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10 Essay Tips

By Suzanne Xie

Focus on a unique characteristic of yourself — highlight one or two strengths!

Have a variety of people read it for you (friends, parents, teachers, coaches, maybe your pet?) — they will give important advice from different perspectives, which is valuable.

Proofread thoroughly — the perfection of a spelling bee champion will not make you, but a grammatical mistake could break you.

Have a strong introduction to catch the readers’ attention because they are reading through a lot of them — have a clear thesis in mind.

Be sincere. Don’t write an essay for the sake of writing an essay - readers will see right through that and won’t take you seriously.

Be sure to answer the actual question (you’d be surprised at the number of people who don’t acknowledge the question), but make sure that you are revealing enough information about yourself to give them an idea of who you are.

Remember your target audience — think about what they are looking for and use a personal characteristic of yours that would best fit the college (but be clear, and don't suck up)..

Do not be informal, but do not write like you are Shakespeare — you just sound corny and dorky.

Do not use rhetorical questions and avoid clichés!

Be innovative — creativity is a plus, since these people are reading a lot of essays everyday! Just remember that a good essay comes from inspired motivation--not from checking off points.

Happy writing!