Janine Robinson's Blog, page 3

Start Your College Application Essay: Brainstorm Guide

Find Your Problems

and You Will Find

Your Best Stories

 

Every year, I write a post for all you students who are ready to start your college application essay.

All you need is to find that one magic topic idea.

There are many ways to brainstorm ideas for college application essay topics.

This time, I’m going for the essay jugular and offering a brainstorm guide to start your college application essay by honing in on your best problems.

If you are new to this process of writing a narrative-style college application essay, let me clue you in to why problems are your golden ticket.

I believe the best and most effective essays are those that showcase one of your defining qualities or characteristics.

And you do this by sharing real-life experiences, moments and events from your past that illustrate (serve as examples for) the quality or characteristic you are writing about.

Hang in there with me now…

This will start to make sense once you learn more about these essays.

It’s important to understand that college applications essays, especially personal statement style essays used for The Common Application and other “core” essays, are very different from typical papers you wrote for English class.

These essays, at least the best ones, are highly personal.

They include your personal stories–that’s why they are called “narrative.”

There are many ways to land upon a “topic” or theme for your essay.

You can start by brainstorming your defining qualities or characteristics, and go from there.

In this post, however, I’m offering another possible route to finding your best stories and topics.

It really doesn’t matter how you find your topic, as long as you unearth one really good one.

Then you are set.

What you are looking for are those experiences from your past (mainly during your high school years) that you can share in order to reveal what makes you tick, what you most care about, how you learn and what sets you apart from other applicants.

Ready to find your best moment, experiences, events and incidents?

Start looking for past problems.

Find a juicy problem, and you will have a little story.

And it will be a story because “something happened.”

If something happened, that makes your essay interesting to read.

You WANT THAT!

It also means you had to deal with something; you had to handle that problem.

This gives you more to write about yourself: How you felt about that problem, the steps you took to manage it, and most important, what you learned (about yourself, others and the world) in the process.

Boom! You will have a personal essay about yourself.

Yes, it can be that simple.

But first, find a problem.

They do not need to be impressive, momentous, catastrophes or tragedies, although those can work, too.

Often, the most simple, everyday problems work the best.

The beauty is that we all have faced many problems, big and small.

Everyday, all day. It’s call life.

Anytime anything “happened” in your life, it involved a problem.

Problems come in many shapes and forms.

Here’s the Problem Brainstorm Guide to help you start your college application essay:

FIND YOUR BEST PROBLEMS

To Start Your College Application Essay

(Copy and paste this list into Word/Google doc and print it out)

Go down this list of problems and write down “times” you faced or dealt with this type of problem.

Try to think of one big example and one small one. Often the smaller ones turn out to be the best ones.

When did you face an OBSTACLE (something got in the way of something you wanted)?
What has been one of your biggest CHALLENGES (something hard for you)?
Did you have a CONFLICT with someone (you disagreed on something; you both wanted the same thing; you argued…)?
Was there any big CHANGE in your life (you moved; you lost a loved one; you looked different)?
Did you make a MISTAKE in recent years?
Has anything happened to you that was a SETBACK in your life?
Did you FAIL at anything?
When were you EMBARRASSED?
Have you CRIED recently?
Do you have any PHOBIAS?
What is your main FLAW–physical or emotional?
What made you feel the most FEAR?
Does anything make you feel GUILTY?
Does your family have any HARDSHIPS (financial; addiction issues; immigration status; job loss)?
Do you WORRY about something?
Is there something you REGRET (wish hadn’t happened or would want a redo)?
Do you always get into the same kind of TROUBLE?

I hope this has helped you collect some of your recent problems.

Now, check if any of them are particularly unusual, unique, memorable, entertaining or interesting.

Circle those!

HINT: Stay away from cliche school “problems,” such as getting a bad grade, blowing a test, sports injury, etc.

Problems that only you can have most likely are your most promising problems to start your college application essay.

Here’s another trick to fleshing out a juicy problem: If you found a “big” problem, see if you can find smaller examples of that problem, in the form of smaller problems.

Example: Big problem = Your mom got very ill. Smaller problem = You have to care for your three younger sisters.

