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Think of the family members you mention as characters-describe them and give them some lines of dialogue. The tone of this essay should lean more toward memoir than report. Check it out! “CNF” is a big deal in literary magazines right now. This essay is a genre called creative non-fiction. High school students often say the same boring things in their essays, thinking they’re writing something “safe” when, in fact, playing it “safe” is often the most dangerous route you can take. They notice every grammar mistake, and it tortures them). They get depressed by all the bad writing they see (A bunch of them were probably English majors. Your audience is 1-2 college-graduated admissions officers (sometimes a committee if they are on the fence about your application) who have hundreds and hundreds of essays to read and can only give your application 8-15 minutes of review time.
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Ultimately, this is not a five-paragraph, MLA-formatted essay for your English teacher. In fact, you might uncover a creative opening while you’re in the middle of writing your draft. If starting the essay is holding you up, just skip the beginning or write something bland that you know you’ll change in revision. Resist the urge to blandly restate the key words of the prompt.
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Your job in the opening sentence is to help your reader connect with you as soon as possible. What used to be the opening paragraph in the first draft now serves as a reflection or revelation on the personal details. Now the essay opens with a more interesting, personal sentence about the author’s reading habits. In essence, start specific before you make general truth statements. Or work in your thematic sentence AFTER you’ve given a specific story or example. (Ex: “From the dawn of time…” or “Computers are the foundation of advanced society.” Go ahead and cut these.) One trick to avoid a generic opening sentence is to simply cut the generic statement you are tempted to write. General statements are pretty boring to start with, unless you’re unusually insightful or witty (See the first sentence of my favorite novel Pride and Prejudice for an effective first sentence employing a general truth statement-packed with ironic humor). In another technique, a lot of people warm up with a general truth or observation about the world. The benefit is we get straight to action. If you’re looking for a specific technique to start with-or a hook as some people call it-jumping right into a scene of your story is often effective. So you’re ready to start! Pick a prompt and sketch out some options! Follow steps 1-3 from my 15-step guide. Instructors then evaluate the chosen topics, provide feedback, edit first drafts, and help students with various other aspects of the college application. During our Apply Now! Boot Camps, our college counseling team provides exercises to help students brainstorm essay ideas. Write up a short summary of each story for your “sketch.” Then choose your favorite.Īnother place to start is to reflect on a meaningful moment in your life. If you have a couple of strong topics to choose from, why not “sketch” them out to get a better feel for how much you like these ideas (or how much you have to actually say about them). That’s not a lot of space to work with, and you’ll want to make every word count. Personal statements are typically about 500-700 words in length (check with the college for specific word count). However, your essay should center around one main topic or theme.
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You may have several possible topics in mind. The idea for this essay won’t just jump into your lap. Now that you know the nuances between the different types of college essays, let’s dive into how to start the writing process.įorethought is critical. However, word count often varies depending on the college and the prompt given. Supplemental essay: Some colleges (or competitive majors and honor’s programs within a college) require students to write additional essays that answer specific questions, like “Why did you choose this major?” or “What unique perspective will you bring to the table?” These short-answer prompts essays are often shorter, consisting of around 150-300 words. Word count usually ranges between 400-600 words in length. The content is usually centered around an open-ended essay prompt that showcases one’s interests, experiences, or a personal trait. Personal statement: Colleges sometimes refer to this type of essay as the “general admissions essay.” This is the most common type of admissions essay and is often one of the core requirements for general admission. There are two different types of college essays, and they each play a different role in the college admissions process.