Essay

Essay Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution. Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it. DO write about something about which you feel strongly. If you write on a topic in which you have little interest or knowledge, your lack of sincerity and enthusiasm will show. Start with a creative lead.Capture the readers’ interestin the first two sentences. On Christmas 2010, the one person I was working hardest for disappeared from my life. Imagine this is the most important day of your life. My life is a series of intense fascinations, which I dive into headfirst. “â€"ington, party of thirty, your tables are ready,” announced the hostess. You don’t have to make changes based on everyone’s comments, but give them all some careful thought and try to imagine how the essay would look if you made each change. An introduction like this is colorful and intriguing. It gives the reader a sense of expectation and excitement, without giving too much away from the beginning. I don’t think that originality should come at the expense of honesty. If you’re worried that your essay topic is a bit run-of-the-mill, you have two options. Focus on an event or idea rather than trying to cover an entire subject. Cynicism will not score points with the admission committee. Essay writing tips adapted from Kelly Tanabe’s “Four Steps to Writing a Winning Admissions Essay, Part I”. See how eliminating extra words actually makes your point stronger? Eliminatingprepositionsis a great, easy way to tighten your writing. Listen icons new The College Info Geek Podcast Learn how to be a more effective student, even while you're doing your laundry. Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. The outline is not for writing perfect sentences but rather for putting your ideas in the right sequence. Make sure you arrange your thoughts so that they make sense and lead one into the other. Take a notebook and write a page or two on each of your possible subjects. Where were the ideas pouring out and where were they feeling stuck? Let this exercise be the compass that points you in the direction of your topic. Writers live by the rule of “in medias res,” or starting in the middle. The conclusion finishes off the whole essay by nodding towards what came before without being repetitive and summarizing the takeaway. The body is for your main points and narrative. The first is to find another topic that feels authentic to you. The second is to find a unique angle within the topic. DO write about other people as well as about yourself. We are defined as individuals largely through relationships and experiences with others. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. icons new College Packing List Show up to your next semester ready for anything.