Over many years working with students as a writing tutor, I have developed an effective 8-Step Process for writing a great college application essay:
1. Demystify the assignment
Students often have a hard time getting started with writing projects because they feel overwhelmed by the task itself. Many are not confident in their writing skills. They struggle to organize their thoughts. They have no idea how to proceed and this breeds procrastination.
My first step is to build rapport. I want them to understand that together we can do this. By breaking the process down into a series of simple steps, we can make it manageable. Once the students understand that I am here to help, that I believe they can succeed, and that I have a plan to help them do it, we can get past the foot-dragging and start moving toward our goal.
2. Brainstorm ideas
Selecting the right idea for any assignment is crucial. This is particularly true in the case of college admission essays. I frequently hear students say things like, “I don’t know what to write about. My life is boring. There is nothing interesting about me.”
It’s my job to prove them wrong on this front. To this end I have developed all kinds of interview techniques and thought exercises to help identify the unique qualities and experiences that will make for an outstanding essay.
In this sense, brainstorming ideas might even present an element of self-discovery for the student. They may just come to see themselves as more interesting than they originally thought. This revelation, in turn, can provide a sense of momentum as we continue through the process. Small victories along the way give us something to build on (see #6 below).
Because I have worked with so many students over the years, I can also quickly identify and weed out the most generic and cliched ideas that they might otherwise choose. There are certain ideas that I tend to hear over and over again. And if I’m hearing them often, you can probably imagine how tired the admissions officers are getting of these bland topics. My goal is always to find the most unique and personally authentic idea with each student.
3. The story
The most effective approach to writing a college admission essay is to frame it in terms of a story. A well-crafted story draws in the reader. We want our college admissions reader to be engaged and delighted.
The preferred format goes something like this: A) The student starts off by identifying some kind of challenge they faced, or maybe even a flaw or misconception in how they were approaching some aspect of their life; B) They encounter a situation or obstacle that forces them to confront their flaw and work to overcome it; C) This culminates in a specific moment of self-realization; D) They emerge from this important experience with new insight into themselves and/or their role in the world.
Many students are reluctant at first to acknowledge having any kind of flaw to begin with. But what matters most is the ability to be self-reflective and to show a capacity for growth. The college admission essay is an excellent opportunity to develop and demonstrate these crucial skills, not just for the writing but for life itself!
4. The outline
Once we have our idea and story frame, the next step is to set-up a brief outline that identifies the major sections of the essay and pinpoints what we need to achieve in each. This makes the process more manageable for the student, giving them a road map they can follow to keep them moving through the process.
5. The first draft
Here I tell my students to shut down their critical voice and just write freely. Don’t worry if it’s not great…whatever the problems are, we can fix them later on. We just need a first draft that we can build from. Follow the road map and get to work!
6. Build Confidence
The truth is I am always seeking to build confidence at every stage of the process. Students are often fixated on their doubts, fears, and weaknesses. I constantly look to highlight their strengths and create small victories along the way. Not that we won’t improve on the weak spots, but in order to address those improvements the student first needs to feel some level of confidence and self-efficacy.
With this in mind, I will always begin my evaluation of student drafts by pointing out what I like about their work. With that established, we can then look at some of the areas where we can make the essay better.
7. Drill Down…get deep…and be more (or less) SPECIFIC
One common problem I see with early drafts (in addition to grammar mistakes etc.) is superficiality and/or a lack of detail. Students will sometimes skate over the surface and write very generally about the chosen topic. This prevents us from getting into the type of deep thoughts and feelings that make for the best essays.
Moreover, one of the keys to seeming authentic and believable to the reader is to provide very vivid and specific details. To this end I press my students to go deeper, think harder, and paint a picture of what we are trying to express.
[NOTE: In some cases students may have the opposite problem – they are telling their story with too much detail and getting lost in the weeds as a result. In either case, finding the right calibration between broad themes and precise detail is an important part of the process that I pay particular attention to. Getting this calibration right is a key to good storytelling – and good storytelling is a key to writing an engaging and effective essay.]
8. Re-Write
My next step is to give the student detailed notes and feedback on their initial draft, laying out exactly what needs to be done for the rewrite. In this manner we continue to work together, with the student submitting drafts, receiving feedback, and working through the rewrite process until we have a truly outstanding essay that is worthy of submission for the college application.