Can you go even smaller?

Maybe you didn’t know how to cook (an even smaller problem related to that big problem), and now have to make their lunches every morning or make dinner.

Maybe your little sisters are all picky eaters (another problem!), and you have had to get really creative in making them lunches they will eat.

Hey! This could be an excellent essay: Write about how you make fancy lunches for your picky little sisters.

Could such an ordinary, everyday topic like making paperbag lunches get you into your dream school?

Yes!

Think about what that daily chore reveals about you?

If nothing else, it’s that you are highly responsible (a defining quality?) and care a lot about your family–especially if you made that effort to learn to cook, accommodate your sisters’ fussiness with creative (defining quality?) meals and help support your ailing mom and family.

That’s quite an impressive person we will learn about—without even trying to be impressive.

In this essay, you will of course mention the larger problem of your mom’s illness when explaining why you had to make lunches.

But by focusing on the smaller, related problems, your essay will be mainly about you and not your mom (that’s how you want it.)

Then you can talk about how you handled that problem, including making these lunches and other meals.

You can explain the steps you took to learn how to cook, and your defining quality of bringing creativity and personal responsibility to the process.

Your essay could have the theme of how you are a creative person, and then go deeper into how you got that way and WHY IT MATTERS. (or you could pick your sense of responsiblity and focus the essay on that defining quality. Usually best to pick ONE quality in each essay to give it a sharp focus.)

I know this is a lot to take in at once.

But once you read some sample essays and start to spot the problems that power the personal stories—and see for yourself how they are interesting to read, and how you get a personal “picture” of the writer—this approach will make more sense.

Can you imagine how you could start this essay sharing your daily morning routine of making creative sack lunches?

I can picture the types of colorful details and snippets of conversation from those frantic mornings–which you could craft into an anecdote to show yourself in action and start your essay.

Maybe one sister demands peanut butter and pickles, and another that her sandwich is cut into six squares and the third only eats mini-carrots and homemade hummus. Boy, are you a great big brother or sister!!

Then you continue with the back story about your mom and why you were charged with this task, and drill deeper into how you handled it, and WHAT YOU LEARNED about yourself, others and the world in the process (this is the all-important analytical, reflective part of your essay.)

So I hope my Brainstorm Guide has helped you have unveil some of your past problems to start your college application essay.

And that you start to get an idea of how you can use these to write about yourself to start your college application essay.

If you take the time to learn more about this process, you can write your own awesome essay.

Read my posts in this Jumpstart page and I promise this will start to make more sense, and even give you more ways to discover your best topic ideas.

If you want a short book that takes you through this process one step at a time, check out my writing guide on Amazon: Escape Essay Hell!

My online course, also available on this blog, does the same thing, but with a series of short videos and handouts.

Whatever works, right!

Hope you found this helpful!

Remember, if you can think of your past problems, you are bound to find a great topic to start your college application essay!

The post Start Your College Application Essay: Brainstorm Guide appeared first on Essay Hell.

Essay Lessons From a College Applicant Superstar

Photo Via Johnathan Kimble/Courtesy Berthinia Rutledge-Brown

What You Can Learn From
Michael Brown’s College Application Essay

 

I must have watched the viral video of Michael Brown learning he got into Stanford at least three times in a row.

Such a feat and well-deserved accomplishment for what seems like an all-around great kid!

Not only was Michael accepted to 20 of our top learning institutions—including Harvard, Stanford and Yale—but he got a full ride to each of them. As well as more than a quarter million dollars in scholarships.

LEARN MORE: Michael’s Full Story 

These stories about students getting accepted into all the Ivies or a crazy number of elite schools hit the media this time of year.

They bother some folks in this crazy college admissions industry because the uber-achiever message fuels the pressure, stress and unreal expectations of students still trying to get into college.

There’s way too much emphasis on getting into elite colleges, I agree.

Anyone who has seen it play out knows without a doubt that it’s what you do in college, any college, that makes the difference in your life.

At the same time, I believe these exciting success stories can be worth sharing.

Michael beat the odds.

More than half the 3,300 students at his Houston public high school were considered at risk of dropping out.

