Writing a Successful College Essays
Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4 | Lesson 5 | College Essay Tips | College Admission Essay |
Brainstorm
Rationale: The objective of this session is to generate possible experiences from students’ lives, which they can use to write their personal essays. The three broad topics – family, place, identity – will be introduced to students. Students will create a list of several possible experiences they could use for each topic.
Procedure:
1. Introduce the three subtopics - Family Place Identity
On the board: put a box around the three terms with a separation between each idea to emphasize that the topics that will be generated are interconnected.
2. Encourage a discussion with students about these 3 categories and what the three words mean to them. It is important for them to define these categories because it is at this point in the writing process – the generating and defining stage – that the “personal” part of the writing begins. The topics are broad and when we add our definitions to them, they are narrowed, and force us per se to consider our own lives, and begin to generate possible topics.
3. Ask students to create larger boxes below the topic and then to try to come up with five very different topics they might use for each category. Also, ask students to consider whether some of the topics could work under other categories.
4. Group work:
After students have come up with 15 different topics (5 for each category), ask them to form groups of 3 (random) and discuss the situations / experiences they have chosen. Each student should briefly discuss each of the topics they have chosen.
5. Whole group:
A. Ask students to choose 2 out of each category they think they would like to discover further and they then will discuss these choices with the class.
B. For each of the choices, ask students to list 4 details about the situation / experience.
C. Students will share their responses with the class.
D. Classmates will answer the following questions for each topic:
1. Is the choice about the student or someone in the student’s life?
2. In which topic, does the student seem most interested?
These two questions will generate a discussion with the class about including the personal in writing. Often, when students are broaching the personal essay, the tendency is to discuss someone else like a parent or person who inspired them. The objective of this personal essay is to prepare students for writing the personal statement required of college applications and help students to become comfortable introducing themselves to colleges through their personal statement.
6. Conclusion:
How did it feel to discuss these personal experiences? Which of them were you comfortable discussing? Which were uncomfortable? Were there any topics from which you stayed away?
These questions will help students to begin having an inner dialogue about their comfort level with writing about their own lives and also help them to determine what the “best” topic for them to write about is.
Lesson 2 (Depending on the class and its level, this class may take two sessions)
Questioning
Rationale: The objective of this class is to continue generating ideas from the topics students chose in the previous session. Students will be asked to make a firm decision as to which topic they will use for each category. Students will have already generated some ideas in the previous class and this class will motivated more ideas in preparation for writing the essays.
Procedure:
Questions:
1. 5 W Response: Who? What? Where? When? Why? Give students about 10 – 15 minutes to generate more information about their topic.
2. Students will share their responses with the class.
3. Options for approaches to writing:
Description
Definition
Dialogue
Comparison and contrast
4. Read Race … Other by Esmerelda Santiago and Notes of A Native Speaker by Eric Liu:
A. Read each essay in its entirety and then pause to discuss the essay.
B. Once the essays have been read, a discussion of the choices the writer makes and the techniques the writer uses to convey her ideas about her identity will take place:
Process: Move through each section and pause after each for students to have an opportunity to share their ideas. In this case, it is not necessary for each student to respond to each section, but all students should be encouraged to actively participate.
Question: Discuss how the writer accomplishes the following:
1. Narration and Point – of – view
Santiago uses first person point of view and her narrative tone is personal and very direct. Students may or may not understand the term narrative tone. If necessary, have a discussion of what narrative tone means. This definition can be used as a point of reference once students begin to work on their essays.
2. Dialogue: Where does Santiago use dialogue? Why does she use it?
- Santiago opens her essay with a dialogue between her mother and herself. The dialogue serves to introduce the central issue regarding her identity and also introduces her mother who symbolizes the part of her identity from which she is torn or departing.
3. Comparison and contrast:
- The mode of writing Santiago uses is comparison and contrast. The contrast exists between who she is in her Puerto Rican world and the expectations of that world and who she is the world of the United States and the expectations that arise in this other world.
Conclusion of this part: the objective of this portion of the personal essay courses is to introduce students to possible approaches to writing their own essays.
