ssay Writing
Telling the Story: Painting the Picture
he majority of colleges will ask for an essay. Some schools ask for essays within the application
process, others may request this as part of their scholarship process, some ask for both.
The reality is that essays will be required. The good news is that essays are usually on general
topics, and the student is given freedom to be creative. For years, high school students have been
writing essays wondering when this would do them some good. Finally, all those writing skills will
have practical usage. Because you will not personally stand before the scholarship or admissions
committee and plead your case, the essay you write must make a favorable impression.
Some basic tips:
 Essays will fall under the categories of personal essay or research essay. Colleges will often let you
select from more than one essay topic. Choose a topic that you would be comfortable writing
about or feel knowledgeable. Make sure the topic you choose allows you to 1) ANSWER THE
ESSAY QUESTION, and 2) SHOW YOURSELF IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT.
 The format should reflect your writing skills taught by instructors in high school.
 OUTLINE the essay, remembering to answer the essay question itself, and think of personal
stories you can include. PUT “YOURSELF” INTO THE COMPOSITION.
 You have to MARKET YOURSELF to admissions counselors and scholarship committees, and the
essay is an opportunity to set yourself aside from other applicants.
 You DON’T WANT TO SHOCK THE COMMITTEE with a horror story about your family life,
but something in your writing should BE MEMORABLE. Think of some asset or theme that
would get the attention of the committee in a positive way.
 Some essays will require research. Include quotations to back up your position, and KNOW
YOUR SUBJECT.
 Find the most demanding English teacher, and ask him or her to help you with the outline. Then
return for a critique of the rough draft. The teachers that have been most demanding are the
teachers who will probably be able to help you the most. If your essay puts that instructor to
sleep, it will probably bore the selection committee too.
 PROOFREAD! This does not mean merely running the essay through the spell checker. A spell
checker would find the following statement perfectly OK. “I maid the largest discovery of me live on
my thirst day of school.” (I made the largest discovery of my life on my first day of school.) The words

essays written by real individuals.
The first people to read your application are
the admissions assistants. It might surprise you
to learn that this group is typically made up of
recent college graduates – people only four or
five years older than you.
If the assistants like your essay, they will pass it
on to the associate directors. This middle tier of
the committee reads only what the assistants
pass along. Then the associate directors choose
which essays to pass along to the director, who
makes the final decision. So essentially, the
mysterious group that holds your future in its
hands is composed of a few recent college
graduates, a few associate directors, and a
director who must evaluate thousands of
applications in a month or two. They are
bleary-eyed and overworked.
What “They” Look For
Knowing how important the essays are is half
the battle. The other half is understanding what
makes an essay good. Whether consciously or
not, you probably already have an image in your
head of what the committees look for in an
applicant. Many students assume that they look
for only extreme academics. Therefore, the
applicants try to make an impression by
cramming their essays full of SAT-type
vocabulary words, or they try to sound mature
by using a stiff, formal tone. Nothing could be

impress the committee. These applicants often
rely on the experience itself to speak for them
and never explain what it meant to them or give
a solid example of how it changed them. In
other words, they do not make it personal.
Use Details: Using detail means getting specific.
You need to back up each and every point that
you make by specific instances, examples, and
scenarios taken from your experience.
Tell a Stor y: Incorporating a story into your
essay can be a great way to make it interesting
and enjoyable. The safest and most common
method of integrating a story into an essay is to
tell the story first. Then step back into the role of
narrator and explain why you presented it and
what lessons you learned.
Source:
www.essayedge.com
Story
alternatives
Not comfortable telling a
story? You can still add
interest by writing your
essay to read like a story.
One way to do this is to
soften the language that
you use. Write with your
real voice, informally, as
though you were telling
someone a story.

November 2003
Attending college is an important step – paying
for it is another one. There are scholarship
dollars out there for those who take the initiative
to search them out. Once you find out where the
scholarships are, it is important that you prepare
a quality scholarship application package, paying
special attention to writing your essay.
The majority of scholarship applications
require an essay, usually with specific topics to
be addressed. The scholarship essay is your
opportunity to shine, to share information, to
paint a picture for the Scholarship Committee of
your goals, dreams and aspirations. In order for
your application to be a cut above the rest, here
are a few guidelines to follow:
1. Writing a good essay takes time. Be sure
you meet the eligibility requirements, such
as grade point average, program of study
and ethnic background, before you begin to
work on the scholarship application/essay.
2. Start early. Give yourself enough time to do
a thorough job in preparing the essay.
This may involve thinking about any
community service, work experience and
extra curricular activities in which you have
been involved.
3. Read all of the instructions before you
begin the application process, paying
attention to details, such as color of ink; last

10. Keep your essay on a positive note. If life
has given you a bowl of lemons, explain
how you turned it into lemonade or how
you plan to, if given the scholarship.
Source:
www.dbcc.cc.fl.us/schols/essaytips.htm
Essay
topics
 hobbies
 projects you have
completed
 particular jobs and
responsibilities
 accomplishments -- both
professional and
scholastic
 major life events that
you believe have
changed you
 challenges and personal
hurdles you have
overcome
 life events which
motivate you to apply
for this particular course
of education.
 individuals who
influenced, prepared, or
motivated you to pursue
 particular profession or

