briefly guided the reader through the topic. You can also think of indicating some vital information about yourself, which is, of course, relevant to the topic you selected.

Your main body should reveal your ideas and arguments. Most likely, it will consist of 3-5 paragraphs that are more or less equal in size. What you have to keep in mind to compose a sound ‘my cultural identity essay’ is the argumentation. In particular, always remember to reveal an argument and back it up with evidence in each body paragraph. And, of course, try to stick to the topic and make sure that you answer the overall question that you stated in your topic. Besides, always keep your thesis statement in mind: make sure that none of its components is left without your attention and argumentation.

Conclusion 

Finally, after you are all finished with body paragraphs and introduction, briefly summarize all the points in your final remarks section. Paraphrase what you have already revealed in the main body, and make sure you logically lead the reader to the overall argument. Indicate your cultural identity once again and draw a bottom line regarding how your culture has influenced your personality.

Best Tips For Writing Cultural Identity Essay

Writing a ‘cultural identity essay about myself’ might be somewhat challenging at first. However, you will no longer struggle if you take a couple of plain tips into consideration. Following the tips below will give you some sound and reasonable cultural identity essay ideas as well as make the writing process much more pleasant:

  • Start off by creating an outline. The reason why most students struggle with creating a cultural identity essay lies behind a weak structure. The best way to organize your ideas and let them flow logically is to come up with a helpful outline. Having a reference to build on is incredibly useful, and it allows your essay to look polished.
  • Remember to write about yourself. The task of a cultural identity essay implies not focusing on your culture per se, but to talk about how it shaped your personality. So, switch your focus to describing who you are and what your attitudes and positions are. 
  • Think of the most fundamental cultural aspects. Needless to say, you first need to come up with a couple of ideas to be based upon in your paper. So, brainstorm all the possible ideas and try to decide which of them deserve the most attention. In essence, try to determine which of the aspects affected your personality the most.
  • Edit and proofread before submitting your paper. Of course, the content and the coherence of your essay’s structure play a crucial role. But the grammatical correctness matters a lot too. Even if you are a native speaker, you may still make accidental errors in the text. To avoid the situation when unintentional mistakes spoil the impression from your essay, always double check your cultural identity essay. 

A life lesson in Romeo and Juliet taught by death

Due to human nature, we draw conclusions only when life gives us a lesson since the experience of others is not so effective and powerful. Therefore, when analyzing and sorting out common problems we face, we may trace a parallel with well-known book characters or real historical figures. Moreover, we often compare our situations with […]

Ethical Research Paper Topics

Ethical Research Paper Topics

Writing a research paper on ethics is not an easy task, especially if you do not possess excellent writing skills and do not like to contemplate controversial questions. But an ethics course is obligatory in all higher education institutions, and students have to look for a way out and be creative. When you find an […]

Art Research Paper Topics

Art Research Paper Topics

Students obtaining degrees in fine art and art & design programs most commonly need to write a paper on art topics. However, this subject is becoming more popular in educational institutions for expanding students’ horizons. Thus, both groups of receivers of education: those who are into arts and those who only get acquainted with art […]

Have a language expert improve your writing

Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes, generate your apa citations for free.

  • Knowledge Base
  • College essay
  • How to Write a Diversity Essay | Tips & Examples

How to Write a Diversity Essay | Tips & Examples

Published on November 1, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on May 31, 2023.

Table of contents

What is a diversity essay, identify how you will enrich the campus community, share stories about your lived experience, explain how your background or identity has affected your life, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Diversity essays ask students to highlight an important aspect of their identity, background, culture, experience, viewpoints, beliefs, skills, passions, goals, etc.

Diversity essays can come in many forms. Some scholarships are offered specifically for students who come from an underrepresented background or identity in higher education. At highly competitive schools, supplemental diversity essays require students to address how they will enhance the student body with a unique perspective, identity, or background.

In the Common Application and applications for several other colleges, some main essay prompts ask about how your background, identity, or experience has affected you.

Why schools want a diversity essay

Many universities believe a student body representing different perspectives, beliefs, identities, and backgrounds will enhance the campus learning and community experience.

Admissions officers are interested in hearing about how your unique background, identity, beliefs, culture, or characteristics will enrich the campus community.

Through the diversity essay, admissions officers want students to articulate the following:

  • What makes them different from other applicants
  • Stories related to their background, identity, or experience
  • How their unique lived experience has affected their outlook, activities, and goals

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Think about what aspects of your identity or background make you unique, and choose one that has significantly impacted your life.

For some students, it may be easy to identify what sets them apart from their peers. But if you’re having trouble identifying what makes you different from other applicants, consider your life from an outsider’s perspective. Don’t presume your lived experiences are normal or boring just because you’re used to them.

Some examples of identities or experiences that you might write about include the following:

  • Race/ethnicity
  • Gender identity
  • Sexual orientation
  • Nationality
  • Socioeconomic status
  • Immigration background
  • Religion/belief system
  • Place of residence
  • Family circumstances
  • Extracurricular activities related to diversity

Include vulnerable, authentic stories about your lived experiences. Maintain focus on your experience rather than going into too much detail comparing yourself to others or describing their experiences.

Keep the focus on you

Tell a story about how your background, identity, or experience has impacted you. While you can briefly mention another person’s experience to provide context, be sure to keep the essay focused on you. Admissions officers are mostly interested in learning about your lived experience, not anyone else’s.

When I was a baby, my grandmother took me in, even though that meant postponing her retirement and continuing to work full-time at the local hairdresser. Even working every shift she could, she never missed a single school play or soccer game.

She and I had a really special bond, even creating our own special language to leave each other secret notes and messages. She always pushed me to succeed in school, and celebrated every academic achievement like it was worthy of a Nobel Prize. Every month, any leftover tip money she received at work went to a special 509 savings plan for my college education.

When I was in the 10th grade, my grandmother was diagnosed with ALS. We didn’t have health insurance, and what began with quitting soccer eventually led to dropping out of school as her condition worsened. In between her doctor’s appointments, keeping the house tidy, and keeping her comfortable, I took advantage of those few free moments to study for the GED.

In school pictures at Raleigh Elementary School, you could immediately spot me as “that Asian girl.” At lunch, I used to bring leftover fun see noodles, but after my classmates remarked how they smelled disgusting, I begged my mom to make a “regular” lunch of sliced bread, mayonnaise, and deli meat.

Although born and raised in North Carolina, I felt a cultural obligation to learn my “mother tongue” and reconnect with my “homeland.” After two years of all-day Saturday Chinese school, I finally visited Beijing for the first time, expecting I would finally belong. While my face initially assured locals of my Chinese identity, the moment I spoke, my cover was blown. My Chinese was littered with tonal errors, and I was instantly labeled as an “ABC,” American-born Chinese.

I felt culturally homeless.

Speak from your own experience

Highlight your actions, difficulties, and feelings rather than comparing yourself to others. While it may be tempting to write about how you have been more or less fortunate than those around you, keep the focus on you and your unique experiences, as shown below.

I began to despair when the FAFSA website once again filled with red error messages.

I had been at the local library for hours and hadn’t even been able to finish the form, much less the other to-do items for my application.

I am the first person in my family to even consider going to college. My parents work two jobs each, but even then, it’s sometimes very hard to make ends meet. Rather than playing soccer or competing in speech and debate, I help my family by taking care of my younger siblings after school and on the weekends.

“We only speak one language here. Speak proper English!” roared a store owner when I had attempted to buy bread and accidentally used the wrong preposition.

In middle school, I had relentlessly studied English grammar textbooks and received the highest marks.

Leaving Seoul was hard, but living in West Orange, New Jersey was much harder一especially navigating everyday communication with Americans.

After sharing relevant personal stories, make sure to provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your perspective, activities, and goals. You should also explain how your background led you to apply to this university and why you’re a good fit.

Include your outlook, actions, and goals

Conclude your essay with an insight about how your background or identity has affected your outlook, actions, and goals. You should include specific actions and activities that you have done as a result of your insight.

One night, before the midnight premiere of Avengers: Endgame , I stopped by my best friend Maria’s house. Her mother prepared tamales, churros, and Mexican hot chocolate, packing them all neatly in an Igloo lunch box. As we sat in the line snaking around the AMC theater, I thought back to when Maria and I took salsa classes together and when we belted out Selena’s “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” at karaoke. In that moment, as I munched on a chicken tamale, I realized how much I admired the beauty, complexity, and joy in Maria’s culture but had suppressed and devalued my own.

The following semester, I joined Model UN. Since then, I have learned how to proudly represent other countries and have gained cultural perspectives other than my own. I now understand that all cultures, including my own, are equal. I still struggle with small triggers, like when I go through airport security and feel a suspicious glance toward me, or when I feel self-conscious for bringing kabsa to school lunch. But in the future, I hope to study and work in international relations to continue learning about other cultures and impart a positive impression of Saudi culture to the world.

The smell of the early morning dew and the welcoming whinnies of my family’s horses are some of my most treasured childhood memories. To this day, our farm remains so rural that we do not have broadband access, and we’re too far away from the closest town for the postal service to reach us.

Going to school regularly was always a struggle: between the unceasing demands of the farm and our lack of connectivity, it was hard to keep up with my studies. Despite being a voracious reader, avid amateur chemist, and active participant in the classroom, emergencies and unforeseen events at the farm meant that I had a lot of unexcused absences.

Although it had challenges, my upbringing taught me resilience, the value of hard work, and the importance of family. Staying up all night to watch a foal being born, successfully saving the animals from a minor fire, and finding ways to soothe a nervous mare afraid of thunder have led to an unbreakable family bond.

Our farm is my family’s birthright and our livelihood, and I am eager to learn how to ensure the farm’s financial and technological success for future generations. In college, I am looking forward to joining a chapter of Future Farmers of America and studying agricultural business to carry my family’s legacy forward.

Tailor your answer to the university

After explaining how your identity or background will enrich the university’s existing student body, you can mention the university organizations, groups, or courses in which you’re interested.

Maybe a larger public school setting will allow you to broaden your community, or a small liberal arts college has a specialized program that will give you space to discover your voice and identity. Perhaps this particular university has an active affinity group you’d like to join.

Demonstrating how a university’s specific programs or clubs are relevant to you can show that you’ve done your research and would be a great addition to the university.

At the University of Michigan Engineering, I want to study engineering not only to emulate my mother’s achievements and strength, but also to forge my own path as an engineer with disabilities. I appreciate the University of Michigan’s long-standing dedication to supporting students with disabilities in ways ranging from accessible housing to assistive technology. At the University of Michigan Engineering, I want to receive a top-notch education and use it to inspire others to strive for their best, regardless of their circumstances.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

  • Writing process
  • Transition words
  • Passive voice
  • Paraphrasing

 Communication

  • How to end an email
  • Ms, mrs, miss
  • How to start an email
  • I hope this email finds you well
  • Hope you are doing well

 Parts of speech

  • Personal pronouns
  • Conjunctions

In addition to your main college essay , some schools and scholarships may ask for a supplementary essay focused on an aspect of your identity or background. This is sometimes called a diversity essay .

Many universities believe a student body composed of different perspectives, beliefs, identities, and backgrounds will enhance the campus learning and community experience.

Admissions officers are interested in hearing about how your unique background, identity, beliefs, culture, or characteristics will enrich the campus community, which is why they assign a diversity essay .

To write an effective diversity essay , include vulnerable, authentic stories about your unique identity, background, or perspective. Provide insight into how your lived experience has influenced your outlook, activities, and goals. If relevant, you should also mention how your background has led you to apply for this university and why you’re a good fit.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Courault, K. (2023, May 31). How to Write a Diversity Essay | Tips & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 18, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/college-essay/diversity-essay/

Is this article helpful?

Kirsten Courault

Kirsten Courault

Other students also liked, how to write about yourself in a college essay | examples, what do colleges look for in an essay | examples & tips, how to write a scholarship essay | template & example, get unlimited documents corrected.

✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

  • Entertainment
  • Environment
  • Information Science and Technology
  • Social Issues

Home Essay Samples

Essay Samples on Culture

If there is a subject where you can get creative, it is writing an essay related to culture. It can be anything from philosophical concepts to dealing with the animal culture in Biology. It is what makes it so exciting and inspiring. If you need even more inspiration, check our culture essay examples that we have collected for you free of charge. Take your time to read and learn how to compose an excellent paper. When you do, focus on various structural aspects and do not forget to tell your readers about the importance of a specific culture. Take at least one culture essay sample that feels close to what you would like to explore and see what thesis statement has been used. It will help you understand what objectives have been followed by the writer. When you start with a personal culture essay, you can use our samples as a template for your outline. Some good ideas below present movie reviews like the famous Godzilla movie that represents a part of the Japanese culture. Think about what inspires you, be it music, arts, or blogging culture. Choose your subject, follow our templates, and you will earn the best grades!

Why Memorial Day is Important

Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday of May each year, is a time of solemn remembrance and reflection in the United States. While many people associate this holiday with barbecues, parades, and the unofficial start of summer, its significance goes far deeper. Memorial Day...

  • Memorial Day

Why Memorial Day is Important to Our Country

Memorial Day, a revered national holiday in the United States, holds a profound significance that extends far beyond the traditional start of summer. This day serves as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by brave men and women who have given their lives in...

Memorial Day: What Is It About?

Memorial Day, a revered national holiday in the United States, holds a deep and profound significance for citizens across the country. It is a day that transcends the boundaries of time and generations, allowing us to collectively honor the sacrifices of our brave men and...

A Heartwarming Thanksgiving Narrative: Embracing Family and Traditions

Thanksgiving has always held a special place in my heart as a holiday that brings my family together in a tapestry of warmth, laughter, and cherished memories. Each year, as the days grow shorter and the air turns crisper, the anticipation of Thanksgiving begins to...

