The prompt to which I'm responding is pretty straightforward & common-- "If you could have lunch with any famous person, either living or dead, whom would you choose and why? Describe your conversation at lunch."
Instead of describing what we would do, I would like to create a first-person fictional narrative that includes dialogue. Is this straying too far from the "essay" format? Should I write a disclaimer saying that the essay is fictional?
As much as I would like to do this, I am concerned that the essay would be too "different". Can somebody help me out?
Ask your teacher. I can't imagine most teachers would be at all opposed to a student taking a creative approach to a topic like this, but it is best to make certain, and only your teacher can tell you for certain if this will be acceptable to him/her.
Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to add that this is for a scholarship. Having a teacher would certainly be nice, though..
I was thinking of creating an atmosphere & storyline around the encounter. The person I've chosen lived a long time ago, so I want to insert myself into the time period and establish myself as a character.
Oh, in that case, taking an interesting approach that makes you stand out is definitely a good idea. Just make sure you implement it well.
Thank you! I'll try.
I have thought about this contest as well. With the deadline only 8 days away, I don't think I will put anything together for it. Besides, there are only two winners nationally and I imagine that the competition will be too stiff for me to be in contention. All of the previous winners have been university or graduate students and I am a high-school peon.
To get back to your question . . . I think that a dialogue would fit the prompt and the situation just fine. I imagine that they get get quite a few entries written in dialogue. I don't think it would be too different at all. There is no need for a disclaimer. Now if the conversion were *real*, then you would need to let the panel know that. They are asking "if" you could have lunch with someone, who would that be. They even give you the option of dining with a famous person who is dead. No need for a disclaimer on that one!
In my experience, writing an essay n the form of a dialogue is so rarely done that the author always stands out from the crowd. Of course, if you stand out, then you have to do something to make good use of the attention! If you're going to be creative, be really creative! And, be sure that your grammar and punctuation are impeccable, because each sentence stands out starkly in a dialogue.
