A college essay might be the first step that will help you to land in your chosen school. It can be a tiring task that needs a lot of time and effort but will soon be essential for your studies.
Essays are a part of college life. Whether you are a writing major or not, knowing how to compose a well-written one is an important skill to have, especially for college students.
Here are some tips that might help you when you write an essay, may it be for college admissions or school requirements for international student:
Outline first
Planning on what to write will make your writing process much easier and smoother. Making an outline first will turn your essay into a more coherent one. When your essay sounds like it is flowing, then you did a great job as readers will find it much easier to follow what you wanted to say.
Keep it simple
If you think that using large and highfalutin words will impress your reader, you’re wrong. Writing long and complicated sentences with large words lessens your essay’s sincerity. It may sound super intelligent, but doing so may lack authenticity in your paper.
Have a clear argument
Pick a clear argument that can be easily distinguished by the reader. A meaningful and well-written essay is articulate and precise in presenting an argument.
Focus on your point
Be straightforward in writing. Stick to the argument or theme of your essay. Provide supporting ideas to your main ideas without straying to your point. Eliminate those that are far from what you wanted to discuss.
Write the way you speak
Your essay will be more authentic and genuine when written based on how you speak. Try not to use words that you don’t know their meaning. An essay is a good essay if it just seems like talking to a person when it is read.
Use variations
To engage your readers in your writing, use a variety of long, short, complex, and simple sentences. In that way, your essay will sound more interesting and not boring.
Do not use small connecting words
When writing, you don’t have to exactly sound like you. Eliminate unnecessary words such as “really,” “like,” and “that.” Removing such words helps your essay to sound more focused, polished, and formal.
Avoid transitory phrases
Although it can make your paper smoother in transition, words such as “meanwhile,” “however,” “additionally,” “unfortunately,” and “interestingly enough” can just be deleted from your writeup. Not using such words will make your essay straight to your point.
End sentences with nouns
An essay sounds nicer when you end your sentences with a simple noun. Ending a sentence with a noun makes your paper more interesting and smoother.
Edit by printing it out
Sometimes, errors are not easily seen on screen. It is best to print your essay on an actual piece of paper, then see if you have missed some spelling or grammatical errors. Make sure to check your paper before passing it to your admissions body.
Putting your thoughts into paper, especially in college essays, might be a little difficult. Hopefully, we have made this process a little easier for you.
Learn more tips about college essays and the admissions process by checking out our other articles here at MSM Unify.