  • Thanksgiving

Memorial Day: How I Spent It

Memorial Day is a significant holiday that holds a special place in the hearts of many, including mine. It's a day dedicated to honoring and remembering the brave individuals who have sacrificed their lives in service to our country. Each year, as Memorial Day approaches,...

Stressed out with your paper?

Consider using writing assistance:

  • 100% unique papers
  • 3 hrs deadline option

Memorial Day: Honoring Sacrifice, Embracing Unity

Memorial Day holds a special place in my family's heart as a day to honor the sacrifices of our brave soldiers and to come together in unity as a family. It's a time when we reflect on the meaning of service, remember the fallen heroes,...

How is Memorial Day Celebrate in The United States

Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday of May each year, holds a special place in the hearts of Americans as a day to honor and remember the sacrifices of those who have given their lives in service to the nation. This solemn occasion is...

What Memorial Day Means to Me as a Christian

As a Christian, the observance of Memorial Day takes on a profound significance that aligns with the core values and teachings of my faith. This day of remembrance provides an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifice of those who have given their lives in service...

What Memorial Day Means to Me: A Time of Reflection and Remembrance

Memorial Day, a day of solemnity and significance, holds a unique place in the hearts of individuals across the United States. It's a day when the nation collectively pauses to remember and honor the sacrifices made by those who have served and laid down their...

How I Spent My Memorial Day: A Day of Reflection and Gratitude

Memorial Day, a day dedicated to honoring the sacrifices of those who have given their lives in service to the nation, holds a special place in my heart. It is a time to pause, reflect, and express gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy today. This...

Why We Should Observe Memorial Day in 1000 Words

Memorial Day, a solemn occasion observed on the last Monday of May in the United States, holds a deep and poignant significance. It is a day when the nation comes together to remember and honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice...

My Memorable Experience at the Art Museum

Stepping into the realm of art is an immersive journey that transcends time and space, allowing individuals to connect with the creative expressions of diverse cultures and eras. In this essay, I will recount my captivating experience at the art museum, the profound impact it...

How Youth Can Shape the World: Empowering Change

Youth have the power to change the world through their passion, innovation, and determination to address pressing global challenges. Despite being faced with societal norms and limitations, young individuals possess the ability to drive positive change and create a more equitable and sustainable future. This...

  • Youth Culture

Patriots Day in Massachusetts: Commemorating the Birth of American Independence

Introduction Patriots' Day is an important public holiday celebrated annually in Massachusetts on the third Monday in April. It commemorates the opening battles of the American Revolutionary War that took place in Massachusetts in 1775. The holiday was originally known as Lexington Day or Lexington...

Anthropology: Unveiling the Complexity of Human Societies and Cultures

Introduction Anthropology is the hit upon out about of the commencing neighborhood and enhancement of human societies and cultures. Culture is the determined behavior of people, such as their languages, have trust systems, social structures, institutions, and fabric goods. Anthropologists find out about the elements...

  • Anthropology
  • Cultural Anthropology

Contrasting Paths of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry

Introduction Music is one of the most important art that connects people’s feelings and emotions through its melodies and lyrics. Many artists have tried their best to write and produce a perfect song for their fans to listen to and capture the meanings of it....

  • Music Industry
  • Taylor Swift

Symbolism in 'Sonny's Blues' and 'Stranger in the Village'

James Baldwin: African-American Experience James Baldwin was an African-American novelist and activist in which his works the complex racial and class distinction in the world but most of his work focuses on the times of civil rights America where African-Americans were fighting for their civil...

  • African American Culture
  • Sonny's Blues
  • Stranger In The Village

Michael Jackson's Music, Controversy and Cultural Impact

The Legacy of Michael Jackson Michael Jackson, widely known as the 'King of Pop,' inspired love, hope, and compassion across the world. Even after his death, his music and his tireless humanitarian work when he was alive helped the suffering and underprivileged. One of the...

  • Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson's Legendary Journey in Music History

Introduction Michael Joe Jackson once said, “Let us dream of tomorrow where we can truly love from the soul, and know love as the ultimate truth at the heart of all creation”. Jackson said these words during an interview in 1996 when reflecting on his...

Timing the Road to Stardom: The Inspirational Journey of Octavia Lenora Spencer

In the ever-evolving journey of success, timing plays a crucial role. Some individuals find their breakthroughs early in life, while others encounter success later on. Octavia Lenora Spencer, the renowned American actress, offers an excellent example of how success unfolds in its own time. Her...

Literature Analysis of a Socio-Economic Subculture in Fashion

Introduction Faced with a generation of consumers who are both the most well-informed and fiscally precarious in modern society, streetwear fills the void when luxury brands searching for ways to remain relevant and therefore profitable. I would like to understand the socio-economic subculture emerging in...

  • Literature Analysis

Rock 'n' Roll Revolution: Elvis Presley's Impact on America

Introduction Music has played a significant role in history since time immemorial. The emergence of Rock and Roll between 1945 and 1965 marked a transformative period in the American ethos. The advent of Rock 'N' Roll ignited intense debates across America. Its enduring impact on...

  • Elvis Presley
  • Pop Culture
  • Rock and Roll

Crazy Rich Asians': Challenging Societal Norms through Film

Introduction Undoubtedly, the film industry in the United States has played a fundamental role in the advocacy of social issues; such as, crime and violence, racism and ethnicity, poor governance and poverty. Clearly, the film producers and directors are fully in touch with the pressing...

  • Chinese Culture
  • Crazy Rich Asians

Analysis of Classist Undertones in 'Crazy Rich Asians'

Introduction The story under analysis is an extract from one of the novels written by Kevin Kwan which is Crazy Rich Asians. This particular passage can be found on the second part of the book, Chapter Eight, and it shows one of the instances where...

The Mosaic of Asian Culture: Understanding the Diversity

Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern subregion of Asia, cohering of the regions that are south of China, southeast of the Indian landmass, and northwest of Australia. Southeast Asia is rich in culture and the whole host of different languages. The geographers called Southeast Asia...

  • Multiculturalism

Culture, Art and Creativity: the Way They Are Related

Art is a reflection of your thinking, your ideas, and your surroundings, the artist adopts his or her surroundings and then by using their imagination, outside thinking and their perspective they present a new face of it in front of the world. Art and creativity...

Western Feminism in the Context of the Middle East

Western feminism is the most dominant and well-known form of feminism that exists in the world today. However, when applied to the Middle East, Western feminism is just an extension of cultural imperialism. Western feminism follows an exclusive, hegemony-based approach to women's rights wherein ‘modern’...

  • Middle East
  • Western Culture
  • Women's Rights

Diving Into Pros and Cons of Social Media For Youth

Most teens in modern society have some sort of technology within their reach. As social media has become the norm to the youth, many don’t see its negative impact it has on their lives. There are definelety both pros and cons of social media for...

  • Effects of Social Media
  • Media Influence

My Experience with Culture Shock, Culture and Culture Diffusion

“Modern mas hit at J’Ouvert San Fernando” is an article published by Trinidad and Tobago Newsday on 4TH March, 2019. The author of this piece was done by Laurel Williams. J’Ouvert is an annual Carnival event that is held on a large street. On March...

  • Cultural Diversity
  • Culture Shock

Cultural Ethnography as a Research Method of Cultural Importance

Ethnography, according to Goodley et al. (2004), is a research approach that includes immersion into the process, exploring a culture or social world, where the researcher takes root in a given culture and discovers hidden or open, as well as implicit cultural meanings. An ethnographic...

  • Ethnography

Cultural Ethnography and the Various Opinions Shared by Ethnographers

Indicating the meaning of ethnography is not a straightforward matter, but it observes all behaviours including describing symbols, landscape, social meanings and covers history of culture. Some definition implies considering some core elements and sometimes pointing out conflict in it: Ethnography is a research process...

My Experience with Culture Shock: Raising Children in a Foreign Country

Living abroad can benefit your child in so many important ways, but definitely, it has its drawbacks as well. This essay will examine the advantages and disadvantages of raising children in a foreign country. The two main benefits of raising children in a foreign country...

The Effects of Cancel Culture on Kanye West

 For the past decade, the famous artist, Kanye West, has been noted for his habit of stirring controversy. It wasn’t until recently where Kanye decided to start taking things a little farther. The rapper had already previously established his support for President Trump, turning many...

  • Cancel Culture

Celebrities as the Main Victims of Cancel Culture

The internet is an unpredictable beast; one can go from generally liked to vilified in a matter of minutes. Demi Lovato, a famous singer and Grammy award nominee is one of the latest victims to fall prey to cancel culture, which according to Merriam Webster...

Nacirema Culture and Buddhism Religious Practices

Religion is a topic that provokes or brings about different thoughts and ideas between people. We all have our own beliefs and traditions that make each one of our religions stand out. It is what makes us who we are. Myths and rituals are a...

  • Zen Buddhism

Observations of the Life of Native Americans: Nacirema, Comanche

Jones spent three years observing the Comanche Eagle doctor, Sanapia, and interviewing many people about the traditions of the Comanche and how those traditions have changed over time. He was able to establish a close personal relationship with Sanapia which allowed him to go into...

  • Indigenous People
  • Native American

The Disturbing Customs and Rituals of the Nacirema

If Miner’s piece is considered literally, the vivid images created by his writing seem to give way to quite an unsettling way of life lived by the Nacirema. Their behaviors towards magical materials and intense, callous rituals seem to portray them as religious and desperate...

Main Differences Between Chinese and American Culture

Culture can be defined as the ways of thinking, ways of acting, and the material objects that make up a person’s way of life. I have decided to compare and contrast the American and Chinese cultures. Both cultures have similarities when dealing with religion and...

  • American Culture
  • Asian American Culture

A Trend By Kneeling During The National Anthem

Over the last couple of years during football season, a former quarterback from the San Francisco 49ers has made a name for himself. He has gained a lot of attention, both negative and positive from the media and NFL fans, as well as citizens across...

What Is Your American Dream

The American Dream is a lifestyle, or a wish someone hopes to succeed in or meet in their life. It is just a dream that people have because they feel as they could never succeed in life and don’t have many opportunities. People start to...

  • American Dream
  • The Great Gatsby

Why Is Culture Important

Culture is the everyday life of a specific group of people. This includes their food, clothing, traditions, beliefs, language, manners, and many other things. It is very important to study culture. Studying culture is important because it reduces xenophobia, can reduce and prevent war, can...

  • Culture and Communication

The Problem Of Complete Immigrant Assimilation

When immigrating to a new country, is there a middle ground between complete abandonment of one’s culture and acclimating to a new environment? Migrants and refugees coming to America already have to face countless challenges. Why should sacrificing their own culture be another one of...

  • Integration and Assimilation

Integration Of Immigrants And Multicultural Society In England

In November 2005 John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, stated that “Multiculturalism has seemed to imply, wrongly for me: let other cultures be allowed to express themselves but do not let the majority culture at all tell us its glories, its struggles, its joys, its...

Chinese New Year Celebration: Lion Dance Performances

Chinese nuances are still felt today. By the way, do you know that one show is always enlivening the Lunar New Year? The answer is lion dance. Yup! The cheap entertainment that emerged and became one of the traditional Chinese arts is indeed enough to...

  • Chinese New Year

Visit A Museum To Be Educated And Have A Great Experience

The radio chatter between the Johnson Space-Center and Lunar Module echoed throughout the lobby. “One small step for man, but one giant leap for mankind.”could be heard so clearly and distinctly causing goosebumps to spread across my skin. I was finally here, at the Houston...

  • Personal Experience

The Realities of Social, Cultural and Literary Distinction

Pierre Bourdieu, born in August 1930, was brought up in a rural area of the south west of France. Bourdieu pursued an elite academic curriculum from Paris studying philosophy, on the recommendation of his high school teacher. On graduating from the prestigious École Normale Supérieure,...

  • Philosophy of Education

The Concept of New Definition of Animal Culture

The question of whether or not animals have and display culture has been a longstanding discussion which, through many years, has produced many theories. One of these theories is that only animals with larger cranial capacities, such as non-human primates, are capable of learning and...

The Original Japanese Godzilla Movie Review

The Godzilla franchise has had a large influence and impact on not only Japanese viewers, culture, and history, but American and other western countries as well. Owned and created by Toho Co.Ltd, Godzilla is recognized as the world’s longest continuously running movie franchise with 35...

  • Japanese Culture

Punjabi Culture in Ludhiana: Main Topics

Ludhiana has a kaleidoscopic culture where people of different cultures settle down and enjoy the benefits of the Punjabi Culture that comes with living there. People within the Punjabi culture are very outgoing people and are very fond of Punjabi music and dances. Ludhiana houses...

  • Punjabi Culture

My Response to Arts Philanthropy

Arts and culture philanthropy is, by all means, a beneficial cause that seeks to promote the growth and development of the arts in general and particular forms of art or cultures specifically. In this way, it serves as an avenue through which the community or...

  • Philanthropy
  • Racial Segregation

Social Mobility and Its Measurements

In the United States of America, it is known and described as the ‘’American Dream’’. How¬ever, this term belongs to a broader definition which economists and sociologists refer to as Intergenerational mobility. Intergenerational mobility indicates the opportunity for children to move beyond their social origins...

  • Modern Society
  • Social Mobility

The Concept of The Royal Air Force Museum

The Royal Air Force has formed our country and our general public. It has affected how we live our lives today through its effect on world occasions, society and innovation. The Royal Air Force Museum was set up as an inheritance of the RAF's fiftieth...

