What are the best tips you can give for writing a college essay?

For me as a teacher, the best tips are:

1. Be careful with the presentation. The essay must be well-presented, with the appropriate font style, and its different important parts: cover, list of contents, introduction results, etc.
2. Avoid grammatical mistakes.
3. Content and explanations are really important. They must have coherence. Check them!
4. Don't forget to number the pages, label the figures and tables and add references.

Zayda, L,

Montaigne wrote in his book "Essays" that an "Essay" means to "weigh out"... to "work through" an idea. ...or to basically assay or test an idea in writing.

I have his Essays in hardcover, but there is the Project Gutenberg version.... "https://www.gutenberg.org .

Try starting out free writing or idea gathering, and test out YOUR ideas on paper. Just start writing something, -------anything.

Then ask yourself some reporter style questions. Who, What, Where, When, Wh??, etc.... Then ask yourself some questions again. Is it true? Do I think it should be that way? Would I change my idea? Do I have other things to weigh before I decide?

If so WHAT would they be? Don't be afraid to be wrong or perfect. The entire reason for Montaigne 's book and method was this: an essay was a chance to work through and work out an idea... and to change it until it seems right to YOU!

YOU have a right to your own writing voice... your own ideas.... your best writing will come through when you just take some time to write and edit and rewrite. Then rethink and rewrite! to assay, to essay...

The single best tip I can give is to pick a side and support it throughout the entire essay. Some students may feel they need to show the merits of both sides of an argument, but, too often, they let that detract from the main point. The essay is usually meant to be persuausive, so it's best to present your argument in a firm and clear manner, without being condescending.

College Essay is the platform where the student is in direct communication with the admissions committee. SO, this has to reflect a few things:

1. Leadership traits like taking initiative, adaptability, team player, team lead, taking feedback, learning from mistakes, being inspired, etc.
2. Doing something that you are passionate about or learning life's lessons from role models or a few meaningful life events.
3. The first paragraph should be like a hook that makes the reader want to read more.
4. Don't try to emulate others or copy their stories. Everyone's life is unique. Having said that, this is not a platform to let out emotions or brag excessively. Know who you are, what is your tentative long term goal( a 5 year plan), who motivates you, what are your strengths, what are your weaknesses, what are you passionate about, what have you been working in the past few years in school. Then pick an essay topic that resonates well with you.
5. Do your research in the topic, about the university and about yourself.
6. Don't leave things at the nth hour. Your essay must have had at least 3 drafts, looked over by your high school teachers, parents, given feedback upon. It should be ready 1 week before the deadline.

I read and give feedback on College Essays. The only factor is I should have time to look at it. Let me know if you need any help!

Format your essay in MLA or APA format, but after that have fun, enjoy the writing experience :-)

There are many resources that can assist in writing a college essay. An excellent resource that many academic writers use to assist in grammar and creating convincing writing is the website Grammarly. In my journey to pursue a doctoral degree I benefited from this resource. As a high school teacher, I require that my students type their drafts on Grammarly as well. I can detect a change in confidence levels of students in writing after using the site.

A. If it is a thought piece essay, focus on four things:

1. What is the issue (e.g. problem, opportunity)?

2. What is known about addressing the issue?

3. What else needs to be done about the issue?

4. What is the expected impact of addressing the unaddressed parts of the issue?

B. If it is an essay to test conceptual understanding and application, then focus on four things:

1. Name the concept

2. Define the concept

3. Elaborate on the concept

4. Provide a real life example of the concept in action

(Repeat for each concept if essay requires discussion of multiple concepts)

Hope that helps! :)

Do drop me a line or two to get and/or provide feedback.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Weng Marc LIM

Head of School

School of Business

Swinburne University Sarawak

Five relevant points at the time of writing an essay:

1.   Choose a topic of interest and an attractive title.

2.   Write down the fundamental points for a coherent structure.

3.   Write a draft version first.

4.   Do not forget to include a list of contents, list the pages and take care of the details of style and size of the letter.

5.   Review the final version and take care of the orthographic errors.

I hope to be helpful !!!

Make your college essay personal. Tell a story about your successes and challenges you have overcome. Talk about how college will change the trajectory of your life.

Tell a true story that shows your uniqueness.

Verify about the topic or topic screened through academic articles in the database of boa quality. Check the biography of two authors to know if they are have or do not experiment with the theme. Beware of conflicting results.

When choosing an experimental technique for your essay make sure it is in fact the most up to date. Carefully plan your experiments and try to be clear on the objectives and questions to be answered in your essay.