by j9robinson | Sep 4, 2013
I already featured this list of my favorite books on how to write essays–narrative-style, “slice of life,” personal essays–at the end of an earlier post. These are exactly what you want to write for your college application essays....
by j9robinson | Aug 31, 2013
I love anecdotes. Especially for starting narrative essays for college application essays. They can take a little practice to compose, but what a deceptively powerful writing tool. Actually, if you start almost any type of writing with an anecdote–from a college...
by j9robinson | Aug 29, 2013
Maybe I’m just grumpy because it’s 90+ degrees in my garage office and I tweaked my back in yoga last week (while bowing and saying “Namaste” at the very end. really.) But I just received an email from a desperate parent that really sent me. It...
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 | May 15, 2013
How to Answer Prompt 4 for the Common App for your College Application Essay Prompt 4: Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of personal...
