Use the following tips to help your teen learn how to write a college admissions essay. The essay doesn’t have to mention every high school success or extracurricular activity (the rest of the college application will do this). Instead, it should show admissions officials why your kid and their school are a great match.
Choose a Topic
If your teen is struggling to choose an essay topic, have him or her create a chart that lists one outstanding character trait, one interest, one ability, and one value. Next, have your teen write down a life experience that illustrated this trait/interest/ability/value. Finally, write a brief description of an outcome or a lesson learned. Here’s an example:
| Trait/Interest/ Ability/Value | Example from Life | Outcome/Lesson Learned |
| Loyalty | I stuck by my best friend when she injured her knee | I learned that being a good friend comes at a cost: driving my friend to rehab meant I missed rehearsals and lost the lead in the senior play, but it was worth it to help a friend. |
Completing this chart should give your teen four good essay topics to choose from.
Connect with the College
In the essay, make sure your teen connects his or her talents and passions to a program or focus of the college (review the college brochure or Web site for ideas). If, for example, the college has a strong tradition of community outreach and your teen has just completed a service-learning project, work that information into the essay. Remember: the purpose of the college essay is to convince the admissions folks that your teen and their school are a perfect match.
Draft the Essay
- Match the essay’s structure to the topic. Traditional essay form—with an introduction, body, and conclusion—works well for an essay that defends a position (for example, “The U.S. should never negotiate with terrorists”). Story, or narrative, form is very effective in describing a personal experience (for instance, how a teacher changed your life).
- “Show” rather than “tell,” by using specific examples and concrete language (words that describe things you can see, hear, touch, feel, and smell).
- Use facts to prove an assertion or support an opinion.
- Keep the writing focused. If the essay seems to drift into a different subject area, it may be that your teen would rather write on that topic instead.
Revise and Proofread
- Have your teen read the draft aloud to you. Can you name the main idea and point of view? Does the first sentence grab your attention? Is there a conclusion and does it summarize the important points?
- Keep an eye out for unnecessary words. For example, replace “in the modern world of today,” with “today” and shorten “because of the fact that” to “because.” Edit out clichés like “in the blink of an eye” or “in the heat of the moment.”
- After your teen has revised the draft, make sure he or she proofreads it for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Then proofread the revised draft yourself by reading it aloud. Take your time; some errors can be tough to spot.
- Don’t expect a computer’s spelling and grammar check software to catch all the mistakes. It won’t.
Sources: essayedge.com/college/essayadvice/course
collegeboard.com/student/apply/essay-skills
The College Application Essay by Sarah Myers McGinty