writing the college essay lesson plans

Have a language expert improve your writing

Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes, generate your apa citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• College essay

How to Write a College Essay | A Complete Guide & Examples

The college essay can make or break your application. It’s your chance to provide personal context, communicate your values and qualities, and set yourself apart from other students.

A standout essay has a few key ingredients:

• A unique, personal topic
• A compelling, well-structured narrative
• A clear, creative writing style
• Evidence of self-reflection and insight

To achieve this, it’s crucial to give yourself enough time for brainstorming, writing, revision, and feedback.

In this comprehensive guide, we walk you through every step in the process of writing a college admissions essay.

Table of contents

Why do you need a standout essay, start organizing early, choose a unique topic, outline your essay, start with a memorable introduction, write like an artist, craft a strong conclusion, revise and receive feedback, frequently asked questions.

While most of your application lists your academic achievements, your college admissions essay is your opportunity to share who you are and why you’d be a good addition to the university.

Your college admissions essay accounts for about 25% of your application’s total weight一and may account for even more with some colleges making the SAT and ACT tests optional. The college admissions essay may be the deciding factor in your application, especially for competitive schools where most applicants have exceptional grades, test scores, and extracurriculars.

What do colleges look for in an essay?

Admissions officers want to understand your background, personality, and values to get a fuller picture of you beyond your test scores and grades. Here’s what colleges look for in an essay :

• Demonstrated values and qualities
• Vulnerability and authenticity
• Self-reflection and insight
• Creative, clear, and concise writing skills

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

It’s a good idea to start organizing your college application timeline in the summer of your junior year to make your application process easier. This will give you ample time for essay brainstorming, writing, revision, and feedback.

While timelines will vary for each student, aim to spend at least 1–3 weeks brainstorming and writing your first draft and at least 2–4 weeks revising across multiple drafts. Remember to leave enough time for breaks in between each writing and editing stage.

Create an essay tracker sheet

If you’re applying to multiple schools, you will have to juggle writing several essays for each one. We recommend using an essay tracker spreadsheet to help you visualize and organize the following:

• Deadlines and number of essays needed
• Prompt overlap, allowing you to write one essay for similar prompts

You can build your own essay tracker using our free Google Sheets template.

College essay tracker template

Ideally, you should start brainstorming college essay topics the summer before your senior year. Keep in mind that it’s easier to write a standout essay with a unique topic.

If you want to write about a common essay topic, such as a sports injury or volunteer work overseas, think carefully about how you can make it unique and personal. You’ll need to demonstrate deep insight and write your story in an original way to differentiate it from similar essays.

What makes a good topic?

• Meaningful and personal to you
• Uncommon or has an unusual angle
• Reveals something different from the rest of your application

Brainstorming questions

You should do a comprehensive brainstorm before choosing your topic. Here are a few questions to get started:

• What are your top five values? What lived experiences demonstrate these values?
• What adjectives would your friends and family use to describe you?
• What challenges or failures have you faced and overcome? What lessons did you learn from them?
• What makes you different from your classmates?
• What are some objects that represent your identity, your community, your relationships, your passions, or your goals?
• Whom do you admire most? Why?
• What three people have significantly impacted your life? How did they influence you?

How to identify your topic

Here are two strategies for identifying a topic that demonstrates your values:

• Start with your qualities : First, identify positive qualities about yourself; then, brainstorm stories that demonstrate these qualities.
• Start with a story : Brainstorm a list of memorable life moments; then, identify a value shown in each story.

After choosing your topic, organize your ideas in an essay outline , which will help keep you focused while writing. Unlike a five-paragraph academic essay, there’s no set structure for a college admissions essay. You can take a more creative approach, using storytelling techniques to shape your essay.

Two common approaches are to structure your essay as a series of vignettes or as a single narrative.

Vignettes structure

The vignette, or montage, structure weaves together several stories united by a common theme. Each story should demonstrate one of your values or qualities and conclude with an insight or future outlook.

This structure gives the admissions officer glimpses into your personality, background, and identity, and shows how your qualities appear in different areas of your life.

Topic: Museum with a “five senses” exhibit of my experiences

• Introduction: Tour guide introduces my museum and my “Making Sense of My Heritage” exhibit
• Story: Racial discrimination with my eyes
• Lesson: Using my writing to document truth
• Story: Broadway musical interests
• Lesson: Finding my voice
• Story: Smells from family dinner table
• Lesson: Appreciating home and family
• Story: Washing dishes
• Lesson: Finding moments of peace in busy schedule
• Story: Biking with Ava
• Lesson: Finding pleasure in job well done
• Conclusion: Tour guide concludes tour, invites guest to come back for “fall College Collection,” featuring my search for identity and learning.

Single story structure

The single story, or narrative, structure uses a chronological narrative to show a student’s character development over time. Some narrative essays detail moments in a relatively brief event, while others narrate a longer journey spanning months or years.

Single story essays are effective if you have overcome a significant challenge or want to demonstrate personal development.

Topic: Sports injury helps me learn to be a better student and person

• Situation: Football injury
• Challenge: Friends distant, teachers don’t know how to help, football is gone for me
• Turning point: Starting to like learning in Ms. Brady’s history class; meeting Christina and her friends
• My reactions: Reading poetry; finding shared interest in poetry with Christina; spending more time studying and with people different from me
• Insight: They taught me compassion and opened my eyes to a different lifestyle; even though I still can’t play football, I’m starting a new game

Brainstorm creative insights or story arcs

Regardless of your essay’s structure, try to craft a surprising story arc or original insights, especially if you’re writing about a common topic.

Never exaggerate or fabricate facts about yourself to seem interesting. However, try finding connections in your life that deviate from cliché storylines and lessons.

Admissions officers read thousands of essays each year, and they typically spend only a few minutes reading each one. To get your message across, your introduction , or hook, needs to grab the reader’s attention and compel them to read more..

Avoid starting your introduction with a famous quote, cliché, or reference to the essay itself (“While I sat down to write this essay…”).

While you can sometimes use dialogue or a meaningful quotation from a close family member or friend, make sure it encapsulates your essay’s overall theme.

Find an original, creative way of starting your essay using the following two methods.

