Tips For Writing College Essays

Tips For Writing College Essays DON’T be pretentious or overly formal â€"this is not the time to play the role of Albert Einstein or Mother Teresa if that’s not who you are. Resist the temptation to portray yourself as a saint with a 4.0â€"you’re better off presenting the real you. DO be yourself â€" your essay should sound as if it could have been written by no one else. For lots more information on applying to college, see the links on the next page. We’ll make sure you get the right guidance at the right time. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution. Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it. With a wealth of experience as a writer, journalist, and educator, Robert Schwartz has written for all four major television networks. In the feature film world he has written or rewritten screenplays for all of the major movie studios. You want to make sure you've used proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, so ask an expert to proofread your essay. Where were the ideas pouring out and where were they feeling stuck? Let this exercise be the compass that points you in the direction of your topic. I don’t think that originality should come at the expense of honesty. If you’re worried that your essay topic is a bit run-of-the-mill, you have two options. The first is to find another topic that feels authentic to you. The point of this essay is to show who you are, not who you wish you were. Stick to what you know and your true personality will shine through. Don't use big words just for the sake of using big words. Remember, this essay is about you, so use words you normally use. Students use their grades and test scores to select where they apply. That means every college has a pool of applicants with similar grades and test scores. If you write on a topic in which you have little interest or knowledge, your lack of sincerity and enthusiasm will show. Essay writing tips adapted from Kelly Tanabe’s “Four Steps to Writing a Winning Admissions Essay, Part I”. Did you know that Babson has a Writing Center on campus? Staffed by professors and peer consultants, it offers a supportive environment to practice and refine your writing. You don’t have to make changes based on everyone’s comments, but give them all some careful thought and try to imagine how the essay would look if you made each change. An introduction like this is colorful and intriguing. It gives the reader a sense of expectation and excitement, without giving too much away from the beginning. Writers live by the rule of “in medias res,” or starting in the middle. The conclusion finishes off the whole essay by nodding towards what came before without being repetitive and summarizing the takeaway. See how eliminating extra words actually makes your point stronger? Eliminatingprepositionsis a great, easy way to tighten your writing. Start with a creative lead.Capture the readers’ interestin the first two sentences. Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. The second is to find a unique angle within the topic. DO write about other people as well as about yourself. We are defined as individuals largely through relationships and experiences with others. DO write about something about which you feel strongly. The outline is not for writing perfect sentences but rather for putting your ideas in the right sequence. Make sure you arrange your thoughts so that they make sense and lead one into the other. Take a notebook and write a page or two on each of your possible subjects.