He and his supportive single mom credited programs, such as Breakthrough Houston and Emerge, which help low-income and underprivileged students find ways to go to college, with his multiple acceptances.

Most of it was Michael, however, who learned early on how to set goals, work hard and persist despite the odds. Bravo, Michael!

 

THE REALITY OF GOOD AND BAD ESSAYS

Now, let’s talk about his essays—since that’s why most of you read my blog.

Apparently, Michael wrote three “core” essays and used them for different applications.

He shared this one with Forbes magazine.

If you want to hear my opinions and ideas about what I think worked and what you can learn from it, read that essay first.

One of the misconceptions from these success stories is that these students’ essays are all perfect and should be held up as shining examples.

From the ones I’ve read in the past, this is simply not true.

Yes, it’s fact that their essays did not keep the students out of their schools (since they got in), but you really have no idea what role their essays played in the acceptance decisions.

That goes for ALL essays. You just don’t know how much they mattered, even though it’s believed among most in the college application world that they usually can and do matter, especially among the most competitive schools.

However, simply because a student got into Harvard or Yale does not necessarily mean her or his essay was brilliant. There are often other factors that can override even a mediocre essay.

So, bottom line, write the best essay you can.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM MICHAEL’S ESSAY

With all that said, I believe Michael’s essay was well written and hit many of what I believe are the important markers for an effective college application essay, such as a personal statement for the Common Application, Coalition Application or others that require a student to reveal themselves and what they care about.

At the same time, it’s not the best essay I’ve ever read, and I believe there are ways to bump it up.

Remember, I’m super picky and after working with literally thousands of essays, I have a LOT of opinions.

I think you can learn something about your own essays by reading and analyzing sample essays written by other students, including Michael. (More Sample essays)

What did Michael do right? A LOT!

First, I believe he had a clear idea of the MAIN POINT he wanted to make about himself in this essay.

In his essay, we learned Michael was involved, passionate, empathetic, observant, moral, funny, idealistic—and above all someone eager to learn more about himself, others and the world at every opportunity.

Second, I love how he revealed his personality and passions through sharing several real-life moments, which I call anecdotes. (Learn More About Anecdotes)

Third, and this is always my favorite, he STARTED his essay with one of these everyday moments, in the form of an anecdote, which is one of the best ways to quickly “hook” or engage your reader at the very start of your essay.

It also didn’t hurt that much of the theme of his essay was timely and highly relevant—the idea that people are so divided these days along partisan lines and have trouble even discussing current issues.

Also, notice how a lot of the essay was dedicated to Michael sharing WHAT HE LEARNED toward the end of the essay. This type of analytical, introspective and reflective writing is what all effective essays need to be meaningful. (How to Go Deep In Your Essay)

Above all, Michael made sure his essay was highly personal. He shared a personal, everyday experience where he found himself in a vulnerable situation, and was open and reflective about that experience. This was his essay gold! (Learn The Secret of Personal Essays)

Now, could it have been better?

I think so.

Remember, I’m a professional editor, and I can’t help myself looking for ways to improve essays.

If Michael had shown me this draft, and he was still game to find ways to make it better, I would have had suggestions for him.

I would have assured him that it was a very solid essay, and he could stop there if he wanted.

There’s was nothing wrong with it.

However, I think he did what newspaper editors call “bury the lede.”

This means that the writer “buried” the most interesting example of the topic down low in the story, rather than starting with it to grab the reader in the introduction.

I loved that he used the anecdote about “the time” his hero Barrack Obama was elected president.

But I think he could have crafted an even more relevant, personal and impactful anecdote from the more interesting moment that he shared lower in the essay.

I would have told him something like, “OMG, the bloody steak! The idea of you with that ‘rare, soupy steak’ having to talk politics with a conservative mom would make an awesome anecdote!” (Yes, I really talk like that.)

As much as I love using anecdotes (real-life moments) to illustrate larger points in essays, the best ones involve some type of problem. (Problem = obstacle, challenge, conflict, embarrassment, mistake, setback, phobia, obsession, change, … )

If a moment doesn’t involve a problem, it can fall a bit flat and be on the dull side. (Example: When Obama won, that was all great to Michael…but there was no problem.)