Option 1: Start with an intriguing hook

Begin your essay with an unexpected statement to pique the reader’s curiosity and compel them to carefully read your essay. A mysterious introduction disarms the reader’s expectations and introduces questions that can only be answered by reading more.

Option 2: Start with vivid imagery

Illustrate a clear, detailed image to immediately transport your reader into your memory. You can start in the middle of an important scene or describe an object that conveys your essay’s theme.

A college application essay allows you to be creative in your style and tone. As you draft your essay, try to use interesting language to enliven your story and stand out .

Show, don’t tell

“Tell” in writing means to simply state a fact: “I am a basketball player.” “ Show ” in writing means to use details, examples, and vivid imagery to help the reader easily visualize your memory: “My heart races as I set up to shoot一two seconds, one second一and score a three-pointer!”

First, reflect on every detail of a specific image or scene to recall the most memorable aspects.

• What are the most prominent images?
• Are there any particular sounds, smells, or tastes associated with this memory?
• What emotion or physical feeling did you have at that time?

Be vulnerable to create an emotional response

You don’t have to share a huge secret or traumatic story, but you should dig deep to express your honest feelings, thoughts, and experiences to evoke an emotional response. Showing vulnerability demonstrates humility and maturity. However, don’t exaggerate to gain sympathy.

Use appropriate style and tone

Make sure your essay has the right style and tone by following these guidelines:

• Use a conversational yet respectful tone: less formal than academic writing, but more formal than texting your friends.
• Prioritize using “I” statements to highlight your perspective.
• Write within your vocabulary range to maintain an authentic voice.
• Write concisely, and use the active voice to keep a fast pace.
• Follow grammar rules (unless you have valid stylistic reasons for breaking them).

You should end your college essay with a deep insight or creative ending to leave the reader with a strong final impression. Your college admissions essay should avoid the following:

• Summarizing what you already wrote
• Stating your hope of being accepted to the school
• Mentioning character traits that should have been illustrated in the essay, such as “I’m a hard worker”

Here are two strategies to craft a strong conclusion.

Option 1: Full circle, sandwich structure

The full circle, or sandwich, structure concludes the essay with an image, idea, or story mentioned in the introduction. This strategy gives the reader a strong sense of closure.

In the example below, the essay concludes by returning to the “museum” metaphor that the writer opened with.

Option 2: Revealing your insight

You can use the conclusion to show the insight you gained as a result of the experiences you’ve described. Revealing your main message at the end creates suspense and keeps the takeaway at the forefront of your reader’s mind.

Revise your essay before submitting it to check its content, style, and grammar. Get feedback from no more than two or three people.

It’s normal to go through several rounds of revision, but take breaks between each editing stage.

Also check out our college essay examples to see what does and doesn’t work in an essay and the kinds of changes you can make to improve yours.

Respect the word count

Most schools specify a word count for each essay , and you should stay within 10% of the upper limit.

Remain under the specified word count limit to show you can write concisely and follow directions. However, don’t write too little, which may imply that you are unwilling or unable to write a thoughtful and developed essay.

Check your content, style, and grammar

• First, check big-picture issues of message, flow, and clarity.
• Then, check for style and tone issues.
• Finally, focus on eliminating grammar and punctuation errors.

Get feedback

Get feedback from 2–3 people who know you well, have good writing skills, and are familiar with college essays.

• Teachers and guidance counselors can help you check your content, language, and tone.
• Friends and family can check for authenticity.
• An essay coach or editor has specialized knowledge of college admissions essays and can give objective expert feedback.

The checklist below helps you make sure your essay ticks all the boxes.

College admissions essay checklist

I’ve organized my essay prompts and created an essay writing schedule.

I’ve done a comprehensive brainstorm for essay topics.

I’ve selected a topic that’s meaningful to me and reveals something different from the rest of my application.

I’ve created an outline to guide my structure.

I’ve crafted an introduction containing vivid imagery or an intriguing hook that grabs the reader’s attention.

I’ve written my essay in a way that shows instead of telling.

I’ve shown positive traits and values in my essay.

I’ve demonstrated self-reflection and insight in my essay.

I’ve used appropriate style and tone .

I’ve concluded with an insight or a creative ending.

I’ve revised my essay , checking my overall message, flow, clarity, and grammar.

I’ve respected the word count , remaining within 10% of the upper word limit.

Congratulations!

It looks like your essay ticks all the boxes. A second pair of eyes can help you take it to the next level – Scribbr's essay coaches can help.

Colleges want to be able to differentiate students who seem similar on paper. In the college application essay , they’re looking for a way to understand each applicant’s unique personality and experiences.

Your college essay accounts for about 25% of your application’s weight. It may be the deciding factor in whether you’re accepted, especially for competitive schools where most applicants have exceptional grades, test scores, and extracurricular track records.

A standout college essay has several key ingredients:

• A unique, personally meaningful topic
• A memorable introduction with vivid imagery or an intriguing hook
• Specific stories and language that show instead of telling
• Vulnerability that’s authentic but not aimed at soliciting sympathy
• Clear writing in an appropriate style and tone
• A conclusion that offers deep insight or a creative ending

While timelines will differ depending on the student, plan on spending at least 1–3 weeks brainstorming and writing the first draft of your college admissions essay , and at least 2–4 weeks revising across multiple drafts. Don’t forget to save enough time for breaks between each writing and editing stage.

You should already begin thinking about your essay the summer before your senior year so that you have plenty of time to try out different topics and get feedback on what works.

Most college application portals specify a word count range for your essay, and you should stay within 10% of the upper limit to write a developed and thoughtful essay.

You should aim to stay under the specified word count limit to show you can follow directions and write concisely. However, don’t write too little, as it may seem like you are unwilling or unable to write a detailed and insightful narrative about yourself.

If no word count is specified, we advise keeping your essay between 400 and 600 words.

Is this article helpful?

Other students also liked.