Eric Liu essay:
1. Tone – how is the tone of Liu’s essay different from that of Santiago? What choices does the writer make to establish this difference?
Diction, approach to the essay is more academic less informal as with Santiago. She uses dialogue and personal conversation, which is effective in conveying her ideas and establishing her topic, but gives her essay a more personal and less formal tone. Liu’s essay is more formal and academic. The reference to cultural ideas and the approach to the essay are more reflective of writing for academia. He takes a very clear position and sets out to prove his argument.
2. Description – p.415 description of his hair. How does Liu use this description? How does he describe his hair? Discuss with students ways in which a writer becomes objective observer when writing and describes things, as they would appear from a distance. Why would the writer use description? What does this description contribute to the essay and its impact on the reader?
Rationale: Students will start to make decisions regarding what techniques they will use for their personal essays.
A. Description:
Ask students to choose one of the details from the 5 w response for which they would like to write a description. Ask students to focus on one of the senses. If teacher feels that it is necessary, the class can return to Liu’s essay to review his use of description.
Students will share their responses with the class:
1. Ask students not to mention what they are describing and see if through their description classmates can figure out what the writer is discussing.
2. Ask students to respond to their classmates’ descriptions: Can they identify the subject that is being described? How do they come to this conclusion? What kind of diction does the writer use? What does the choice of diction reveal about the writer’s attitude toward the thing that is being described?
B. Dialogue:
Write a dialogue between a person who is central to your personal essay and yourself. Return to Santiago’s essay and look at the dialogue between Santiago and her mother as a model of how to write and use dialogue. Discuss with students how she chooses dialogue that may seem simple but reveals several salient points that she will deal with in her essay.
C. Comparison and contrast:
Ask students to consider for one of their topics what was supposed to happen? What they were supposed to achieve? What someone something else wanted them to achieve? Refer back to Santiago’s essay where she compares what her sister, Delsa, is in the U.S what she was in Puerto Rico as a guide and model.
D. HW: ask students to write a description, dialogue, and comparison and contrast for the other two topics for which they did not write a description in class. This writing will be the motivator for the next class.
Lesson 4: Formal outline and introduction:
Rationale: Students will have completed some free writing and be ready to turn these different parts into a completed essay.
A. Formal Outline:
1. From the 5w writing and the practice writing from the previous class ask students to choose the main points that they wish to include in their essay.
2. Review formal outline format:
I.
A.
1.
2.
B.
1.
2.
C.
1.
2
Discuss with students the need to carefully organize ideas and details that are included in the essay for the greatest impact and communication on the reader.
3. Allow students to work on the outline for about 20 – 25 minutes and while students are working the teacher can circulate and assist students who need help.
B. Introduction:
1. Ask students to choose one of the practice writing pieces – description, dialogue, comparison and contrast – to use as part of their introduction.
2. Ask students to share the piece with the class and to discuss with the class why this piece is important in the personal essay and why it would work for the introduction.
HW: Ask students to complete the first draft of one of their essays. The students should choose the topic for which they will complete a draft. Encourage them to write about the one about which they feel most passionate.
Students will have a go around and read the first draft of their personal essay. This workshop will serve for students to hear each others work and also to receive feedback from their peers and teacher on their essay.
Procedure:
1. Each student will read his or her essay
2. Once a student has completed reading their essay, they will receive feedback from one of their classmates. The focus of student responses to each others essays should be – what have I learned about this person and how does this student feel about what he or she is writing? Creating this parameter will keep students from making judgments of the content and focus more on what the writer is trying to accomplish. Once students have responded to the writer, the writer will indicate whether what the essay conveys is what he or she intended to convey. This exercise will take the entire period.
WRITING A GREAT COLLEGE ESSAY IN 3 STEPS
STEP 1: PICK A TOPIC
For many students, deciding what to write about is the toughest part of the essay process-after all, how many significant experiences had a 17-year-old really had?
Before you start lamenting the fact that your life has been relatively free of tragic moments, take comfort in the knowledge that some of the best essays are about ordinary, everyday experiences.