Why?

Because a problem creates tension, and tension creates drama—it’s interesting!

Michael intuitively understood the power of a problem because almost half his essay shared a tense interaction between liberal him and the conservative mother of his friend, and featured the moment he wrestled with an undercooked steak and talked politics.

I would have suggested that Michael START his essay with that exchange, and use the dramatic tension to engage the reader.

Then he could have shifted back to the Obama moment as part of the “background” or context of his personal story to take the reader back and understand his liberal leanings and passions.

The moment with the steak was so relatable. The reader can easily picture Michael there in that awkward moment, with the raw steak and the steak-and-potato mom in her Texas vacation home.

Talk about tension! You want to know what happens next.

Also, problems often have an underlying tinge of humor.

The image of Michael staring down that steak, and intimidating traditionalist mom, struck my funny bone. If you can make an admissions officer smile or chuckle to themselves, you have made a lasting impression—and that’s exactly what you want!

It was “funny” and relatable because we have all been there!

The other beautiful thing about starting with a problem is that you can naturally delve into how you handled it, which Michael did beautifully, and then explain what you learned from it, which Micheal also did.

I also talk a lot in this blog and my writing guides about the power of the mundane, or ordinary, in writing. Michael’s essay was a great example of this.

What is more ordinary that a cookout at a friend’s home?

And what is more mundane, or concrete, than trying to choke down a raw steak.

One of your main goals with your essay is for it to “stand out,” or be memorable.

The best way to do this is not look for topics that impress the reader, but those that stick in their mind.

I can just hear the admissions officers dubbing this essay and referring to Michael’s essay as “The Bloody Steak” essay.

Learn More: How Will They Dub You?

So, yes, I’m picky about essays, and push young writers to keep looking for ways to make their essays engaging, especially at the start, and also full of meaning by sharing what they learned, how they think and what they care about the most.

Michael did all this with his essay. And it obviously worked for him.

My goal in critiquing it here was to share some of the ideas and tips I think you can use to craft and knock your essays out of the park.

If you want to write an essay that’s as good, or even better, than Michaels, try this approach featured in “3 Steps to an Outstanding Essay,” which showcases how you can use the tips and ideas shared in this post.

Remember, problems are your friend.

And don’t be afraid to be open, and get personal!

Good luck!

And Michael, no matter where you decide to go to college, there’s no doubt you will rock it! Congratulations!!!

The post Essay Lessons From a College Applicant Superstar appeared first on Essay Hell.

New Trick for Finding Killer College Application Essay Topics

Let Lynda Barry Help You Find and Tell Your Best Stories!
Try One of Her Awesome Brainstorming Exercises

If you’re starting to brainstorm that perfect topic to craft your dreaded college application essay, I have a new writing technique you might find helpful.

I’m big on tapping mundane topics to inspire essays.

That means writing about everyday or ordinary experiences as opposed to those that try to impress or wow readers (aka college admissions folks).

Mundane topic example: My obsession with karaoke.

Trying-to-impress topic example: The time I played the star role in the school musical.

See the difference?

Which would you rather read about?

So when I discovered the brilliant writer and cartoonist Lynda Barry recently, and saw she also taps the mundane in life to help her students discover their personal stories, I couldn’t wait to share her ideas with those of you on the prowl for college application essay topics.

It can take practice to let yourself go back in time and scroll through your busy, overloaded mind to unearth your best personal moments and experiences.

If you’re like most of us, when you try to will yourself to remember those golden moments, you draw a blank.

Add the pressure of finding the ONE SUPER DUPER STORY from your past that will help you pound out an outstanding college application essay to land you in your dream school, well, all your lovely creative memory will seize up into a giant ball of stress and dread.

 

Enter Lynda Barry.

(Did I mention she’s bffs with Matt Groening? Hello! Who tells better entertaining, mundane personal stories than The Simpsons?)

She says,“Thinking up stories is hard. Getting them to come to you is easier.”

And in her bestselling cartoon-style book, What It Is, she teaches YOU how to do this.