America’s Contemporary Multimedia Artist Jeff Koons

Jeff Koons is one of America’s most popular contemporary multimedia artists, who believes that art can change lives, give vastness and expand your parameters. Koons was born in York, Pennsylvania in 1955. He studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore and the...

  • Contemporary Art

Royal Air Force and The National Museum

The museum was first established in Hendon London in the year 1972. Basically, the museum is based at two places that is Cosford and London. Been announced as the national museum, a governmental non-departmental public body (NDPD) and is one the registered charity. There are...

Belief in Vampire-Like Creatures

Vampires have a very rich and varied history. Belief in vampire-like creatures can be found all over the world and dates as far back as ancient Greece, Mesopotamia and ancient Rome. There have even been periods in time when vampire belief was so mainstream it...

  • Ancient Civilizations

Jackson Pollock as an Influential America Artist

The painter Jackson Pollock was an influential America painter and a key person to the abstract expressionist movement. He was born in Cody , Wyoming in 1912 and he was the youngest of 5 brothers. He grew up in Arizona and Chico, California he moved...

  • Jackson Pollock

Singaporean Companies During International Expansion

Singapore has always been a nation which has been much involved in international business activities. Such has been true of the country in the past; this fact remains the case to this day. Singapore’s heavy international business involvement largely stems from the fact that the...

  • Singaporean Culture

The Festival Known as “Mattu Pongal” or the “Pongal”

The second day of the festival is known as “Mattu Pongal” or the “Pongal” for cows, specifically bulls. We are thankful to the bulls because they are the animals who plough the land which men farm on to obtain their food. On the bulls we...

The Tattoo of Cherry Blossom Bracelets in China

The armband tattoos were a popular excitement 10 to 15 years ago. Today, however, it is gradually becoming a hot trend again. These types of tattoos are appealing because they are easy to show and can be quickly hidden in the sleeve. What do bracelet...

  • Christianity

Mao Zedong as An Important Historical Figure

Mao Zedong is one of China’s most known leaders, some love him and some hate him. He like many leaders had his ups and downs. Making many attempts to modernize china and better the economy. He made reforms like “Great Leap Forward” and the “cultural...

One of the Major Holiday Events: Halloween

As the seasons begin to change from Summer to Autumn, society begins to look forward to three major holiday events: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. All of these holidays have traditions and customs that we continue to follow every year. The one that I want to...

Rites of Passage Is Obligatory to the Male Population

As young as we are, we are already practicing the rites of passage and here in Lucnab we put the placenta and the umbilical cord in any container. Some would dig it into a hole and some would put it at the top of the...

  • Rites of Passage

Food And Indian Culture And Tradition In India

India is a country of diversity, a kaleidoscope of colour, taste, culture and people. It’s also a country where ancient traditions and modern life coexist seamlessly. Indian cities are not just about brick and mortar; the contemporary city is largely defined by its kinetic condition,...

Beyonce: Modern-day Innovator

Many people for this assignment may do the main, technology-based innovators such as Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and all the main guys of large companies that are key to society these days. Well, I’m not like most people and neither is this modern...

  • Famous Person

Beyonce: An Important Figure Of Pop Culture

Beyonce is known as a member of “Destiny’s Child” as well as her solo music career and acting career. Adrienne Rich is an author, and worked in the poetry, non-fiction, and essayist genres. Despite their different occupations, both Beyonce and Adrienne Rich are known to...

Adaptation To The Culture In Acculturation

People acquire the necessary components of language, customs, and values of their new cultural environment. Managing one’s identification with host and ethnic cultures are required for survival and functioning in the receiving society (Chen, Benet-Martinez, Wu, Lam & Bond, 2013). This report aims to measure...

  • Acculturation
  • Cultural Identity

Acculturation And How It Influences Intercultural Communication

After finishing the intercultural communication competence (ICC) course, I learnt a huge amount of knowledge through some specific examples from various countries. This course goes in details with definition, categorization, patterns and effects of intercultural communication. In the eyes of academic study, phenomena are analyzed...

Acculturation: Impact Of Cultural Change On Depression

We will utilize the one-shot case study pre-experimental design with Afghan males to find out whether the level of acculturation has an effect on their level of depression in their first five years of arrival to the United States. According to Rubin and Babbie (2018),...

Acculturation: Living In A Different Country

Imagine living in a different country than what where you were born and grew up in. Now imagine if most people in that country spoke a different language and expected you to learn that language with little to no help. This can have a major...

  • Intercultural Communication

The Hippie Movement: The Most Influential Subculture In History

America’s history is full of many historic events that made us the nation we are today. There has been movements, some of which have failed and some that succeeded. Many left a mark in our country and in our culture. One out of all those...

  • Hippies Movement

Hippies And Their Ability To Not Look At The Surface

Sometimes, looking at the surface of things does not represent the meaning or meaning of things. Some people's appearance can't be changed. Although they look terrible or scary, sometimes their hearts are purer than others. That's exactly what hippies are like. These young people who...

The Hippies: Spread Of Hippie Movement In The Us

Throughout the 1960s the United States was impacted by the hippie subculture. Hippie’s culture consisted of fashion, drugs, leaders, and lifestyle. Most hippie’s dropped out of mainstream society and was known as flower children. Hippies sought a nonmaterialistic, peace-loving society in which they are their...

Hippies: How Music, Protest, And Media Led To Peace: The Countercultural Movement

As part of the generation Z in the United States, today’s youth have never been a part of a massive war or political upheaval. Since the U.S. is so big and powerful it gives off the impression of complete domination over any potential enemy. However,...

American Dream: America As A Land Of Opportunity

Opportunity; it is one of the most common things many immigrants strive to obtain in America. They have crossed many rivers, oceans, lands, and even many different countries just to seek a better life that yields many opportunities not just for them, but their children...

  • Immigration in America

The Factors That Contribute To What It Means To Be An American

What does it mean to be an American? Does it mean patriotism? Is it the feeling of pride when your singing the national anthem? To be clear there are many things that make a true American. They can be of any race, any color, speak...

  • National Identity

The Diversity And Other Things Make One An American

If you haven’t heard this enough, America is one of the most diverse countries. Reason being everyone have came from immigrants. Whether it’s been five years agos or one hundred years ago. Immigrants came here for a new and better life. Ever since America has...

The Beauty Industry And African-american Women: Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Until 1900s, makeup was related to the morally questionable women. It was only wore by prostitutes, but this view changed when portrait photography became popular and applying makeup before taking a picture turned to be a standard. In addition to that, there was another factor...

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Article "America Needs Its Nerds"

Claim: As a society, Americans value athleticism over intellect by idolizing athletes and rejecting the intellectuals. Shamed for their intelligence and passion for education, people are deprived of educational advantages and learning opportunities. Pathos: The author uses guilt to show his audience that their viewpoints...

American Identity: What It Means To Be An American

In Crevecoeur’s book,” Letters from an American Farmer,” it’s evident throughout the excerpts that Crevecoeur has a deep admiration for America. The characteristics that make up an American are courageous, thriving and independent. A few examples that support these characterizations of Americans include Leif Erickson,...

America's Necessity For The Brilliant: America Needs Its Nerds

In the American commonplace, it’s better to be athletically skilled than intellectually advanced. Praises are given to athletes, while intellectuals become outcasts. Furthermore, the recognition and status of athletes and other favorable figures grows due to American societal views, even if intellectuals are the ones...

The Impact Of Great Wall Of China On Chinese Population

How did the Great Wall of China sway the Chinese, and the remainder of the world? 'The Long Fortress,' otherwise called the Great Wall of China, has an extremely fascinating foundation. In building the Great Wall of China, China needed to experience numerous new and...

Religious Freedom, Kindness And Human Rights Are What Makes America Great 

Many things make America great, but the main topic that stands out the most to me is Human kindness. That is only one of the three reasons why America is great. America is also great because we have the right to freedom of religion, also...

  • American Identity
  • American Values

The Mistaken Belief Of The Nuclear Family And Its Family Traditions

My whole life I have heard it said that a family consists of two parents and their children. This made me believe that if a family is in any other way it was unfit. Well in “The Color of Family Ties” Gerstel and Sarkisian take...

The Great Wall Of China And Its Significance

The Great Wall of China stretches about 5,500 miles long crossing deserts, mountains, grasslands, and plateaus. It took more than 2,000 years to build this incredible manmade structure. Many people died to build this wall. It displays the changes between the agricultural and nomadic civilizations....

Different Traditions Of Christmas Holiday

Every house has decorations, Christmas lights, and lanterns are seen everywhere. Children are doing caroling in every house. It’s with that moment you realize that December is getting near. It’s Christmas time again! One of the most awaited moments in December is the Christmas Vacation....

  • Family Values

Development Of The Kawa Model

The Kawa Model was developed by a group of Japanese occupational therapists in response to a need for an occupational therapy practice model that was useful and appropriate in the Japanese culture (Iwama, 2003, 2005, 2006). Occupational therapy practitioners in Japan have struggled to interpret...

Racism During The Halloween Celebration

For my current events #4, I found an article by the New York Times, Discussing Halloween decorations that go far into racism. Halloween: Nooses and Blackface Decorations Prompt Backlash by Azi Paybarah, Oct. 25, 2019, “You’re in a community that is predominately black, yet you...

Diwali As One Of The Most Favorable Celebrations In India

Diwali, likewise called Deepavali is one of the most-anticipated and favorable celebrations in India! In India as well as, Indians in any piece of the world, commend this celebration with a great deal of bliss. This is a period for family get-togethers, occasions, shopping, and...

Types Of Cultural Racism: Islamophobia

These developments establish a framework for which political discourses, media outlets, and institutional design are addressed in terms of religion and cultural differences. In the coverage of 9/11, news media outlets and officials never once deviated from the response that this terror attack was attributed...

  • Islamophobia

Theme Of Westernisation In Persepolis

Westernization is an intrinsic theme in Persepolis. Some see it as a place of opportunity, wealth, prosperity, and freedom. For a country like Iran, the West causes nothing but disorder and misery for the country. To describe these problems toward the West, Marjane Satrapi illustrates...

Cultural Appropriation Is Merely Illusion

According to Cambridge Dictionary, culture is defined as the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time. Examples of cultural elements are cuisine, social habits, music, arts, symbol, religion, traditions, language, and fashion. While,...

  • Cultural Appropriation

Asian American Discrimination In Education

When we imagine getting into college in the US it often looks like a race to fill a limited number of seats. Harvard's recent discrimination lawsuit allegedly discriminating against Asian Americans students has once more highlighted the affirmative action debate. But the problem is, the...

  • Asian American
  • Asian American Discrimination

On The Body Rituals Among The Nacirema

In this dystopian piece of writing, Miner illustrates the features and phenomena in the society of 'Nacirema'. This unknown exotic person seems to live in the very early time of civilization, practicing their weird and harsh rituals and controlled by a class of professionals who...

Culture Shock In Fashion Industry

After the economic recession and depression of the 1970s, the global economy was in rapid development in the 1980s, people were paying more attention to material life, and also materialism has become the center of life. As in women’s wear at that time, successful women's...

Racial Stereotypes Of Asian Americans In The Media

Racism, stereotyping, and discrimination all remain prevalent matters in modern American society. This is especially evident looking into one of America's most powerful outlets of information and entertainment, the media. Hollywood is one example that often sacrifices the accurate portrayal of the race for the...

Reverse Culture Shock: A Literature Review

There has been a shift in education abroad in recent decades towards globalization. Students and employers are more interested in education abroad to develop intercultural skills and global competency. As this movement for education becomes more common, so does culture shock. Culture shock can be...

Culture Shock: Communication In The Business World

Culture Shock means the “trauma” that an individual experiences when they move from their home culture to a different culture. This causes uncertainty that can be very stressful. There are five stages of culture shock: The honeymoon stage, Crisis stage, Adjustment stage, Acceptance or Adaptation...

Representation Of Asian Americans In Hollywood

Western movies are among the top of the movie industry, best known for their works which depict many cultural references. With the nonstop expansion in the movie market, to attract viewers from many countries throughout the world, many movie industries had started to recruit more...

Culture Shock In A Professional Environment 

Based on the case study, the cross-cultural experience brought up a lot of problems such as language barrier, cultural difference, failing to adapt to the new culture. After analyzing the case study, the roots of all the problems are clearly derived from an unwillingness to...

Lack Of Asian American Representation In Media

There is a lack of Asian American representation in mainstream media. I remember a time in my childhood where I would turn the TV on and find numerous shows without an Asian American cast member. As the years passed, I started to notice that more...

Best topics on Culture

1. Why Memorial Day is Important

2. Why Memorial Day is Important to Our Country

3. Memorial Day: What Is It About?

4. A Heartwarming Thanksgiving Narrative: Embracing Family and Traditions

5. Memorial Day: How I Spent It

6. Memorial Day: Honoring Sacrifice, Embracing Unity

7. How is Memorial Day Celebrate in The United States

8. What Memorial Day Means to Me as a Christian

9. What Memorial Day Means to Me: A Time of Reflection and Remembrance

10. How I Spent My Memorial Day: A Day of Reflection and Gratitude

11. Why We Should Observe Memorial Day in 1000 Words

12. My Memorable Experience at the Art Museum

13. How Youth Can Shape the World: Empowering Change

14. Patriots Day in Massachusetts: Commemorating the Birth of American Independence

15. Anthropology: Unveiling the Complexity of Human Societies and Cultures

Need writing help?

You can always rely on us no matter what type of paper you need

*No hidden charges

100% Unique Essays

Absolutely Confidential

Money Back Guarantee

By clicking “Send Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails

You can also get a UNIQUE essay on this or any other topic

Thank you! We’ll contact you as soon as possible.

essay sample on culture

Guide to Writing a Culture Essay: Example Topics and Tips

charleswritershub.com

charleswritershub.com

Read our crash-course guide on writing an essay about culture with basic dos and don’ts, actionable tips, and topic suggestions on various essay types.