Often, the smaller, seemingly unimportant moments in your life are the most meaningful. “Learning how to drive could be significant,” says Sanford Kreisberg, founder of Cambridge Essay Service, a consulting company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “So could the first time you argued with your parents, or the first time you realized you didn’t have to fight with your younger siblings.”
Educational planner Judi Robinovitz stressed the importance of telling the reader how the experience has changed your own life. “If you want to talk about your grandmother’s Alzheimer’s disease,” she says, “You’d better talk about how it affects you.”
STEP 2: WRITE IT DOWN
The most important thing to remember is that you’re not writing a term paper. “A conclusion that repeats the essay’s main points may show that you know how to write a five-paragraph essay,” says educational consultant Dodge Johnson, “but it sure is boring.” Here are a few tips:
STEP 3: EDIT AND CHECK
One of the best ways to pinpoint problems in your essay is to have someone else read it. But don’t let your editor do the writing!. “An editor might say, ‘I think you should come up with more details,”’ says Kreisberg, “and then its your job to come up with those details and write them.”
Don’t rely solely on your computer to proofread your essay. Spell-checks are notorious for not picking up repeated words or words that are spelled differently but sound alike. (Here what were saying?) And don’t expect an admission rep to overlook grammatical goofs. Seattle University’s McKeon remembers showing an error-filled essay to a colleague. “He said it would have been criminal to admit the student.”
If you put in the time and energy, your hard work will be appreciated by the people who matter: the admission staff. “Each year, I will read one or two essays that move me to the point where I write the person an individual letter,” says McKeon. Your essay may get you something just as important-a letter welcoming you to your dream school.
A. Selecting the Essay Topic
The key to a strong essay is a good topic. When selecting a topic, you should keep in mind to choose a topic that allows you to demonstrate your skills and individuality, a topic that answers the essay question while telling the reviewers what they really want to know: why you should be admitted to that particular college. There are several different kinds of essay questions. Some of the most common types of essay questions and the purposes behind them are given below:
B. Key Influence Questions:
Definition: Key influence questions require you to write about something that has a certain influence on your life. This influence can be in form of a person, a movie, an event, some world issue, a work of literature – anything.
Ideal responds: While responding to this question, you should keep in mind that the influence you decide to write about is just as important as what you intend to write about it. You have to make sure that the influence you choose something valued and casts light on your strengths. Write about how that certain thing has influenced your thoughts, ideas, and goals and how it has made an impact on you and made you a better person.
C. Goal Questions:
Definition: This kind of question can take two forms: it can ask you to directly write about your goals, or it can ask you to write a personal statement that will include your goals and your qualifications. The question usually focuses on academic, career and personal goals.
Ideal responds: Firstly, you should state your goals clearly. Let the readers know that you have a clearly defined set of goals that you are directed by and that hold utmost importance to you. You may also distinguish between your short and long term goals in the process. Secondly, you should write about how this specific college fits your plans for achieving your goals.
D. Open-ended Questions:
Definition: Open-ended questions are non-specific, they do not require you to write about a specific thing rather they can be something like, “Please provide any additional information about you that you would like us to know”. If the open-ended question is optional, don’t feel an obligation to answer, only try to answer it if you really have something important to share with the review committee.
Ideal response: If an open-ended question is the only essay question your application includes, you are left with a wide variety of options, you can write anything you wish to. But the most ideal thing to do would be to treat them as key influence or goal questions because these two are the most common type of specific essay questions. You may want to write about more than one thing in the essay, but it is recommended that you decide to write in depth about one certain thing.
E. Growth questions:
Definition: Personal growth type questions ask you to write about specific things that have been milestones in your growth and how they have helped you grow into the person you are. Some of these questions include: “What is the greatest obstacle you have overcome?” and “What has been your greatest accomplishment?”
Ideal response: While responding to a personal growth questions, you should be careful not to dwell on the event itself, rather focus on how it has made a difference in your life and turned you in the person you are right now.