Here’s the best writing technique Lynda shares in What It Is that I believe can help you learn to tap your most meaningful, and colorful, real-life stories that you can spin into awesome college application essays.

Even if you don’t come up with the perfect story for your essay at first, you will learn how to use the mundane in your life to start digging them up.

READY TO TRY IT?

(Here’s a mini-version in graphic form from Lynda’s book, What It Is)

Give yourself about a half hour.

Grab a pen or pencil and piece of paper.

Number it 1-10.

Lynda likes to tell her students to start by relaxing themselves and minds.

Breathe in, breathe out. (Whatever works for you.)

Then she has them think of a very ordinary noun or object.

Like, a car.

Then she has you set a timer (3 minutes) and quickly list the first 10 cars you remember from your past.

Then pick the one that you like the best.

Hint from Lynda Barry: “Pick one that came to you, rather than one you thought up.”

Picture it (in this case, the car) in your mind. (Set time for 3 more minutes)

Write down what you see with your car-related image.

Where were you?
Why were you there?
Who were you with?
What were you doing?
What does it look like?
What do you see?
What do you smell?
What do you hear?

Just scribble your notes.

Next she has you “orient” yourself with this image or moment.

Set time for 3 more minutes.

Shut your eyes and try to “see” what was all around you.

Look to the right. Write what you see.
Look to the left. Write what you see.
Look down. What’s there?
Look up. Write it down.

The idea is that you have now collected notes of specific, random details about that image (memory) from your past.

Now, you’re ready for the last step.

Get fresh piece of paper, with your notes handy.

Set timer for 7 minutes.

You are going to write the entire time without stopping about that image/memory and whatever comes to mind about it.

Lynda’s Rules:

Start with “I am…”
Use present tense
“Tell the us what is happening,” Lynda says.
“No detail is too small to include.”

GO!

If you get stuck, Lynda Barry suggests writing the alphabet (A,B,C…) or draw small spirals until the words start again.

The goal is to write continuously about that image/memory or experience for seven minutes without lifting your pen.

Don’t worry about complete sentences, punctuation, spelling or any of that stuff.

Now read what you wrote.

Chances are that you have captured a little story from your past.

 

HOW TO USE THIS EXERCISE

TO FIND COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAY TOPICS

Congratulations!

There’s also a good chance that your story has some type of special meaning to you.

It’s also highly likely that it was highly personal (these the THE BEST ONES!) and/or amusing or entertaining (especially if you captured some “that happened.”)

I’m big on finding real-life stories from your past where “something happened,” because that means you experienced some type of problem.

I write a lot on this blog about how problems are your friends with personal essays.

Problems–obstacles, challenges, phobias, obsessions, changes, flaws, mistakes, setbacks, failures, conflicts…–are what make things “happen” in life.

When nothing happens, life can be easy but on the boring side.

I challenge you to think of any story you can recall—a movie, book, event, experience, joke, memory–and I guarantee it involved some type of problem.

If it didn’t, I bet your story was dullsville.

For your college application essays, you want and need great little stories for many reasons:

A great little story can hook your reader. (Especially if you start with one, call an anecdote.)

A great little story can help you show how you handle a problem, and give you a platform to explore and share how you handled it.

A great little story can help you show how you learned, and what you care about, value or believe.

A great little story can be memorable (Hey admissions officers–please remember me!! I’m supposed to STAND OUT, remember!)

A great little story makes you want to keep reading. (How does it turn out?)

A great little story keeps you humble. (You are telling a story instead of talking about yourself.)

Instead of fretting about finding that awesome topic for your college application essay, start digging for your own great little stories.

Once you land on a good one, you are set.

Remember, the best ones don’t try to be impressive.

They are simply those everyday moments from your past when something happened. (Read some Sample Essays to see how this works.)

I would suggest focusing in on conjuring stories from your high school years so they would be most relevant for your college application essays.

Here’s a few ideas for mundane, yet potentially personal nouns you might try (stick to high school years, if possible):

Names of teachers

Names of pets

Names of “other mothers” (one of Lynda’s ideas for nouns) or “other fathers”

Names of coaches

Names of kids in your favorite class

Names of weirdest people in your high school

Names of shoes or other footwear

Names of where groups hung out together

Names of vehicles that got you around

Names of people you were teamed with

Name the stuff you carried around in backpack or purse

Names of things you posted on Instagram.

