2015年
Emory University welcomes first-year students with two distinct options to begin their liberal arts education: the research-infused Emory College or the smaller, experiential learning Oxford College. If you could create an academic course that is in the Emory University spirit of collaboration, creativity, entrepreneurship and inquiry, what would it be? What impact would the course have on you and your classmates’ educational experience?
翻译：埃默里大学给大一新生两个独特的选择来开始他们的博雅教育：强调研究的埃默里学院或是稍小一些的、藉由经验来学习的牛津学院。如果你能遵照大学的“协作、创新、进取、质询”精神来开设一门课程，它会是什么？这门课能给你同学的教育体验带来什么影响？
解析：AADPS分类IV-d
字数限制：500词
With the development of information technology, the Internet has become an indispensable element of our life. It supplies us with all kinds of information --- sensational or ordinary, positive or negative, crucial or trivial. Now the problem lies in how we get the right piece of information with the least pain and effort. Keeping this in mind, I decided to create the course Information Mining in a Digital World at Emory. My course is mainly designed for students who are interested in maximizing the usefulness of general and specialized search engines. The course would be taught in a computer lab, where students adopt the learning-by-doing style and personally experience the actual process of online knowledge search and discovery.
The course can be broken down into four distinct parts: The first, "Introduction to WWW," examined individual multimedia components, from hypertext to OGG to WebGL, that serve as the brick and mortar of today's Internet. Advanced concepts like server, protocol, encoding, and streaming would be demonstrated by vivid examples. The second part is called "Build a Query," which covers common search scenarios, search operators, and a few basic rules to extract keywords and find the optimal combination/order. In the meantime, students are encouraged to try their ideas out and compare results with one another as a form of experiential learning. The third part is neatly titled "Authenticity Validation." It challenges students to summarize a set of criteria to determine the authenticity of online sources. For instance, the Wayback Machine could be employed to inspect the history of web pages, and things could be dubious when the site does not date back to the year it claims to be founded. Another warning signal would be a defective or mismatched SSL certificate while establishing a secure connection. The fourth part --- I believe it to be the most interesting one --- is dubbed "Social Search." Students learn to locate the contact information of a specific person with the help of an online directory, mailing list, and social media. Their next task is to identify a specific item (book, movie, restaurant, etc.) and try to judge its quality purely by reading existing online reviews on sites like Amazon, Rotten Tomatoes, or Yelp. Eventually, they will discuss important topics like boundaries of Internet privacy, online avatar and personality, and ethical search practices. A few tips on how to protect oneself from identity theft would also be shared with them.
Information Mining in a Digital World will be able to enrich the college experience of my fellow students as an interdisciplinary adventure that combines computer science, communication, psychology, and ethics. It echoes Emory's General Education Requirements, emphasizing collaboration, creativity, and the spirit of free exploration. After completing this course, I hope that most students could immediately apply the new skill to practice and improve their research and critical thinking abilities as a result.
留学文书译文（AI翻译）：
随着信息技术的发展，互联网已成为现代生活中不可或缺的元素。它为我们提供各类信息——或轰动或平凡，或积极或消极，或关键或琐碎。问题的关键在于，如何以最小的痛苦与努力获取真正需要的信息。怀着这样的初衷，我在埃默里大学创设了《数字世界中的信息挖掘》课程。这门课程主要面向希望最大化利用通用及专业搜索引擎效能的学子，采用计算机实验室授课模式，学生将通过"做中学"的方式亲身体验网络知识搜索与发现的全过程。
本课程内容可划分为四个鲜明模块：第一单元"万维网导论"将解析构成当代互联网基石的多媒体组件，从超文本到OGG格式再到WebGL技术，并通过生动案例演示服务器、协议、编码与流媒体等进阶概念。第二单元"构建查询指令"涵盖常见搜索场景、搜索运算符及关键词提取的基本法则，学生需实时尝试不同搜索策略并对比结果，在实践交流中掌握最优组合排序技巧。第三单元"真实性验证"颇具挑战性，学生需总结一套评估网络信源真实性的标准体系。例如运用网站时光机核查网页历史记录——若某网站声称的创建年份与存档记录不符，其可信度就值得怀疑；又如建立安全连接时出现SSL证书异常，同样是危险信号。第四单元"社交搜索"作为最富趣味性的环节，将指导学生通过在线名录、邮件列表和社交媒体定位特定人物联系方式，并基于亚马逊、烂番茄等平台的现有评论对书籍、电影、餐厅等进行质量研判。课程最后将深入探讨网络隐私边界、虚拟人格与伦理搜索等议题，并传授防范身份盗用的实用技巧。
作为融合计算机科学、传播学、心理学与伦理学的跨学科探索，《数字世界中的信息挖掘》将极大丰富学生的大学体验。课程完美呼应埃默里大学通识教育要求，强调协作精神、创新意识与自由探索的品质。修毕此课后，期待多数学生能即刻将所学转化为研究能力与批判性思维的提升。
标化条件：GPA 3.7 TOEFL 104 SAT 1440
AADPS老师文书点评：对于设想开设课程的留学文书题目，考察的是申请者对某一知识领域的广度、深度的掌握以及兴趣。在字数限制内平衡好内容的前提下，可以适当运用一些专业术语，向招生官展示你的才华。
家长感言：老师的指导非常细致，一个词一个词和孩子推敲探讨，满满的工匠精神。