7.10.

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Good Essay Topics

Below is a list of general topics worth considering. What are your favorite activities and hobbies? Why? What are your talents/skills? How did you develop them? Who helped you? Who have been the most influential people in your life? What was your most memorable experience? Best? Worst? How have you changed in the past four years? What makes you special/unique? What is something about you that others do not know and would not expect? What have you done during the past four summers? What academic/intellectual interests drive you? What is a strong belief/philosophy you embrace? What is something challenging you've done? What is the most pressing issue our society faces and what can you do about it? When and how have you shown leadership? What are you passionate about? What accomplishment are you most proud of? What makes you you?

Bad Essay Topics

Below is a list of general topics you should typically avoid. There are always exceptions, so use this only as a guide. Just make sure that if you cover one of the following topics, you do so in a unique way that highlights your strengths. Sex, Drugs, Booze Crime you've committed Character flaws Excuses o You can, however, include a short supplemental page that addresses a slip in your grades or some other negative aspect of your application. The "Big Game" o Essays about coming through in the end for your team in the final seconds of the season are clich and dont typically reveal much about your character. They mostly just show how people sometimes get lucky. Why that school is perfect for you o Your college essay is a love letter demonstrating why you want to be with that school. In a love letter, you dont demand, "Be with me! We're perfect! Can't you see that? Why, for the love, can't you see that?" You come off as, well, a little crazy. Beyond that, it sounds needy and turns the person off. You write your love letter by simply expressing your own feelings for the other person. Similarly, you do not want to try to come off as the schools prototypical student but rather want to craft your essay from the heart and with subtlety. Let the colleges say, "Hey, this person is perfect for us. We need her here." In essence, let them come to that conclusion on their own. You do this by showing, not telling. Deep confessions Sob stories Sensitive political or social issues o You never know who is reading your essays and what his or her personal biases are.

Summer camp tales of growth o These tired stories make the Big Game essays seem distinctive Summer abroad program working with poor community o Just because you escaped your posh lifestyle for the summer to help build a jungle-gym for some third-world kids and suddenly realized how fortunate you are, it doesnt make you enlightened and certainly doesnt make you a more qualified applicant. While such approaches could work, they typically come off as pretentious and clich, even if your experience was genuine and valuable. All-purpose essay that says a little about everything but really says nothing List/Rsum as a replacement for an essay Information they can get from your application Overly philosophical or intellectual essay o If you are indeed a philosophical soul, convey that and write away. But dont try to feign an academic aura if one does not already surround you. Community-oriented theme o Again, if you have contributed something meaningful to your community, then write about it in a compelling way. But dont try to invent yourself as a devoted citizen of your school or town if your experience does not naturally reflect this. What you think they want to hear o Dont fall into the common trap of giving the colleges what you think theyre looking for. You want to, of course, present a case for why you are a worthy candidate for each unique school. But the best way to achieve this is by being honest with yourself regarding why you are applying to each school and expressing this honesty. Show them who you are, not what you hope they will perceive you as. If you follow this sincere path, you will end up writing a more natural, compelling essay, plus it will allow you to reflect on whether or not a school is actually right for you. Major news events unless you have a unique and personal connection o Hordes of applicants in 2001 wrote their admission essays about the defining cultural event of their generation, which occurred right at the start of the college admissions process: the events of September 11. While each students experience of this day and its aftermath held its own individual significance, essays addressing this topic poured into colleges and thus failed to distinguish applicants for their originality. Unless your perspective of such a shared event is truly unique, pick something else to write about. World peace o If applying to college is really just practice for the beauty pageant youre secretly planning to enter, then go for it. Otherwise, move along. A topic the application doesn't ask about o Answer their question directly. Dont just force an already-written essay on a completely different topic into other schools applications. Also, if they ask for 500 words, try to stay within the limit. Doubling the word count is unacceptable.