• What Do Colleges Look For in an Essay? | Examples & Tips
• College Essay Format & Structure | Example Outlines
• How to Revise Your College Admissions Essay | Examples

More interesting articles

• Choosing Your College Essay Topic | Ideas & Examples
• College Essay Examples | What Works and What Doesn't
• Common App Essays | 7 Strong Examples with Commentary
• How Long Should a College Essay Be? | Word Count Tips
• How to Apply for College | Timeline, Templates & Checklist
• How to End a College Admissions Essay | 4 Winning Strategies
• How to Make Your College Essay Stand Out | Tips & Examples
• How to Research and Write a "Why This College?" Essay
• How to Write a College Essay Fast | Tips & Examples
• How to Write a Diversity Essay | Tips & Examples
• How to Write a Great College Essay Introduction | Examples
• How to Write a Scholarship Essay | Template & Example
• How to Write About Yourself in a College Essay | Examples
• Style and Tone Tips for Your College Essay | Examples
• US College Essay Tips for International Students

Get unlimited documents corrected

✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 13 best college essay tips to craft a stellar application.

College Essays

In many ways, the most labor-intensive part of your college application process is the essay. It’s not just about forwarding transcripts or entering a list of extracurricular activities—you have to craft something personal and compelling to show the admissions committee who you are beyond your resume.

In this article, we’ll go over our 13 best tips for writing college essays. We’ll give tips for every step of the process including planning, writing, and editing your essay, as well as some quick and easy tips to boost any essays you already have written! With these college essay tips, you’ll be that much closer to the best admissions essay ever!

5 Tips for College Essay Planning

Doing a good job planning makes the college essay process that much easier. These five college essay tips will help you get started and pave the way for a great final product.

#1: Make a Plan of Attack for Your Essays

The first thing you’ll need to do is identify all the essays you’ll need to write and their deadlines. It may help you to make a spreadsheet with the essay guidelines for each school, the word count, the prompts, the due date, and any special instructions. This will help you figure out:

How many essays you’ll need to write, and how long those essays need to be.

Whether you can reuse any essays: In general, you can reuse essays for prompts that are about your life, broadly similar in theme, and have a similar word count. You probably can’t reuse essays that are very specific to the college, like “Why This College” essays .

Which essay you should write first: You’ll probably want to start first on the essay with the earliest application deadline. Alternatively, if you have plenty of time or the deadlines are close together, you could start with the longest essay (which will take the most time) or the essay that will be used for the most schools (like a Common Application essay). Do what you feel most comfortable with.

With all this information gathered, you’ll be able to make a plan of attack for your essays and make sure nothing gets lost in the application shuffle. (In fact, I actually advise keeping track of all necessary components of your application in a spreadsheet for the same reason).

#2: Start Early

You want to start writing way before the deadline. If possible, give yourself at least two months, and maybe even more time if you can. This will make sure that you have enough time to adequately plan your essay, draft it, and edit it.  

And, of course, the more essays you have to write, the earlier you should start!

#3: Choose the Right Topic

Choosing the right topic has two facets: first, choosing the right prompt (if there’s a choice) and second, choosing the right topic to write about for that prompt.

The Right Prompt

If there’s a choice of prompts, you may want to actually start by brainstorming the specific topic or thing in your life that you want to write about, and then reverse-engineer back to the most appropriate prompt. Most college essay prompts are pretty vague, so a broad range of topics and issues can be applied.

You can also use prompts to help you brainstorm if you’re having a hard time figuring out what to write about. Think about the prompt that seems most appealing to you at first. What intrigues you about it? What do you think you could communicate about yourself through that question?

Here’s some tailored guidance on some of the most common college essay prompt types . And if you’re writing a Common Application essay, here’s advice on how to choose the right Common App prompt for you .

The Right Topic

When you’re trying to choose something about your life to write about, consider the following:

What are you excited to write about? A good college essay can be about a wide variety of topics, but it should show that you’re passionate about something. This could be anything from a hobby you have to your favorite book or even your most beloved stuffed animal, just so long as you can make it memorable and positive. Also, your writing will be a lot better if you are writing about something you care about and are interested in!

Whatever you write about should be primarily about you. You should be the focal point. Even if you’re writing about someone who has influenced you, for example, you need to relate it back to yourself. What does this tell admission officers about you?

What makes you stand out? This should be something that goes beyond what’s in the rest of your application. Your test scores and GPA are already there. What really shows something unique about you?

Choose a topic you can be honest about . If you’re not being genuine, it will end up coming through in your writing. So don’t write about how much your membership in Youth Group meant to you if you only went to make your mom happy and you actually didn’t care that much.

In general, you should avoid topics that are overly controversial, like things that are politically charged, doing things that are illegal, or anything involving graphic descriptions of any bodily function. So if you’re going to write about recovering from hip surgery, probably leave out the gory details of you being constipated and your oozy scars.

Check out our 35 brainstorming techniques for college essays for even more help coming up with a topic!

If you’re really stumped, consider asking your friends and family what they think could be good topics. They may help you figure out something memorable and interesting. But also, don’t feel like you have to write about a topic just because someone else thinks it would be great. You need to be genuinely interested in what you’re writing about to write an engaging essay!

#4: Decide on Your Approach

In general, there are two main approaches you might take to write your essay. It might primarily take a narrative format, or it might take a thematic format.

In a narrative format, you’ll be relating a particular anecdote or experience and what it means to you. In a thematic format, you’ll present a particular theme—say, your love of parakeets or your secret talent for balancing books on your head—and expound on that theme in a descriptive way to reveal more about you and your personality.

Sometimes your approach will be determined by the prompt or topic that you choose. For example, if a prompt says to relate a particular event or anecdote, you’ll probably use a narrative approach. By contrast, if you want to write about how your favorite book changed your life, that will probably be a thematic essay.

#5: Write an Outline

Doing a little bit of outlining before you put fingertips to keyboard to write your essay is always a good idea. You don’t necessarily need to make a super-detailed plan before you starting writing, but a general idea of where you are going and the points you want to make will be very helpful when you start drafting. Otherwise, you may find yourself spending a lot of time staring at a blank Word document.

Yes, good, very detailed essay plan. 

4 Top College Essay Writing Tips

Here are four tips for writing college essays and making sure your work  stands out in a good way:

#6: Use Specific Details

The more details you use, the more your writing will come alive. Try to use words that are vivid and specific, instead of ones that are vague like “nice,” “good,” and so on. This will really flesh out the scene and help the reader picture what’s going on.

So take something like this:

One of my biggest accomplishments in life was teaching my little brother to ride a bicycle. I encouraged him to keep going when he fell down. Now he’s a great cyclist!