Culture can be too big and vague a concept to comprehend, let alone explore in a short academic assignment. The trick is to establish limits within which you are going to operate. If your prompt has given you nothing to go by apart from the word count, fear not. We have created this quick primer to kickstart your paper-writing process. It’s super short and general, but it should give you an idea of how to approach this task.

Another excellent fix for the assignment you don’t quite understand is a well-written example you can learn from and emulate. Get your customized sample now!

Writing College Essay about Culture

College essays about culture are as diverse as the culture itself. Let’s break them into broad categories and give more focused tips for each type depending on its purpose and intended audience.

How to approach “What is culture” essays

This type of essay is less of a cultural analysis and more of a definition. You will have to define culture. It may be your original take, especially if the prompt asks you, “What culture means to you?” However, it also must ring true for others and be relatable enough.

— Read several definitions and compare them. What is common in their understanding of culture, and what differs?

— Choose the general approach . For example, will you be defining culture from an aesthetical, anthropological, social, psychological, political, or some other perspective? Would you describe it as arts and intellectual achievements, as customs and social behaviors, as values and norms accepted by a group, etc.?

— Come up with your perspective , the one you think is the most relevant for you, your peers, and your colleagues within the context of your essay.

— Accept limitations . You should understand that your definition may work wonderfully in some contexts but may be lacking essential properties in others. For example, your understanding of culture fits public discussions about cultural appropriation but would not necessarily fit archeological research. As much as we strive for universality, it’s important to acknowledge those limitations.

Tips on writing a culture shock essay

Culture shock essay has strong elements of narrative and personal essays. Even if you are writing a definition of culture shock, it begs some anecdotal evidence to illustrate those experiences. Here are some rules of thumb for essays on culture shock.

— Don’t just list the things you have found baffling in another culture and leave it at that. Although culture shock is by definition a conflict, your essay should be rooted in empathy and seeking to reconcile cultural differences based on shared humanity.

— Contextualize things that induce the shock. Explain the beliefs, history, or rituals behind those things. Do your research.

— Use parallels or reverse the situation to elicit empathy and understanding from your audience. For example, “In his culture, sneezing in public is inappropriate, so he felt compelled to leave the classroom each time he felt he was about to sneeze. Not unlike us, when we have to, say, burp.”

Writing culture identity essay

Cultural identity is one of the most popular topics for personal statements. For many young people applying to college, it’s a touchstone for reflecting on who they are as a person in this big world. For some scholarships, a cultural identity essay is a compulsory component. Here are a few tips on writing impactful cultural essays about your identity:

— Avoid clichés . Concentrate on unique experiences — childhood memories, family traditions, an aspect of identity that is particularly meaningful to you. Remember that your essay’s purpose is to stand out among others.

— Put an original spin on this topic by subverting the expectation and ending a seemingly predictable story with a twist. Alternatively, address one aspect of your culture, one issue that might not be widely discussed outside of it (for example, colorism within your community and your experience with that.)

— End on a positive note . If you are talking about your struggles to fit in or difficulties with learning a new language, focus not on the challenges but on the ways you have conquered them, on things you’ve learned, and on the character traits that helped you triumph over the adversity.

Advice on approaching “My Culture” essay

This essay is somewhat different from the cultural identity essay discussed above. It’s less personal and more representative. Here, you act as a guide showing your friends around the place you know better than they do. There are several ways to approach this topic:

— Highlights . Your short essay on culture cannot possibly give a comprehensive view of such a complex thing as lifestyle, folklore, and knowledge of the entire ethnic group. Concentrate on the several things you believe are the most interesting, lesser-known, misunderstood, or most representative of your culture.

— One thing . Physical objects can be very relatable points of entry into other cultures.

— Choose an object (alternatively, a ritual or a custom) and explain its significance in your culture. Of course, it’s just one facet of your world, but it can reflect many things like a drop of water.

— Debunk stereotypes . If your culture is routinely represented in media in simplified, reduced ways, addressing those depictions can be a great take on the topic. Debunk myths or explain the historical context for how those misconceptions originated and proliferated.

Identity and Culture Essay Topics

If, after reading the guidelines above, you still struggle to come up with the topic, here are some suggestions for inspiration:

Indian culture essay

— How appropriations of Indian culture by American yoga enthusiasts make me feel

— Caste bias in the American Indian community

— Mixing tradition and trends in the brown beauty industry

— Arranged marriages, their role in a community, and personal dilemmas

— Things about Bollywood people misunderstand

African American culture essay topics

— Soul sisters: how race segregation split music genres in XX century America

— The true meaning behind “black-sounding” names

— Nourishing with love: health trends in soul food

— Harlem Renaissance Fashion and its Significance in Contemporary Culture

— Misogyny in hip hop and the real tension of gender relationships in the African-American community

Asian American culture topics

— Harmful real-life consequences of Lotus Blossom and Dragon Lady stereotypes in modern media

— Japanese “picture brides” of the early 20th century and their role in community building

— Healing narratives of Cambodian American authors

— Chinese-American adoptees’ struggle for identity

— Vietnamese American war babies

Mexican culture essay topics

— Spicy Latina fetishization in romantic comedies

— Frida Kahlo’s authenticity and constructed identity

— The visual narrative of Mexican history in the Muralist movement

— Indigenous languages of Mexico

— Pre-Columbian elements in Dia de los Muertos

Art and Popular Culture Essay Topics

The word “culture” conjures up museums, symphonic orchestras, theaters, libraries, and universities. However, everything that surrounds us is our culture. How we dress, where we live, how we greet each other, how we entertain ourselves. Yes, arts and history often take center stage, but it doesn’t mean you have to limit your culture essays to those! This time, let’s start with topics for popular culture essays for a change.

Pop culture essay topics

— The rise and fall of high school movies

— The appeal of K-dramas: the secret of global popularity

— How “Netflixing” as a consumer habit changes the narratives in the series

— “Good” monsters vs. “bad”: visual language in films

— Quest for meaning in Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods”

Art and music topics

— Protest music of the 20th century

— Finding a contemporary divide between art and craft

— Space-age discoveries and their influence on music

— Transgression and reliability in performance art

— Narrative techniques of fake-fiction documentaries

Culture history topics

— Written word vs. spoken word: shifting perceptions throughout history

— Gender and sexuality in Cassone’s paintings of Renaissance

— Baroque music and its role in the community

— The part of book printing in witch hunt trials

— Land attainment mythology in Irish culture

Not enough topics? Not a problem! Our writers can create an insightful title for you based on your assignment details. Just leave the “Topic” field empty when you place your order, and one of our experts will take care of that. Get your unique culture essay sample!

charleswritershub.com

Written by charleswritershub.com

Elevate Your Grades with Custom Academic Writing Excellence - Your Academic Success Starts Here! Whatever Paper you Need, We will Help you Write it.

Text to speech

What Is Culture Essay Writing – Expert’s Guide

  • Essay Tips&Tricks
  • Essay Writing Guides

Mike Sparkle

Culture is an important component of human life, which helps to find like-minded people. We should not forget that culture can be expressed in different situations, such as food, music, outlook on life, and even clothing. It is important to understand that despite differences in different cultures, you should always respect and be friendly to others.

Culture Essay Explained

To begin with, let’s figure out what a culture essay is. Simply put, this is a kind of description of a culture, starting from your thoughts and opinions. In society, culture helps to understand what norms exist for people. You can write culture essays on completely different topics related to culture because it manifests itself in all components of our lives. These are dances, art, technology, and even music.

Culture determines what is acceptable and what is unacceptable in any society. Based on this, it can be understood that a culture essay is a popular writing style because it can describe your personal opinion about culture and express your thoughts and views.

What Is the Importance of Culture in Human Life?

Culture plays a very important role in our life. It helps people to ensure social well-being in society and find like-minded people. Culture in society is one of the main life factors that help people express their education and development. You can understand a cultured person or not by the way he communicates with people in society.

For many people, culture is as important a factor as their personal lives and family values. Watching people, you might notice that people who adhere to the same culture immediately have an inextricable connection and many common interests because such people are connected not only by common views on the world but also by tastes in food, traditions, and much more.

How to Write a Culture Essay Outline

To write a successful culture essay, it is important to understand where to start and stick to a clear plan. A writing plan should be in each piece so the reader can understand and navigate the article’s essence.

This is especially true for a research paper and an argumentative essay because, in such reports, you must specifically describe the subject of research and argue your conclusions. But writing structure is just as important for culture essays, so here are the important steps in writing a plan:

First, you need to consider the introduction because it is regarded as one of the most important parts of the essay. Here you should present the most important information discussed in the main part so that the reader is interested and wants to read the text further.

Create a short thesis with which you will convey the essence of the essay to the audience and briefly express your opinion on this topic.

Work on the basic information you will be using. It is very important to write about those things that are interesting to you and that you understand. Suppose this is a new topic for you. In that case, it is best to check the integrity of the information on several sources several times so as not to misinform the reader and arouse the desired interest in your article.

Write your findings. In many essay examples, the author writes his conclusion based on personal experience and thoughts. Never try to write similarly. For a successful culture essay conclusion, noting how you feel and conveying your emotions from personal experience and knowledge is important.

Writing an Introduction to a Culture Essay

The introduction is one of the most important parts of any essay. When starting to write an introduction, you should already understand what you will talk to the reader about in the future. It is important to remember that the information you use in this section should be discussed in the main part and be argued with facts and supported by your real-life examples.

Writing an introduction is often difficult and energy-consuming for a writer because this paragraph should contain only the most important information from your text that will be able to interest the reader.

To make it easier, you can write the introduction after you’ve completed the main text, but it’s important to decide on the topic and abstract first. For example, at the beginning of the culture essay, you need to tell the audience about the issue you will be discussing and then familiarize the readers with the thesis.

Next, talk with the reader about your opinion on this topic and tell a little about yourself so that people can imagine the person who writes about the issue of interest to them.

Writing a Body of a Culture Essay

The body of your culture essay should introduce the reader to the culture you are researching. Therefore, it is important to convey all the emotions when writing so that people have a clear picture and understanding of the culture. A culture essay is a combination of a descriptive essay and an argumentative essay where you also describe and argue your opinion on a given topic.

The body of your essay may include several paragraphs and headings. In each paragraph, you will describe different aspects of this culture and your arguments for them. This section should explain to the reader why you have chosen this particular topic for writing so that people clearly understand your interest in the topic of culture.

Using personal examples and arguments from your life best draws the reader. It is important to write in a language understandable to the reader. Try to use simple, uncomplicated phrases with which you will arouse confidence and pleasant emotions in your audience. Imagine that you are talking to a reader. Writing an essay is a simple and accessible language that will help connect the reader and keep them interested.

Writing a Conclusion for a Culture Essay

After you have written the main part of your essay, you should summarize all of the above. To do this, you must analyze all the information and briefly state it to the reader. It is important not to deviate from your opinion and only try to back it up with appropriate phrases. In conclusion, you can once again repeat your statement about this culture or emphasize its main nuances.

In many essay examples, the authors write a huge paragraph with conclusions, touching on other topics there that have nothing to do with this, so you shouldn’t do it because, in conclusion, the main thing is to write it short and clear so that the reader can immediately understand the whole essence of what you wrote on this section.

Try to choose the right words and not pour water just like that. The main thing in this paragraph is the logical compilation of the results of all of the above.

The Most Interesting Cultural Topics

Culture essays are one of the best ways to do personal research about culture. In this kind of descriptive essay, you can analyze a huge number of topics and traditions of a particular culture and learn about the cultural origins of different types of people.

When choosing a topic for writing a culture essay, you need to be very serious and try to select the case that you will be interested in discussing, and you can describe all aspects of culture in such colors so that the reader can share your point of view and get carried away reading the article. So here are some interesting topics to talk about in your culture essay:

  • Similarities between different cultures
  • The influence of religion on culture
  • The difference between the cultures of other continents
  • Gender characteristics and the impact of cultures on them
  • The role of culture in the personal growth of a person
  • Popular cultures
  • How is the Internet changing culture?

Tips for Writing a Successful Culture Essay

It’s no secret that before you start writing an essay, you need to create a so-called draft, in which you indicate for yourself all the most important points of the article and determine the sequence in which information is presented.

In a culture essay, it is important to adhere to the structure for the reader to understand what you are writing about. Here are some tips on how to make your essay successful and interesting:

Be Responsible in Your Topic Selection Process

The cultural topic is very relevant and extensive, so you should have no problem choosing. However, suppose you cannot decide which topic you would like to consider. In that case, you have the opportunity to look at a list of interesting and relevant issues on the Internet and then write an essay with a personal opinion on this matter. You can read other essay examples, but the main thing is not to use another author’s opinion in your article; this essay should be written based on personal experience and your own opinion.

Choosing a topic can seem quite complicated because you have to decide what you will have to communicate with your readers about, having previously studied all the nuances and made certain personal conclusions about it.

Make Sure to Express Your Unique Views

Culture essay aims to express personal views and thoughts on the topic you are discussing. Therefore, try to describe your opinion and understanding of this topic as clearly and reasonably as possible.

Despite this, you can use knowledge and information from other sources, but if you use it in your text, it is important to indicate exactly where you got this information from so that no plagiarism is detected during the critical writing report assessment, which is very important for an essay of this kind.

Avoid Repetition

For example, if you use the same phrase several times in the text, the best option would be to rephrase it so that it does not change its meaning but sounds different at the same time.

Use Only Proven Information

Imagine that you are writing a research paper and carefully studying the chosen topic. In no case do not use fictitious facts in the text. Instead, only reliable information should be supported by your arguments.

