Application Essays

Application Essays Approaching the essay with a fresh perspective gives your mind a chance to focus on the actual words rather than seeing what you think you wrote. All good stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end, so shape your story so that it has an introduction, body, and conclusion. Following this natural progression will make your essay coherent and easy to read. Your goal is to make sure that you get all the details of the story in place and that you are following the prompt of the university. Look at the lists you’ve already made and choose one or two topics and boil them down to the bare bones. CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit. This forces you to read each word individually and increases your chances of finding a typo. Remember, you won’t have a lot of time to impress your readers so your story must cut to the chase pretty quickly. Think of it like you are creating a preview to a new movie. You want to draw the reader in with the first words you say and keep them there until they finish your paper. The rules for writing a good essay are no different. After you brainstorm, you’ll know what you want to say, but you must decide how you’re going to say it. Create an outline that breaks down the essay into sections. Using lofty language and complex sentence structure can make you sound sophisticated, but is that really how you speak? Don’t let your voice get lost in the pursuit to impress readers. Instead, write like you speak â€" keeping in mind that proper grammar and spelling is still important. DON’T use the personal statement essay to repeat your resume. Your academic resume, which should include your GPA, completed coursework, and SAT/ACT scores. You should also include some evidence that you are ready for college, a record of your extracurricular activities, work experience, and recommendations. Most universities are looking for two different packages when you submit your college application. Next you will compile a list of your personal life experiences. If you do an online search of any university application requirements, this is pretty much the blanket list they will give you. But these are only surface materials that anyone can give. What they are really looking for is the underlying truths they will find in these documents. Your list will serve as your outline, and the expanded story you create will become the first draft. It won’t be perfect but all of the elements are already in place. Get your creative juices flowing by brainstorming all the possible ideas you can think of to address your college essay question. Avoid sorting through your existing English class essays to see if the topics fit the bill. These pieces rarely showcase who you are as an applicant. Reading aloud will also help you ensure your punctuation is correct, and it’s often easier to hear awkward sentences than see them. Don’t rely solely on the computer spelling and grammar check. Computers can't detect the context in which you're using words, so be sure to review carefully. They might be fine in a text message, but not in your college essay. Let your essay sit for a while before you proofread it.