Mastering Your College Essay Writing Process
Your college essay is a crucial opportunity to showcase your writing skills and voice. Learn how to choose a compelling topic, draft effectively, and polish your essay for maximum impact. Follow expert tips to create a standout essay that highlights your strengths and experiences, guiding you towards successful college admissions.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Junior College Meeting May 2022 Writing Your College Essay
The college essay is an opportunity to accomplish two things: 1. To show an admissions committee how well you can write AND 2. To speak in your own voice about a topic/event/activity that is important to you, i.e. to tell the admissions committee something about yourself that isn t in the rest of your application.
Common Application Essay Prompts: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, please share your story. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you? Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Choosing a topic: It is usually wise to brainstorm around several options to see which ends up yielding the best opportunity to write about something that matters to you. Talking through your ideas with a trusted friend, family member, or teacher can often help you think broadly about range of possible topics. In the end, your choice should be guided by three questions: 1. Is my topic original?, i.e. This particular essay could only be written by you. 2. Does my topic highlight personal traits/growth/experiences that I am proud of and would make me a great addition to a college? 3. Does my topic focus on specific, rich, anecdotal detail (rather than broad, sweeping generalizations/observations?, i.e. Do I SHOW rather than tell my story?
Drafting the essay: Expect many drafts. Start with a brain dump of ideas before you worry too much about writing a polished essay. Your opening sentence needs to hook the reader. Admissions officers read so many essays; you want to grab their attention with an imaginative opening. Often the best college essays are about the smallest moments. Avoid a laundry list of accomplishments. The Common App essay allows a maximum of 650 words. Usually the challenge is NOT not writing enough, but rather choosing your words judiciously to maximize their effect active verbs, rich detail, vivid description, and thoughtful analysis will reveal your promise as a future college student.
Polishing the essay: Do not allow too many cooks to become involved in the writing process, other than as proofreaders. Your authentic voice is most important. Generally, feedback from one or maybe two trusted resources (parent, teacher, advisor, friend, college counselor, etc.) is plenty. Spelling, punctuation, grammar, clarity, and neatness all matter, and they can sabotage an otherwise competent and compelling essay. In particular, if you choose to mention the name of a college in your essay, double and triple-check that it is the correct college each time you submit. Allow plenty of time to write your essay(s). Edit, re-edit, and proofread again and again! If you wait until the last minute, it will show.
Supplemental essays: Many colleges require one or more shorter supplemental essays in addition to the main Common App essay. Supplemental essay prompts are usually more college-specific. They can be used to gauge demonstrated interest by asking why us? Or they can be questions that ask you to delve more deeply into a specific interest, value, perspective that you will share with your college community. Some important things to keep in mind: Answer the question. Don t try to adapt or reuse an essay written for another college. Make sure you are not repeating something already covered in your main essay. Narrow your focus. Most supplemental essays have very limited word counts, so don t try to cover too much. As always, be yourself. Sometimes the topics are so quirky that you can be tempted to respond in ways that aren t really you. Be original but maintain your voice throughout.
Optional Covid-19 prompt: Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces. Do you wish to share anything on this topic? Y/N Please use this space to describe how these events have impacted you. The question will be optional and will appear in the Additional Information section of the application. The response length will be limited to 250 words. The question will be accompanied by a more detailed FAQ to help students consider the kinds of impacts they may wish to report, including illness and loss, housing and employment disruptions, and shifting family obligations.
Timeline: Start now! No matter what your application timeline is (early, rolling, regular decision, etc.), you will be very busy next fall, and you will be extremely happy if your Common App essay is not still on your list of things to do. A DRAFT OF YOUR COMMON APP ESSAY WILL BE DUE ON THE FIRST DAY OF YOUR SENIOR-YEAR ENGLISH CLASS.