Utilize Linear Writing Style

Use the linear writing style of the culture essay. This will help the reader to read your article in a logical and structured way continuously.

Write a Clear Thesis and Stick To Your Position Throughout the Essay

Write in plain language that is easy for the reader to understand. Do not use complicated terms and phrases. The reader should feel as if you are talking to him.

Example of a Culture Essay and Essay Writing Services

We will look at the culture essay, which reveals the meaning of culture and how it changes and develops in the modern world. This one of the decent essay examples discusses how culture affects our lives and explains how different cultures exist worldwide.

Introduction

1.1 Definition of the term “Culture”

1.2 A story about the origin of culture and its development

1.3 Thesis: Culture is one of the main factors in our life and the lives of every person. Although culture changes over time, it remains in each of us

  • What does culture mean?

2.1 Culture reflects the inner qualities of a person

2.2 Culture develops according to the development in our life

  • Differences between different cultures

3.1 What are the differences, and why do you need to understand cultural differences

  • What is the purpose of culture in human life?

Culture is a kind of collection of all parts of society. This is a huge complex of different beliefs and thoughts of people that were created over time. Culture can change depending on the other factors that influence it, as it keeps up with the times, and we all know that concepts and views can change over time. Each country has its own culture and traditions, and people in different countries express themselves in this way.

Having studied the culture of another country, you can understand the way of thinking of the people who live there and understand their values. To understand a person of another nation, it is enough to study his culture in detail.

Since culture is an indicator of human fulfillment, it can change at different times and places and remain individual for each nation.

What Does Culture Mean?

Culture describes the concepts and attitudes of people in different groups. People themselves create their own culture, this does not happen immediately, but after a long time, despite this, it exists. Other groups of people can be of the same culture, but they will still have completely different views on life and concepts. In the process of life, a person’s opinions and thoughts may change, but faith in one’s culture remains unchanged.

Differences Between Different Cultures

The differences between different cultures can depend on many factors, personal moral principles, political views, and even differences in musical tastes or food tastes. For example, in many countries, people do not eat pork meat, while in others, it is the norm. Therefore, when communicating in or coming into a society where there are people of other cultural concepts, it is important to consider other people’s interests so that respect appears in the group.

Understanding cultural differences of this kind will help to find mutual understanding among people and make them a single whole. Each person must respect the culture and views of other people, and only then will understanding and love reign in our world.

What Is the Purpose of Culture in Human Life?

Culture is important in all moments of human life, especially when you are in society. For example, when you come to a new job, you find yourself in a team where everyone has different thoughts and views. Therefore, it is important to respect the opinions of other people and in no case try to prove your point of view to others. Culture is also very important because, to some extent, it helps to find like-minded people and create a warm and friendly atmosphere in society.

If you have any difficulties writing a culture essay, you can always turn to essay writing service , where you will meet real professionals who will answer all your questions and do the hard work for you at an excellent price and in a short time. Moreover, you can be sure that each author has a degree in the field of culture, and your essay will be written with high quality and success.

Business Essay and the Best Way of Its Writing

Business is an essential aspect of today’s evolving world. It is a lucrative industry that impacts many sectors, including education. Business-related courses are popular as many students are pursuing the…  Read More

  • Academic Writing Tips

Business Essay Writing

How to write an anthropology essay perfectly?

Stuck with an anthropology essay with no help in sight? Anthropology essay writing is not a simple task. Not many college students can handle such a paper. An anthropology essay…  Read More

student working anthropology essay

All About Persuasive Essay Writing

Writing a persuasive essay requires expressing your viewpoint and convincing readers of its rightfulness. Many struggle with completing this type of written assignment because of a lack of proper writing…  Read More

Persuasive Essay Writing

Table of contents

Writing Universe - logo

  • Environment
  • Information Science
  • Social Issues
  • Argumentative
  • Cause and Effect
  • Classification
  • Compare and Contrast
  • Descriptive
  • Exemplification
  • Informative
  • Controversial
  • Exploratory
  • What Is an Essay
  • Length of an Essay
  • Generate Ideas
  • Types of Essays
  • Structuring an Essay
  • Outline For Essay
  • Essay Introduction
  • Thesis Statement
  • Body of an Essay
  • Writing a Conclusion
  • Essay Writing Tips
  • Drafting an Essay
  • Revision Process
  • Fix a Broken Essay
  • Format of an Essay
  • Essay Examples
  • Essay Checklist
  • Essay Writing Service
  • Pay for Research Paper
  • Write My Research Paper
  • Write My Essay
  • Custom Essay Writing Service
  • Admission Essay Writing Service
  • Pay for Essay
  • Academic Ghostwriting
  • Write My Book Report
  • Case Study Writing Service
  • Dissertation Writing Service
  • Coursework Writing Service
  • Lab Report Writing Service
  • Do My Assignment
  • Buy College Papers
  • Capstone Project Writing Service
  • Buy Research Paper
  • Custom Essays for Sale

Can’t find a perfect paper?

  • Free Essay Samples

Essays on Culture

As you go about writing your culture essay you can discover so much about yourself, your country, and your people. Culture plays a huge role in the development of the world’s civilization, as well as in the life of every person. The influence that it has on personal growth cannot be overemphasized. The cultural environment shapes the development of a person's thoughts, spiritual world, life principles, and behavior. Culture is essentially everything that is created by mankind throughout the entire history of human existence as a result of human thought and imagination. Writing essays, especially essays on culture is a very common way to learn and explore differences between nations, as different culture essays can provide invaluable insight into other people’s life. You can refer to our best culture essay samples below for inspiration for your essay!

Youth homelessness remains a major issue in the 21st century in the United Kingdom due to its adverse long-term consequences. Homelessness among the young people increases the risk of developing mental illnesses by threefold since they lack the required social support system and at the same time are exposed to...

Words: 3252

Young people, particularly those in their 20s, often demonstrate an active sex life since the age bracket is largely characterized by the search for lifetime partners as well as settling down in marriage. However, youths in different regions show differing trends in the way that they approach their sex life,...

Words: 5087

Young People and Transition to Adulthood Young people are the most traumatized, disadvantaged, and vulnerable group in Australia, primarily because they have to face the transition phases characterized by numerous changes, such as home care to independent living. The process of growing up has fundamentally changed from how it was in...

Words: 1890

The US military is touted as the largest; the most experienced and technological advanced force in the world. Having a strong military enables a country to enforce its economic and political policies while also protecting its strategic interests using hard power to deter its enemies. For decades, the US armed...

Words: 2617

The paper is a detailed review of Chinese consumer behavior and culture and how that it influences their purchasing path among outbound leisure travelers. Collectivist tourists were more inclined to initiate purchases based on social considerations such as self-image, and reputation. On the other hand, the individualists were more self-centered,...

Words: 3069

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation film company operating from its global headquarters at Koganei Tokyo, Japan. The firm is a renown animation film company, with a special focus on the anime feature films, characterised by hand drawn computer animations originating from the Japanese culture. In addition to animation films,...

Words: 5150

Found a perfect essay sample but want a unique one?

Request writing help from expert writer in you feed!

Privilege and Oppression - What Do These Concepts Mean to You? Growing up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), I became aware of the distinction between privilege and oppression at a very young age. With all its glamour and extravagance, the UAE has many flaws with deep roots in its...

Migration is one of the most serious issues affecting the contemporary world, with thousands of people displaced every day. Today, there are several refugee camps accommodating people who have fled their homes and are not expecting to get back any time soon. Several issues account for the unforeseen global population...

Words: 3244

Korean Wave and its Impact on Chinese TV Formats Korean Wave, taking the form of TV programs, films, movies, songs, K-pop music, and other cultural products has received significant popularity across not only China but the entire Asian region. The main aim of this research was to investigate how the Korean...

Words: 4672

Israel and Palestine have conflicted the nation of Israel were established in 1948. It has now been half a century since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories, and 11 years since the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip. Since Israel set the naval blockade on Gaza, the troops have been...

Words: 1870

The fundamental objective of the literature review section was to elucidate consumer behavior and culture specific to Chinese nationals and the extent to which they moderated purchase decisions, with a particular focus on international tourism. The fixation on Chinese tourists was informed by the growing affluence in the country as...

Words: 4610

Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Background Luo Guanzhong wrote The Romance of the Three Kingdoms that has the accounts, tales and short stories of legends that have been presented from a personal viewpoint. The Novel is based on a Chinese history commonly referred to as the Three Kingdoms. A profound analysis of Guanzhong...

Words: 4855

Topic in this Subject

Related topics to culture.

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Duke University

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

essay sample on culture

6 Diversity College Essay Examples

What’s covered:, how to write the diversity essay after the end of affirmative action, essay #1: jewish identity, essay #2: being bangladeshi-american, essay #3: marvel vs dc, essay #4: leadership as a first-gen american, essay #5: protecting the earth, essay #6: music and accents, where to get your diversity essays edited, what is the diversity essay.

While working on your college applications, you may come across essays that focus on diversity , culture, or values. The purpose of these essays is to highlight any diverse views or opinions that you may bring to campus. Colleges want a diverse student body that’s made up of different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and interests. These essay prompts are a way for them to see what students can bring to their school.

In this post, we will share six essays written by real students that cover the topic of culture and diversity. We’ll also include what each essay did well and where there is room for improvement. Hopefully, this will be a useful resource to inspire your own diversity essay.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. That said, you should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and they will not have a favorable view of students who have plagiarized.

In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the use of race in college admissions was unconstitutional. In other words, they struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions . This will affect college-bound students of color in a number of ways, including lowering their chances of acceptance and reducing the amount of direct outreach they’ll receive from colleges. Another change to consider is the ways in which students should tackle their diversity essays.

Although colleges can no longer directly factor race into admissions, students aren’t prohibited from discussing their racial backgrounds in supplemental application essays. If your racial background is important to you, seriously consider writing about it in your diversity essays. If you don’t, admissions officers are extremely limited in their ability to consider your race when making an admission decision.

As in the essays listed below, discussing your race is an excellent tool for showing admissions officers the person behind the grades and test scores. Beyond that, it provides admissions officers with an opportunity to put themselves in your shoes—showing them how your background has presented challenges to overcome, helped build important life skills, and taught you valuable lessons.

Diversity Essay Examples

I was thirsty. In my wallet was a lone $10 bill, ultimately useless at my school’s vending machine. Tasked with scrounging together the $1 cost of a water bottle, I fished out and arranged the spare change that normally hid in the bottom of my backpack in neat piles of nickels and dimes on my desk. I swept them into a spare Ziploc and began to leave when a classmate snatched the bag and held it above my head.

“Want your money back, Jew?” she chanted, waving the coins around. I had forgotten the Star-of-David around my neck, but quickly realized she must have seen it and connected it to the stacks of coins. I am no stranger to experiencing and confronting antisemitism, but I had never been targeted in my school before. I grabbed my bag and sternly told her to leave. Although she sauntered away, the impact remained.

This incident serves as an example of the adversity I have and will continue to face from those who only see me as a stereotype. Ironically, however, these experiences of discrimination have only increased my pride as a member of the Jewish Community. Continuing to wear the Star-of-David connects me to my history and my family. I find meaning and direction in my community’s values, such as pride, education, and giving—and I am eager to transfer these values to my new community: the Duke community.

What the Essay Did Well

Writing about discrimination can be difficult, but if you are comfortable doing it, it can make for a powerful story. Although this essay is short and focused on one small interaction, it represents a much larger struggle for this student, and for that reason it makes the essay very impactful.

The author takes her time at the beginning of the essay to build the scene for the audience, which allows us to feel like we are there with her, making the hateful comments even more jarring later on. If she had just told us her classmate teased her with harmful stereotypes, we wouldn’t feel the same sense of anger as we do knowing that she was just trying to get a drink and ended up being harassed.

This essay does another important thing—it includes self-reflection on the experience and on the student’s identity. Without elaborating on the emotional impact of a situation, an essay about discrimination would make admission officers feel bad for the student, but they wouldn’t be compelled to admit the student. By describing how experiences like these drive her and make her more determined to embody positive values, this student reveals her character to the readers.

What Could Be Improved

While including emotional reflection in the latter half of the essay is important, the actual sentences could be tightened up a bit to leave a stronger impression. The student does a nice job of showing us her experience with antisemitism, but she just tells us about the impact it has on her. If she instead showed us what the impact looked like, the essay would be even better.

For example, rather than telling us “Continuing to wear the Star-of-David connects me to my history and my family,” she could have shown that connection: “My Star-of-David necklace thumps against my heart with every step I take, reminding me of my great-grandparents who had to hide their stars, my grandma’s spindly fingers lighting the menorah each Hanukkah, and my uncle’s homemade challah bread.” This new sentence reveals so much more than the existing sentence about the student and the deep connection she feels with her family and religion.

Life before was good: verdant forests, sumptuous curries, and a devoted family.

Then, my family abandoned our comfortable life in Bangladesh for a chance at the American dream in Los Angeles. Within our first year, my father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He lost his battle three weeks before my sixth birthday. Facing a new country without the steady presence of my father, we were vulnerable—prisoners of hardship in the land of the free.

We resettled in the Bronx, in my uncle’s renovated basement. It was meant to be our refuge, but I felt more displaced than ever. Gone were the high-rise condos of West L.A.; instead, government projects towered over the neighborhood. Pedestrians no longer smiled and greeted me; the atmosphere was hostile, even toxic. Schoolkids were quick to pick on those they saw as weak or foreign, hurling harsh words I’d never heard before.

