Aug 19, 2018 at 11:00 AM
Highlights from a talk on Writing College Essays
Your Essay Needs To Tell Admissions Readers
- Who you are
- What you are passionate about
- Why you should be in that class, what distinctive elements you will contribute
- Cardinal rule of college essays: admissions committee should hear your voice, know more about your history, interests, values and goals.
- “Add clarity, richness and meaning to other parts of application… The personal statement is your interview with the University of California.”
- Also used to evaluate your communication and writing skills: “ability to make a point in easy-to- understand and clearly stated manner.” (U Texas)
Getting Started / Brainstorming Ideas
Familiarize yourself with the form:
Personal essay
- This I Believe
- http://thisibelieve.org/essay
- After reading each one, answer two questions:
What did I learn about the writer?
Why did that piece work? Technique? Voice? - Successful college essays
Keep a Journal: Record ideas for short prompts and major prompts weekly
- Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure.
- Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea.
- Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content.
- Rite of passage, formal or informal, within your culture or family.
Do writing exercises
- Make a Timeline w/20 significant life events
- Identify and describe objects in your room
- "Value Search"- Define your top ten values in two sentences
- Elevator Speech/Pitch to Admissions
How Do You Know When You Are Done? Ask….
- Did I answer the prompt?
- Does it have a strong intro and powerful conclusion?
- Does it expand on presentation of who I am? Add info of value?
- Is it written in my voice? Would someone who knows you well identify essay as yours?
- Is it logical, grammatically correct?
- Is it developed beyond chronology to reflection? Does it state why topic matters to you?
- Does it complement other pieces of application?
- Did I let it rest? Have someone else proofread, comment?
- Did it meet word limit?
- Did I give them a good reason to admit me?
Posted in College Essays.