F. Creative Questions:
Definition: Creative questions allow you to express your thoughts and feelings about something – they give you the freedom of expression. Some creative questions can “Choose an issue of international concern and discuss its importance to you” or “Why have you chosen this career?”
Ideal response: While responding to creative questions, again, as mentioned before, you should not focus on the issue; rather try to write about how they make a difference to you or why they hold importance for you. Also make sure that you demonstrate within the essay how you can succeed in a competitive college setting without actually mentioning it.
G. Getting started
Sometimes the topics you choose can be impossible to write about even though they may seem easy at first, and sometimes even boring topics can be made interesting creatively approached. If the answer to any of the following question is “no” then you really need to rethink your topic and select a new one.
Can you offer supporting material in relevance with your essay topic?
Will your topic include material different from that already mentioned in the application?
Will the admissions officer still remember your topic after having read hundreds of essays?
Can you fully answer the question asked of you?
Can you keep the reader interested right from the very first word?
Can you give personal examples?
H. Keep in mind …
Avoid anything that has already been mentioned in your application such as test scores
Choose only topics for which you can give concrete personal examples.
Keep the reader interested by revealing something about you
Focus more on your personal concerns and talk about things that hold meaning for you
Don’t write about what “they want to hear”
Use caution if you are planning to make your essay funny – Almost always, this is done poorly and not appreciated by the admissions committee. There is nothing worse than not laughing at something that was meant to be funny or amusing.
Tell a story – it’s not a life history; rather it is a glimpse into the life of the applicant
Treat your essay as a snapshot, each of us has different selves at different times: sometimes we are clowning about, while other times we are demonstrating wisdom. Pick one of your better selves, one that seems interesting, rich with meaning and alive with imagery and write an essay about it.
I. Organizing the first draft
The first draft is a preliminary version of your essay and it will always be rough and imperfect and it need of revision. But this essay will contain the ideas that you will carry on till your final draft. To make the task of writing the essay easier, constantly keep in mind the audience it is intended for and what the audience will be looking for.
J. Each essay has four very basic parts:
Title: This is a very vital part of your essay and the first impression the reader gets of you is through the title. Often, most students forget this small, but very important part of the essay that leaves a bad impression on the reader and the essay looks as if it is carelessly written – which of course, does nothing to help your cause.
K. Thesis: Your thesis is the main idea you are intending to carry throughout the essay. It is the guiding theme that sets your essay tone. In a way, the thesis is one-sentence answer to your question. You make a claim in your thesis statement and spend the rest of the essay supporting this claim. How do you come up with a thesis? Coming up with your thesis requires a great deal of thinking on your part. You should carefully focus on your topic and try to find an angle, which makes it interesting and probably different from what the others will be writing. The thesis statement should be something that people do not usually think about and when they read that line, they are automatically drawn towards the essay to see what it really holds. The thesis statement is the central orienting concept of your essay.
L. Body: As mentioned before, you write your essay providing evidence supporting your thesis statement. All the evidence and supporting paragraphs you write after your thesis statement are collectively known as the body of your essay. What should the body contain? Firstly, your body should support your thesis statement. An essay whose body contradicts its thesis statement is indeed a very bad essay. Starts with describing your thesis statement in detail, then go on to provide evidence supporting the claim made in your thesis. Describe how your perception and behavior was changed by what you are writing about and how it influenced you. While writing the first draft, you do not need to worry about the order you’ll be providing the evidence in: just make sure you know what you’ll be writing about.
M. Conclusion: Finally, the closing paragraph of your essay is known as the conclusion. The conclusion of your essay provides a link between the thesis statement and the body. Keep in mind that you should never summarize your essay in your conclusion; try to introduce a new idea in the conclusion – an idea that will leave your readers thinking. How to decide what to write in the conclusion? Connect your thesis statement with the body of your essay, then go ahead and describe how this turn of events or whatever you have written about related to your decision to apply for college admission. It is a good idea to use rhetorical devices in the conclusion as long as it’s not very overdone. The main point is to connect your changes to your current plans