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Enjoy as he takes you …

With Kevin Salkas, Previously anAdmissions Rep and CCC Coordinator

from this… …to this

Writing College EssaysAn essay writing truth…

We’ll cover:

● What’s It About?

● What’s It Really About?

● Make it a Story

● Use a Hook

● Write More…About Less

● The Obvious

● Recycle with Care

Hopefully, when we’re done you will not experience this

What’s It About?

You can literally write about anything…

…given time and energy and re-writes.

What’s It About?

● Some examples of successful essays are:

○ My big feet.

○ Losing the big race.

○ Grandma’s kitchen.

○ My imaginary friend.

○ The spider farm in my closet.

Mundane ideas and events can be just as

good as crazy experiences.

What’s It About?

A good starting point is a value, characteristic, accomplishment, skill, life event or interesting

story that is important to you.

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What’s Really About?

● Great college essays connect to a deeper truth or something critical or essential to yourself.

● This is a chance to tell an admissions office something you can’t cover with a test score, GPA, or activities list.

● The key is, what do you want to say about yourself?

What’s Really About?

● Check out the deeper meaning behind the previous essay examples:

○ My big feet Being comfortable with myself

○ Losing the race Recognizing privilege

○ Grandma’s kitchen How I was raised

○ Imaginary friend My best ability is my imagination

○ Closet spider farm Why I love science

Make it a Story

College essays are about …

Telling a Story

Make it an Interesting Narrative

Some ways to create an interesting narrative…

○ My big feet Told from one foot’s perspective.

○ Losing the race Twist in the narrative.

○ Grandma’s kitchen Uses smells of the kitchen and literary techniques

○ Imaginary friend Uses wild imaginative stories.

○ Closet spider farm Spiders in a closet = interesting narrative.

Use a Hook

● Essays can be won or lost in the first paragraph…how do you bring your reader in?

● An essay hook is the first one-two sentences of your essay, its introductory part, which serves to grab a reader’s attention and let him/her decide whether s/he wants to continue reading this essay or not.

A good hook piques your reader’s interest and frames the essay without being too specific.

Use a Hook

● Some examples of successful essay hooks are:

○ My big feet.“I’m always tripping over things.”

○ Losing the big race.“I was supposed to win the state championship.”

○ My grandma’s kitchen.“Paprika, perfume, and pastries mark my childhood.”

○ My imaginary friend. “Last year Josiah and I went to the center of the earth and back.”

○ The spider farm in my closet. “I keep a spider farm in my closet.”

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Write More…About Less

● College apps limit the words you get on purpose.

● Don’t try to fit your whole life into one essay. ○ This quickly becomes a list.

○ Lists make bad essays.

“…And then I did this, and then I did that, and then I did this…”

Pick one event or one item,

the more specific the better

The Obvious

● Start Early

● Watch word limits

● Watch due dates

● Check your grammar

Recycle…Carefully.

Be sure your essay actually answers the

question answered if you want to use an

essay for multiple applications.

2017-2018 Common Application Questions

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? 3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

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 importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. 5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? [New]

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. [New]

Let’s Brainstorm

Let’s take the remaining time and work through the handout.

GOOD LUCK!