The more practice they get in advance, the better! This round-up of college essay prompts gives applicants a chance to explore their thinking, polish their writing, and prepare to make the best possible impression on selection committees. Read through it carefully one last time, and then hit “submit,” knowing you put forward your very best work.Writing a college application essay can be a stressful task for a lot of students. Your essay is yours, and ultimately, you get to decide which suggestions to keep and which to discard. Instead, having multiple people proofread your essay has the potential to provide conflicting feedback and can also dilute your sense of voice in the writing process. Next, ask for feedback on grammar, spelling, and other mechanics. (Make sure you pick someone who feels confident in this area!)Īvoid having more than 2-3 people edit your essay. You may assume that the more proofreaders you have, the better your final product will be, but that’s simply not true. Getting an additional set of eyes (or two) on your writing is essential to creating a flawless final draft.Īsk a relative, teacher, or counselor to read your essay and provide their feedback on the content. This honest critique can help you identify whether you were able to get your point across, or if there are areas that you need to tweak. You’ll often be surprised by just how many words you can successfully shave away, without impacting your story’s meaning. There’s no need to plop down a “big” word just to sound fancy instead, find ways to weave more elevated vocabulary throughout your writing.ĭoes your essay fall within the word count? If not, read through again carefully, focusing on keywords, sentences, and phrases that aren’t adding meaning or context to your writing. Is your verb tense consistent? If you open your essay with a story in the past tense, keep it that way! Switching around the verb tense can cause your writing to sound scattered and incoherent.ĭo you use a variety of different words, especially verbs and adjectives? The online thesaurus is your friend! Of course, you want to be intentional about exactly which words you use, and it’s important to keep your sense of voice strong throughout the essay. Read through your essay, focusing on word choice, sentence structure, and grammarĭo you use a variety of sentence types? If every sentence looks the same, you’ll need to make some edits! Quality writing features a variety of different sentence types, which helps to keep the writing fresh and interesting.Īre there any grammatical errors or spelling errors? The impact of a grammatically flawless essay can be a critical deciding factor in the college admissions process. Word Choice, Grammar, & Sentence Structure: Review the conclusion. Is your ending strong and effective? Do you tie your story together in a manner that is memorable, yet concise?ĭid you answer the prompt? While answering a specific prompt effectively is less important for Common App essays, it is critical for supplemental essays that ask a specific question. Do you use transitions effectively? Does your story flow? Are the paragraphs in the right order, or should any content be sequenced differently? Review the structure of your essay. Consider carefully reading the first sentence of each new paragraph. Review your introduction. Does it grab the reader’s attention? Does it begin to tell a story? Here’s a foolproof editing checklist to make sure that your finished draft is flawless.ĭoes your essay tell the story you were hoping for? What does your writing say about you? Were you able to represent yourself, your background, and your values effectively? You’re finished! Go ahead and breathe a big sigh of relief.Īs tempting as it may be to hit “submit” on your applications without taking another glance behind you, editing your essay is a very important part of the writing process. Waves of relief wash over you as you write the final words to your college essay.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |