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Putting Yourself On Paper Writing the College Essay Charise Hallberg International School Humanities 1

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The college essay: Why? O Colleges ask for personal essays from

potential students so that they can get a better idea of the individuality of their applicants. O Your unique voice and qualities can shine through in this part of your application in a way that is revealingly personal

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Telling Your Story O So what does set you apart? You have a

unique background, interests and viewpoint. This is your chance to tell your story (or, more precisely, a specific part). O The best way to tell your story is to write a personal, thoughtful essay about a topic or a time that has meaning for you. Be honest and genuine, and your qualities will shine through. 9:26:58 AM

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Telling Your Story O Admissions officers have to read many

essays, most of which are rather forgettable. It’s often the telling, though, and not the story itself that is unremarkable. O You don't need to have experienced something extraordinary to write an extraordinary essay. Colleges are simply looking for thoughtful, motivated students who will add something valuable to the freshman class. 9:26:58 AM

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DO/Don’t O DO answer the question being asked and

follow the directions being given. O DON’T blindly reuse an answer to a question from another application, or create a response that seems off-topic. O Colleges and universities may want you to showcase your creativity, but they also want to know that you respect guidelines. 9:26:58 AM

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DO/Don’t O Within the guidelines of the prompt, DO

write about something that's important to you. An experience, a relationship, a book– anything that has had an impact on your life. O DON’T forget that YOU are the real focus of the essay and your goal is to communicate about yourself. Don’t get so caught up in the story that you lose focus on the goal. 9:26:58 AM

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DO/Don’t O DO start with the end (the goal) in mind. This

is a personal essay, but it’s also a persuasive piece—presenting YOU as a desirable acquisition to universities. What do you want colleges to think of you? How will you make that impression? O Don’t forget your audience--an admissions board filled with educated adults. Remember to show them—not tell them— what you want them to know about you.

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DO/Don’t O DO incorporate reflection-O Don't just recount! Anyone can list factual

occurrences. You need to give your audience more than the play–by–play or itinerary of “first this happened, then this, then this…” Show your audience what you learned from the experience and how it changed you.

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Revision Takes TIME O Start the essay early—weeks or even months

before the deadline. After each draft, set it aside for a few days before reading it again. If you hurry this timeline, your revisions will feel forced and the process can be painful. This is due to the fact that you will not have waited long enough to be able to look at it with fresh (forgetful) eyes.

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Editing Takes SKILL O When you are certain that the essay is

revised to your standards, have at least one other person edit your essay–preferably someone with an eye for detail and strong skills in English conventions. And before you send it off, check, check again, and then triple check to make sure your essay is free of all errors. They sneak in when you aren’t paying attention! 9:26:58 AM

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Tips and Tricks O Whenever possible, keep the window of time

(that your essay will cover) short and recent. A narrative about an event in the last year will probably be more relevant to who you are now than an experience from fourth grade. Similarly, it is more important to dig deeply into a short window of time with details than it is to try to cover the last five years of your sports career in two pages. 9:26:58 AM

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Tips and Tricks Because the college essay’s job is to make an impression of you, for you, this should be the field test focus for your quest for peer review: After others read your essay, ask, “How would you describe the author of this essay?” If you don’t like the answers you hear, or if your audience doesn’t know how to answer, you should revise or even restart. 9:26:58 AM

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Tips and Tricks O Don’t settle on one idea for an essay too

early. Play around with a variety of options, and try some safe (linear narrative) and risky (outside-the-box) drafts. Pay attention to the storytelling techniques of books and movies you enjoy—are there ways to incorporate some of these ideas into your own style?

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Tips and Tricks O Try some unconventional story-telling

techniques. There’s no reason you must begin at the beginning, for example. You could start your essay near the end of the event, and employ a flashback instead. Or, instead of using a first person perspective, you can try writing from a point-of-view other than your own (such as your dog’s or your backpack’s). 9:26:58 AM

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Tips and Tricks O Trust your audience—don’t provide an

oversupply of information. You can do much with little, which is especially important when those word maximums are small. For example, many personal essays don’t really need the first paragraph. After drafting, try cutting off the first paragraph and starting with the second. Does it still work? Is it a faster track to engaging your audience? 9:26:58 AM

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Tips and Tricks O Read, read, read other essays. Give your

friends’ essays a review, and look online for samples from around the country, or even the world. You’ll be surprised how many different (and successful) ways there are to approach this task. Just remember—not everything you find on the internet is GOOD. But you already knew that. 

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Tips and Tricks O During the drafting and revision process, get

feedback from different people who know you personally. Does this essay sound authentically like you? Get suggestions, but remember—the final decisions are yours. You may get contradicting feedback; that’s OK. You can’t make everyone happy, and everyone’s a critic.

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WARNING! O If you’re writing the kind of essay that

recounts and reflects on a learning experience, remember to explore HOW you learned what you learned. Too often, these essays describe what changed without explaining HOW. O Beware the “magical transformation” that “suddenly” occurs without any explanation (and almost always takes place in the last paragraph of the essay). 9:26:58 AM

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WARNING! O Remember to SHOW rather than TELL. O SHOWING gives the audience imagery and

vivid details that allows them to build meaning and infer tone, thus making connections with the author. O TELLING gives the audience no significant role in the exchange; essentially, your communication is one-sided (and telling often results in boring and dry prose). 9:26:58 AM

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And breathe… College applications can be stressful for lots of reasons. Time management is KEY. And remember—college admissions really isn’t a competitive sport. It’s not about how many schools you get into; it’s about getting into the right school for you. Don’t overwhelm yourself with dozens of applications—be choosy in where (and to how many schools) you apply. 9:26:58 AM

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[email protected] This presentation will be available on the district website very shortly.

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