Date post: | 18-Jan-2016 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | gloria-obrien |
View: | 213 times |
Download: | 0 times |
Writing Your College Application Essay
Introduction
Your essay is like a window into your mind and personality
Unlike your grades and activities, your essay reveals the things that make you unique from other students
It also demonstrates your writing ability
What the Colleges Look For
This essay should be less about “what” you have done, and more about “why” you have done it
A good essay can help tip the scales and a poor essay can shut the door in your face
Some college officials claim that fewer than half of applicants put forth real, honest effort
At least 2 college admissions reps will read your essay when you submit it
Colleges Want to Know What Makes You Tick The primary rule in writing these essays is
to BE YOURSELF Pick a subject that you care about
(something significant and familiar to you) You should focus on showing PERSONAL
COMMITMENT and INVOLVEMENT in whatever you write about
The Questions that Colleges Ask
1. Why go to college, and why here?
2. Who are you? 3. Would you tell us a story about yourself?
4. What is important to you?
5. What would you like to tell us about yourself?
Why Go to College? Why Here?
DO Answer the question Learn what the school has to
offer before you write Think hard about why you
want to go to college (not “I want to get a good job)
Figure out why this college appeals to you
Focus on educational or personal reasons for going to college (not social, economic..)
DON’T Don’t flatter the college Don’t focus on size,
location, appearance Don’t admit that it’s your
“safe” school Don’t write that you’re
going to college b/c you don’t know what else to do
Why do you want to go to college? What are your career goals?How will this college help you fulfill your goals and aspirations?
Who Are You?
DO Answer the question Be as honest as you can Emphasize specific,
observable qualities that show your distinctive personality
Use specific examples Ask people who know you
well if they agree with what you write
DON’T Don’t be vague Don’t be too cute Don’t try to impress Don’t write everything
about yourself Don’t spill everything
about yourself
WhWhat is important to you? How would you describe yourself? Write your own recommendation to college. Whatmakes you different from other people?
Would You Tell Us a Story About Yourself?
DO Choose an experience that
you remember well (details!)
Pick an experience you can dramatize
Focus on a specific incident or event
Make yourself the central character of the story
DON’T Don’t think that something
ordinary can’t make a good story
Don’t choose a complicated event
Don’t lie Don’t ramble Don’t explain the point (let
the story make the point)
Should entertain and inform…suggests your values, clarifies your attitudes… ex) Describe a challenging situation and howyou responded.
What Is Important to You?
DO Choose a subject you care
about Let your head/heart be
your ‘source’ Think of 3 very good
personal reasons for your choice
Try out more than one answer
DON’T Don’t choose a topic
merely to look good Don’t be self-
conscious about your choice
Don’t choose a subject that requires research
Your preferences define you… What is your favorite quotation?What have you read that has had special significance for you?Identify a person who has had a significant influence on you.
What is your favorite noun?
What Would You Like to Tell Us About Yourself?
DO Choose something that
matters to you Consider explaining
something ‘unusual’ Use a style of writing that
sounds like you Write a piece that you
have written successfully in class
DON’T Don’t turn down the
opportunity to write more
Don’t try to impress Don’t repeat other
aspects of application
You may submit a poem, story or paper you have written in school. Choose a writing style that is familiar/ comfortable.
PITFALLS TO AVOID
Trying to Impress
Don’t state a ‘passion’ of yours that is not found elsewhere on your application
Almost any topic will do as long as it portrays the true ‘you’
Trying to Include Everything
Don’t try to write an entire autobiography
Avoid the “what-I-did-in-high school” approach
Focus on one topic that will set you apart
The “Jock” Essay
Don’t tell the typical story of how you won the race or what you learned by being the captain of the football team
You may write about sports if you can focus it around one specific lesson etc.
The Travelogue Do not write a
“common” essay about a certain trip
Do not list the places you visited, etc.
If you do write about a trip, focus on one insight or a particular moment that affected you
Straining to Be Funny
Cleverness might tarnish an otherwise perfect application
You can use playful, satirical language, but don’t overdo it
If you’re not usually funny, don’t try to be in your essay
Being Too Creative
If you get a strange question (“Write your own question and answer it”)… you don’t have to give a strange answer
Be sensitive and sincere in whatever you write
Being Too Ordinary Choose a unique
personal experience rather than typical ideas
Don’t follow the crowd and write the obvious
Most people will play it safe and write about school
Remember to Ask Yourself…
What is unique about me?
What do I want my reader to think of me?
Here’s a good place to begin…
Write a list of adjectives that describe what you like about yourself.
Then make another list about what you dislike.
Look for patterns or contradictions (and unusual combinations)
Choose one of the following topics…What are you good at? What has been your
greatest success? Your greatest failure?
What three words would you like engraved on your tombstone?
What is your strongest conviction?
What would you do with a million dollars?
If the world were to end one year from today, how would you spend your remaining time?
Composing Your Essay
The Introduction: Grab the Reader’s Interest
The Body: Putting the Pieces Together
The Conclusion: Giving a Farewell Gift
Introduction: Grab Your Reader’s Attention
(Begin with a “hook”… something catchy to lure them in)
1. Start with an incident
2. State an idea
3. Use a quotation
4. Define a word in a new way
5. Ask an interesting question that you will answer
The Body: Putting the Pieces Together Arrange ideas in an
orderly fashion (not random)
Save your strongest point for last
Good idea to have 3 sections
Consider your purpose as you write
The Conclusion: Give a Farewell Gift Rather than just ‘ending’ your essay, give
your reader something to remember you (idea, quotation, memorable phrase)
Sense of humor End with quotation Recall something from earlier Ask rhetorical question Speculate on what might occur in the future Avoid summarizing