Importance of college essays; what can you do to write a college essays that wows your readers; mistakes you should avoid when writing your first college essay.
Writing Tips that Professional Academic Writers Use
Most colleges require their students to write an essay to either get in or as a part of their semester project. No matter what subject you are studying, you may be required to write an essay. But why do colleges and schools require their students to spend time on essay writing? Are they trying to see how good of a writer you are? Are they trying to check your writing skills? And if yes, how does it really matter?
In fact, college essay writing is a unique way of identifying certain traits in the students. Schools and colleges use these essays to identify what cannot be identified through mere interviews. Essays let them dig deeper into the thought process of the students and their perception of certain things. It also helps them understand how analytical the students can be and how much out of the box thinking is possible with them.
However, college essays should not make you sweat if you approach them systematically. Here are some writing tips that can help you write an excellent college essay.
10 Writing Tips for College Essays
Prepare for the Topic
Before you get down to do the actual writing, you should take some time to first prepare yourself. Understand the topic of the essay and decide what you want to write about it. For example, if you are asked to write on music, then you can write about evolution or music or different music styles in the world, or even how music helps a person grow. So, it is important to define what you will write.
You may even need to do some research to get some deeper insights into it. During the research, take notes of all that you think is interesting enough and would like to include in your essay.
Prepare a Structure
While writing an essay it is very important to define a proper structure for it. This structure will help you organize your thoughts and present them effectively. The most common structure followed by writers is:
o Introduction: There is where the writers usually introduce the topic of their essay.
o Body: This is where all the ideas and thoughts are presented. This can have bullet points, tables, images, etc.
o Conclusion: There is where the writers ease out of the topic with a compelling finish.
Write Impressive Introduction
Introduction is going to be key in the essay because it will decide how much your audience will be engaged. A boring monologue will make your entire essay look dull. Instead try to start with a story or relaying an experience that you had in real life. This will get your audience to pay attention from the start and get them more involved in your narrative. An introduction can really be the make or break factor of your essay.
Break the Content Monotony
Just imagine staring at a long article that just goes on and on. It can be dull and boring for the readers. So, it is important to break that monotony of content and introduce some elements that can change things a bit. You can add a data table in between if you have data available. If you do not have data, you can present your ideas using bullet points. A simple change of pattern can also do the trick.
Disclose Resources
If you are going to use data from some source, then make sure that you disclose them right where you are using the data or at least in the end of the essay. Information or data means nothing if it is not backed by a credible source. Your readers may not believe the facts that you are presenting if they lack a resource. Worse yet, they may think you are cooking them up.
Make Things Readable
Some of the most interesting concepts have often failed in this world because they were not easy to read. If you are going to make your readers work hard to understand you, they may simply abandon your essay. So, the trick is to make it easy for your readers to read and comprehend. A lot of professional academic writers recommend using short sentences - ideally 10 words - for higher readability.
Rectify Any Typos
College essays are not always about using the perfect English. However, this does not mean you ignore some glaring mistakes that you might have made in the essay. There can be some silly typos left out in the essay that can be corrected quickly. These typos do not portray you as a stupid person but rather as a lazy one. It shows that you did not even make an effort to read what you have written after you have completed it. So, it is better to proofread your essay yourself or get someone else to do the proofreading for you. This way typos can be identified and rectified before you make your submission.
Avoid Discolored Jokes
Some students prefer to add the element of humor in their college essays. They like to add a few jokes here and there to change the tone of the essay. Although a good technique, this can backfire if you are not careful. Discolored jokes can be offensive to the readers and can change the way they perceive you. They can make you look immature to the college administrators. You may also unknowingly cross a line with the college's policies in place.
Follow the Instructions
A lot of times, the colleges define the length of the essays. It is important to stick to these limitations and ensure that you finish your essay within these. You don't want to overshoot your writing beyond the given word count. If you do, then the college or school administrators may feel that you have not been paying attention to the instructions and have done what you feel like doing. So, it better to read the instructions carefully before you start writing and then follow them when writing.
Write a Compelling End
Conclusion often is the shortest part of the entire structure of the essay. However, it is also the most ignored one. By the time you reach to the conclusion part, you may have nothing left to say anymore. You may have exhausted all your ideas. But the way you end your essay will influence what your audience takes from it. So, write a compelling end that becomes the highlight of the essay. Your conclusion should get your readers thinking. It should affect them in more ways than one if possible.
Conclusion
Writing a college essay can seem to be a daunting task. But it does not have to be so overwhelming all the time. In fact, it can be an experience that you would enjoy. All you have to do is approach it in a very calm and systematic manner. The writing tips and tricks shared can further help you improve the quality of your college essay.
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