Still Stuck? Here’s a Quick Brainstorm Guide

College Admissions Essays A Step-By-Step Guide to Telling Your Story   Step 1: Write down 3-5 “defining qualities” about yourself. Think of how one of your parents would sum you up to a stranger. My Julie, why, she’s creative, ambitious, caring...

Have you written your “shitty first draft” yet?

Ok, time is up. Well, almost. As long as you can quickly identify a couple of strong topics for your essays, there’s still time to pound out good ones. Here’s the best advice I know on writing first drafts, from one of the best writers out there. A quirky...

Jobs Can Make Excellent Topics for College Essays!

My students have discovered some of their best topic ideas for their college application essays from their job experiences. I’m not sure why they make great fodder for college essays, but I believe that simply working for others naturally reveals a complimentary set...

Good Topics: See for yourself!

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...