To something more like this:

One of my biggest accomplishments in life was teaching my eight-year-old brother to ride the racy red bicycle he got for his birthday. He wanted to give up when he took a tumble and skidded across the sidewalk. But while I bandaged up his knees with Batman band-aids, I convinced him to give it another try. I told him to think about how he would be able to bike all around the neighborhood exploring. Now I smile whenever I see him zooming down our street—wearing his helmet, of course!

See the difference? Wouldn’t you rather read the second one?

#7: Be Genuine

It’s important to get beyond the superficial in your personal statement. You should be writing about something that’s genuinely important or significant to you, so try to get beyond the surface. Instead of writing vague platitudes about how you really like the violin but it’s hard, really get at the meat: did you ever think about quitting? What’s frustrated you the most? What really keeps you going?

This means you shouldn’t try to write about things where it’s too painful to be honest. So if your parents got a divorce last year, it may be too raw to write about, which is perfectly fine. If, however, they got divorced when you were 5 and you can honestly reflect on how it changed your life, go for it.

Of course, you want to be honest in a reasonable and appropriate way. If you overshare, it will make it seem like you have bad judgment or don’t understand social norms—not good impressions to give the admissions committee. So probably don’t write about how much you despise your mother and think she is evil since she had an affair with your school librarian. It’s fine to feel how you feel, but there are some things that are a little too charged to write in your college essay.

#8: Be Unique, but Not Bizarre

You definitely want your writing to set you apart—but you want it to set you apart in a good way. This means you want high-quality writing about unique experiences and qualities you bring to the table that aren’t covered elsewhere in your application.

This does not mean you should get really avant-garde with your essay formatting. Don’t send in a piece of art instead of an essay, or make a video, or write a poem instead of an essay, unless those things are explicitly allowed.

Similarly, while your essay doesn’t have to be 100% deadly serious in tone, you should be careful with humor. This doesn’t mean absolutely no jokes or tongue-in-cheek moments or that your essay should read like an 18th-century book of sermons. But if your essay relies too much on humor, you’ve got a lot riding on whether or not the person reading your essay “gets” it. They may well be annoyed. So deploy humor carefully and selectively.

#9: Avoid Cliches and Platitudes

The more cliches you use in your writing, the more boring and less insightful your essay will be. Cliches are phrases that are so overused that they are essentially meaningless, and they are likely to make any reader roll their eyes. Phrases like “a dime a dozen,” “outside the box,” “cold as ice,” “dirt cheap,” “flash in the pan,” and so on are frequently deployed in conversation because they convey a common idea quickly. But you don’t want your essay to be common, so avoid cliches. Try to think about how you can communicate the same idea in a more specific and interesting way.

Here’s a list of over 600 cliches . But for the most part, you won’t need a list; you’ll know something is a cliche because you will have heard it a million times already.

You should also avoid platitudes or sweeping generalizations about life. These are statements that are so broad and far-reaching as to be both obvious and completely uninsightful.

So avoid making statements like “And that’s how I learned that hard work pays off,” or “There’s no ‘I’ in team.” You may think you sound sage or wise, but the truth is, platitudes are going to sound immature and poorly-formed to the reader. Similarly, don’t say things that sound like they could come from an inspirational quote account on Instagram. (See, ahem, “You miss 100% of the shots you never take,” “Shoot for the moon,” and so on.)

How do you avoid the platitude problem? Try to keep what you’re saying specific to you. So instead of saying “And that’s how I learned that hard work pays off,” try, “This experience helped me to realize that when I put concentrated effort into something that’s important to me, I can accomplish it even when there are roadblocks.” Keep the focus on what you can and will do in your own life.

Avoid  trite sayings like this one.

2 Tips for Editing Your College Essay

You may think that once you’ve gotten a draft done that you’re good to go. Not so! Editing is one of the most important parts of writing the best college essay possible, and here are two essential college essay tips for editing.

Tip #10: Ask for Help

It’s always wise to get another set of eyes on your college essays. In fact, several sets of eyes is even better! Other people can help you make sure your essay flows, you have enough detail, that everything is relevant, and that you sound as engaging and interesting as you really are! They can also help you catch typos and other minor errors—although you’ll want to double and triple-check for that yourself before submitting.

Here’s advice on how to ask for help with all parts of the college essay process , including editing.

Tip #11: Be Prepared to Cut a Lot

Brace yourself for cutting up your initial draft into tiny little ribbons and rearranging the remaining pieces Frankenstein-style. A first draft is really just a starting place to get your ideas down before you revamp the entire thing into a more streamlined, better organized, highly polished version. So you have to be ready to let go of pieces of your essay, no matter how much you love a particular turn of phrase or analogy. The ultimate goal is to turn the rough stone of your first draft into a polished and clear piece of writing—and that’s going to take a lot of chipping and sanding!

2 Final Tips for College Essay Success

Here are two quick but essential college essay tips you can implement easily.

Tip #12: Have a Standout First Sentence

One thing you can do to give any essay a boost is to make sure that your first sentence is attention-grabbing. If you can pique the interest of the admissions counselor right away, you’ll help keep their attention throughout your essay.

Here’s our guide to getting that perfect first sentence!

Tip #13: Triple-check for Typos and Errors

The most important quick thing you can do for your essay is to make sure there are no typos or grammatical errors. It will make your essay look sloppy and unfinished, and that’s the last thing you want! College admissions officers expect a polished product, and there’s nothing less polished than misspelled words and comma splices.

13 College Essay Tips: Key Takeaways for a Great College Essay

To recap, here’s our 13 tips for the best college essay ever:

College Essay Planning Tips:

• Create a plan of attack for all of your essays so you can keep track of everything.
• Start early—at least two months before the due date, if not more.
• Choose the right prompt and topic for you.
• Decide between a narrative or a thematic approach to the topic.
• Outline before you start writing!

College Essay Writing Tips:

• Use vivid, specific details.
• Be genuine—get beyond the superficial.
• Be unique, but not bizarre.
• Avoid cliches and platitudes; they are boring and unimaginative.

College Essay Editing Tips:

• Get other people to look at your essay.
• Be prepared to change, cut, and rearrange a lot!

Final Tips for College Essays:

• Make sure your first sentence is stellar.
• Triple check for typos and grammatical errors!

