College Essay Writing Tips

...and now you have to write application essays. You have to think about how the way you write and what you write about can say about you. Your essay won't just show how well you know the English language and the mechanics of writing, and how to express yourself clearly. These essays are actually important because they can serve to reflect upon you and your life: your personality, values, cognitive processes and knowledge. Also, this is your chance to work around something undesirable in your application, such as a not-so-great GPA.

Certainly your essay won't be the most important factor determining your acceptance to a college, but it may act as the deal-breaker in the end.

Consider carefully what topic you'll be writing about and what you're letting the college know about you. What are colleges looking for? What kind of students do they want? Research what a college stands for and see how you fit with its values, standards and expectations. This can determine your writing style, whether realistic or whimsical. However, make sure you don't make it obvious in your essay that you're trying to tell them what you think they want to hear.

There are two types of essay questions: direct or indirect, meaning ones where they request you write about a specific topic, or ones where you are asked to choose a topic. What kind of subjects are you interested in? Sit down and think about what you can write about; what are your strengths? What do you do well and what activities have you participated in that you can elaborate on? You can even ask others what they thinks sticks out about you.

Try to show what makes you different from other applicants. Weigh your options; maybe you will even be able to find patterns between them and string them all together somehow. However, don't include so many points that it starts to look like a resume.

Keep your essay focused; don't stray, or else you might even end up avoiding the question the college asked. Remember that any essay can be good depending on how it's written.

Finally, take time on your essay; colleges appreciate an essay that seems well-written, the product of passion and thought. Be yourself. This is the tip I stress the most; you don't want to submit something that you haven't put your heart into.

Once you have an idea as to what you want to write about, you can start writing! Stick to the introduction-body-conclusion formula, and remember that each sentence needs a topic sentence. Support those sentences with evidence, facts about what you've done, but not a lot of boring history. Spend a lot of time on the intro because admissions offices read so many essays that you have to be able to hook them in once they start reading yours. Also, try to avoid using "In conclusion," "In summary," and so on in the conclusion; they're overused.

There are three types of essays you can write. The standard essay includes having points and supporting them all in separate paragraphs. Short yet effective essays focus on one point and are usually a paragraph to half a page long. Finally, narrative essays tell a story right from the start, and explain why it's important.

Once you've got an outline down, and you've started filling it in, you can reread and edit your essay. Avoid clichés! You might even want to use a famous quote in your essay, particularly in the conclusion.

Sometimes you might need to take a break and look at it again later to make sure you come across the way you want to and that it flows correctly. Try to take out extra information. Read it as many times as necessary, and maybe have someone else read it as well. You might even want to utilize a professional editing service.