3 Ways to Improve Your College Admissions Essay
When it comes to writing a college admissions essay, or any essay for that matter the key is revision and style! Write your essay draft! It will be unsubmittable, messy, and imperfect, but that is okay. Get it done quickly so that you can work on refining it for one of the greatest essay submissions of your life. Your essay is you in words, so make sure you take the time to clean your lines and make it as polished as possible so the admissions committee can really see how you shine. Here are three ways to take your essay from draft to polished.
Read it out loud
This step is simple, yet very effective. Why? It is because readin
g your essay out loud allows to capture and hear the most important aspect of any story: how it flows. Making sure your essay sounds smooth, doesn’t have a lot of repetitive sentences, and cuts down on wordiness is important to helping your readers stick with your personal plot. While reading keep an eye out for any spelling mistakes that spell check didn’t catch.
Share it with a friend
So you’ve given your essay the once over. As amazing as it might be, it is now time to share with a trusted friend. What would compel you to do that? Well it ensures that people can understand where you are coming from. Your friend will be a stranger to your words, much like the admissions committee. They will be able to tell you if that joke you wrote really did make a laugh, or if you are sounding to arrogant when you list the millions of extracurricular activities you do. Share it with someone, and if you don’t have a friend try one of our mentors! [ Link]
Avoid being self-centered
So you’re ready to turn in your essay. Are you ready to give it the final once over? The last thing you should do to improve your essay is limit the amount of times you use the word “I”. Yes, yes, I know this is an essay about you, but repetitively reminding your audience about that can draw attention away from the most important aspect, which is the things you believe, feel, and do. Those are your subjects so rework your writing to ensure that those get center stage sometimes!
Writing an admissions essay can seem daunting. If you being with the mindset that the first one won’t be stellar and you always have to revise, it will cut down on the anxiety. Remember friends are great and focus on the subject, and you will be an essay writing pro in no time.
