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Help
with the Writing Process College
application riddle: Spark Notes can’t help. Spell check is necessary,
but it won’t be enough. English teachers are good resources for this,
but it’s not about them. That’s
right—it’s time to crack down on that one little task that you’ve
been putting off for months: writing your college essay. Choose
a Topic Before
you agonize over sitting at the computer for hours staring at a blank
Word document, take time to plan. Being a good writer is about
understanding your perspective—so the most important part of the
writing process is thinking. Sit the laptop aside, and get to thinking
about the essay! “An
essay fills in the blanks of your application,” says Sam Patterson, of
the San Diego Area Writing Project. “Admission officers can see your
grades and activities, but that list doesn’t capture who you are.
That’s what you can do in the essay—define yourself.” Self-definition
is no easy task between homework, activities, jobs, and the general
stress of the college admission process. Before you get overwhelmed,
step back and think about your life and things that you’ve done. Have
you saved any lives lately? Discovered a new energy source? Invented a
revolutionary tool that will change the course of humankind? No worries. Instead
of searching for a dramatic story, Patterson suggests that the every day
things you do, are more interesting and show who you are better. Take a
closer look at your routine. You do it all the time, so you might not
think about it. For example, if you have a relative or friend with a
health problem, and every day after school, you check in on them—it
could be a story. Try keeping a journal of what you do for a week, and
then look through it for ideas. “While
the writing process is not the same for everyone, we all go through some
kind of a process,” says Patterson. “If ideas are slow in coming,
make lists of lessons learned, things you have broken, places you go on
Wednesdays. By exploring what we do, we can help colleges see who we
are.” Decide
on Your Story Within Your Topic Once
you have a topic, you need to find your angle. For example, say you’re
going to write about helping with a food drive; it’s the details that
matter. Other students help with food drives too, so what makes you
unique? “Talk
about your personal experience—your thoughts, the effect the
experience had on you,” says Patterson. At
the same time, you need to balance answering two questions—“who are
you?” versus “so what?” As you show who you are, think about why
colleges should care. Are you determined, persistent, independent,
creative, etc.? Showcase qualities that will help you succeed in
college. While
you’re writing, go beyond what happened to examining the difference
the experience made. Vivid details that make the reader feel like they
are experiencing your story with you are great—visual descriptions,
sounds and smells. But don’t get so caught up in painting the world
that you leave out the details about your thoughts. For example, instead
of re-telling your day at the food drive, give the reader an inside
look. What were you thinking? How did your perspective change? Patterson
suggests checking out NPR’s “This I Believe” stories for
inspiration. [link] Get
the Feedback You Want with a Reader’s Guide Looking
for an expert to help you with your essay draft? Look no
further—it’s you. Your essay is all about you, and you’re the only
person who knows what will work best. Don’t
throw out the help of teachers and friends just yet, though. You’ll
need them, but it’s your job to tell them what you need. “I
recommend training every one of your readers. It can be quick, but put
it in writing. Your Reader's Guide should ask several questions, but be
careful what you ask for,” explains Patterson. “Writing the
questions out and putting them on a sheet with limited space encourages
your readers to write their responses, and the limited space will,
hopefully, make the idea of giving feedback less intimidating.” Here
are some sample questions for a Reader’s Guide:
With
your first drafts, don’t worry about sentence-level errors;
concentrate on what you want to say and the best way to do that. The
answers to these questions can help you shape your essay into the
message you’re trying to communicate. When you find out the parts that
people like best, find out why, then try to make other parts of the
essay stronger. Perfecting
Your Essay How
do you know when you’re done? Just because you asked for feedback and
made a few changes, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready to
upload the essay with your application. “Do
it until it’s good,” says Patterson. “Rate your essay on a scale
of 1 to 10. If you think it’s a 3 or 4, ask readers for feedback on
your theme. If you think you’re at a 9, then ask readers to help you
with grammar.” Since
the purpose of this essay is to help you get into college, you don’t
want to forget about your audience—admission officers who are reading
many essays. You need to grab their attention. Just like how you quickly
scan a Web page, your readers are going to scan your essay for the
important parts. “ “Your
strongest sentence should be the first one; the next strongest one
should be the last one,” says Patterson. “Begin and end each
paragraph with strong sentence. Why bury the good stuff?” Remember,
it’s your essay. The comments you get from others can guide you, but,
in the end, the essay is a form of self-expression, so it should be from
you.
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