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Wake Forest  /  Essays  /  Prompt 2

Wake Forest: Five books that intrigued you

~150 characters per entry (title, author, and whether it was required reading)

List five books you've read that intrigued you.
What it’s really asking

This is a list, not an essay, but it is a real window into your mind. Wake wants to see what you read when nobody assigns it, how wide your taste runs, and whether you are honest about it. The form asks you to mark whether each book was required, which quietly tells them how much of your reading is self-driven.

Why they ask it

In a few short lines, your shelf reveals your curiosity, your range, and your honesty. A list that is all assigned classics looks like a transcript. A list that mixes a tough novel, a science book you chose, and something you simply loved looks like a person.

Three ways in
Lead with what you loved

Open with one or two books you genuinely could not put down, even if they are not prestigious titles.

Show real range

Span at least two different worlds, a novel and a science or history book, say, so the list reflects a wide mind.

Prove self-driven reading

Include at least one not-required title to show you read on your own, not just for class.

✕  Weak opening

“To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, 1984, The Catcher in the Rye, Hamlet.”

✓  Strong opening

“Educated by Tara Westover (not required), which I finished at 2 a.m. and then re-read the ending.”

✦ Annotated example · Five books that intrigued you. Written by EssayLens to teach, not a real applicant’s essay. Tap a highlighted line →
1. The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs (independent). It made me notice the sidewalk outside my house. 12. Beloved, Toni Morrison (required, AP Lit). I reread the last chapter three times before I could move on. 23. Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman (independent). I now catch myself trusting the wrong instinct. 34. The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky (independent). The trial scene argues with me to this day. 45. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel (required, English 11). Proof that survival and art are the same act.56
  1. 1Each entry stays near the ~150-character limit and adds a one-line reaction, which is what makes the list reveal a mind rather than a syllabus. Marking it 'independent' signals self-driven curiosity.
  2. 2Honestly labeling a book as required reading is what the prompt asks for, and pairing it with a genuine reaction keeps it from sounding like an assignment.
  3. 3Range matters: a nonfiction psychology pick alongside fiction shows breadth. The reaction proves the book changed how the applicant thinks.
  4. 4A demanding independent read signals genuine intellectual appetite, the trait Wake prizes.
  5. 5Closing with a vivid, arguable claim leaves the reader with the applicant's interpretive voice.
  6. 6Across all five, the entries span urban theory, literary fiction, psychology, a Russian classic, and contemporary fiction, so the list as a whole reads as an honest, wide-ranging reader rather than a curated flex.
Stuck? Start here
  • Which book did you actually finish in one sitting, prestige aside?
  • What is one book you chose yourself that surprised you?
  • Do your five titles span more than one kind of world, or do they all look the same?
Before you submit
  • Is at least one title clearly self-chosen and marked not required?
  • Does the list show range across genres or subjects?
  • Would these five books, read together, suggest one specific person?

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