best college essay writing books

On Writing the College Application Essay, by Harry Bauld Paperback – 138 pages, August 1987, published by Barnes & Noble This little college book is worth its weight in acceptance letters. It’s as fresh and pertinent today as it was back in 1987 when it first came out. Not many college books go through as many printings as this one has, which is some indication of its legendary status among high schoolers. The secret to Bauld’s success is that he takes some of his own writing medicine with the text of On Writing. There is humor, pathos, instruction, brevity, revelation, and intelligence here. It can be a one-night read, but you’ll want to savor it over and over as you build those critical writing samples that will populate your college applications. Bauld’s humor shines through in his mini-play about two young admission staffers struggling with a mountain of mediocre applications and the inevitable sub-par essays. With each sarcastic comment, we get precious insights into how college gatekeepers think (Bauld is a former Ivy League admissions officer). Thus, through poking fun at these fictional essays, Bauld warns us of the perilous pitfalls. His treatise on topics to avoid will be shocking to many who have already planned their essay topics. Are you guilty of writing about “The Trip,” My Favorite Things,” or “Tales of My Success”? There are other bad topics too. You can also learn why this lead: “I do some of my best thinking in the bathroom” got its author into a top college. There are examples galore with critical commentaries by some of Bauld’s admission officer buddies. It’s a gold mine for essay writers and a true classic in the genre. Save your money for college! Click for discounted price at Amazon: On Writing the College Application Essay.
Periodically, in a feature called “Tip Sheet,” The Choice will post short items by admissions officers, guidance counselors and others to help applicants and their families better understand aspects of the admissions process. As an inaugural post in this series, Martha C. Merrill, the dean of admission and financial aid of Connecticut College, and a graduate of the class of 1984, encourages incoming high school seniors to begin contemplating their college essays this summer. She also offers perspective on what she looks for in an applicant’s essay. Prospective students will often ask me if a good essay will really get them accepted. The truth is that while no essay will make an unqualified student acceptable, a good essay can help a qualified applicant stand out from the competition. A good essay just might be what turns a “maybe” into a “yes.” The college application process takes time, preparation and creativity, which is a lot for any active senior to handle. Summer, however, typically offers about 10 weeks free of classes and homework and many of the other stresses that come with high school. The pressure of the looming college application deadline is still months away, which allows students the freedom to play around with different ideas, test different angles and solicit feedback from friends and family. Another reason to focus your summer energy on crafting a quality essay: at this point in the admission process, it is one of the few things you can still control. This is your chance to show us what you are capable of when you have time to think, prepare, rewrite and polish. While there is no magic formula for the perfect admission essay, there are a few things prospective college students should know. Here are my Top Ten tips: Write about yourself. A great history paper on the Civil War might be very well written, but it doesn’t tell me anything about the.
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Listen: writing well is hard. It is hard for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes it is hard because you don't know your audience and have to guess. Sometimes it is hard because you have a lot of stories tripping over each other to get onto the page. Sometimes it is hard because, no matter how smoothly you try to form your sentences, they invariably tumble out of you, all stiff and angular like a box of bent pipes. But being able to write well is important. You will never encounter a situation in which obfuscation is to your advantage. You will frequently encounter situations where crisp, compelling writing can express your feelings, make your case, even save lives: Edward Tufte argues that the Challenger disaster could have been prevented if only the case against launching had been made more clearly. While (hopefully) no lives are riding on your college application essays, this is a great time to revisit some of the rules of writing well. George Orwell's Politics and the English Language is my personal guide to thinking about writing. The theoretical foundation he lays in this piece - about the importance of language, including writing, in shaping how we are capable of thinking - he later built upon in 1984. Read this essay. Read it closely, read it carefully. It will change the way you think about writing. I keep Orwell's rules for writing next to my desk always: Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Never use a long word where a short one will do. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. Never use the passive where you can use the active. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. Now, in this essay Orwell took issue primarily with contemporary.
Calvin & Hobbes, Gary Clark Jr., and the Authentic Narrative of Your College Essay Posted on Wed, - 15:15 It's that time of year. Sam Bigelow, Associate Director of College Counselor at Middlesex School, joins us today to talk college essays. This is a piece about some things that are very important to me—music, Calvin and Hobbes and your college essays. Taking my dog for a post-lunch, afternoon walk through Estabrook Woods behind the Middlesex School campus recently, I was listening to the new Gary Clark Jr. live album and appreciating the wonderful authenticity of this young Texas blues hero’s singing and guitar playing. He’s taken on the mantle of today's “it” blues guy, and I think I know why. When he sings, you believe every word and note he let’s leave his body. When he rips into a guitar solo midway through a song, there’s intensity, there’s insistence, and there’s soul. He is, as we like to say, “the real deal.” There are plenty of guitarists out there that can play faster, plenty of singers that have more impressive vocal range, but if you can’t sing or play with real feeling like he does, you likely won’t resonate with an audience in the same way. I always tried with my own music to dial back the fireworks and play piano and sing more simply and more authentically in my own voice. I am certainly not saying I was successful in that venture, but I always tried to do that. Van Gogh's Shoes, Martin Heidegger and My Little Pony: Embracing the Essay Posted on Fri, - 09:40 Mark Moody, Co-Director of College Counseling at Colorado Academy, joins us again today with some fantastic guidance on the college essay. There is so much good stuff here, we don't even know where to begin to describe how helpful this will be to rising seniors as they begin their essays -- hopefully this summer. Moody's vivid explanations of Show, Don't Tell,  the concept.