Grab Your Readers with An Anecdote

College Application Essays How to Write An Anecdote About Almost Anything   Before one of my college application essay writing workshops yesterday, I skimmed over some of the rough drafts the students had written last semester for their English classes. The...

Become a Storyteller in Under Five Minutes

College Application Essays A Mini-Lesson from a Storytelling Pro   I found this brilliant little example of how to understand what makes up a good story today in a column written by the talented sportswriter and journalist named Tommy Tomlinson. If you are...

How to Find and Write Anecdotes

College Application Essays In Search of an Anecdote Just yesterday, one of my tutoring students, a high school junior, wanted help on her English assignment: To write a practice college application essay. One tip from her teacher was to tell a story. (I first...

The BIG Difference Between a Story and an Anecdote

College Application Essays: What They Mean When They Ask for a Story Most students have never written narrative essays, which are so different from most essays taught in English classes. The classic 5-paragraph essay has a formal style, uses the third person, includes...

Essay Topics That Worked–And Why

College Application Essays How Anecdotes Make Them Work   One of the best ways to learn what types of topics make the most interesting essays is to check out what other students wrote about. Especially if those students had the right guidance and came up with...

Essay Rocket Fuel: The Anecdote

College Admissions Essays How to Write an Anecdote For Your College Application Essay, Personal Statement or other Essays If you can write an anecdote, you can write a powerful essay. But a lot of students don’t know what an anecdote is, let alone how to write one....