Tips for writing a college essay

[Cunninglinguist]

HI, as I generally hold the opinions of LitNetters in high regard, I would like to know if I could receive any general (or specific) tips on writing one of those college application essays. Should I keep the content personal or make it general, or does it matter which? Any suggestions on what topic I might choose?

[Ailill]

A lot of the time they give you the topic to write on... At least all the colleges I applied to provided the topic for me.

Here are some tips:
Use proper grammar and Punctuation.
Be creative
Stay on topic

You might want to go to the book store and look through some books on writing college admission essays.

Here is a site that should be helpful in selecting a topic if they don't give you one. http://www.gocollege.com/admissions/applications/essays/topic-selection.html

I hope this bit of information was helpful. :)

[Perandorrrr]

Proof-read as much as possible. Even if you have the greatest ideas on your paper, your teacher will slowly destroy it if there are grammatical errors. Stay focused on your thesis statement. If you your statement is something like 'How the Kennedy assassination was predicted in Shakespeare's Julius Caeser', stick to the point, even if you don't necessarily agree with it. The idea is to push and evolve your critical thinking, an idea I missed early on in college. It wasn't until my final year I started to write good papers. I'd also say cut out the fat; condense your ideas as much as possible; don't be afraid to critique yourself or the original idea -- while staying on topic. Sounds like hypocrisy, it is, I know -- do it anyway. While you're writing think about criticism of your statements and how to defend them as you write. Constantly prove your point so that even the most narrow-minded person has to give you credit. Finally, end strong. Like anything ever written, the ending could be the deciding factor. Highlight how you brought everything to light and how possibly you learned even more about your statement than before. Other then that, if you need help, PM me. I need to stay sharp since I graduated.