Meanwhile, my family began integrating into the local Bangladeshi community. I struggled to understand those who shared my heritage. Bangladeshi mothers stayed home while fathers drove cabs and sold fruit by the roadside—painful societal positions. Riding on crosstown buses or walking home from school, I began to internalize these disparities.

During my fleeting encounters with affluent Upper East Siders, I saw kids my age with nannies, parents who wore suits to work, and luxurious apartments with spectacular views. Most took cabs to their destinations: cabs that Bangladeshis drove. I watched the mundane moments of their lives with longing, aching to plant myself in their shoes. Shame prickled down my spine. I distanced myself from my heritage, rejecting the traditional panjabis worn on Eid and refusing the torkari we ate for dinner every day.

As I grappled with my relationship with the Bangladeshi community, I turned my attention to helping my Bronx community by pursuing an internship with Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda. I handled desk work and took calls, spending the bulk of my time actively listening to the hardships constituents faced—everything from a veteran stripped of his benefits to a grandmother unable to support her bedridden grandchild.

I’d never exposed myself to stories like these, and now I was the first to hear them. As an intern, I could only assist in what felt like the small ways—pointing out local job offerings, printing information on free ESL classes, reaching out to non-profits. But to a community facing an onslaught of intense struggles, I realized that something as small as these actions could have vast impacts.

Seeing the immediate consequences of my actions inspired me. Throughout that summer, I internalized my community’s daily challenges in a new light. I began to see the prevalent underemployment and cramped living quarters less as sources of shame. Instead, I saw them as realities that had to be acknowledged, but that could ultimately be remedied.

I also realized the benefits of the Bangladeshi culture I had been so ashamed of. My Bangla language skills were an asset to the office, and my understanding of Bangladeshi etiquette allowed for smooth communication between office staff and the office’s constituents. As I helped my neighbors navigate city services, I saw my heritage with pride—a perspective I never expected to have.

I can now appreciate the value of my unique culture and background, and the value of living with less. This perspective offers room for progress, community integration, and a future worth fighting for. My time with Assemblyman Sepulveda’s office taught me that I can be an agent of change who can enable this progression. Far from being ashamed of my community, I want to someday return to local politics in the Bronx to continue helping others access the American Dream. I hope to help my community appreciate the opportunity to make progress together. By embracing reality, I learned to live it. Along the way, I discovered one thing: life is good, but we can make it better.

This student’s passion for social justice and civic duty shines through in this essay because of how honest it is. Sharing their personal experience with immigrating, moving around, being an outsider, and finding a community allows us to see the hardships this student has faced and builds empathy towards their situation.

However, what really makes it strong is that the student goes beyond describing the difficulties they faced and explains the mental impact it had on them as a child: “Shame prickled down my spine. I distanced myself from my heritage, rejecting the traditional panjabis worn on Eid and refusing the torkari we ate for dinner every day.” The rejection of their culture presented at the beginning of the essay creates a nice juxtaposition with the student’s view in the latter half of the essay, and helps demonstrate how they have matured.

They then use their experience interning as a way to delve into a change in their thought process about their culture. This experience also serves as a way to show how their passion for social justice began. Using this experience as a mechanism to explore their thoughts and feelings is an excellent example of how items that are included elsewhere on your application should be incorporated into your essay.

This essay prioritizes emotions and personal views over specific anecdotes. Although there are details and certain moments incorporated throughout to emphasize the author’s points, the main focus remains on the student and how they grapple with their culture and identity.

One area for improvement is the conclusion. Although the forward-looking approach is a nice way to end an essay focused on social justice, it would be nice to include more details and imagery in the conclusion. How does the student want to help their community? What government position do they see themselves holding one day?

A more impactful ending might describe the student walking into their office at the New York City Housing Authority in 15 years. This future student might be looking at the plans to build a new development in the Bronx just blocks away from where they grew up that would provide quality housing to people in their Bangladeshi community. They would smile while thinking about how far they have come from that young kid who used to be ashamed of their culture.

Superhero cinema is an oligopoly consisting of two prominent, towering brands: Marvel and DC. I’m a religious supporter of Marvel, but last year, I discovered that my friend, Tom, was a DC fan. After a vociferous 20-minute quarrel about which was better, we decided to allocate one day to have a professional debate, using carefully assembled and coherent arguments.

One week later, we both brought pages of notes and evidence cards (I also had my Iron-Man bobblehead for moral support). Our impartial moderator—a Disney fan—sat in the middle with a stopwatch, open-policy style. I began the debate by discussing how Marvel accentuated the humanity of the storyline—such as in Tony Stark’s transformation from an egotistical billionaire to a compassionate father—which drew in a broader audience, because more people resonated with certain aspects of the characters. Tom rebutted this by capitalizing on how Deadpool was a duplicate of Deathstroke, how Vision copied Red Tornado, and how DC sold more comics than Marvel.

40 minutes later, we reached an impasse. We were out of cards, and we both made excellent points, so our moderator was unable to declare a winner. Difficult conversations aren’t necessarily always the ones that make political headlines. Instead, a difficult discussion involves any topic with which people share an emotional connection.

Over the years, I became so emotionally invested in Marvel that my mind erected an impenetrable shield, blocking out all other possibilities. Even today, we haven’t decided which franchise was better, but I realized that I was undermining DC for no reason other than my own ignorance.

The inevitability of diversity suggests that it is our responsibility to understand the other person and what they believe in. We may not always experience a change in opinion, but we can grant ourselves the opportunity to expand our global perspective. I strive to continue this adventure to increase my awareness as a superhero aficionado, activist, and student, by engaging in conversations that require me to think beyond what I believe and to view the world from others’ perspectives.

And yes, Tom is still my friend.

Diversity doesn’t always have to be about culture or heritage; diversity exists all around us, even in our comic book preferences. The cleverness of this essay lies in the way the student flipped the traditional diversity prompt on its head and instead discussed his diverse perspective on a topic he is passionate about. If you don’t have a cultural connection you are compelled to write about, this is a nifty approach to a diversity prompt—if it’s handled appropriately.

While this student has a non-traditional topic, he still presents it in a way that pays respect to the key aspects of a diversity essay: depicting his perspective and recognizing the importance of diverse views. Just as someone who is writing about a culture that is possibly unfamiliar to the reader, the student describes what makes Marvel and DC unique and important to him and his friend, respectively. He also expands on how a lack of diversity in superhero consumption led to his feeling of ignorance, and how it now makes him appreciate the need for diversity in all aspects of his life.

This student is unapologetically himself in this essay, which is ultimately why this unorthodox topic is able to work. He committed to his passion for Marvel by sharing analytical takes on characters and demonstrating how the franchise was so important to his identity that it momentarily threatened a friendship. The inclusion of humor through his personal voice—e.g., referring to the argument as a professional debate and telling us that the friendship lived on—contributes to the essay feeling deeply personal.

Choosing an unconventional topic for a diversity essay requires extra care and attention to ensure that you are still addressing the core of the prompt. That being said, if you accomplish it successfully, it makes for an incredibly memorable essay that could easily set you apart!

While this is a great essay as is, the idea of diversity could have been addressed a little bit earlier in the piece to make it absolutely clear the student is writing about his diverse perspective. He positions Marvel and DC as two behemoths in the superhero movie industry, but in the event that his reader is unfamiliar with these two brands, there is little context about the cultural impact each has on its fans.

To this student, Marvel is more than just a movie franchise; it’s a crucial part of his identity, just as someone’s race or religion might be. In order for the reader to fully understand the weight of his perspective, there should be further elaboration—towards the beginning—on how important Marvel is to this student.

Leadership was thrust upon me at a young age. When I was six years old, my abusive father abandoned my family, leaving me to step up as the “man” of the house. From having to watch over my little sister to cooking dinner three nights a week, I never lived an ideal suburban life. I didn’t enjoy the luxuries of joining after-school activities, getting driven to school or friends’ houses, or taking weekend trips to the movies or bowling alley. Instead, I spent my childhood navigating legal hurdles, shouldering family responsibilities, and begrudgingly attending court-mandated therapy sessions.

At the same time, I tried to get decent grades and maintain my Colombian roots and Spanish fluency enough to at least partially communicate with my grandparents, both of whom speak little English. Although my childhood had its bright and joyful moments, much of it was weighty and would have been exhausting for any child to bear. In short, I grew up fast. However, the responsibilities I took on at home prepared me to be a leader and to work diligently, setting me up to use these skills later in life.

I didn’t have much time to explore my interests until high school, where I developed my knack for government and for serving others. Being cast in a lead role in my school’s fall production as a freshman was the first thing to give me the confidence I needed to pursue other activities: namely, student government. Shortly after being cast, I was elected Freshman Vice-President, a role that put me in charge of promoting events, delegating daily office tasks, collaborating with the administration on new school initiatives, and planning trips and fundraisers.

While my new position demanded a significant amount of responsibility, my childhood of helping my mom manage our household prepared me to be successful in the role. When I saw the happy faces of my classmates after a big event, I felt proud to know that I had made even a small difference to them. Seeing projects through to a successful outcome was thrilling. I enjoyed my time and responsibilities so much that I served all four years of high school, going on to become Executive Vice-President.

As I found success in high school, my mother and grandparents began speaking more about the life they faced prior to emigrating from Colombia. To better connect with them, I took a series of Spanish language classes to regain my fluency. After a practice run through my presentation on Bendíceme, Ultima ( Bless me, Ultima ) by Rudolofo Anaya, with my grandmother, she squeezed my hand and told me the story of how my family was forced from their home in order to live free of religious persecution. Though my grandparents have often expressed how much better their lives and their children’s lives have been in America, I have often struggled with my identity. I felt that much of it was erased with my loss of our native language.

In elementary school, I learned English best because in class I was surrounded by it. Spanish was more difficult to grasp without a formal education, and my family urged me to become fluent in English so I could be of better help to them in places as disparate as government agencies and grocery stores. When I was old enough to recognize the large part of my identity still rooted in being Colombian, it was challenging to connect these two sides of who I was.

Over time I have been able to reconcile the two in the context of my aspirations. I found purpose and fulfillment through student council, and I knew that I could help other families like my own if I worked in local government. By working through city offices that address housing, education, and support for survivors of childhood abuse, I could give others the same liberties and opportunities my family has enjoyed in this country. Doing so would also help me honor my roots as a first-generation American.

I have been a leader my entire life. Both at Harvard and after graduation, I want to continue that trend. I hope to volunteer with organizations that share my goals. I want to advise policy-making politicians on ways to make children and new immigrants safer and more secure. When my family was at their worst, my community gave back. I hope to give that gift to future generations. A career in local, city-based public service is not a rashly made decision; it is a reflection of where I’ve already been in life, and where I want to be in the future.

Although this essay begins on a somber note, it goes on to show this student’s determination and the joy he found. Importantly, it also ends with a positive, forward-looking perspective. This is a great example of how including your hardship can bolster an essay as long as it is not the essay’s main focus.

Explaining the challenges this student faced from a young age—becoming the man of the house, dealing with legal matters, maintaining good grades, etc.—builds sympathy for his situation. However, the first paragraph is even more impactful because he explains the emotional toll these actions had on him. We understand how he lost the innocence of his childhood and how he struggled to remain connected to his Colombian heritage with all his other responsibilities. Including these details truly allows the reader to see this student’s struggle, making us all the more joyful when he comes out stronger in the end.

Pivoting to discuss positive experiences with student government and Spanish classes for the rest of the essay demonstrates that this student has a positive approach to life and is willing to push through challenges. The tone of the essay shifts from heavy to uplifting. He explains the joy he got out of helping his classmates and connecting with his grandparents, once again providing emotional reflection to make the reader care more.

Overall, this essay does a nice job of demonstrating how this student approaches challenges and negative experiences. Admitting that the responsibilities of his childhood had a silver lining shows his maturity and how he will be able to succeed in government one day. The essay strikes a healthy balance between challenge and hope, leaving us with a positive view of a student with such emotional maturity.

Although the content of this essay is very strong, it struggles with redundancy and disorganized information. He mentions his passion for government at the beginning of the student government paragraph, then again addresses government in the paragraph focused on his Colombian heritage, and concludes by talking about how he wants to get into government once more. Similarly, in the first paragraph, he discusses the struggle of maintaining his Colombian identity and then fully delves into that topic in the third paragraph.

The repetition of ideas and lack of a streamlined organization of this student’s thoughts diminishes some of the emotional impact of the story. The reader is left trying to piece together a swirling mass of information on their own, rather than having a focused, sequential order to follow.

This could be fixed if the student rearranged details to make each paragraph focused on a singular idea. For example, the first paragraph could be about his childhood. The second could be about how student government sparked his interest in government and what he hopes to do one day. The third could be about how he reconnected with his Colombian roots through his Spanish classes, after years of struggling with his identity. And the final paragraph could tie everything together by explaining how everything led to him wanting to pursue a future serving others, particularly immigrants like his family.

Alternatively, the essay could follow a sequential order that would start with his childhood, then explain his struggle with his identity, then show how student government and Spanish classes helped him find himself, and finally, conclude with what he hopes to accomplish by pursuing government.

I never understood the power of community until I left home to join seven strangers in the Ecuadorian rainforest. Although we flew in from distant corners of the U.S., we shared a common purpose: immersing ourselves in our passion for protecting the natural world.

Back home in my predominantly conservative suburb, my neighbors had brushed off environmental concerns. My classmates debated the feasibility of Trump’s wall, not the deteriorating state of our planet. Contrastingly, these seven strangers delighted in bird-watching, brightened at the mention of medicinal tree sap, and understood why I once ran across a four-lane highway to retrieve discarded beer cans.

Their histories barely resembled mine, yet our values aligned intimately. We did not hesitate to joke about bullet ants, gush about the versatility of tree bark, or discuss the destructive consequences of materialism. Together, we let our inner tree-huggers run free.

