Essay Guide

Quick Bite

 

Essay is th first point to create emotional connect with the admission committee

 

Essay should be relavant to the course and college you are applying.

 

Tell Stories. Make sure reading your essays is a wonderful experience.

How to write better Essays?

One of major component of the college application process while planning to study abroad is the essay. You must be more or less aware of the significance of a good essay as part of your college application. In fact an essay can sometimes be the most important part of the whole application. Irrespective of how high your GRE/GMAT/TOEFL scores are, the essay can make or break your admission prospects.

There have been cases where students with exceptionally high scores and rich extra-curricular backgrounds were rejected from all the schools they applied to only because they didn’t work hard on their essay. They didn’t realize that the most important part of a college application is their essay.

There are also students who get into good colleges solely on the basis of a perfect essay. Here we’ll take a look at how to go about writing a good essay, what things to avoid and what things to include your essay.

How to write a good college admission essay?

Organize your Thoughts Your head might be buzzing with ideas about what to write. Jot them down on a piece of paper and then decide what should go into your essay and what should go into the dust-bin! Writing down your raw thoughts will help you organize them better. This thought-processing can easily take 1-2 weeks. In this time you should list out your major accomplishments, traits/skills that sets you apart from others, your favorite books/movies/interests etc. Jot down your goals for future, why you’re interested in applying to a particular college, talk about events/people/incidents that might have influenced you, why you want to study abroad etc.

Pick a Topic for your Essay Now that you have all the raw material in place, it’s time to string them together in the best possible way. There is no need to cram your entire autobiography into your college application essay. Think of a topic around which you will structure your essay and then draw from your list of accomplishments, challenges you faced and interests to write around that topic. The topic you choose should be such that it allows you to reveal your personality in a positive manner while also allowing you to explain your desire to apply to that particular college. Most of the colleges abroad ask certain questions in response to which you have to write your essay. Make sure that the topic you choose addresses and coherently answer these questions too.

Write an Awesome Essay! Probably, the most difficult part of writing essay. But it need not be! If you have jotted down your thoughts well and picked a good topic for your essay, writing it will follow quite easily! Make sure your essay is interesting and does not put people to sleep. Good language is necessary but don’t pepper your essay with big words just to impress your readers. Remember, keeping it short and simple helps! Try to articulate well and structure your essay in an organized manner. Use short paragraphs and sentences. While writing your essay, make sure to keep it free from grammatical errors, punctuation problems and spelling mistakes. Even a few of such errors can work against you. You’re applying for graduate school after all! You should know your spellings by now! If you don’t have great writing skills, make sure to seek help from a friend/mentor with good editorial skills who can proof-read your essay!

What to Avoid in application Essay?

• Big Words: Your essay should be impressive, yes, but you don’t necessarily need long-winded words when simple language can do the trick. What matter in your essay are your thoughts, use big words only if they’re required or your language might look too flowery.
• Clichés: I want to become a doctor because I want to do good deeds for humanity and serve the poor. Not only will that sound clichéd, it will also look as if you’re just telling things that you feel that the admissions committee wants to hear. Bring something new to the table. Don’t be predictable!
• Plagiarism: The internet is swarming with sample essays and people willing to write your essay for you. Never fall prey to that temptation! It is pretty easy to figure out if your essay has been copied from somewhere. And getting your essay written by professional essay writers has the disadvantage of ending up being similar to other essays.
• Grammatical Errors: Spelling mistakes, missing punctuations, grammatical errors will reflect very badly on your writing skills. Avoid them like the plague!

What to Include in application Essay?

• Anecdotes/ Personal Experiences: Such personal touches add authenticity and lend a humane effect to your essay. They also help in making your essay stand out from others’ and make it look more genuine and honest. A word of advice: only share stories that that are in some way related to the rest of your essay. Don’t share an anecdote just for the heck of it!
• Humor: Only if you know how to make it work. A touch of humor can make an essay interesting. There is no need to list random jokes though!
• One Main Idea: The introduction to your essay should give the readers the entire idea about your essay. Try to stick to one basic point and prove it as you proceed through your essay.
• Originality: It works and how! Got to friends, family, teachers and your mentors with your essay. But only to get it proofread or for suggestions. But write it yourself!

As long as you are original, witty, concise as well as ambitious enough to try hard to get into the college of your choice, writing an essay won’t be all that difficult a task. Just get started on it, the rest will follow! All the best!.

Share your essays tips, experience & best practices in the comments section. Let everyone benefit.