Names of junk food you ate.

Don’t take this too seriously or overthink it all.

Just do one at a time.

Collect all your little stories.

You want one good one for your main core essays, for the Common Application or other applications, that require a personal statement type of essay.

These little stories can be used in other essays, too, such as the supplemental essays or scholarship essays.

MORE ABOUT LYNDA BARRY

One of my favorite things about Lynda Barry is that she believes everyone can write.

It’s not a gift, but something you learn.

I have been preaching this on this blog for the last decade.

There are only a couple “How-to Write” books that I have found helpful over the years.

The reason I like them is that they offer specific tools and techniques to both help readers believe they can learn to write and also teaches specific tricks and techniques to start practicing.

One is Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird.

The others is Writing Tools by Peter Clark.

Now I’m excited to add Lynda Barry’s What It Is to this list.

If you are a student who not only needs to crank out your college application essays, but also is interested in improving your writing–GET THIS BOOK!

If you are a helpful parent who will do just about anything to inspire your teenager, GET THIS BOOK and leave it on your daughter or son’s desk.

In What It Is, which is presented in a playful, cartoony style, Lynda Barry weaves in her fascinating and often hilarious personal story into a fun series of writing exercises.

I will leave you with a Lynda quote about what she thinks about images:

“At the center of everything we call ‘the arts,’ and children call ‘play,’ is something which seems somehow alive. It’s not alive in the way you and I are alive, but it’s certainly not dead. It’s alive in the way our memory is alive. Alive in the way the ocean is alive and able to transport us and contain us. Alive in the way thinking is not, but experience is, made of both memory and imagination, this is the thing we mean by ‘an image.’ “

In a way, what you need to find to write a compelling and meaningful personal essay for your college application is not so much a “hot topic,” but an image, memory or experience.

Ready to turn one of your real-life stories into a killer college application essay?

Try How to Write a College Application Essay in 3 Steps.

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now you set the time again, and start to write about that car.

 

 

 

 

 

The post New Trick for Finding Killer College Application Essay Topics appeared first on Essay Hell.

Support High School Students Who Call BS on Guns

Learn How You Can Stand Up for Your Rights
Join the Parkland Students and Rally Your Own High School!

For the last decade, I’ve worked with hundreds of high school students every year on the notorious college application essay.

Once these teenagers start thinking and talking about who they are and what they care about, almost all of them reveal themselves as highly moral kids with idealistic goals and passions.

Above all, they know what’s right.

So it didn’t surprise me that the friends and classmates of the 14 high school students and three teachers slaughtered in Parkland, Florida last week have jumped into action.

Their simple and urgent message: Do something!

And it didn’t take long for them to understand what needed to happen to help prevent more of these senseless tragedies: Control guns.

Especially the ones that can take out large groups of people in a matter of seconds.

(The AR-15 style rifle was used in the Parkland massacre, as well as many others in just the last couple years: 27, mostly kindergarteners, dead in Newtown, Conn.; 58 concertgoers in Las Vegas, NV; 26 churchgoers in Sutherland Springs,Texas; 49 club-goers in Orlando, Florida. That’s the short list.)

Based on their recent appearances on national television, these students also know the SINGLE, MOST EFFECTIVE first step to dramatically reduce the carnage: Ban assault-style weapons.

Just listen to their eloquent, heartfelt speeches.

And learn about their plans to join forces with other high school students and make history.

These Parkland students almost instantly knew exactly what needs to happen:

Speak up however you can (Find a march, spread the word on Social Media, start a club, sign petitions, talk to others…)
Take on the biggest defender of all guns: the National Rifle Association (NRA)
Vote out the politicians who take the NRA’s blood money and wouldn’t dream of standing up to them (Just Google them!)

We’ve all heard the rantings of those who blame everything but guns in order not to give them up:

*It’s the fault of bad parenting

*Killers will find other ways to kill

*Gun ownership is a Constitutional Right

*It’s a mental health issue

Again, the kids get it. They don’t deny that all of these are related factors on different levels, which need to be addressed as well.

