Dreading Writing Your College Application Essay? Tips From The Pros

Dreading Writing Your College Application Essay? Tips From The Pros To keep things simple, one example and one insight per paragraph. Help the reader understand which experiences have shaped the qualities you’ve listed. First, it’ll make for a much more interesting story; second, it’ll show that you’ve truly developed these qualities. But our prosperity was short-lived as my step dad’s chronic alcoholism became more and more recurrent. When I was eight, my younger brother Fernando’s birth complicated things even further. I am a diehard Duke basketball fan, and I can identify all of the Duke basketball fans at my high school on one hand. I’ve gotten different Myers-Briggs personality types every time I took the test. I became a pescatarian this year to avoid fried chicken, and I can honestly get a life’s worth of meat out of cod, salmon, tilapia, shrimp, you name it. The theme of your essay is the thread that connects your beads. As my step-dad slipped away, my mom continued working, and Fernando’s care was left to Jose and me. I cooked, Jose cleaned, I dressed Fernando, Jose put him to bed. This is a great way to figure out the “bones” (i.e. structure) of your essay. A rectangular black and red sticker displaying the theme of the 2017 event. Go to a college's website and click on a major or group of majors that interest you. Sometimes they’ll briefly summarize a major in terms of what skills it will impart or what jobs it might lead to. Students are often surprised to discover how broadly major-related skills can apply. First, the author brainstormed the content of his essay using the Feelings and Needs Exercise. Without a father figure to teach me the things a father could, I became my own teacher. I learned how to fix a bike, how to swim, and even how to talk to girls. I became resourceful, fixing shoes with strips of duct tape, and I even found a job to help pay bills. For years I’ve been interested in the street artists and musicians in downtown Austin who are so unapologetically themselves. As a result, I’ve become more open-minded and appreciative of unconventional lifestyles. TED gives me the opportunity to help other youth understand new perspectives, by exposing them to the diversity of Austin where culture is created, not just consumed. Once you’ve written down your qualities, examples, and at least 1-2 insights, try outlining your essay. I became as independent as I could to lessen the time and money mom had to spend raising me. Living without a father meant money was tight, mom worked two jobs, and my brother and I took care of each other when she worked. For a brief period of time the quality of our lives slowly started to improve as our soon-to-be step-dad became an integral part of our family. He paid attention to the needs of my mom, my brother, and me. As with the Type A essay, complete the brainstorming exercises described at the start of this chapter. No matter which structure you choose, these exercises help. Take special care to complete the Feelings and Needs Exercise, as it can be a powerful essay-outlining tool. Next, the author used the Narrative Structure to give shape to his essay. Imagine that each different part of you is a bead and that a select few will show up in your essay. They’re not the kind of beads you’d find on a store-bought bracelet; they’re more like the hand-painted beads on a bracelet your little brother made for you.