3 Common College Essay Mistakes To Avoid

3 Common College Essay Mistakes To Avoid While it is good strategy to adapt your essay to fit several essays, be certain to answer the exact question asked. Don’t count the words unless it is necessary to do so. If you have not engaged the curiosity of the reader after the first sentence, you are in trouble. Remember that you are actually engaging the reader in a one-way conversation. You are answering his question; write in a direct and personal manner. TYPICAL ESSAYS REQUIRED MAJOR ESSAY , YOUR ACADEMIC INTEREST, YOUR MOST IMPORTANT ACTIVITY, and WHY THIS UNIVERSITY THE BEST FOR YOU The most important element in each essay you write is YOU! It is YOU that the admission’s committee is trying to evaluate. Therefore, what better way to communicate the very essence of you than by writing an original and truly impressive college essay. They had wanted to protect me--only six years old at the time--from the complex and morose concept of death. Hurt that my parents had deceived me and resentful of my own oblivion, I committed myself to preventing such blindness from resurfacing. They covered the precious mahogany coffin with a brown amalgam of rocks, decomposed organisms, and weeds. Any reference you make to literature, current events, historical events, must be absolutely accurate. Avoid political opinions, religious references, ethnic references or unacceptable language. The technical and grammatical aspect of every essay must be perfect. Grammar, spelling, usage, and vocabulary should be correct. You will be evaluated on whether or not you answer the question that is posed on that particular application. It was my turn to take the shovel, but I felt too ashamed to dutifully send her off when I had not properly said goodbye. I refused to let go of my grandmother, to accept a death I had not seen coming, to believe that an illness could not only interrupt, but steal a beloved life. Through my work, I can accept the shovel without burying my grandmother’s memory. However, a simple walk on a hiking trail behind my house made me open my own eyes to the truth. Over the years, everything--even honoring my grandmother--had become second to school and grades. Before I could resolve my guilt, I had to broaden my perspective of the world as well as my responsibilities to my fellow humans. When my parents finally revealed to me that my grandmother had been battling liver cancer, I was twelve and I was angry--mostly with myself. GUIDELINES Take TIME … time to explore ideas, think about your many choices, and time to write and re-write. You can complete your application form in an hour or two. It’s easy to forget when one’s mind and body are so weak and vulnerable. I want to be there as an oncologist to remind them to take a walk once in a while, to remember that there’s so much more to life than a disease. While I physically treat their cancer, I want to lend patients emotional support and mental strength to escape the interruption and continue living. When you write about a person that influenced your life, tell a real story. If you have participated in a meaningful community service project, make it come to life with specific examples. Give people names, describe places, and relate feelings. My world is inherently complex, mysterious, and anti-nihilist. I am David Phan, somebody who spends his weekends debating in a three piece suit, other days immersed within the punk rock culture, and some days writing opinionated blogs about underwear. Cancer, as powerful and invincible as it may seem, is a mere fraction of a person’s life. Writing your major essay and several auxiliary ones takes many hours. If your write a comical, ironical, or satirical essay, be sure that you show a serious or thoughtful side of yourself as well. Real people read your words, and your words must reflect a real person, not a dictionary. Don’t attempt to be funny when you have never written a funny essay in your life. If possible, use ANECDOTES, or examples, when you write your essay.