Home |  Forward |  More Advice |  Subscribe (Free) November 29, 2007
With Rachel Korn, former admissions officer at several top universities.
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Begin Writing Essays
HEAD Start
TASK: Mapping out and planning your essays has given you the structure for what you want to say. Now it's time to finally sit down at the computer and write.

WHY: Starting early and writing your essays slowly over time will allow you to produce your best work. You'll have time to step away for a day or two during the process, allowing you to catch your own mistakes and improve what you say, and you can ask others for input for revisions both for content and grammar.

HEAD Lines
METHOD: How do you start writing?
  1. Think about essays you have written for your English classes: You'll need an introduction, a body paragraph or two, and a conclusion.
  2. Write in a stream of consciousness - let your fingers fly over the computer keyboard - and edit yourself later. You'll get it down to a page eventually, but feel free to over-write for now.
  3. Feel comfortable using your own voice. If you tend to be more serious, it's fine to write a formal, five-paragraph essay like you would for English class. But if you're especially creative or funny, you can adopt a more casual tone and structure. The bottom line: Do NOT try to be something you are not. The key to a good essay is how much it reflects YOU.
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From Other HEADS
IT WASN'T SO MUCH WHAT I talked about in my college admissions essay, but how I talked about it. I compared my grandmother to clementines (the fruit), and I carried the concept throughout. It was quirky, but I made it work, and that essay made every college I applied to think I was a quirky yet interesting person. More than anything else, it showed that I could communicate well, which is one of those "have it or perish!" skills.

-- ERIN
TACOMA, WASHINGTON


BE YOURSELF IN YOUR ESSAY. That's all I did. My essay was about my worst fear, which at the time, was sharks. I had learned to surf, and one day when I was surfing I saw two sharks swimming by me. I lifted my legs and arms out of the water and let them go by me. I wasn't hurt, and I realized I had faced my fear. Since that moment, I haven't been afraid of them. That's what I wrote about in my essay.

-- JENNIFER DRAGOVICH
SEMINOLE, FLORIDA



Web Resources
For more in-depth essay advice, check out: www.transworldeducation.com/articles/nessay.htm


HoH Tip
No matter how tempting, DON'T have someone else write your essay. This includes your mom, your big sister, and those expensive services available through the Internet.
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