Ten Commandments for a Good College Essay

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How to write a good college essay:

Writing  a college essay is hard work. In fact, it is probably one of the most difficult assignments that students will encounter in their educational career. Staring at a blank page with nothing to say or not knowing what to say is a sinking feeling. Essays require many iterations; they should be reviewed by people from different backgrounds and age groups. Getting your friend to review your essay is not a great idea! First, the Admission Officer in all likelihood is older than your friend and second, most of your friends will not want to hurt your feelings. There are extensive resources on how to write a good essay. A few are listed at the end of this article. Just as how it is important to know how to write a good essay, it is equally important to know what not to do.

Ten Commandments for Writing a Good College Essay:

1. Thou shall not lie by passing off someone else’s work as yours. You can always ask someone to review your essay and give you ideas. But if someone else is writing your essay for you, well then, that is a bad idea.
2. Thou shall not use words that would require the reader to use a dictionary.
3. Thou shall not tell stories that are not true simply because they sound impressive.
4. Thou shall adhere to the length recommended by the university. If the university requests a two page essay, writing five will not put you on top of the heap.
5. Thou shall not list every award you won since you were in elementary school.
6. Thou shall not elaborate on how you are 100% confident about winning the Nobel Prize.
7. Thou shall not whine about what a tough life you have had.
8. Thou shall be truthful about your goals and accomplishments.
9. Thou shall not cut and paste.
10. Thou shall not commit spelling and grammatical errors.

Below are some great resources for how to write a good college essay:

http://www.depauw.edu/admission/documents/college-essay.pdf

http://www.figarospeech.com/college-essay/

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/apply/essay-skills/

http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html

 It is hard work, but if you do the work, you will be proud of yourself and you would have an important skill!

Dr. Uma G. Gupta is the CEO and Founder of PlanetGPA.com