In the short life of our little community, we did what we thought was impossible. By feeding on each other’s infectious tenacity, we cultivated an atmosphere that deepened our commitment to our values and empowered us to speak out on behalf of the environment. After a week of stimulating conversations and introspective revelations about engaging people from our hometowns in environmental advocacy, we developed a shared determination to devote our lives to this cause.

As we shared a goodbye hug, my new friend whispered, “The world needs saving. Someone’s gotta do it.” For the first time, I believed that that someone could be me.

This student is expressing their diversity through their involvement in a particular community—another nice approach if you don’t want to write about culture or ethnicity. We all have unique things that we geek out over. This student expresses the joy that they derived from finding a community where they could express their love for the environment. Passion is fundamental to university life and generally finds its way into any successful application.

The essay finds strength in the fact that readers feel for the student. We get a little bit of backstory about where they come from and how they felt silenced— “Back home in my predominantly conservative suburb, my neighbors had brushed off environmental concerns” —so it’s easy to feel joy for them when they get set free and finally find their community.

This student displays clear values: community, ecoconsciousness, dedication, and compassion. An admissions officer who reads a diversity essay is looking for students with strong values who will enrich the university community with their unique perspective—that sounds just like this student!

One area of weakness in this essay is the introduction. The opening line— “I never understood the power of community until I left home to join seven strangers in the Ecuadorian rainforest” —is a bit clichéd. Introductions should be captivating and build excitement and suspense for what is to come. Simply telling the reader about how your experience made you understand the power of community reveals the main takeaway of your essay without the reader needing to go any further.

Instead of starting this essay with a summary of what the essay is about, the student should have made their hook part of the story. Whether that looks like them being exasperated with comments their classmates made about politics, or them looking around apprehensively at the seven strangers in their program as they all boarded their flight, the student should start off in the action.

India holds a permanent place in my heart and ears. Whenever I returned on a trip or vacation, I would show my grandmother how to play Monopoly and she would let me tie her sari. I would teach my grandfather English idioms—which he would repeat to random people and fishmongers on the streets—and he would teach me Telugu phrases.

It was a curious exchange of worlds that I am reminded of every time I listen to Indian music. It was these tunes that helped me reconnect with my heritage and ground my meandering identity. Indian music, unlike the stereotype I’d long been imbued with, was not just a one-and-done Bollywood dance number! Each region and language was like an island with its own unique sonic identity. I’m grateful for my discovery of Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil tunes, for these discoveries have opened me up to the incredible smorgasbord of diversity, depth, and complexity within the subcontinent I was born in.

Here’s an entirely-different sonic identity for you: Texan slang. “Couldya pass the Mango seltzer, please, hon?” asked my Houstonian neighbor, Rae Ann—her syllables melding together like the sticky cake batter we were making.

Rae Ann and her twang were real curiosities to me. Once, she invited my family to a traditional Texan barbecue with the rest of our neighbors. As Hindus, we didn’t eat beef, so we showed up with chicken kebabs, instead. Rather than looking at us bizarrely, she gladly accepted the dish, lining it up beside grilled loins and hamburger patties.

Her gesture was a small but very well-accepted one and I quickly became convinced she was the human manifestation of “Southern hospitality”—something reflected in each of her viscous, honey-dripping phrases. “Watch out for the skeeters!” was an excellent example. It was always funny at first, but conveyed a simple message: We’ve got each other’s backs and together, we can overcome the blood-sucking mosquitoes of the Houstonian summer! I began to see how her words built bridges, not boundaries.

I believe that sounds—whether it’s music or accents—can make a difference in the ways we perceive and accept individuals from other backgrounds. But sound is about listening too. In Rice’s residential college, I would be the type of person to strike up a conversation with an international student and ask for one of their Airpods (you’d be surprised how many different genres and languages of music I’ve picked up in this way!).

As both an international student and Houstonian at heart, I hope to bridge the gap between Rice’s domestic and international populations. Whether it’s organizing cultural events or simply taking the time to get to know a student whose first language isn’t English, I look forward to listening to the stories that only a fellow wanderer can tell.

This essay does an excellent job of addressing two aspects of this student’s identity. Looking at diversity through sound is a very creative way to descriptively depict their Indian and Texan cultures. Essays are always more successful when they stimulate the senses, so framing the entire response around sound automatically opens the door for vivid imagery.

The quotes from this student’s quirky neighbor bring a sense of realism to the essay. We can feel ourselves at the barbecue and hear her thick Texan accent coming through. The way people communicate is a huge part of their culture and identity, so the way that this student perfectly captures the essence of their Texan identity with accented phrases is skillfully done.

This essay does such a great job of making the sounds of Texas jump off the page, so it is a bit disappointing that it wasn’t able to accomplish the same for India. The student describes the different Indian languages and music styles, but doesn’t bring them to life with quotes or onomatopoeia in the manner that they did for the sounds of Texas.

They could have described the buzz of the sitar or the lyrical pattern of the Telugu phrases their grandfather taught them. Telling us about the diversity of sounds in Indian music is fine, but if the reader can’t appreciate what those sounds resemble, it makes it harder to understand the Indian half of the author’s identity. Especially since this student emulated the sounds and essence of Texas so well, it’s important that India is given the same treatment so we can fully appreciate both sides of this essay.

More Supplemental Essay Tips

How to Write a Stellar “Why This College?” Essay + Examples

How to Write a Stellar Extracurricular Activity College Essay

Do you want feedback on your diversity essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

essay sample on culture

Project Types We Cover

  • Admissions Essay
  • PowerPoint Presentation
  • Research Paper
  • Book Reviews
  • Personal Statement
  • Ph.D Dissertation
  • Proofreading

Academic Fields & Subjects

  • Programming
  • Computer Science
  • Other projects we help with
  • Our Experts
  • Plagiarism Checker
  • Writing Tips

Importance Of Culture Essay: Get Inspired By Our Samples and Tips

By: Tasha Kolesnikova

Importance Of Culture Essay: Get Inspired By Our Samples and Tips

Every student exploring cultural and other social studies may face the task of writing a thematic essay. This type of educational activity is an independent reflection of a person on a scientific problem, using ideas, cultural backgrounds, associative images from other areas of their own culture, personal experience, and social practice.

Good Essay Sample

Why is it a good essay, an interesting start: let's intrigue the reader.

  • Body: The Most Informative Block 

Logical Conclusion

Speech culture, clothing culture.

  • Religion Culture 

Food Culture

The result of such work can affect a lot of things, including the final grade or the teacher's impression. So, we have prepared some of the most important guidelines for writing an essay. Of course, we will try to give specific examples. Well, let's go for an A +!

This is a good essay on the topic "The Culture and Society" written by Chloe. Some of the principles of creating a first-class work will be explained taking the excerpts from this text as a reference:

"Culture plays an essential role in the life of a person and society. It acts as a means of accumulation, storage, and transmission of human experience. It is the culture that shapes people into who they are as they gain knowledge, learn the language, symbols, values, norms, customs, and traditions. It is the glue that holds all these achievements. To prove this, I conducted research and found out what culture really gives to society.

First, culture helps to develop a variety of skills. Cultural involvement and creative potential were essential to the "universal man" of the Renaissance. One of the most famous examples is Leonardo da Vinci. He combined scientific and writing activities with art. In the modern world, many celebrities agree. Jared Leto is a prime example. He created a rock music band, then developed his acting skills over time. Thus, the desire to master new knowledge in the culture of cinema, music, art helps to develop.

Second, culture creates new needs. The culture of energy-saving and rational use of natural resources covers for such needs as:

  • creation of infrastructure for sorting and utilization of various types of waste;
  • installing solar panels on homes;
  • access to budget electric transport.

For example, in 2017, Tesla Motors presented buyers a model of an electric car worth 35 000 dollars, while now the cost of cars is about 100 000 dollars. Therefore, it is essential for people to preserve nature and not deplete resources, so people are inspired to create new projects to satisfy their needs.

Third, culture contributes to the economy. The turnover of the cultural and creative industries is $1,3 trillion, and the growth rates are outstripping the industries of production and services. Cultural tourism accounts for about 40% of the global industry's revenues and has shown steady growth over the past decade. Thus, throughout the world, culture is an increasingly important source of employment and income.

Fourth, culture helps cities. In 1997, the Guggenheim Museum was opened in the city of Bilbao in northern Spain. The design's originality turned this place into a vibrant landmark that breathed new life into the provincial town. In the first three years of the museum's operation, tourists who visited Bilbao left more than $110 million in regional taxes. This influence of architecture on the urban economy is now called the "Bilbao Effect."

Fifth, culture preserves and transfers knowledge to the whole world. For example, culture conveys knowledge about society's life in southern England in the first half of the 19th century. From what dances were popular to the traditional daily routine. You can glean such information not only from history books but also from the novels of Jane Austen. You can already find London life details at the end of the century in a series of books about Sherlock Holmes.

Thus, culture is truly the glue that holds all achievements together. It is not only complex and diverse but also highly mobile. It is a living process, constantly moving, developing, changing. Culture helps the world to be better in every way. You can draw strength and inspiration from it. I advise all people to learn about culture because it is of great value to the modern world."

Generally speaking, Chloe managed to create a good written work, which is likely to receive a B grade. Her work is concise and covers a variety of cultural aspects.

In Chloe’s essay:

  • 534 words or approximately 1 typed page;
  • An average reading time is about 4-5 minutes.

Such a volume is enough to concisely explain the importance of cultural features. On the other hand, reflections on cultural differences and the value system are not too long, which will allow the professor to study the work quickly. And this is great because no one likes lengthy "everything and nothing" essays.

However, there are no clear criteria for the volume of essays on cultural studies, as they highly depend on your educational institution. Sometimes short essays are highly rated, and the long ones don't impress the teacher. After all, the most important role is played not by the number of pages of the essay but by its content.

Creating an A+ Importance Of Culture Essay Structure

Writing a good length essay is not enough to prove an understanding culture of the issues. An essay focusing on such a vast topic should have a clear structure. It doesn't matter if you write about material culture, health care, cultural traditions, or globalization — your text should contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion for an excellent mark.

It is important to gradually reveal the topic but not lay out all the trump cards immediately — that is why any essay about socialization or even cultural identity needs an interesting intro.

Let's analyze Chloe’s essay introduction in detail. The advantages are:

  • It gives a brief overview of what culture is;
  • The reader is smoothly led to the main body of the essay.

However, there are some disadvantages as well:

  • The introduction doesn’t hook the reader, it appears monotonous;
  • There is no focus provided in the intro, making it unclear what the essay is going to be about

In fact, you can do better! The main key — make the introduction more specific. The introduction should be able to explain why a student is exploring a topic of, for example, cultural values or ethnicity.

Also, don’t make the introduction too small. Regardless of which cultural heritage you are going to write, 1-2 sentences will definitely not be enough. Here is an example of what an A+ introduction would look like:

“Culture plays an essential role in the life of a person and society. We feel its presence from early childhood, as it gradually shapes us into who we are. It acts as a means of accumulation, storage, and transmission of human experience, making it a fascinating and diverse topic to study. In this essay, I decided to focus on figuring out how cultural aspects influence our lives nowadays. “

Here the author not only gives the reader a general idea of the topic but also provides information on what the essay will be focusing on in a brief yet intriguing manner.

Body: The Most Informative Block

When creating an essay about material culture, the values of different groups of people, enculturation, and other similar topics, it is important to structure the text. If you have any arguments, main thoughts or provisions, it is better to highlight them at:

  • Paragraphs — if the essay is quite small (up to 500 words);
  • Subheadings — if the essay is long enough (more than 500 words).

For example, in Chloe’s, each cultural component of cultural influence on human beings has a separate paragraph.

Here are some additional tips for improving the body of the essay to receive an excellent grade for it:

  • Make sure it contains enough examples. This will allow you to write about the sense of belonging to different cultures more clearly.
  • If you are sharing any socialization research, do not forget to attach a link to the source. You can do this in the "Sources" section, or you can highlight a couple of keywords in the text with HTML.

Likewise with the intro, when writing about the daily lives or globalization issues, remember to use linking words .

Let’s take a look at how Chloe’s essay’s main body could be improved using one paragraph as an example:

“Also, culture plays a crucial role in urban development. For instance, in 1997, the Guggenheim Museum was opened in the city of Bilbao in northern Spain. The design's originality turned this place into a vibrant landmark that breathed new life into the provincial town. Notably, in the first three years of the museum's operation, tourists who visited Bilbao left more than $110 million in regional taxes. Since then, this influence of architecture on the urban economy is now called the " Bilbao Effect ."

You can see that the use of linking words ensures a better flow of thought in your written work, contributing to a clear and logical structure. Also, note how the term now contains a link to a reliable source.

We have come to a very important part of the essay, the conclusion. It will allow the professor to understand how deeply the student has understood the topic. Unfortunately, the conclusion of Chloe’s essay is watery and doesn’t provide value to the reader.

Worry not! We will give other ideas for completing your essay on organizational culture or different ways of life topic. As a rule, there are three good tricks for creating a logical ending:

  • Citations. The most common and easiest way to complete an essay, but not always the most actionable. The teachers are already a little tired of quotes from great people. So, you should do your best with the choice of a suitable quote.
  • Rhetorical question. Firstly, although rhetorical questions do not require an answer, they involve an invisible dialogue with the reader. Thus, you should present your perspective after the question, and the reader can agree or disagree with it.
  • Summarizing the author's position. It is a good way to outline the main idea of the work. Make sure that the summary doesn`t turn into a retelling — be brief and just generalize. The goal is to bring the reader to a new level of thinking on a given topic.

