How to Write an Anecdote

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...

Three great books on how to write college application essays

I have mentioned these titles before, but these are my three favorites:   There are a jillion of these how-to books on the market, and all have helpful things to say. However, the advice in these books is spot-on, and they include helpful sample essays and are...

College Application Topics That Work Best: The Unexpected!

I just went back over college essays my clients wrote over the last several years. Despite the classic list of what not to write about (see previous post), I would say many wrote about mission trips, volunteering activities and sporting experiences anyway. Some pulled...

Don’t Go There: College Application Essay Topics to Avoid!

I realized today that I never shared a list of topics that usually result in lame essays. (It feels negative to emphasize this list of no-no’s, but it can save students a lot of time if they know to avoid these early on.) You can make any topic interesting, of...

Don’t look down!

(for this to make sense, you probably need to read the previous post) Once you get the idea of how this Ladder works, now find some sample college admissions essays that you like. See if the writer shifts back and forth between the specific and the abstract. (Just jot...

Ready, get set…

As promised in my last post, I will share how I start the search for essay topic ideas for my son, who is a junior in high school. The idea is to get some general ideas on our college essay radar. Just jot down areas of interests, activities, experiences,...