What’s Next?

You’ve read our tips for success—now see 10 college essay mistakes to avoid .

Looking for some college essay examples? See 133 essay examples and expert analysis here , along with 11 more places to find great college essay examples .  

Check out our complete guides to ApplyTexas essays , UC Personal Insight questions , and the Common Application essay !

Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

• For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

The New York Times

The choice | how to write a college application essay, how to write a college application essay, the learning network, getting personal: writing college essays for the common application.

Our friends at The Learning Network blog have just published a lesson plan devoted to helping students prepare their essays for the Common Application , which recently released new essay prompts for the 2013-14 admission season.

The timing couldn’t be more ideal for juniors, who are often encouraged to start thinking about their college application essays before senior year begins.

To help applicants who might otherwise stare at a blinking cursor until inspiration strikes, these veteran teachers suggest that students take a speed-dating approach to get their writing juices flowing.

An excerpt from the lesson plan:

Project or unveil the first prompt and tell students that they will talk about the topic with the person across from them for five minutes. Within that time, each student should play the role of speaker and listener. Set a timer for five minutes and signal that they should begin. Once time is up, the outer circle rotates left. Unveil a new topic and begin the process again until students have discussed each topic, rotating to new discussion partners with each prompt. Then ask students to return to their seats.

After the activity, students are encouraged to reflect on which essay topic was easiest to discuss, and which one they would like to continue talking (or writing) about. The answer may help them select a topic for the Common Application.

The lesson plan also includes more than a dozen New York Times articles that serve as “mentor texts” for students’ application essays, as well as many other resources from The Times on how to write an essay.

Whether you intend to use The Learning Network’s advice at school or at home, we encourage you to read its suggestions and contribute essay-writing tips of your own using the comments box below.

Comments are no longer being accepted.

Check out the lesson plan ideas attached for how to help students get a head start on their essay writing topics for college. Great interactive ideas!

Want an easy way to feel at home with the Common Application’s 5 new essay questions. Start where YOU’RE most at home…your room!

1. Here’s how: make a written list including what’s on your shelves, in your drawers, on your walls, and inside your closet. Just about each item could easily tell your story.

2. Now focus on something that is so familiar yet special that you (almost) take it for granted, but you’d never part with it. Chances are you’ll be bringing to college.

3. Start writing down everything you can think of about the day it entered your life. Zero in on details: what the light was like that day, any sounds in the background? How you were feeling at the time. DON’T COUNT WORDS. If your mind starts going off on a tangent, follow it. That way, even though you’ll cut tons later, you will have captured the sort of magical details that make good writing come alive.

4. Think about what you’ve learned about yourself thanks to your treasure, ways you might have changed as a result of choosing it as a keepsake, and the role it’s played in making you uniquely you.

6. Now read the 5 new essay questions. Hmm. Question 4 just might have your name on it: “Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?”

7. You could write a whole essay about why you love hanging out in your room… But you needn’t be so literal. There’s certain to be something close at hand you could, with introspection, find a way to apply to each of the questions.

7. Expect to do hours of reworking and fine-tuning, but hey, look at the special, self-defining touchstone you’ve so comfortably come up with!

What's Next

Teaching Essay Writing - Where do I start?

The Write Foundation is a tried and proven homeschool writing curriculum that lays a solid writing foundation and develops competent, confident writers, even with students who were clueless on how to write. Students learn organizational groundwork for writing simple paragraphs and then advance to college level essays. With a variety of topics and types of paragraphs this curriculum guides you as you teach how to logically and easily write formal papers that “Wow!” professors.

Every lesson in TWF is arranged with detailed, specific guidelines, and gives you the necessary tools to teach the lessons and assist students while they complete their independent work. The Write Foundation provides detailed lesson plans for you to easily follow.

• Daily Schedules : every lesson divided into instruction groups.
• Teacher Presentation : pages for you to use when presenting the lesson (included in the instruction manual and separately in digital format to be used to fit your situation)
• Student Worksheets : 1 set is provided with each level of instruction.Pages which guide students both during the lesson and their independent work. Student Assignments: extra instruction and reminders to guide students as they complete their independent work. Checklists for students to use to edit their work.

The instruction manuals provide:

• Step-by-step teaching instruction for you to follow.
• Examples of possible correct answers.
• Example brainstorms, outlines and paragraphs.

Additional Resources are also sent to you with the following and more:

• Games: instructions for 1 or more students
• Grading Checklists: to help you grade their work.
• Grading System: if you need help with record keeping.

When a student is working on the correct level, intensive teacher instruction drops significantly as the year progresses.

• Students understand and retain more when they work at a level where learning comes easily for them.
• Some students need more teacher help for a while, but many others become more independent quickly.
• Students gain independence as good writing habits are solidified and they are on their way to becoming independent proficient writers.

Mom’s work load is determined by placing students on the right level. Try the free sample lessons before you purchase the curriculum to help determine which level is right for your students.

Entry Level Creating Sentences: Students use fun educational games and activities, while learning to compose and develop sentences by putting words and phrases together like pieces in a puzzle. Students will not be asking, “But what do I write about?”

Sentence to Paragraph Level 1 : Students learn to write better sentences, which describe and inform, while they learn the core basics of writing simple paragraphs using the writing process.

Paragraph Writing Level 2 : Students continue to develop their sentence and paragraph writing skills using the writing process, while advancing to multi-paragraph formal writing.

Essay Writing Level 3 : Students fine tune and develop mature writing skills, so they can easily write a well organized multi-paragraph college level essay that “Wows!” everyone.

See Suggested Age Levels for Homeschool Writing for more specific guidelines for each level.

Questions or Comments?

Recent articles.

• Correcting Run-on Sentences
• How Does Skipping the Writing Process Affect your Writing?
• Graduating Homeschooling
• Is My Child Ready for Formal Writing?
• Teaching Spelling
• Evaluating Homeschool Writing Curriculums
• How to Teach Essay Writing
• Why Most Writing Curriculums Fail (and How to Make Sure your Homeschooler Doesn't!)
• Top Five Reasons Students Hate to Write (and How You can Help!)
• College Preparation for Homeschooled Students

H e is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. Luke 6:48

View, Print, and Practice the Sample Lessons

(We're here to help you teach!)

Now Available!

