Turning a topic into a long essay?

College Essays
1

<p>How did you guys go about making your chosen topic into a long essay like for the common app? Was it a story that you sort of told again? An experience that you described? I've heard of people that wrote about obscure topics to have a unique essay, which sounds like a good idea, but I was just wondering how they write about it for so long.</p>

<p>Also are you supposed to relate your topic to a bigger picture like your intended career or something? </p>

<p>I won't be writing my essays until next summer, but I figured I should start thinking about it since I am not creative at all. lol.</p>

2

<p>500 words is actually very short. If you pick a topic you find interesting, you’ll have plenty to say. You don’t need to relate your topic to a bigger picture, just address the prompt fully.</p>

3

<p>Slow down there eager vee-ball player. You have an entire year. </p>

<p>Anyways, you can pretty much write about anything you want. However, you should pick a topic that:
-you are PASSIONATE about
-you remember quite vividly (if in past)
-if an argument, one that you have proper evidence for
-is either somber, pensive, quirky, or flat-out funny (don’t mix styles, go all-in with just one).<br>
-is UNIQUE to just you
-tells the reader A LOT about you (the reader should be able to infer a ton of things about you from this one essay).
-is FOCUSED on YOU
-overall paints a positive picture of you
-is interesting
-is easy to follow</p>

<p>There are probably other things to consider, but I think I hit some of the main ones. The most important things to remember, imo, are words that are all caps. </p>

<p>To answer your specific questions, I kind of just chose a topic (albeit a very poor one, upon reflection). I’m a critical guy, so the problem prompt just fit with my style. Don’t ask me what I wrote about, you don’t want to know. And you don’t have to relate your topic to your career (in fact, that would probably be a bad choice unless you are completely dead set on something, which most college applicants aren’t). </p>

<p>If you want to practice now, and if you like writing, I’ll give you five words. You must use four of the five words (with one word that must be used) in your introduction and eventually write an essay that covers most of the things listed above. The topic can be anything, as long as you use the words. Anyways: facebook, Abraham Lincoln (MUST BE USED), paranoid, logarithm, granola.</p>

<p>^BTW, if you actually do write that essay, can you PM it to me? I’m kinda curious about what you’d write about (I have a few ideas myself already). In fact, I kind of want to try this out for myself. :)</p>