Essay Dos
Below is a list of writing suggestions to ensure your essays have an enthralling style and voice that win over admissions boards. Take a risk o They will likely remember you, and that will make all the difference. As one writer has said, If you dont risk anything, you risk even more." Write your first draft with your heart, your second with your head o Get the raw thoughts out first. Youll get a better sense of what you want to say. Then you can focus on how you want to say it. Show, don't tell

Evoke sensation in the reader. Dont tell us you hated being caught in the rain, but rather show us how you were weighed down in a cold, waterlogged sweater. Use specific details o General: My uncle Mike has been a huge influence in my life. o Specific: My uncle Mike was the man who told me my brother had broken both his legs skiing in the Alps. Mike was the man who took me to the father-son picnic when my dad was ill. And when I found myself in need of help that late Friday night that would forever change my life, it was Mikes number I dialed. Color your language with sensory writing (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) Use power verbs o But dont overdo it. Employ rhetorical devices (allusion, alliteration, foreshadowing, hyperbole, looping, metaphor/simile, repetition, satire, symbolism) o Dont overdo this either. Have a compelling style that fits your topic o Note how a slightly altered wording can change the entire effect of a line. President Kennedy once said: "The New Frontier is not what I promise I am going to do for you, the New Frontier is what I am going to ask you to do for your country." Months later he said: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Make sure every sentence matters and makes one want to read on Begin with an attention-grabbing introduction Finish with a spectacular conclusion Give your essay a great title o This is by no means necessary, but a forceful title can make all the difference. Seek out others for feedback Proofread for clarity, content, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word count o Take a break from your essays before editing for final changes. You will gain new perspective and clarity so you can be more judicious in your criticism. Focus first on substance and style, then pay attention to the technical details. And, of course, make sure the right name of the college is on the right essay. If you break a rule of language (such as using sentence fragments), make sure it serves a key purpose and stands out against a backdrop of otherwise perfect prose. All these rules are meant to be broken if there is a good reason behind it. o

Essay Donts
Below is a list of pitfalls to avoid when writing your essays. Don't announce what you're writing about or state your theme Don't use the standard 5-paragraph essay with thesis, body, and conclusion Don't use clichs o Seriously, theyre a dime a dozen. Avoid them like the plague. Don't litter your essay with quotes from others o This is like sending a Hallmark card to your mother on her birthday and trying to take full credit for whats inside. Don't go thesaurus-happy o If you pulled a 310 verbal on your SAT and are whipping out words like extemporaneous and abecedarian, itll come off as forced and phony. Don't overdo adjectives and adverbs o Nouns and verbs are the heart of the American language. Don't be gimmicky o Writing your essay in crayons because the topic was about your childhood years is like embracing communismit sounds good in theory but doesnt play out so well in practice. Don't generalize or stereotype

Dont use profanity or crass humor Don't use stuffy language o Dry: I have come to the understanding according to certain factors that have influenced my life o Lively: During the summer of 2002, I was stalked by my literary hero. Don't be overly sentimental Don't come off as arrogant o This is tricky. After all, you want to shine, but you dont want to come off as too cocky. So whats the middle ground? Its somewhere around the difference between stating that youre just so fantastic because of all the great things youve done and letting your unique accomplishments speak for themselves through a well-told story. Don't preach your wisdom o Colleges want people who are open to discovering the wisdom of the world, not those who claim to already have it. (Note: If you do, in fact, know the meaning of life, please feel free to forward it to College Essay Organizer via email.) Don't try to be someone else Don't get advice from too many others, as your own voice will get lost Don't wait until the last minute o If youre already too late to benefit from this tip, dont worry. Youll get done what you need to and will hopefully know better for next time, or the time after that. Using CEO will certainly help you now that you're short on time. Don't have someone else write your essay o If you consistently receive Ds on all your papers and suddenly turn in an essay written in iambic pentameter that also happens to be a palindrome, youre going to raise eyebrows. Its important to get useful feedback from others and receive proper support from trusted teachers or counselors who know how to help you organize and express your own thoughts in your own voice.