Free Reading Lists Get your copy today!

Have a struggling writer? Maybe he hates writing? Does your student just need to learn how to write? Long for teacher-friendly lesson plans you can quickly prepare and teach? Desire a writing curriculum your children will enjoy while learning creatively?

• Complete Lesson Plans
• Free Assessment Tests
• Free Reading Lists
• Organization for Writing
• Checklists & Guidelines
• Brainstorm & Outline Forms

Open doors to writing success!

Contact Rebecca . Rebecca Celsor will answer your questions regarding how to easily teach your child to write.

" My boys wanted me to thank you for developing such a great writing program. They are currently in 5th and 8th grade, both working with Level 2. They really enjoy using Mind Benders. This is the first time they "ask" to do writing, which we generally get to first thing in the morning. "

• Course Selection Assistance
• Suggested Age Levels for Homeschool Writing
• Entry Level I - Prepare to Write
• Entry Level II - Creating Sentences
• Level 1 - Sentence to Paragraph
• Level 2 - Paragraph
• Level 3 - Essay
• Free Curriculum Writing Samples
• Example Teaching Videos
• Online Grading Service
• Writing Skills Reference Folder
• How to Present a Lesson
• Grading Writing
• Key Points for Grading Writing
• MindBenders®
• Order Curriculum Packages
• Order Worksheets Only
• Refund/Return Policy
• Selecting Home School Curriculum
• Writing Preparation
• Writing Development
• High School and Beyond
• Homeschool Co-ops
• Homeschool How To
• The Story Behind TWF
• Why Another Writing Curriculum?
• Copyright Information

He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock . Luke 6:48

Dedicated to equipping God's children with the ability to communicate His Truth to the world.

• Teaching Tools
• Curriculum Ordering
• homeschool writing curriculum
• home school writing samples
• Mind Benders®
• Online Grading

Copyright © 2021 TheWriteFoundation.org

web site design - evolvethebrand.com

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Writing curriculum

Argumentative Writing Unit

Writing prompts, lesson plans, webinars, mentor texts and a culminating contest, all to inspire your students to tell us what matters to them.

By The Learning Network

Unit Overview

On our site, we’ve been offering teenagers ways to tell the world what they think for over 20 years. Our student writing prompt forums encourage them to weigh in on current events and issues daily, while our contests have offered an annual outlet since 2014 for formalizing those opinions into evidence-based essays.

In this unit, we’re bringing together all the resources we’ve developed along the way to help students figure out what they want to say, and how to say it effectively.

Here is what this unit offers, but we would love to hear from both teachers and students if there is more we could include. Let us know in the comments, or by writing to [email protected].

Start With Our Prompts for Argumentative Writing

How young is too young to use social media? Should students get mental health days off from school? Is $1 billion too much money for any one person to have?

These are the kinds of questions we ask every day on our site. In 2017 we published a list of 401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing categorized to provoke thinking on aspects of contemporary life from social media to sports, politics, gender issues and school. In 2021, we followed it up with 300 Questions and Images to Inspire Argument Writing , which catalogs all our argument-focused Student Opinion prompts since then, plus our more accessible Picture Prompts.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser.

College admissions

Course: college admissions   >   unit 4.

• Writing a strong college admissions essay
• Avoiding common admissions essay mistakes
• Brainstorming tips for your college essay
• How formal should the tone of your college essay be?

Taking your college essay to the next level

• Sample essay 1 with admissions feedback
• Sample essay 2 with admissions feedback
• Student story: Admissions essay about a formative experience
• Student story: Admissions essay about personal identity
• Student story: Admissions essay about community impact
• Student story: Admissions essay about a past mistake
• Student story: Admissions essay about a meaningful poem
• Writing tips and techniques for your college essay

Want to join the conversation?

• Upvote Button navigates to signup page
• Downvote Button navigates to signup page
• Flag Button navigates to signup page

Video transcript

Want a daily email of lesson plans that span all subjects and age groups?

Subjects all subjects all subjects the arts all the arts visual arts performing arts value of the arts back business & economics all business & economics global economics macroeconomics microeconomics personal finance business back design, engineering & technology all design, engineering & technology design engineering technology back health all health growth & development medical conditions consumer health public health nutrition physical fitness emotional health sex education back literature & language all literature & language literature linguistics writing/composition speaking back mathematics all mathematics algebra data analysis & probability geometry measurement numbers & operations back philosophy & religion all philosophy & religion philosophy religion back psychology all psychology history, approaches and methods biological bases of behavior consciousness, sensation and perception cognition and learning motivation and emotion developmental psychology personality psychological disorders and treatment social psychology back science & technology all science & technology earth and space science life sciences physical science environmental science nature of science back social studies all social studies anthropology area studies civics geography history media and journalism sociology back teaching & education all teaching & education education leadership education policy structure and function of schools teaching strategies back thinking & learning all thinking & learning attention and engagement memory critical thinking problem solving creativity collaboration information literacy organization and time management back, filter by none.

• Elementary/Primary
• Middle School/Lower Secondary
• High School/Upper Secondary
• College/University
• TED-Ed Animations
• TED Talk Lessons
• TED-Ed Best of Web
• Under 3 minutes
• Under 6 minutes
• Under 9 minutes
• Under 12 minutes
• Under 18 minutes
• Over 18 minutes
• Algerian Arabic
• Azerbaijani
• Cantonese (Hong Kong)
• Chinese (Hong Kong)
• Chinese (Singapore)
• Chinese (Taiwan)
• Chinese Simplified
• Chinese Traditional
• Chinese Traditional (Taiwan)
• Dutch (Belgium)
• Dutch (Netherlands)
• French (Canada)
• French (France)
• French (Switzerland)
• Kurdish (Central)
• Luxembourgish
• Persian (Afghanistan)
• Persian (Iran)
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Portuguese (Portugal)
• Spanish (Argentina)
• Spanish (Latin America)
• Spanish (Mexico)
• Spanish (Spain)
• Spanish (United States)
• Western Frisian

sort by none

• Longest video
• Shortest video
• Most video views
• Least video views
• Most questions answered
• Least questions answered

Why don't "tough" and "dough" rhyme?

Lesson duration 05:34

346,131 Views

Will the real Fernando please stand up?

