How To Structure A College Admission Essay
Writing is as much a discipline or skill as it is an art. To make sure that your essay flows and conveys organized ideas, you should construct an outline before you write and make sure you have a solid structure. College admission essays are a way for students to distinguish themselves from others that may have similar grades and test scores. The purpose of a college admission essay is to paint a compelling picture of a student’s character and convey their ability to organize their thoughts and express them in a cohesive manner. Here’s an outline for the fundamental structure of a college admission essay:
Introduction. This may be the most important part of the essay because you should immediately hook the reader so they’ll desire to read on. Start with an attention grabber such as an interesting statistic or surprising fact. State your thesis and indicate what your essay will aim to discuss. Finally, briefly sample the ideas you’ll use to develop and support your thesis.
Body. This part of the essay is usually 3-5 paragraphs—meaning one paragraph for each supporting idea. Every paragraph should be initiated with a sentence stating the paragraph’s main focus. This sentence should then be followed up with sentences that support the main point that was stated.
Conclusion. The conclusion wraps up the entire composition by briefly restating the thesis and summarizing the supporting material. The conclusion should be taken one step further and offer a new perspective or opinion that the writer has reached by the closing of the essay.
Tips
The essay on the college application can often be a source of anxiety for high school seniors, but it doesn’t have to be. You can ease the pain by not only keeping the simple structure we’ve covered in mind but following some key tips for writing it. For one, be concise, you don’t want to strain the reader’s attention and patience. Also, be an individual. As mentioned earlier, the college admission essay is a chance for a student to stand out from others, especially considering that there are other students with similar grades and comparable test scores. If you are going to use humor be cautious in doing so, because humor is in the eye of the beholder and everyone responds in their own way. Last but not least, be smart. Colleges are lands of intellect, even with all of the extracurricular activities and fun that may be advertised. Show intellectual vitality and indicate what interests you. This does not necessarily mean declaring a major but simply giving a glimpse of you as an individual.