But they are smart enough to focus on the ONE step that will reduce the carnage the most: Ban assault-style weapons.

(This is not a radical new concept: These were banned in the United States up until 2004, when Congress let it expire. The ban included 18 types of semi-automatic rifles, including the AK-15.)

I salute the bravery of these high school students to speak out.

I am heartened by their clear sense of logic and ability to see the problem—and one obvious step toward a solution.

These kids have managed to pierce the fog of fake news and propaganda that has gripped our country, and paralyzed our ability to confront issues with reason and truth.

It’s shameful that they are now being attacked by the forces out there who will go to any length to keep their guns.

If you are distraught and sickened by the constant headlines and photos of dead young people in our country, speak up.

Support these young heroes and their pleas for help and support any way you can.

Get informed. (Tune in with Twitter: #NationalSchoolWalkout #MarchForOutLives #Enough)

Speak up.

March.

Vote.

Here’s Information on Upcoming Marches:

National School Walkout: March 14

Protesters are calling on students to walk out of school at 10 a.m. for 17 minutes (one for every Parkland shooting victim.)

March of Our Lives: March 24

Sister marches are being planned throughout the country to support the Parkland students’ march

Students: Know Your Rights

From the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)

“Your school can punish you for missing class, just like they always can, but it can’t punish you more harshly for protesting than if you were missing class for another reason.”

#KnowYourRights

If you think your rights are being violated, contact your local ACLUA affiliate at aclu.org/affiliates.

I was curious how these teenagers from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had such a fierce sense of social justice and so many of them stood up within hours of the tragedy to express their outrage and concerns so eloquently.

I found it interesting to learn about the woman the school was named after, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who was the daughter of the first publisher of The Miami Herald newspaper, a journalist herself, a women’s rights activist “suffragette,” an early environmentalist who lived to be 108.

Based on the progressive legacy of their school’s namesake, I believe there must be teachers, parents and other educators at that school who have fostered a strong sense of democracy and social justice. Bravo!

In this same spirit, I believe all of us who work with students have a responsibility to support these teenagers any way we can.

Lives depend on it.

I salute these students for standing up for their Constitutional rights and participating in Marches and other peaceful protests demanding gun control policies to keep them safe, especially in their schools.

As both a parent, educator and patriot, I plan to march alongside them in my community (either Orange County or Los Angeles). Hope to see you there!

#ENOUGH

The post Support High School Students Who Call BS on Guns appeared first on Essay Hell.

College Rejection: 3 Lessons

Don’t Despair over College Rejection
Sometimes You Discover a Better Path

 

It’s the time of year when high school seniors are learning where they got accepted to colleges or universities.

Yay! Good for you! Time to celebrate!

Many are also opening those dejecting rejection letters.

If they didn’t get into their dream school, that can be a bummer.

If they didn’t get into any of their schools, it can be a time of utter panic.

So I wanted to share a timely story about a recent client of mine who experienced the wildly unpredictable and emotionally charged quest for the right school–and brutal college rejection.

(I will call her Anne, a pseudonym since she is in the middle of applying to transfer colleges now.)

It was a bumpy road, and she learned invaluable lessons, which might help some of you (including transfer students!).

By her junior year of high school, Anne was one of those hardworking science/math kids who cleaned up on her grades and standardized tests.

When it came time to apply to college, she knew she wanted to be an engineer and was confident of her chances.

She applied to four top universities in mechanical engineering. Only four.

(You can see what’s coming, right?)

Come spring, she got the news. Anne did not get into any schools.

 

 

Fortunately, Anne had a strong sense of self, very realistic and focused. She told me that she was disappointed, but not devastated.

Instead of freaking out and feeling sorry for herself, she quickly analyzed where she went wrong.

In her mind, since her grades and test scores were superior, she deduced that she was either lacking in impressive extra-curriculars or her essays were lackluster.

That fall, she enrolled in her local community college, signed up for a slew of extracurricular activities–including a rigorous ROTC program!–and kept her eye on her goal: mechanical engineering.

