And here are the essays those outlines led to:


So we decide that Ramya is going to write about the Patriots. The question is how she’s going to demonstrate—through her football fandom—that she is a mature and thoughtful person who will be a good member of any college’s community. An ode to Brady won’t do the trick here—but what will is Ramya’s thoughtful reflection on how spending time watching the Patriots at a sports bar every Sunday with her dad has given her a relationship with her father that most of her friends have never enjoyed with their families.
The practice has students find the possible essay questions/topics of the college(s) to which the students are looking to apply. Then, a scaffolded graphic organizer walks students through creating an outline for their college essay. No one writes a perfect first draft. No matter how much you might want to be done after writing a first draft—you must take the time to edit. Thinking critically about your essay and rewriting as needed is a vital part of writing a great college essay. This practice exercise accompanies the “College Essay Outline: Presentation.” The practice exercise acts as a way for students to apply using the skills previously taught and/or engage more deeply with the concepts previously introduced. Sounds like an oxymoron, right? This type of intro sets up what the essay is going to talk about in a slightly unexpected way. These are a bit trickier than the "in media res" variety, but they can work really well for the right essay—generally one with a thematic structure. Your personal statement should tell a memorable story that admissions officers just can't shake. Your closing line is your final shot to make a lasting impression before your college fate is sealed! The experts at College Essay Advisors have lined up their most essential tips for writing a killer closing line. The personal statement is a crucial part of your college application, but it won't help you if it bores admissions officers to tears! Learn the do's and don'ts of how to write a powerful opening line that pulls your reader in from the very first word.

Click above to watch a video on how to format a College Essay.

Extracting a killer college application essay from your notes, brainstorms, and freewrites may seem like a daunting task. You love your topic, but your ideas are scattered. That's why outlining is your friend.

Example: For instance, a “Why This College” essay could include:

One of the hardest parts of writing the college application essay is getting started. Where is the best place to begin? What does admissions really want to hear from you? And how do you know if you’re moving in the right direction? We made this video full of helpful tips to help you break through your initial writing blocks and get you on the road to college essay success.

What are colleges looking for in the “Why Us” essay?

This intro throws the reader right into the middle of the action. The author jumps right into the action: the performance. You can imagine how much less exciting it would be if the essay opened with an explanation of what the event was and why the author was performing.

Understad how to go about writing a submisson essay for college

Credit where it’s due. I expend a lot of effort translating overwritten, clunky, and generally unclear student prose. ChatGPT excels in writing cleanly — if flatly. It’s great at producing simple, informational text from a set of data. Creating a rule book for Airbnb guests, writing a “help wanted” ad, drafting an email with details for a surprise party: These are perfect cases for ChatGPT right now. From this mess, ChatGPT would translate the raw information into a block of concise text that wouldn’t need style, voice, or flair to be successful. If you want to share facts in a digestible and clear way, ChatGPT is your guy.

This depends on the essay submission format.

Before you start editing, put your essay aside for a week or so. It will be easier to approach it objectively if you haven't seen it in a while. Then, take an initial pass to identify any big picture issues with your essay. Once you've fixed those, ask for feedback from other readers—they'll often notice gaps in logic that don't appear to you, because you're automatically filling in your intimate knowledge of the situation. Finally, take another, more detailed look at your essay to fine tune the language.

Sample College Narrative Interview Essay Template

You'll probably recognize this term if you studied The Odyssey: it basically means that the story starts in the middle of the action, rather than at the beginning. A good intro of this type makes the reader wonder both how you got to the point you're starting at and where you'll go from there. These openers provide a solid, intriguing beginning for narrative essays (though they can certainly for thematic structures as well).