Here is an improved variant of Chloe’s essay, providing its summary:

“My research has proven that the importance of culture is difficult to overestimate. A variety of cultural aspects are the glue that holds members of society together. It has been this way in the past and keeps being true until now. Culture is a living process, constantly moving, developing, and changing. Our goal as human beings is to acknowledge its impact on society and contribute to its development.”

Well, the structure is clear! Are you ready to write about Asian culture, modern values, or other interesting topics?

Best Ideas For Culture Essays

Sometimes the head is ready to turn into a melting pot while choosing a suitable topic for writing a culture essay. In fact, you can choose any country or nation from different parts of the world and write about their customs. Also, you can reveal one of such topics:

  • Material culture in the 20th and 21st centuries
  • New generation cultural values
  • Cultural change: how moving to New York will change the norms of human behavior?
  • The ritual culture in the ancestors’ lives
  • Globalization and the cultural impact
  • How to identify a person's culture by dialogue?
  • Why did the culture of the ancient peoples praise various gods?
  • Why do some modern people appreciate the culture of ancient traditions?
  • Will the new cultural norms completely destroy the old traditions?
  • A cultured person is a good person — is that true?

However, culture is not only about traditions, habits, and upbringing. You can write about certain parts of human life, such as clothing, religion, speech, or food.

Speech is a reflection of a person's inner world. When we feel bad or good, we always try to share it with a friend or family. On the other hand, speech is an indicator of how a person relates to the world around him and how he was brought up.

That is why the culture of speech is a great topic for an essay in which you can reveal the following points:

  • the impact of the rapid language modernization on the speech culture
  • profanity and where did the taboo on swearing come from
  • culture of formal and informal communication

The main points of such essays are usually concluded in a similar thought:

«Speech represents one of the essential characteristics of humanity from other living beings in this world. At the same time, people have figurative speech, so they can transmit some elementary signals and fantasize, use logical thinking, and much more. In fact, having the ability to speak makes us human.»

There are many aesthetic education methods, but the culture of clothing is considered one of the main ones. You can write an essay about:

  • the formation of aesthetic preferences depending on the particular country culture
  • business dress culture
  • the clothing culture in different decades

In addition, the formation of aesthetic taste is influenced by personal characteristics, i.e., age, lifestyle, specialty, place of residence — this topic is also perfect for a culture essay.

Religion Culture

For thousands of years, religion has been an important factor in the cultural life of people. Without faith in something divine, most likely, no nation would exist now in the form in which our contemporaries see it.

For a long time, religion was the only worldview culture system. However, the world does not stand still, so now God`s existence is a huge question — this is why agnosticism and atheism appeared.

In your essay, you can cover the following topics:

  • How does the country of residence affect the culture of religion?
  • How do modern culture and religion interact?
  • Culture in Christian and Muslim families

In general, you can write on any other similar topic because religion is a very wide area with many unanswered questions.

When a tourist arrives in a new country, the first thing to do is trying the local cuisine. And this is the first step towards a foreign culture! Food, its type of presentation and the way of eating, its taste — this is a whole complex of cultural characteristics of a particular nation. For example, in India, you cannot eat with your left hand, and in Muslim countries, pork meat is prohibited.

Thus, you can easily write a culture essay about:

  • tabooing certain products in different countries
  • food intake culture and features of national dinners
  • dining etiquette

All the examples and tips provided will allow you to choose the most interesting topic for creating the perfect culture essay. Enjoy the writing!

Check out our other web pages for more essay help and essay editing . Alternatively, you may wish to use our proofreading services for polishing and perfecting your essay to give you that extra grade boost!

User ratings:

User ratings is 4.8 stars.

4.8 /5 ( 37 Votes)

essay sample on culture

Content Writer

I studied sociology and marketing at Europa-Universität Viadrina (Germany) and Universidade da Beira Interior (Portugal). When I was a sophomore, back in 2018, I decided to put what I've learned into practice, so I got my first job in digital marketing. I currently work in the content marketing department at Studybay, building strong, effective, and respectful communication between the platform and our clients.

Add Your Comment

We are very interested to know your opinion

essay sample on culture

Upgrade your writing skills!

Try our AI essay writer from Studybay today!

What Is Culture and What Are Some Popular Culture Essay Topics?

Patricia Stones

Culture determines what is acceptable and unacceptable in any society. Social norms are borne out of culture. It is manifested through our art, music, dance, architecture, technologies, and writings. Holidays such as Halloween and Christmas are part of a larger culture. And within that culture, there are smaller cultures which have their own behaviors and norms. America is a melting point of cultures, making it one of the most vibrant places to live in the world.

Based on that description, it is easy to see why culture is a very common topic for essays. There is so much to write about regarding culture, and at the same time, essays on culture are very informative and enlightening. Essay topics on culture can be broad, or they can be very specific. Let’s look at some popular topics.

  • Personal Culture Essay

This is a great option, particularly for those with rich and unique cultures. Writing about your culture is not only informative to the reader, but it also gives you a chance to explore and celebrate your heritage. In writing about your culture, you can discuss it as a whole or focus on a particular element you find more fascinating. You can also explore the history of your culture and all the influences that make it what it is today. If you’re feeling bold, you can even address the more controversial elements of your culture through an argumentative essay that is sure to impress readers.

  • History of Culture

How exactly did culture come to be? Did we start with one universal culture that slowly evolved into thousands of other cultures? This is a great topic to write about in a culture essay. You can focus on the anthropological origins of culture and its evolution over time.

  • How Culture Changes

Culture is dynamic, ever-changing to fit the times. There are many ways in which cultural change comes about, including innovation, revolution, and modernization. An essay exploring how culture changes and the challenges that come with this change would be fascinating and can even be developed into a research paper.

  • Hierarchy of Cultures

Are some cultures better than others? Unfortunately, many people would believe so. Cultural superiority has been a controversial issue for a long time and a sore spot for humanity. Many conflicts in society can be traced back to the idea of cultural superiority. An essay on this topic can take a close look at what makes people think their cultures are better than others, and the distinction between high culture, low culture, popular culture, and folk culture.

Table of Contents

What Is Culture Essay and How Do You Write One?

Now that we have looked at some interesting topics on culture let us discuss exactly how culture essays are written. Whether it is a long or short essay on culture, it must be able to provide a well-defined theme or thesis along with supporting evidence. Just like any other essay, a paper on culture can take on different styles depending on the purpose of your essay.

  • A narrative essay tells a story from the author’s perspective. Narrative essays are about story-telling with the main theme here being culture. Such an essay can be about the author’s personal experience with another culture. If you wanted to write about your experience in Greece, for example, a narrative essay would be perfect.
  • A descriptive essay is all about the details. It is intended to paint a picture using words. This is a great opportunity to write about a culture you find fascinating. You could, for example, write about life in ancient Rome; taking readers into that culture while appealing to their emotions.
  • Expository essays are about the facts. Here you would present an informative and factual essay about culture based on research. Expository essays are not about the author’s feelings or opinions but merely about what can be proven. A how does language affect culture essay would be perfect for the expository style.
  • Lastly, there are persuasive essays. These are all about persuading the reader to accept your point of view. They use a mixture of facts and personal feelings to bring across a clear argument. For example, if you wanted to write about abolishing the harmful cultural practice of child marriage in India, a persuasive essay would be ideal.

A Culture Shock Essay Is a Great Place to Start

When it comes to writing about culture, the options are unlimited as we have seen. While it is quite enlightening to write about your own culture, readers are often fascinated by stories of other cultures, particularly those that differ greatly from their own. Culture shock is defined as the feeling of being disoriented when encountering an unfamiliar culture. Individuals who travel often or who live in culturally heterogeneous societies experience different forms of a culture shock when they come into contact with a way of life or a set of values that is unlike their own. Culture shock is actually constructive as it challenges individuals to expand their world-view and enhance their adaptability.

A culture shock essay can explore different themes regarding cultural disparities. It can be something as simple as language barriers or different modes of dressing. While simple, these elements of culture can present challenges for people, who are not from that culture. For example, most cultures across the Middle East value extremely modest dressing, particularly for women. Western societies, on the other hand, do not impose strict dress codes, instead of allowing people to freely express themselves through their clothes.

This would present great culture shock for a European visiting say Yemen. Other aspects of culture shock that can be explored through an essay include customs, norms, values, and food. The essay can focus on your personal culture shock experience, the benefits and challenges of culture shock, and even ways to deal with culture shock. The options are numerous. Let’s look at other culture essay example ideas.

Culture Essay Example and Writing Services

Our expert team of writers has completed hundreds of culture essays, and they are available to help you complete yours too. Here are some examples of high-quality essays written by our writers.

  • An expository essay on the impact of African slaves on American culture

This essay looks at how slaves brought to the United States in the 16 th century changed the culture of the time and how these changes have persisted centuries later. Africans came with their own culture and had a major impact on American religion, art, literature, music, language, dressing, and behavior.

  • Characteristics of Culture

This essay explores the elements of culture that make it what it is. Culture is learned, shared, and social process. It is also continuous and ever-changing. Each of these characteristics of culture in addition to others is discussed exhaustively in the essay.

  • Princeton Culture Essay

Princeton University application essays feature different prompts that are meant to explore applicants’ views and knowledge on a number of issues. Each year, one of the prompts is designed to examine applicants’ views on culture. The 2019-2020 supplemental essay prompt on culture, for example, features a quote by Philosophy Professor Gideon Rosen. Our writers have helped applicants interpret this quote, and other culture prompts through very insightful essays.

We hope these essay examples have been helpful to you and have shown you what our writers are capable of. If you’re still trying to rack your brain around what is culture essay and how to write one, you don’t need to worry anymore. We are here to help you! Our writers deliver top-notch essays, and they are available 24/7 for you. You can pick one of the popular culture essay topics provided, or you can let our writers come up with a creative and fresh topic for you. Either way, we guarantee to deliver amazing work that you will be proud to submit.

Our work is 100% original, meets the standards of academic writing, and will help improve your performance. We also guarantee that you will receive your essay before your deadline. So, don’t wait any longer. Order today and get your essay completed hassle-free!

1 Star

15% OFF Your first order!

Aviable for the first 1000 subscribers, hurry up!

You might also like:

Nursing Research Topics for Students

150 Qualitative and Quantitative Nursing Research Topics for Students

Data Gathering Procedure Example

Why You Should Read a Data Gathering Procedure Example

What Is Culture Essay

Money-back guarantee

24/7 support hotline

Safe & secure online payment

Home / Essay Samples / Culture

Essays on Culture

Should columbus day be a national holiday in the usa.

Columbus Day, celebrated on the second Monday of October, has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1937. It commemorates Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas in 1492. However, in recent years, the holiday has become a subject of controversy and debate. In...

A Celebration of Friendship: My Friend's Birthday Party

Celebrating the milestones in our friends' lives brings joy and warmth to our hearts. One such memorable occasion was my friend's birthday party, an event filled with laughter, camaraderie, and unforgettable moments. In this essay, I will recount the delightful experience of my friend's birthday...

Culture and Identity of Nepal

Nepal, a land nestled in the Himalayas, is a mosaic of diverse cultures and identities that have flourished over centuries. This essay delves into the rich tapestry of Nepali culture and its profound impact on shaping the collective identity of its people, exploring the unique...

Religious Places of Nepal: a Spiritual Journey Through the Himalayas

Nepal, nestled in the lap of the Himalayas, is not only renowned for its stunning natural beauty but also for its rich religious heritage. The country is a melting pot of cultures and faiths, making it a haven for spiritual seekers and pilgrims. In this...

Multiculturalism in India: Diversity and Unity

India, often referred to as a subcontinent, stands as a true testament to the beauty of multiculturalism. Its vast expanse is a canvas painted with an array of cultures, languages, religions, and traditions, each contributing to the vibrant tapestry of Indian society. Multiculturalism is more...

Multiculturalism in Schools: Embracing Diversity for Learning

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, the concept of multiculturalism has gained prominence as an essential paradigm for creating inclusive and dynamic learning environments. Multiculturalism in schools goes beyond mere acknowledgment of cultural differences—it entails celebrating diversity, promoting understanding, and preparing students to thrive in...

The Significance of Individualism in American Culture

Individualism is a cultural hallmark that has shaped the unique identity of American society. This essay explores the profound role of individualism in fostering diversity, encouraging self-expression, and promoting social progress, while also examining the challenges of balancing personal autonomy with collective responsibility. Individualism has...

The Magic of Holiday: Why I Love Christmas

Christmas, a cherished holiday celebrated around the world, holds a special place in my heart. This essay explores the reasons why I hold a deep affection for Christmas, examining the joyful traditions, the spirit of giving, and the sense of unity that make this season...

The Chinese Cultural Revolution Unveiled

The Chinese Cultural Revolution stands as a pivotal chapter in modern history, leaving an indelible mark on China's socio-political landscape. Initiated by Mao Zedong in 1966, this movement aimed to reshape China's cultural and ideological framework. However, the repercussions of the Cultural Revolution were profound,...

Exploring Whether Celebrities Deserve Their Money

The entertainment industry is notorious for showering celebrities with exorbitant earnings, raising questions about the fairness and justification of their wealth. This essay engages in the debate surrounding whether celebrities truly deserve the substantial financial rewards they receive, considering factors such as talent, societal impact,...

Trying to find an excellent essay sample but no results?

Don’t waste your time and get a professional writer to help!

  • Celebrations & Rituals
  • Culture Concepts
  • World Cultures
  • Pop Culture
  • American Culture
  • Multiculturalism
  • Chinese Culture
  • Indian Culture
  • Thanksgiving
  • Holi Festival
  • Spring Break

samplius.com uses cookies to offer you the best service possible.By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .--> -->