<p>I bought 100 Successful College Application Essays and On Writing the College Application Essay by Henry Bauld yesterday at Barnes and Noble. Imo, both of them were extremely helpful, and give you an idea of how to get started.</p>
<p>Here is an idea: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Forget, for a moment, about writing an “essay.” Think instead about the important moments in your life - those that were extremely memorable. Some of these might have been pleasant, some might have been wretched, some might have been disturbing, some might have been life changing.</p></li>
<li><p>List the top two or three of four, eg, “The time when so-and-so tried to get me to smoke weed” or “the time I went river rafting and could hear the roar of the rapid ahead and was afraid” or “the exhilaration I felt when I first jumped out of an airplane” or “the best present I ever got for my birthday” … whatever!</p></li>
<li><p>Think back to that moment and VISUALIZE it. Now write one paragraph on each of the ones you’ve selected. Don’t think about an essay… you are just trying your best to describe that one moment. Remember the SHOW, DON’T TELL adage. Be as descriptive as possible - don’t interpret, but describe the moment. What were you seeing, smelling, tasting, feeling, hearing?</p></li>
<li><p>Now reread these “exercises” and think (don’t write yet, just think): How did you meet that moment? What was your response? How did that moment change you? What did you learn about yourself? If one or more of these tests you or changes you or makes you a stronger/different person. or gives an insight into YOU as a person, then that’s your topic, and the paragraph you just wrote is the first paragraph of your essay.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The rest of the essay should flow more easily now.</p>
<p>Example: “The best birthday present I ever got” (suppose it was your first sketchpad and a set of color pastels and charcoal):</p>
<p>“The fourteen candles were blown out and smoke was rising above the cake. The acrid smell always reminded me of birthdays. As my mom moved the cake away to cut it into pieces for all of my friends, I turned to the pile of presents on the chair next to me. Everyone gathered around as I picked up the first one, the largest, wrapped not in the frilly paper that all the other had, but in a simple tan monochrome wrapping with a frayed cord that had been tied into a bow knot. I noticed that it was from my older sister. My friends laughed at the sound of ripping paper as I hurried to see what it was. I was a little confused when I saw the large sketch pad and the set of pastels and charcoal. What was this and why was my sister giving it to me?”</p>
<p>But thinking back, that was the moment that started you on your love of drawing and art. Your sister noticed that you drew a lot, and gave you a gift that you did not understand the significance of until later. Now you want to major in art, and that gift sent you in a new direction with your life…</p>
<p>Not you, of course, but this is just to illustrate how the process would lead to an essay…</p>
<p>I found a new essay writing tool for my son online. It looks like a solid tool.</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - Introducing EqualApp](<a href=“Introducing EqualApp - YouTube”>Introducing EqualApp - YouTube)</p>