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How to Write Brown's Teach a Class Essay

A class you would teach on any one thing, academic or not, in 100-150 words.

100-150 wordsRequiredIntellectual curiosity2026-27
Brown University's wording, checked October 26, 2026
“If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be?”

How to approach it

  1. 1Give the class a title and one session plan or reading.
  2. 2Let your enthusiasm show why you, of all people, would teach it.
  3. 3The question says academic or otherwise. Niche knowledge from a job, a hobby or your family counts.
  4. 4Let it connect loosely to how you like to learn, since Brown's other questions are about its Open Curriculum.

A structure that works

One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.

  1. 1The class title: specific, and a little playful if that is you.
  2. 2What the class would actually do: one session, one reading or one assignment.
  3. 3Why you are the person to teach it: where the knowledge or obsession comes from.
  4. 4What a student would leave able to see or do.

Where the 150 words go

PartWords
The moment or exampleabout 60
What it shows or changedabout 50
Why it matters, or what you bringabout 40
A title that already says something (invented student)
Reading the Bus: what a city's route map says about who it was built for.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Picking a subject to sound serious.
  • Describing the subject and never describing the class.

The checklist our grader uses for this question

When you check your Brown answers, this answer is read against these 5 areas. Each comes back Met, Partly or Missing with a quote from your draft as evidence, and together with the 100-150 words limit they set its readiness verdict.

AreaWhat a reader looks for
Answers the questionThe opening sentences answer what was asked, plainly, before background or a hook; every part of a multi-part question is answered.
One specific ideaIt names one specific topic, question or idea early, narrower than a whole subject.
Evidence you pursue itIt shows what the applicant read, built, asked or tried on their own, beyond required class work.
Your own thinkingThe reader sees how the applicant's mind works on it: a connection, an opinion, a question still open.
Brown's askNames one class and gives a sense of how the applicant would teach it or why it matters to them.

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Questions

How long is Brown's "A class you would teach" essay?

100 to 150 words.

Is it required?

Required. Brown's full set of questions is on the Brown supplemental essays page.

Can I reuse an essay from another college for this prompt?

You can start from material you have, but rewrite it for Brown's exact wording: answer every part of this question, and cut what it does not ask for.

Can Statementory write or improve my answer?

We never write or rewrite it: colleges ask you to affirm your essays are your own work. Our checker reviews it against the checklist on this page, quotes your own words, and asks the questions only you can answer.

More on Brown and this kind of question

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