<p>That was a really great post. Thank you so much for the specifics.... I can definately relate to getting ideas at any time... the best writing in one of my essays was accomplished during a Latin Exam (don't ask how I did on the test :) ... you just can't help when inspiration strikes)</p>
<p>Hope it helps someone =)</p>
<p>I wrote my QB essay in three hours and still got in! holla!</p>
<p>That doesn't mean that the essay was the deciding factor. Also if you get an idea easily, it doesn't take long sometimes.</p>
<p>Okay, this is my favorite topic to discourse on in the whole world. Well, not really, but close. So:</p>
<p>I agree with proud08er that often times you get a good idea, write it all down, and then brutally tear it apart eleven times to make it just right. Even if you suddenly feel divine inspiration, your essay can and should go through this. Trust me... my essay came to me in the middle of the night, I woke up and went to the computer, typed the entire thing up, and felt secure for three months that it was perfect. Then I looked at it again last week, and realized it needed some major work. Six edits later, NOW it is perfect.</p>
<p>So: if you have most of an essay that you think is really brilliant, then let it sit a while, long enough that you forget how it sounds. Then return to it, print it out, and edit it like you would a research paper. Ideas will come to you about ways to rephrase and restate your ideas. If a whole new (and theoretically better) way of getting your point across leaps out at you, do it. Just save the original in case it doesn't work out.</p>
<p>And juicy08 also is right. Often times the best way to calm down about it is the have fifteen different choices. My personal tried-and-true essay writing method is this: pick about eight topics that you think are interesting and that you can write about (obviously fitting in with your prompt). Now start writing each of these, one after the other. When you can't think of anything or totally stall, go on to the next topic. There will be one or two that you don't stall on, and that just flow. Finish these as far as you can. Go over word counts. Blather on endlessly. Then you have something worthwhile and passionate that you can edit as needed. </p>
<p>My essays that I have written so far:
-Written six months ago at 3am, great but with serious editing/revising turned fantastic
-Forced out intentionally in the space of two hours, with minimal edits and rephrasings afterwards, that I think is pretty sweet
-A slow write that I stretched out over like five days (write about 100 words of it each day, then revise) which I now love. </p>
<p>Not all of your essays have to be done the same way. Sure, maybe ones done in a fit of inspiration are perhaps a little bit more dramatic and enthused, but ones diligently worked on for days and weeks and edited edited edited can be great as well. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you. This is very helpful!</p>
<p>I think whirlybird makes an important point- not all essays have to be written in the same way. Sometimes the essay just flows naturally and if that happens great, but sometimes you may be agonising over every line and the essay could still turn out well. You just have to go with whichever approach works. And because the process by its very nature is rather random, make sure you have plenty of time in hand!</p>
<p>Problem is: I know exactly what I want to write. Heck, I even have the phrases in my head! But as soon as I sit in front of a paper or the computer everything is gone. Does anybody else have the same problem?
Also: 500 words are...simply...not...enough. :/</p>
<p>Awelex, I feel you with the whole "500 words aren't enough" thing. But hey, on the Common App there isn't <em>really</em> a word limit. My Common App essay is like 650 words, and that's final. I'd rather be over the recommended word count than deface my essay by chopping it up past the point of surviving. </p>
<p>And as for your problem with going blank in front of the screen... get a notebook. Like a small one, smaller than the ones you use for school. When ever you have a thought, a phrase, a paragraph in your head... whip out your notebook and scribble it down. Write it ugly. Write diagonally. Cross parts out and draw sad faces on it. Whatever, just get it out there. And then you can take that captured genius and recreate it on the computer. Trust me: it's easy to get intimidated by the blank page. Just scribble this and that down randomly with no elegance, and then put it together. Little notebooks are perfect for catching ideas on the fly, the ones afraid of being held down and put to paper.</p>
<p>the way i usually start is just a complete mess of everything related to the topic in my head...describing the place or person in detail, anecdotes that stand out in my mind, absolutely anything. no paragraphs or anything the least bit grammar-related, just one gigantic block of text. then i go back to that and see what seems the most important, pull out the phrases and ideas i like...and so on.</p>
<p>and whirlybird...i LOVE writing diagonally. it's my favorite thing.</p>
<p>I know we're often taught about about thesis, three statements, not using "I", quotation marks, but.............should all that be thrown out the window, like, if I'm doing a common app personal statement? The one that worries me the most is the "I" issue.</p>
<p>Hanstar: I used "I" many times in my essay. I can see how that could be bad for some essay topics, but it really depends. Sometimes using "I" is unavoidable.</p>
<p>wtrbear: LOL! I am exactly the same! In fact, one of my essays spoke briefly about how I am most creative when I have math or science work to do.</p>
<p>Dal: I'm really curious about the Disney essay, especially since it is from a man's perspective. If you don't mind, I'd like to read it (don't worry, everything is due today for spring transfers, and I am really opposed to stealing anyway).</p>
<p>Well, it's pretty hard to write an essay about yourself without using "I". :)</p>
<p>lol thanks guys, but between an Economics teacher who had us write a "Would I use supply-side or demand-side economics if I were president" paper without using "I", and an AP English teacher who abhors the word.....it's paranoia, I tell you.</p>
<p>Don't worry about using "I"! For a personal statement using "I" should certainly not be a problem. On the other hand expressly trying to avoid the use of "I" might well make your essay sound quite a bit worse.</p>
<p>Also the college application essay is the one essay in which you have the opportunity to use "I" indiscriminately. Why waste it?</p>
<p>Take a break and come back to it when you feel like writing. Sometimes essays don't come naturally to me either, but just relax and think of general ideas and then flow with them.</p>
<p>I think that it's pretty much ridiculous to write a personal statement without using "I". I know English teachers have some deep personal issue with first-person in essays, but still. This isn't an argumentative essay about Heart of Darkness or anything. This is you, talking about you. Say "I" all over the place. That's what they care about hearing. Besides, avoiding "I" would just make your writing stilted, and there's no easier way to get them to lose interest in you than by having your essay sound uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Oh, and yes. I'm 100% in the opinion that you can throw hook/thesis/3 concrete details/3 commentary format out the window. Write for yourself. Write how YOU write, now how a school essay sounds. </p>
<p>Again, just my opinion, but I think it will make you sound more at ease.</p>
<p>well the only essays i have written sp far are the uc ones,
i am applying to 8 colleges and don't even know haw many more i need to write( though one of the uc ones is the same ith the common app one)</p>
<p>when i hear that some people have completed their apps- i stress so bad.
have my exams in december and regiving sat on december 1
don't know where i'll find the time to write the loadful of essays-</p>
<p>what i do is that i write random thoughts on the topic on sheets of paper and give myself time.......keep writing whenever i feel somthing related to the topic.When i have like 5 -6 pages on it,a start framing the actua essay and polish it.I also have different startings and endings for my essays which i write and later debate which is better and use it.</p>
<p>Anyone here give me some tips of writing Why XYZ essays plz? Im international so I don have chance to visit several schools I apply , I dont know where to start</p>