Lesson duration 04:52

273,590 Views

How (and why) to read William Faulkner

Lesson duration 04:41

225,428 Views

How to write the perfect crime, according to Agatha Christie

Lesson duration 05:11

722,115 Views

How Phillis Wheatley captured the attention of the world

Lesson duration 04:57

183,185 Views

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Lesson duration 02:49

2,471,472 Views

How to make a sad story funny

Lesson duration 04:39

397,936 Views

Can love and independence coexist?

Lesson duration 04:53

330,316 Views

The surprising origins of the word “lesbian”

Lesson duration 05:26

734,881 Views

"I Am Anne Frank" read by Brad Meltzer and Saul Dreier

Lesson duration 13:18

80,214 Views

How would you finish the sentence, “Imagine if…”?

Lesson duration 01:30

244,007 Views

Using your voice is a political choice - Amanda Gorman

Lesson duration 07:20

395,441 Views

Letter from Birmingham Jail - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lesson duration 48:39

677,339 Views

We can help you master public speaking

Lesson duration 04:30

368,911 Views

What happens when you die? A poetic inquiry

Lesson duration 02:30

316,468 Views

"Jabberwocky": One of literature's best bits of nonsense

Lesson duration 02:11

883,016 Views

First person vs. Second person vs. Third person

Lesson duration 05:20

1,075,501 Views

The five W's song

Lesson duration 01:40

3,485,351 Views

Plurals -s -es | Learn to Spell

Lesson duration 01:51

2,316,636 Views

Sticky i | Learn to read | Ci Si and Ti sounds

Lesson duration 01:02

1,091,818 Views

Closed and open syllables | Learn to read

Lesson duration 01:39

1,395,703 Views

The L-iminator! | The double L spelling rule

Lesson duration 02:12

214,653 Views

Contractions! | English grammar practice

Lesson duration 02:52

4,545,138 Views

Punctuation explained (by Punctuation!)

11,841,112 Views

English Teachers: Essay Lesson Plan Ideas for College Applications

by j9robinson | May 27, 2014

When my two kids were finishing their junior years of high school, they each received the assignment from their English teacher to write a college application essay.

It sure sounded good—they could get a jump on these dreaded essays and receive professional direction on how to find great topics and write them in an engaging, memorable style.

It didn’t quite work out that way.

From what I could tell, this task of teaching how to write college admissions essays was dumped on these teachers, and they had to cram in a last-minute writing section at the very end of the year (and compete with the AP test crunch time, other end-of-year deadlines/pressures and spring fever.).

Also, as far as I could tell, no one really taught the teachers how to write college admissions essays and students had had very little practice writing in a narrative style. 

I’m sure this assignment was better than nothing.

And that there are English teachers out there who do know about writing, and provide great advice and direction for their students.

But for those teachers who feel overwhelmed and under-prepared, I offer these ideas and resources that could easily be incorporated into an essay lesson plan or a unit on how to write a college application essay:

1. DAY ONE of Essay Lesson Plan : Discuss what makes a great college application essay .

The best way to help students understand what makes a great essay, and see for themselves how these essays use a different style of writing (narrative/slice-of-life), is to share some samples . ( 3 Sample Essays for University of CA app.)

Find some good ones, even a couple bad ones, and have the class read them together and talk about what they liked, and what they didn’t like.

Students should be encouraged to trust what they find entertaining, moving and interesting, and try to copy the literary techniques other students used in their essays.

Try to find sample essays that show the variety of topics that can work , especially those that are mundane (everyday).

2. DAY TWO of Essay Lesson Plan : Help students brainstorm their own topic ideas.

I have written a condensed, step-by-step guide on this process , but also have several posts on how students can find their defining qualities , and then search for their own real-life stories that illustrate a core quality.

It would be very easy to convert the steps I take students through into your own instruction–just step them through this process in class.

(I also have a short guide book, Escape Essay Hell , that maps these out in 10 steps.)

3. DAY THREE of Essay Lesson Plan : After each student has collected a short list of defining qualities, have them brainstorm “times” they used or developed one of these qualities in real life.

Tell them that they are looking for mini-stories, called “anecdotes,” that they can share in their essays.

One huge key to a great anecdote is if it involves a problem (this is your chance to talk about the power of “conflict” in a story.) My Crash Course in How to Write an Anecdote .

Try to find examples of anecdotes, either in sample college admissions essays or at the start of magazines or feature stories in the newspaper.

(All the sample essays in Heavenly Essays use anecdotes, and the last chapter of Escape Essay Hell showcases examples of anecdotes.)

You could even assign students to find one on their own and bring it to class.

My posts on anecdotes not only explain what they are, but have details on how to craft them.

Teach this process to your students–and you will have given them one of the most powerful writing techniques around.

Have them watch my two short YouTube videos on How to Write an Anecdote: Part One and How to Write an Anecdote: Part Two .

4. DAY FOUR of Essay Lesson Plan : Have the students write up one of their real-life moments or incidents into an anecdote (require that it involves a “problem.”)

Talk about how this anecdote shows the reader about their defining quality as opposed to just telling them about it.

Discuss why this is so powerful to grab the reader at the start of the essay.

After they write their anecdote, have them go back and try to condense it even further.

This is part of the skill of writing these, and they do take practice. (Check out this short visual guide to crafting a story .)

5. DAY FIVE of Essay Lesson Plan: Now that the students have described in a story-telling style something that happened to them, and it involved some type of problem, have them start to think about, and jot down notes in list form, these questions:

a. How did that problem make them feel?

b. How did they handle that problem? What steps they took. Where they drew inspiration to face it. (Have them be aware of how their core quality is involved in this process, or the role it plays. And write down their thoughts.)

c. What did they learn in the process of dealing with it? About themselves. About others. About the world in general.

d. Did this experience change them, or how they think about things/life, in any way? Tell them to get reflective and analytical at this point.

These notes will help them continue writing their essay, and use their anecdote to explore how they deal with life, which will reveal what kind of person they area, how they think, what they care about, etc.

One related activity to have students do in pairs , would be this simple exercise on How to Find Your Essay Voice .

I use this approach with the students I tutor, and it’s amazing how easy it is to “capture” pieces of their authentic teenage voice, and how perfectly even a few of these lines or expressions when they are in a reflective mode can enhance their essays.