Here a list of Do’s and Don’ts for selecting a
topic, along with comments from long-time
admissions officers. For each of your potential
topics, fill in this checklist. If you find yourself
repeatedly answering “no” to these questions for
any given topic, you should drop it and move on
to another.
1. Have I selected a topic that describes
something of personal importance?
Admissions Officer says: “Personalize your
essays as much as possible – generic essays are
not only boring to read, they’re a waste of
time because they don’t help you get to know
the applicant any better.”
2. Am I avoiding a gimmicky topic? You
should be very, very careful of trying to
write your essay in iambic pentameter or
with lots of jokes. Nothing is worse than not
laughing at something that was written to
be funny.
Admissions Officer says: “Gimmicks are a big
mistake, and a sarcastic or flippant tone will
often offend.”
3. Does my topic stay away from information
listed elsewhere on my application? Don’t
mention GPAs or standardized test scores in
your essay. That’s what the resume and
other parts of the application are for.
Admissions Officer says: “Listings of anything
are dull, no matter how impressive. Essays

that means incorporating humor or being a
little bit controversial.”
8. Am I being myself? You must develop your
own voice and tell YOUR story, not the
story you think the reader wants to hear.
Write about something meaningful and
describe what you did and felt, and your
essay will be unique. Stay away from grand
themes that you have little personal
experience with.
Admissions Officer says: “It is through the
essay that the admissions officers reading the
application will feel that they have truly
gotten to know you.”
9. Does my topic avoid hot-button issues that
may offend the reader? The only thing
worse than not writing a memorable
essay is writing an essay that will be
remembered negatively. Stay away from
specific religions, political doctrines or
controversial opinions.
Admissions Officer says: “It is dangerous for a
non-professional (especially a high school
student) to attempt writing as though the
essay will be presented at a professional
conference. You may be writing to someone
who knows much more than you and will be
irritated by your hackneyed proclamations.”
10. Is my essay honest? While you might be
tempted to invent hardship, it is completely

terms, contractions, clichés
and an excessively casual
tone should be eliminated
Sentence Variety – Long,
complicated sentences do
not prove a writer’s worth,
and short sentences often
pack the most punch. The
best essays contain a
variety
Use of Passive Voice –
overuse of the passive
voice makes prose seem
flat and uninteresting
Don’t Thesaurusize your
Essay – Put your thesaurus
away when writing your
application essay
Source:
www.essayedge.com
Page 4
Selecting
your essay topic
Essay Writing
The Memphis Challenge
November 2003
Page 5
Powerful
intros
Writing the Statement: the

Dramatize and highlight
the following paragraphs
of your essay. In essence,
your introduction should
be an exciting preview
of the body of your
statement.
Source:
www.admissionsessays.com
11. Will an admissions officer remember my
topic after a day of reading hundreds of
essays? What will the officer remember
about your topic and about you? What will
your lasting impression be?
12. If you are writing about something
unfortunate that has happened to you, ask:
Am I able to highlight my impressive
qualities under difficult circumstances
without sounding pathetic?
13. Does my essay fit in well with the rest of my
application? Does it explain the unexplained
and steer clear of what is already obvious?
For example, if you have a 4.0 GPA and a
1500 SAT, no one doubts your ability to do
the academic work; addressing this topic
would be ridiculous.
14. Does my topic avoid mentioning my
weaknesses? You want to make a positive
first impression. Why admit to weakness
when you can instead showcase your

intriguing personality.
Source:
www.essayedge.com
For more writing tips
and sample college
admissions and
scholarship essays,
check out
www.essayedge.com
The conclusion is your last chance to persuade the reader or impress upon them your
qualifications. Endings are the last experience an admissions officer has with your essay, so you
need to make those words and thoughts count. The aim is for the admissions officer to leave your
essay thinking, “That was a satisfying read.” Here are some Do’s and Don’ts:
DOs
 Expand upon the broader implications of your discussion by linking your conclusion to your
introduction to establish a sense of balance, redefining a term used previously, ending with
with a famous quote that is relevant or framing your discussion within a larger context.
 Tie the conclusion back to your introduction. If you used an anecdote in your intro, use the
conclusion to finish telling that story.
 Try to end on a positive note. You may want to restate your goals in terms of how they will be
fulfilled at the institution to which you are applying.
DON’Ts
 Summarize. You do not need to wrap up your essay in a nice little package. It should be an
ending, not a summary.
 Use stock phrases. Phrases such as, “in conclusion,”“in summary,”“to conclude,” belong only
in dry, scientific writing. Don’t use them.
 Try to explain the unexplainable. Your essay need not be so tidy that you can answer why
people die or why starvation exists, but it should forge some attempt at closure.
Source:
www.essayedge.com