The Beginners Guide To Writing An Essay

The Beginner's Guide To Writing An Essay The essay itself won’t propel an average student into Harvard, but may indeed make a difference. DON’T rehash information that is already in your application. The goal of your essay should not be something like “to show I’m co-captain of the soccer team.” They already know that; you need to tell them something new. This is a story about you and your connection to the school â€" not just a list of reasons. Let’s start with mistakes to avoid when writing your essay. Once you’ve hooked the reader, switch gears a little to set up the essay in a way appropriate for an introduction. If you’re ever going to name drop, this is the place to do it. Mention specific names of people, buildings, societies, clubs, and more. As always, be as specific as possible, and pay attention to the writing itself, not just the content. icons new Productivity Get organized, become more efficient, and reclaim your time. icons new Career Skills Learn how to network, crush interviews, and land your dream job. icons new Life Skills Build confidence, make friends, budget your money, and more. icons new Remote Work, learn, and succeed from the comforts of your own home. icons new View All PostsBookCourses icons new Productivity Masterclass Learn how to create a system that works and reorganize your life. Although they're phrased differently from college to college, certain essay question types appear routinely. While there is no perfect length for an essay, we recommend that you aim for 500 to 550 words. For more information on specific application requirements, please consult the website for each institution to which you are applying, as requirements often vary. Whatever application process you’re going through, you’ll likely have a choice of several questions. Don’t get overwhelmed trying to pick the right one. My suggestion is to just read through them and narrow down to one or two that really speak to you. Today I’ll share some of that knowledge and teach you how you can craft an essay that really bolsters your overall application. I was in your same position four years ago, and I learned a lot through both my own college application process and through my subsequent years as an English major who wields commas like shurikens. More work needs to be done in order to craft an essay that makes you trulystand out. When free writing about a topic, you may stumble onto an idea even better than your original. If you’ve never done it before, free writing is just taking a topic and writing anything that comes into your head. Just take a blank document or sheet of paper, set a timer for minutes, and start writing. Really, the success of your essay will come down not to what you write about, but how. In general, it’s much easier to stand out on the basis of how you approach your topic than what you say. The introduction needs to set up the whole essay. It should establish for the reader a sense of expectation for what’s to come without giving it all away. Relate to the reader the full scope of an experience â€" sights, sounds, and maybe even smells. With all the knowledge you have of a topic, it can seem that a few simple sentences are enough to do it justice â€" but that’s rarely the case. You have to remember that the person reading your essay knows nothing about you, save for a few basic statistics. They’ll get you started, but simply writing about these things alone isn’t enough. This may be your only chance to address an admissions officer directly. They’re going to turn down lots of highly qualified applicants, so your essay could be critical if the choice comes down to you and another, similarly qualified applicant. That said, your essay probably won’t actually hurt you as long as it’s reasonably literate . Over 220,000 awesome students are learning how to dominate their classes, get more done, and land the jobs they want â€" and you should too.