How to improve your writing skills in time for college application season
July 9, 2012
As the summer campus tours wind up, a new set of high school seniors will be looking toward the future and a spate of essays, short answer questions and applications to compose, respond to and fill out. While the applications will practically complete themselves, the prospect of having to write so much about yourself or a topic of your choice and not Jane Austen, Hamlet or The Battle of Antietam can send a lot of students into a panic.
One of the best tips for getting into college is to ace the application essay. It's the part of your application - next to an interview - where you really get to show not only what you're capable of, but also who you are. In this essay you should share your dreams, fears and aspirations, but you also want to stick to an established form, write full and well-considered sentences and exercise restraint.
So what are the best ways to improve your writing skills for the college application essay? Consider these tips.
1. Read. Hopefully you've been doing this already for most of your life, but knowing how to read carefully and analytically is the best way to learn how to write. If you're looking for material that will help you with your application essay's tone, seek out an anthology of excellent (or even atrocious) college application pieces. Also consult popular non-fiction in magazines like Harper's, The Atlantic or the New Yorker.
2. Draft. Expect to write and rewrite a lot. Each of your application essays should go through at least four drafts and for some, this number might get as high as ten. If you can't seem to get the topic or story down at that point, you may want to start over. College essays are a time-consuming process, but they couldn't be for a more important purpose.
3. Workshop. Don't keep your essays to yourself. Whether you're sharing them with friends, tutors, teachers or family, get opinions and learn who to listen to and who to disregard. In order to know how your drafts should evolve you'll need input from others. And if you know someone who works or has worked in college admissions, seek that person out!
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