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In Part I, we covered how to brainstorm topics and select ones that excite you. Having topics that you are passionate about is important for admissions essays, which are a key component of college applications. But once you have interesting topics, how do you write about them and produce interesting results? In this second and final installment, we take the best ideas you’ve developed and turn them into irresistible essays. Razzle And Dazzle! Answer The Question Uniquely. Now that you know what you want to write about, write! You will find that some ideas that seemed promising do not translate very well onto paper while others that were lower on your list end up making great essays. Unfortunately, the only way to tell if an idea will be a good essay is to try to write it. Many of our ideas for college essays turned out to be too difficult to write in 500 words or appeared silly or just plain boring after we started writing. We often had to return to the brainstorming process. But after many false starts, a few topics began to emerge as having real potential. Keep these points in mind as you write:
Write For Perfection: Rewrite, Edit, Rewrite, And Edit Again, With Help From Editors If you are like us, the first draft of your essay will be a rough skeleton at best. You will need to rewrite many times to tweak it to perfection. Throughout the editing process, keep in mind that your objectives are:
There is an old but very true saying that behind every good writer there is an even better editor. Countless literary masterpieces would not be the great works that they are if it were not for the editors who made them so. To produce the best possible essay; you must, must, must find people to read it. Your editors, you will discover, will provide you with the most valuable information and suggestions on how to improve your work. Good editors include parents, teachers, counselors, siblings, and friends. When your editors are finished, heed their advice. Do not take their criticisms personally since no matter how much it may hurt your feelings, their advice is going to improve your essays. Consider each of their suggestions even if you disagree with them. You may think a section is crystal clear, but if they are a little confused you'd better change it. Last Nit-Picky Points Before Submitting Your Essay Perfect Your Spelling And Grammar. With so much riding on your essays, you don’t want something as simple as a spelling or grammar mistake to count against you. Don’t think we’re crazy, but one trick you might want to try is to read your essay backwards. Since your essay will be totally incomprehensible, it will force you to focus only on the words and their spelling. Also, if you are unsure of how to use a word, make sure you look it up in a dictionary. Count Your Words. This is another one of those little things that you do not want to count against you (no pun intended). When the application asks for a 500 word essay, you can go over by 75 or 100 words; but trying to slip in 2 or 3 extra pages will not be acceptable. Limits are set to insure that everyone has a fair chance. It would be unfair to compare a 1,000 word essay to a 400 word essay. Plus, logistically, admission officers would never be able to finish their job if everybody exceeded the guidelines. Crafting a winning essay is not easy. It takes time and effort to produce the perfect prose. Following the guidelines in this Fabulous Essay Writing Workshop should make your job much easier. For additional information, we highly recommend that you also look at our chapters on essay writing as well as a few sample essays in our book, Get Into Any College: Secrets Of Harvard Students. Good luck and happy writing.
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