<p>What not to do:
1. Think about topics first
2. Write the essay without a clear plan
3. Write a crappy essay and then try to fix it by asking for last minute advice ("Help: My essay is due in 3 minutes - need someone to read it")</p>
<p>What to do:
1. Forget essays for a bit - that'll come easily if you do the following.
2. Think back on your experiences. Which come to mind immediately? Make a list of those.
3. Look at the list - some memories may be good, some bad, most "ordinary." But think for a minute - WHY are they memorable to you? From the list, find one that somehow changed who you are. THAT memory is your topic, no matter how mundane.
4. Write a paragraph describing that moment in detail, drawing the reader in. This will be the first paragraph in your essay.
5. Now write a paragraph describing the "changed" you, the stronger you. This will be the last paragraph of your essay.
6. Now you can write the in-between paragraphs to fill out the word length, and can now provide laser focus because you know where you started and where you're ending. SHOW the transformation from one to the other.</p>
<p>Now you've got a focused, personal, memorable, powerful essay!</p>
<p>Digmedia, this is great advice. The problem I had when I was writing my college essay was that there was this big club event that I wanted to talk about because I felt it would impress colleges of what I accomplished in that. But a few friends and my guidance counselor read it over and felt it was ostentatious, loquacious, and boring. </p>
<p>I went back to the drawing board, and changed up my style. One of my friends told me that my original essay didn’t capture my personality at all because I’m a funny person and the essay was all but that. I then used a method similar to what you’ve listed above - list some of the milestones in my life - and I wrote a paragraph serving as either an intro or summary of the event, based on whichever one I felt like writing at that time. I had an easy time choosing which one I wanted to write about, because I didn’t realize that the essay helped me discuss a different side to me. I ended up writing a solid essay, and it took half the time to write compared to the original one because I was able to write freely about it and had a lot to explore.</p>
<p>A lot of the time what you don’t expect to be a good topic turns out to be the best one.</p>
<p>What I was trying to say was not exactly brainstorming experiences for topics, but something totally apart from the “essay” task: Just close your eyes and think back - not for “experiences” (I used the wrong word there), but for those things in your memory that stand out for you.</p>
<p>These can seem to be quite boring, but in the book, here are some of the memories that led to very memorable essays: “When my sister gave me some art supplies as a 14th birthday present and I didn’t know why;” “When the coach asked me to come in last at a swim meet to give our star swimmer a chance to rest;” “When I transferred to a new school and everyone thought I was a freak;” “The time I broke up with my girlfriend of 3 years and was driving home in the rain and started singing.”</p>
<p>Each one of these was a starting point for a change - a transformation - for the students writing the essays. As Sally Rubenstone (Sr. CC Counselor) says, “nary a tragedy nor a national award in sight,” yet these led to very powerful essays.</p>
<p>I just found ur thread n it’s really useful. But if the essay is abt “an experience and it’s impact on you”, do u just write abt the impact at the last paragraph? Please help, anyone! :)</p>
<p>brianadam - I read a few threads from the link above. It seems as though all posters are non-English speakers. I’m not sure they’re the best judges of essay critiques.</p>
:)</p>