by j9robinson | Jun 4, 2010
Today, I’m going to try to practice what I preach (in this blog) and Show instead of Tell you the difference between good topics and bad topics: BAD The Time I Climbed Mount Everest My Mission Trip to Costa Rica The Day We Won the State Championship Why I Hate Writing...
by j9robinson | Jun 3, 2010
Finding the Life Lesson in Your College Admission Essay A key component of a powerful personal narrative (essay) is what’s called a “universal truth.” They are also called “life lessons.” Basically, when the writer starts to...
by j9robinson | May 27, 2010
I have mentioned these titles before, but these are my three favorites: There are a jillion of these how-to books on the market, and all have helpful things to say. However, the advice in these books is spot-on, and they include helpful sample essays and are...
by j9robinson | May 19, 2010
I just went back over college essays my clients wrote over the last several years. Despite the classic list of what not to write about (see previous post), I would say many wrote about mission trips, volunteering activities and sporting experiences anyway. Some pulled...
by j9robinson | May 19, 2010
I realized today that I never shared a list of topics that usually result in lame essays. (It feels negative to emphasize this list of no-no’s, but it can save students a lot of time if they know to avoid these early on.) You can make any topic interesting, of...
by j9robinson | Mar 9, 2010
(for this to make sense, you probably need to read the previous post) Once you get the idea of how this Ladder works, now find some sample college admissions essays that you like. See if the writer shifts back and forth between the specific and the abstract. (Just jot...
by j9robinson | Mar 9, 2010
Best Advice On How to Write a College Application Essay That Rocks! “The Ladder of Abstraction” is one of my favorite writing tools, especially for writing narrative pieces such as college admissions essays. It is a wonderful way to give structure to an essay...
by j9robinson | Feb 6, 2010
As promised in my last post, I will share how I start the search for essay topic ideas for my son, who is a junior in high school. The idea is to get some general ideas on our college essay radar. Just jot down areas of interests, activities, experiences,...
by j9robinson | Feb 4, 2010
I began this blog when my daughter was a junior in high school and starting her college application process. Like a lot of parents and applicants, I thought she needed some amazing experience in order to write a fabulous essay. The good news is that I was wrong! In...
by j9robinson | Oct 21, 2009
A new client, who I will call Sarah, met with me for the first time to talk about topic ideas. When I pressed her about her interests, her hobbies, her passions, she kept insisting that she was a well-rounded, strong student, but didn’t have any one thing that...
