This article contains three parts: By EssayEdge.com:
Our Editing Makes the Difference
The most important part of your
essay is the subject matter. You should expect to devote about 1-2 weeks simply
to brainstorming ideas. To begin brainstorming a subject idea consider the
following points. From brainstorming, you may find a subject you had not
considered at first.
What are your major accomplishments,
and why do you consider them accomplishments? Do not limit yourself to
accomplishments you have been formally recognized for since the most interesting
essays often are based on accomplishments that may have been trite at the time
but become crucial when placed in the context of your life.
Does any attribute, quality, or
skill distinguish you from everyone else? How did you develop this attribute?
Consider your favorite books,
movies, works of art, etc. Have these influenced your life in a meaningful way?
Why are they your favorites?
What was the most difficult time in
your life, and why? How did your perspective on life change as a result of the
difficulty?
Have you ever struggled mightily for
something and succeeded? What made you successful?
Have you ever struggled mightily for
something and failed? How did you respond?
Of everything in the world, what
would you most like to be doing right now? Where would you most like to be? Who,
of everyone living and dead, would you most like to be with? These questions
should help you realize what you love most.
Have you experienced a moment of
epiphany, as if your eyes were opened to something you were previously blind to?
What is your strongest, most
unwavering personality trait? Do you maintain strong beliefs or adhere to a
philosophy? How would your friends characterize you? What would they write about
if they were writing your admissions essay for you?
What have you done outside of the
classroom that demonstrates qualities sought after by universities? Of these,
which means the most to you?
What are your most important
extracurricular or community activities? What made you join these activities?
What made you continue to contribute to them?
What are your dreams of the future?
When you look back on your life in thirty years, what would it take for you to
consider your life successful? What people, things, and accomplishments do you
need? How does this particular university fit into your plans for the future?
If these questions cannot cure your
writer's block, consider the following exercises:
If after reading this entire page
you do not have an idea for your essay, do not be surprised. Coming up with an
idea is difficult and requires time. Actually consider the questions and
exercises above. Without a topic you feel passionate about, without one that
brings out the defining aspects of you personality, you risk falling into the
trap of sounding like the 90 percent of applicants who will write boring
admissions essays. The only way to write a unique essay is to have experiences
that support whatever topic you come up with. Whatever you do, don't let the
essay stress you out. Have fun with the brainstorming process. You might
discover something about yourself you never consciously realized.
Good Luck!
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Step
Two - Selecting an Essay Topic By EssayEdge.com:
Our Editing Makes the Difference Having completed step one, you
should now have a rough idea of the elements you wish to include in your essay,
including your goals, important life experiences, research experience,
diversifying features, spectacular nonacademic accomplishments, etc. You should
also now have an idea of what impression you want to make on the admissions
officers.
We should remark that at this
stage, undergraduate applicants have a large advantage over graduate school
applicants. Whereas nobody questions a high school student's motivation to
attend college, graduate and professional school applicants must directly
address in their essays their desire to study their selected field. You must now confront the
underlying problem of the admissions essay. You must now consider topics that
will allow you to synthesize your important personal characteristics and
experiences into a coherent whole while simultaneously addressing your desire to
attend a specific institution. While most admissions essays allow great latitude
in topic selection, you must also be sure to answer the questions that were
asked of you. Leaving a lasting impression on someone who reads 50-100 essays a
day will not be easy, but we have compiled some guidelines to help you get
started. With any luck, one or two topics, with small changes, will allow you to
answer application questions for 5-7 different colleges, although admissions
officers do appreciate essays that provide convincing evidence of how an
applicant will fit into a particular academic environment. You should at least
have read the college's webpage, admissions catalog, and have an understanding
of the institution's strengths.
Consider the following questions
before proceeding:
Have you selected a topic
that describes something of personal importance in your life, with which
you can use vivid personal experiences as supporting details? Is your topic a gimmick?
That is, do you plan to write your essay in iambic pentameter or make it
funny. You should be very, very careful if you are planning to do this. We
recommend strongly that you do not do this. Almost always, this is done
poorly and is not appreciated by the admissions committee. Nothing is
worse than not laughing or not being amused at something that was written
to be funny or amusing. Will your topic only repeat
information listed elsewhere on your application? If so, pick a new topic.
Don't mention GPAs or standardized test scores in your essay. Can you offer vivid
supporting paragraphs to your essay topic? If you cannot easily think of
supporting paragraphs with concrete examples, you should probably choose a
different essay topic. Can you fully answer the
question asked of you? Can you address and elaborate on all points within
the specified word limit, or will you end up writing a poor summary of
something that might be interesting as a report or research paper? If you
plan on writing something technical for college admissions, make sure you
truly can back up your interest in a topic and are not merely throwing
around big scientific words. Unless you convince the reader that you
actually have the life experiences to back up your interest in
neurobiology, the reader will assume you are trying to impress him/her
with shallow tactics. Also, be sure you can write to admissions officers
and that you are not writing over their heads. Can you keep the reader's
interest from the first word. The entire essay must be interesting,
considering admissions officers will probably only spend a few minutes
reading each essay. Is your topic overdone? To
ascertain this, peruse through old essays. EssayEdge's 100 free essays can
help you do this. However, most topics are overdone, and this is not a bad
thing. A unique or convincing answer to a classic topic can pay off big. Will your topic turnoff a
large number of people? If you write on how everyone should worship your
God, how wrong or right abortion is, or how you think the Republican or
Democratic Party is evil, you will not get into the college of your
choice. The only thing worse than not writing a memorable essay is writing
an essay that will be remembered negatively. Stay away from specific
religions, political doctrines, or controversial opinions. You can still
write an essay about Nietzsche's influence on your life, but express
understanding that not all intelligent people will agree with Nietzsche's
claims. Emphasize instead Nietzsche's influence on your life, and
not why you think he was wrong or right in his claims. In this vein, if you are
presenting a topic that is controversial, you must acknowledge counter
arguments without sounding arrogant. Will an admissions officer
remember your topic after a day of reading hundreds of essays? What will
the officer remember about your topic? What will the officer remember
about you? What will your lasting impression be? Take EssayEdge.com's Free Online Admissions Essay Course Step Three: Writing the Essay, Tips for Success By EssayEdge.com:
Our Editing Makes the Difference Even seemingly boring topics can be made into exceptional admissions essays with an innovative approach. In writing the essay you must bear in mind your two goals: to persuade the admissions officer that you are extremely worthy of admission and to make the admissions officer aware that you are more than a GPA and a standardized score, that you are a real-life, intriguing personality. Unfortunately, there is no surefire step-by-step method to writing a good essay. EssayEdge editors at http://www.EssayEdge.com/ will remake your essay into an awesome, memorable masterpiece, but every topic requires a different treatment since no two essays are alike. However, we have compiled the following list of tips that you should find useful while writing your admissions essay.
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