by j9robinson | Sep 16, 2013
How to Conclude Your College Admissions Essays Here’s an excerpt from my ebook guide on how to write a college application essay using a narrative, storytelling style. I pulled this from my chapter on writing conclusions. Some students find ending their essays...
by j9robinson | Aug 22, 2013
College Application Essays Underprivileged or Underrepresented Students: This Means You! Why You Must Share Stories That Show Your Grit As a writing coach, I work mainly with students I consider “privileged.” This means they can find support writing...
by j9robinson | Aug 17, 2013
College Application Essays Yes, You Can Go Too Far Colleges are encouraging students to get creative with their essays. This is great. However, I think students should be careful of trying too hard to showcase their creative writing skills. Rather, I believe...
by j9robinson | Aug 7, 2013
College Application Essays Humility Goes a Long Way Many of the students I work with are from privileged backgrounds. (Hey, it’s expensive to hire a tutor!) They live in affluent communities, go on extravagant vacations and enjoy pricey hobbies and...
by j9robinson | Jul 26, 2013
Insider Writing Tips From a School That Knows Creative Writing When I read this post by an admissions officer at Tufts University named Lee Coffin (who has been dubbed “Hip Dean”) on word limits for Common App essays, I discovered he also included some...
by j9robinson | Jul 25, 2013
The Colorful New World of College Application Essay Prompts But What Does It Really Mean? University of Chicago: “Tell us your favorite joke and try to explain the joke without ruining it.” Brandeis University: “If you could choose to be...
by j9robinson | Jul 18, 2013
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...
by j9robinson | Jun 26, 2013
One of the best ways to connect with your reader in your college application essay is through emotion. In my new book, Escape Essay Hell!, I share writing techniques and devices you can use to bring pathos to your essay, and forge a bond with your reader. (With my...
by j9robinson | Jun 24, 2013
If you are applying to multiple colleges this fall, you will need to write multiple essays for the different applications. The Common Application helps you consolidate many of your applications and only requires one main essay. But if you are applying to public...
by j9robinson | Jun 24, 2013
College Application Essays Tips for Finding Topics That CBS Finds Worth Repeating A couple days ago, Lynn O’Shaughnessy, a journalist who covers college admissions issues for CBS, featured this blog in her column for MoneyWatch. How cool is that? She...