PREPARING FOR THE ESSAY

Before you begin the process of writing your essay, look over your application carefully to see what kind of person is revealed there so far. What aspects of your background and achievements seem most important to you as you re view them? Is there anything special about your family background, your community or school, your achievements, or your work experience which might inspire a specific essay topic about which you could express your self in an interesting, genuine perhaps touching or amusing way? Does looking over this record of your life so far bring back any specific memories of happy times, sad times, difficulties you've overcome? Specific experiences usually make the best essay topics. The essay is the part of the application that seniors think over most. Just how important is it, what makes a good essay, and how can you get through yours successfully?

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ESSAY

The essay is "one of the most carefully read and influential parts of application. " Your essay is your chance to really come alive in your application, to express your personality and character. It can be your most powerful "hook," the part that really attracts someone on the admissions committee. How well you organize your ideas and express them is just as important as what you choose to write about. "Prose is what makes some applications sparkle," . "Some applicants don't measure up to others on grades, but exceptional writing can sweep them in. " The most important thing to remember is to be your self. The members of admissions committees have read thousands of essays. They can usually spot the student who is telling them what he or she thinks the staff wants to hear. Let your individuality come through in your choice of topic and your style of writing.

CHOOSING THE TOPIC

For some colleges, the essay topic is wide open, completely up to you. Others give you two or three specific topics from which to choose. The topics selected by the colleges can be very straightforward. Some ask you to discuss a book you have read, to tell them something significant about your extracurricular activities or work experiences, or to describe important academic goals. Other colleges ask questions that require more original thought on your part.

Typically, colleges ask a general question that gives you a great deal of leeway in how you choose to answer. Many ask you to describe a special interest, an important experience, or a significant person in your life and to discuss the impact of this person or thing. No matter what the question, remember these three pointers for your essay: make it specific, make it personal, and make it interesting.

When the topic is wide open, it is still a good idea to write something about your family background, an experience that has influenced you, or a person who has inspired you.

The first step in getting ready to write your essay may be the most important narrowing the topic. Instead of trying to tell everything about yourself, zero in on one specific aspect of your experience and then make it come alive with vivid incidents and examples. You could write about how you overcame a hardship in your life, how you took on and completed a difficult project, what it is like growing up in a large family or having immigrant grandparents, or how you were affected by a family crisis. If you choose one of these serious topics, be open and personal, but do not write a sob story that makes you sound unstable or self-pitying. Good essays can be humorous, too. But humor can be risky, so do not attempt this kind of essay unless you are a naturally funny person and a good writer. Remember that there is a fine line between being funny and being a smart aleck.

If you choose to write about a job or outside activity that has changed you in some way, remember the advice stated earlier: be specific. Do not just say, "Working in an office taught me how to cope with red tape and boredom and still motivate myself to do a good job. " Instead, give examples serious or humorous of things that happened on the job and how you coped with them. Describe the day the copying machine broke down and your boss came in three hours late and the phone would not stop ringing and how you dealt with it all. Don't just say, "Playing the violin has taught me the value of dedication and the necessity of making sacrifices in order to achieve my goals. " Instead, describe an incident in which you were forced to give up immediate pleasures in order to pursue long-range goals.

GETTING STARTED

How do you get started? You might consider starting a journal during your junior and senior years, a place to jot down memories and impressions. Early in your senior year sit down and make a list of topics or experiences that might be interesting to write about and read about. Look at your list a few days later and choose the two or three topics that seem most appealing. Then make an outline for each of them, detailing specific points or incidents you would write about. If it helps you to "bounce" ideas with other people, or express them out loud, by all means do so. Just make sure the final idea that emerges is your own.

Choose the topic that seems to have the most potential and let it simmer for a few days, giving yourself time to jot down random thoughts related to the idea without feeling any pressure.

WRITING THE ESSAY

Your essay will not be written in one sitting. Think of it as a process extending over several weeks. The finished product should be 200 to 500 words or one to two typed pages. Once you have your topic and have jotted down some ideas about it, make a more detailed outline than the first one you did. Try to organize all the material you have in a way that makes sense. Then start writing. Do not be too critical of your work at first. Just let your ideas flow. Spend a few days writing, putting the essay away, then coming back to reread and rewrite.

Once you have a draft you feel comfortable with, have one or two people whose judgment you trust read it over. These readers should have some idea of what admissions committees are looking for, and you may need to educate them about that. But what you really need to know at this point is how interesting and readable the essay is. Ask your readers to keep these questions in mind: Is it interesting? Does it have enough specific details to make it lively? . Is it well organized? Do the ideas make sense? Is there a natural flow from one idea to the next? Are there good transitions from one paragraph to the next? Do you come across as an intelligent, interesting person? Do you sound genuine and honest? Or do you sound conceited and egotistical? Preachy and pompous? Stiff and impersonal? Is your vocabulary conversational but correct? Have you used sentences of varying lengths and structures? Are there grammatical problems in the essay? Spelling errors? (Do not worry too much about proofreading now, though. )

Carefully consider the comments made by your readers and spend a few days rewriting your essay. When you have completed the final draft, have at least two people (including your English teacher, if you like), proofread it for errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar. Then type or print the essay on the form provided. Make several copies of the essay form first and practice printing or typing your essay on the copies before you put the final, final draft on the original form.

Return to Essay Page

Return to College Applications Page