by j9robinson | Sep 9, 2010
It feels like a set-up. First, you are supposed to reveal how wonderful you are in 500 words–about the number you can cram onto a postcard in your teensiest handwriting. Second, you must sell yourself to the college of your dreams—setting yourself apart from the...
by j9robinson | Sep 4, 2010
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...
by j9robinson | Sep 4, 2010
Use the “Find Help By Topic” index (over to the top right) to find the posts that will help you the most. Some are about finding topics (Do you know the secret of using a “mundane” topic, yet?). Others have great writing advice for once you...
by j9robinson | Sep 3, 2010
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...
by j9robinson | Aug 14, 2010
I just read a memoir where the author shared a piece of writing advice that Toby Wolff gave her. Wolff wrote “This Boy’s Life,” one of the best memoirs out there. Anyway, memoirs are books written about yourself. In a way, college essays are like...
by j9robinson | Aug 4, 2010
click on this link to read a great little piece of valuable advice on landing the college of your...
by j9robinson | Jul 6, 2010
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...
by j9robinson | Jun 14, 2010
It’s time to let go of the 5-paragraph essay format that most English teachers have pounded into your DNA by now. College admissions essays are very different from the formal academic essays you wrote in high school. How? Well, most are called...
by j9robinson | Jun 10, 2010
College Application Essays Write Like You Talk The voice and tone of narrative essays usually is “looser” or more “casual” than the typical academic essay. To do that, however, you often have to break the rules. Bend them gently and stay consistent. But if it sounds...
by j9robinson | Jun 9, 2010
College Application Essays How to Tell a Story In journalism, writers often use “anecdotal leads,” that is, starting a news or feature story with a mini-story about a real-life event, one that puts the reader in the middle of the action. Usually, the anecdote only...