6. DAY SIX of Essay Lesson Plan:  Help students map out a simple writing plan.

Explain how narrative essays are written in a more casual style, and not the 5-paragraph format.  

Then have them start writing out a rough draft: Have them start with the anecdote to SHOW the problem and then background the incident (a couple paragraphs); and then go on to TELL about what it meant (explain, reflect, analyze, etc.–drawing off notes from Day Five) in a couple more paragraphs.

(Depending on how much time you have to spend on these essays, I have many posts on specific parts of the process–from finding topics to how to write the conclusion to adding titles . Just browse the Index on the right side of this blog to find them.)

Homework : Have the students complete their rough drafts at home.

If they just stick to this order in general, they should end up with an interesting piece of writing that is compelling and reveals their core quality.

Now it’s up to you how you want to help them critique and revise their essays.

These pieces may be highly personal for some students, but for others, they might benefit from some type of peer review, whether in pairs, small groups or with the entire class.

It’s always great to read these out loud, and have them listen and note the “golden lines,” or parts they like, and pay attention to times the essay gets dull (time to cut it!).

Encourage the students to write as long as they want, but then have them cut their essay to a word count (650 words is limit for the Common App.) There’s no better self-editing exercise then shortening a writing piece.

I believe this assignment can be a wonderful writing assignment, and I bet the students will even enjoy it.

It’s amazing how much we all like to think and write about ourselves! Teachers should take advantage of that.

You will be amazed at some of the stories the students come up with, which will range from entertaining, moving, sad (even tragic) and funny.

I wouldn’t discourage any topic, as long as the student makes sure to use the story to show something about herself or himself.

This is just one way to teach narrative writing, and how to write a college application essay. If you have other techniques or ideas, that’s great (and I would love to learn more about them!). But maybe this will give you a place to start.

Related Resources for Creating an Essay Lesson Plan:

This I Believe : This is a post I wrote about the site called This I Believe, which helps students identify their core values, and includes thousands of sample personal essays and other helpful information. Students can use the same approach I teach on this blog and in my books, and simply replace starting with a core quality or characteristic with a core value.

Where I’m From : This site features a poet from Kentucky who wrote a poem about her roots. It includes an inspiring writing exercise that helps students capture details from their own backgrounds and homes. (It also has short video with poet George Ella Lyon reading the poem out loud.) Students can use these details in their essays to describe themselves and their backgrounds. I’ve used this with my students and they all loved it.

Top Guides on Narrative Writing : This is a post I put together showcasing what I believe are the best books on learning and teaching narrative writing.

Check Out These Related Posts!

An excellent resource . . . direct and specific and does not start with the Common Application essay prompts. Thank you!

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Click logo to visit Home Page!

Need More Help?

As a professional writing coach, I help students, parents, counselors, teachers and others from around the world on these dreaded essays! Learn about my in-person and online tutoring, editing, workshops, books, and online courses, ... READ MORE... .

Online Course

Learn to write your essay in one hour.

My on-demand, fast-and-easy online e-course: How to Write a College App Essay (Click lightbulb for details.)

Perfect for The Common App, UCs, grad school, transfer and scholarship essays!

Buy Course for $99 and Start Now!

Find helpful posts.

• About Admissions Officers
• Add a Twist
• Admissions Advice
• Affordability and Success
• Anecdote How-To
• ApplyTexas Essays
• Avoid "English-ese"
• Beware English teachers
• Brainstorm Guide
• Bump Up a Dull Essay
• Cappex Application essays
• Another Trick to Try
• Defining Qualities
• Focusing Your Topic
• Good Topics vs Bad Topics
• How to Stand Out
• Jumpstart Guide!
• Mundane Topics
• Risky Topics
• Show Your Grit
• The "Unexpected"
• Top Five Topic Tips
• Topic of Choice
• Topics to Avoid!
• Twilight as a Topic?
• Coalition for Access
• Coalition for Access Essay Strategies
• College Rejection
• Common App Prompt 7
• Common App: Prompt 1
• Common App: Prompt 2
• Common App: Prompt 3
• Common App: Prompt 4
• Common App: Prompt 5
• Common App: Prompt 6
• Commonly Asked Questions
• Conclusions
• Create Pathos
• Creative Writing
• English Teachers Help
• Essay Cheat Sheet
• Essay Contest
• Essay Hell's Writing Guides
• Essay Myths
• Essay Writing Guides
• Essay Writing Training
• Find Core Values
• First drafts
• Grabber Introductions
• Heavenly Essays Book
• Homeschooling
• How Format Common App Essay
• How to Describe a Place/Setting/World
• How to Recycle Essays
• How to Write a Conclusion
• How to Write Short Essays
• International Students
• Journal Writing
• Jumpstart Essay Experts
• Lesson Plans
• Math and Science Students
• How to manage your parents
• Personal Insight Questions
• Personal Statements
• Favorite Books
• Sample Essays
• Scholarship Essays
• Storytelling
• Supplemental Essay Tips
• Tufts Supplemental Essays
• University of Colorado Supp
• Why College X?
• Texas Essay Prompts
• How to Answer Prompt #1
• Golden Advice from a College Insider
• Title Your Essay
• TMI in Essays
• Top Essay Fears
• Transfer Essays
• Transfer Students
• UC Prompt #1
• UC Prompt #2
• UC Transfer Essays
• Uncategorized
• Underprivileged Students
• UC Prompt 4
• UC Prompt 5
• UC Prompt 8
• University of Texas essays
• Video Tutorials
• Waitlist Essays and Letter
• Warning to Top Students
• What Makes a Great Essay?
• When You Are Done
• Where to Start
• Why Essays Matter
• Be Specific
• Black and white thinking
• Don't Impress
• Final checklist
• Grabber introductions
• How Find Your Main Point\
• How to Add Depth
• How to add intellectual vitality
• How to Tell a Story
• How to Write an Anecdote
• Ladder of Abstraction
• Mini-Memoirs
• Online course for writing college admissions essays
• Self-editing
• Show AND Tell
• Show Don't Tell
• Tone and Voice
• Universal Truths
• Use Emotion
• Writing Contests

Bestselling Writing Guide!

Click book image to learn about all four of my popular writing guides!

In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation.