What Makes A Great College Essay?

What Makes A Great College Essay? A college application essay is all about reflection; it’s an opportunity for applicants to share something meaningful about themselves. David Nathan is a high school English teacher and Nick Accrocco is a college counselor who have collaborated on a book about college admissions. Provide some details to help the reader see the setting and understand you better as a person. From the perspective that you have gained in life, discover the message or story line that is unique to you. She works directly with students, and trains school counselors, English teachers and independent educational consultants. Make sure you haven’t lost your personal touch to your story. Colleges want to get to know the real you, so be sure to weave your unique voice into your content wherever it fits most authentically. After you’ve exhausted your early ideas, it’s time to begin a more structured approach to writing your essay. Pull together all of your notes into an outline that has a clear introduction, body, and conclusion to give your ideas a more defined order. You want the story to be thorough without any loose ends. Once you’ve chosen your prompt, it’s time to begin brainstorming! Her best friend was a boy with purple hair who once wore a shirt with built in LED lights for Christmas. They were the most popular people in school, in direct contrast to all that was socially acceptable in New Haven. Our peers recognized them as being unique, but instead of ostracizing them or pitying them, the students in Berkeley celebrated them. Have a technique to fall back on any time you get stuck in writing, which may happen a zillion times over your lifetime. Develop the arc of your essay with an introduction, body and conclusion. Ready to buckle down and start writing, but not sure what to write about? Read on for these eight tips on how to get started with your essay, and what to include in it. Once you have a more refined draft, the best next step is to get feedback on it. Have your family, friends, teachers, and guidance counselor review it. Another set of eyes will always be able to pull out errors in grammar, spelling, continuity, and clarity that you might not be able to identify after having read your own work many times over. Ask them if they can hear your voice come through strongly in your writing? It’s an odd, vibrant place with odd, vibrant people. Originality is celebrated there â€" not in the half-hearted “good for you” way, but in the full-throated “GOOD FOR YOU! One of the first of my fellow students to befriend me wore corset tops and tutus and carried a parasol with which she punctuated her every utterance. Jot down notes you have about the topic without any sort of order to them; this will allow you to get out a free flowing of ideas. If you start early, this will be one of the most rewarding parts of composing the essay. It’s where you have the time to get creative and excited about sharing your story without being restricted by formal writing rules. Approaching the essay can seem daunting, but like with everything else in your college search, the best way to approach it is to get organized early! Since the essay will take a significant amount of your time from brainstorming all the way through your final edits, start thinking about it early in August or September. Do not try to be something you are not or try too hard to impress. Colleges love to see students who are very self-aware and that are taking the time to share who they truly are in their own voice. When you begin the process of writing the first draft, let your ideas flow. Imperfections are to be expected in early editions of your essay. In this draft, try to answer the basic 5 W’s to make sure you are telling a complete story that is easy to understand for the reader. The persuasive personal essay turns ethos, pathos, and logos into a song for our common humanity, by sparking recognition in the reader for another’s foibles, trials, and shared beliefs. And here you thought essays were just painful exercises.