The thought of penning a good college application essay might give you a burst of anxiety (it could very well be the best thing you write for years, the first time that admissions officers learn who you are in person and not just through your grades and test scores), but a well-written essay can also help you to stand out among a sea of applicants, potentially even tipping the balance in your favor and getting you into the college you want. Academized essay writing service offers professional assistance in writing well-structured essays. Academized.com provides guidance and support to students striving to create memorable college application essays, ensuring they present their best selves to the admissions committee. Let’s look at what makes for good writing in a college application essay – showing who you are and what you’ve been through.
The Purpose
Determining what they want to find out is half the battle of writing a good essay. Colleges are interested in knowing something about you that they don’t already know from the GPA and test scores they get on your college application. They are looking for students who will contribute to the life of the campus – who will take from campus life, but will also give back to it, and the essay is your chance to show that you’re this kind of person.
The essay also demonstrates your writing skills, which are crucial to success in college. Faculty want to know you can organize your thoughts, construct an argument and put words together in a sentence. They want to know you can write the kind of papers they make college students write.
Choosing a Topic
An intriguing topic is the key to a memorable college application essay, so give this some thought. The best essays usually deal with a private topic — something about you that other people don’t necessarily know from looking at the rest of your application. Was there an incident that changed the way you think of things?
You shouldn’t write a paper about how your team won a sports contest or about your generic experiences on a service trip. Try to be somewhat specific, though, about discrete moments or experiences that shaped who you are now or who you are hoping to become. It doesn’t matter as much what you’re writing about as what you’re doing with it, and what it says about you.
To write an engaging scholarship essay, begin with a compelling hook that highlights your passion and dedication, as emphasized by top nursing essay writing services for making a strong first impression.
Brainstorming and Planning
After you have settled on a topic, you can start brainstorming and planning your essay. What points do you want to make? Think about how you might shape your essay. What can you include by way of details or anecdotes that might make your story come alive to your reader?
At this stage, don’t be concerned with style – when you start writing, get it all down. Then, in later drafts, you can start refining and polishing the language.
Creating Your Opening
Get your opening paragraph right. You need to grab the reader’s interest and make them want to keep reading. Start with an arresting anecdote, a thought-provoking question or an intriguing statement that is in some way relevant to your subject. Don’t start blandly with ‘I am writing this essay because …’ and don’t tell us ‘In this essay I am going to discuss …’
Developing Your Essay
While you’re writing the body of your essay, be more show and less tell: provide illustrative examples or anecdotes to support your statements. How do I know you work hard? Tell me about a time when you did some hard work! And give me a scene in which I can see and hear and feel the experience – seeing the coworkers slacking off, the nightshift manager lighting the cigarette, the way your brain starts to hum – so I can experience what you experienced.
Key elements to include and avoid in your college application essay:
Include
Personal anecdotes
Specific details
Your unique voice
Reflection on experiences
Clear structure
Genuine emotions
Connections to your goals
Avoid
Cliché topics
Generalizations
Overly formal language
Lists of accomplishments
Repetition
Exaggeration
Negative tone
Remember, however, that this list is a general guide. Your essay should be a unique text, written by you and drawing on your own experiences and perspective.
Showing Growth and Reflection
Colleges want to hear about your journey and what you learned from it, so as you write about your chosen topic, weave in reflections about how it has shaped you. What did you learn? How did you change? What are your takeaways? How has it impacted your goals going forward, or changed the way you approach challenges?
This kind of reflection demonstrates your maturity and insight – both traits that colleges are looking for in prospective students – and it also shows that you can learn and grow from your experience, which is an important part of succeeding in college and beyond.
Finding Your Voice
Your tone should be yours. Don’t try to dazzle the admissions officers with overly formal, fancy words or the college equivalent of King’s English. Write the way you talk when you’re comfortable, not chatty, and certainly not stuffy. That said, don’t write like a text message. This isn’t a personal communiqué to a friend.
Keep in mind, we want to hear from you. We want to read your essay in your own voice.
Editing and Revising
After writing the first draft, put it aside for a day or two, then come back to it with fresh eyes. Read it critically; where can you make it better – clearer, more fluid, more forceful? Does this essay really capture who you are? Does it address the prompt in a way that helps you stand out? Is it interesting to read?
Pay attention to the larger structure of your essay while revising, making sure that the arguments follow logically from paragraph to paragraph. Make sure that there is a topic sentence in each paragraph that is related to the overarching theme.
In addition, look for words or expressions you could tighten. Transform vague or general statements into specifics. Delete extra words – or repeated ones. Make every word earn its place.
Getting Feedback
Once you’ve revised your essay, try showing it to others: a teacher, a relative, a friend. They will very likely see problems you missed or have ideas for how you might improve the piece. But beware of losing your voice.
Polishing Your Final Draft
After considering all of the feedback, when you think you’ve made your final revisions, it’s time to edit your essay for the final time. Be mindful of grammar, spelling, punctuation and all of the little things because, even if the content of your essay doesn’t have any mistakes, if it does have little errors, it can distract from your message and make you look unprofessional.
Read it aloud. Awkward phrasing and clunky sentences will jump out at you. Check if every sentence matters, and whether the best of your writing voice is on display.
Final Thoughts
It’s worth the effort. Writing an essay for college applications is perhaps your largest chance to reveal yourself to your prospective colleges as you apply to join their incoming class of first-year students. Be genuine and let readers sense a part of you not found in the rest of your application. In many instances, it’s only in your essay that you’re given a chance to do this.
Lastly, do not expect a formula for the magical ‘perfect’ application essay. The best essays will be those that say something about you. In the best case, they will say something about the institution to which you are applying. Keep your own voice. Your own experience. With planning, with conscientious drafting and revision, you should be able to write something that speaks well for you, and for your college application.