<p>Those are nice, solid pointers for an essay, OP. I also believe that Jayster forwards a good idea: that perhaps you should skip a year if you aren’t accepted. Whether you fill the gap with volunteering, self-studying to improve your scores, or even going abroad, you’ll come back with a greater sense of maturity and will be able to, hopefully, apply that to your writing. Plus it gives you a fantastic prompt!</p>
<p>I also don’t mean to sound cynical, but how often do you read? Reading on topics you’re interested in – from sports to economics – will vastly improve how you process and, subsequently, produce writing. You’ll begin to assimilate both the spoken and unspoken rules of prose and begin to get a feeling of what a good writing style is. In addition, you’ll be seeing more advanced vocabulary and forging connections between words and their meanings. Trust me, it helps immensely.</p>