by j9robinson | Aug 25, 2010
It’s the end of August and I can feel the tension among parents, and their college-bound seniors, starting to build. It’s great they are thinking about their college essays and future schools. But the rising stress levels can actually harm their ability to...
by j9robinson | Aug 25, 2010
If you can’t get enough of the great info and advice I give on my blog, here’s another writer, named Craig, who’s blogging on how to write college essays: Home (I wouldn’t pay the steep prices he charges for tutoring, but his free advice is...
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
In my last post, I talked about how to ditch the 5-paragraph essay by switching to the “show and tell” approach. For you visual learners, I put together a simple outline of each so you can see the difference. Read more about how to Show and Tell to write a...
by j9robinson | Jun 12, 2010
“Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.” From author Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules for Writing. What do you skip when you read? The long paragraphs that go on and on and lose your interest, right? So when you read back your own essay, and...
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...
by j9robinson | Jun 4, 2010
Students often want feedback on their college admissions essays, but are not sure where to turn. Here’s my advice: 1.Be very selective who you show it to. Remember, writing is subjective: one person might love your essay and another might hate it. Parents can...
