Writing Your Own College Application Essay - Discover What Not to Write

Writing Your Own College Application Essay - Discover What Not to WriteThe key to writing an effective and complete college application essay is knowing what to write about. Let's take a look at a few examples of what you should avoid as you work to write your own application essay.Overgeneralization: All too often, applicants will talk in generalities when writing an essay. They may even pick a word or two to represent a trait that doesn't really exist. For example, they may suggest that the applicant is a 'wonder' student, when the applicant may not even have been the best student in her class.Here's why this happens: Essays are never perfect. We all make mistakes, but we need to learn from them so we can improve the next time around. As students, we are always trying to improve our grades, improve our test scores, or get better in some way. If you make generalizations about a specific person, or a specific trait, then it's easy to get overgeneralized.In short, the secret to writin g an essay is finding the words that describe your situation or personality and to connect these words to something you did in the past. If you did something great in the past, use those words. If you had a negative experience, write about that as well. It will be far more effective than merely repeating that someone was a 'wonder' student for one reason or another.Also, think about how personal experiences have affected you. Did your mother miss you while you were in high school? How about your best friend or sister? These are people you care about deeply and are able to relate to in some way.Next, try to connect the personal story to some type of action that you took in the past. Perhaps you are writing an essay about a trip you took to the beach. Connect your experience to something you did with a friend, or work, or even with your dog. You can then tell a little bit about how this experience impacted you.Finally, ask yourself if you can do something in the future to make the exp erience better. Maybe you will learn how to change the way you respond to others in high school, or you will learn a new way to handle adversity in your life. Ask yourself what kind of lessons you can learn from the past. Then use these words to connect the personal story with the action that you took in the past.Writing is hard, but we all know it's not writing to perfection. Know your audience and find the words that best describe their situation, personality, and experience.