THREE LESSONS 

I suspect you already caught Lesson One from college rejection: Always have back-up schools when applying to college. Sure, go for your dream schools if you have a reasonable shot, but include a couple you have solid chance to get into as well, along with a couple fall-back, shoe-in schools.

Did you catch Lesson Two from college rejection?

Here it is: If you didn’t get into your targeted schools, no matter why, don’t despair. Sure, shed a few tears. That’s only natural.

Just remember that you always have options. It just might take you longer to get where you want to do.

 

 

Now here’s Lesson Three from college rejection. It’s my favorite.

When Anne signed up for her classes at her community (2-year) college in Southern California, she thought to herself that since she blew her single-minded career track, she might as well loosen up and take the opportunity to broaden her horizons.

She decided to take some classes that she wouldn’t necessarily have had the chance if she dove directly into a demanding mechanical engineering track.

(Isn’t she a smart cookie?)

Of course, Anne had to take her core electives, but she also remembered her interest in biology sparked by her high school anatomy class. So she included a biology class, and loved it, and went on to take two chemistry classes. She loved those two.

The upshot? During taking her two-year community college detour, Anne discovered that she was more interested in a field of study in bio-med than mechanical engineering.

That’s huge! It’s fantastic to have the time and luxury to figure out what you really want to do in college, before you start your junior year (when you typically declare a major) and lock into a slate of specific courses and career path. Not to mention the bundles of money you can save getting your electives (core classes) out of the way for a fraction of the cost of a university or private college!

Of course, you can change up your college journey any time you want, but it often can cost you more time, money and effort.

But here’s the Lesson Three that I love so much: Because of her initial setback not getting into her dream target schools for mechanical engineering, Anne gave herself some breathing room (two years) to test out other possible interests.

 

 

Believe it or not, in your early 20s, a lot of emotional growth can take place even over the short span of a year or two. (One reason Gap Years are so popular.)

The better you know yourself, the wiser decisions you will make about your future. So a little more time usually helps.

Anne also had the maturity to not focus on her flub up (applying to only four super competitive schools with no back-ups) and instead continued to look forward, worked to figure out where she went wrong and adjusted her course.

And look what happened! She is now back on track to a career that feels perfect for her true passions and interests.

 

 

If you are waiting for your acceptance letters, and for some reason things don’t go as planned and a dose of college rejection, remember Anne:

Don’t freak out. It’s not worth the energy.
Try to figure out what went wrong and learn from any mistakes. Sometimes, it’s just the luck of the draw, too.
Get a new plan. It might not be what you had in mind, but swallow your pride, ignore the bluster talk from annoying friends and parents, and adjust your course.
Remember, it never hurts to buy yourself a little more time to really figure out what you truly love, what you are good at, and what makes the most sense. You are young. Time is on your side. And if you are like Anne, you might be surprised that a bump in the road can actually help set you on an even better adventure!

I have to add that Anne also made an extra effort to ace her transfer essay. (Remember, one of the reasons she suspected she didn’t get into those top schools was that she didn’t put a lot of energy into her essays.) This time, she took the time to learn and teach herself what made a great transfer essay. And yes, she sought some outside help (me).

As you can probably guess, I told her to basically tell this inspiring story of her college quest so far, including the disappointments, and how she recovered, and the surprise of finding a new love and goal. If you are transferring, you will probably be asked to share the “reason you are transferring.”

Tell your story, too! And include, like Anne, what you learned from the process.

Don’t let a college rejection or two bring you down. You got this!

The post College Rejection: 3 Lessons appeared first on Essay Hell.

10 Quickie Tips to Nail Your UC Essays

If you are just starting to write your four short UC essays (called Personal Insight Questions), here are ten simple tips that can help you crank them out.

I’ve written longer posts on how to brainstorm and map out answers for each of these questions for the University of California application, if you have the time and inclination. Find them here.

Too busy to read all those posts? No worries.

Start with these 10 basic tips to make sure

your UC essays hit the mark:

Content: Use these essays to share more about your talents, accomplishments and experiences, and explain what they meant to you (eg What you learned about yourself). Pick prompts that allow you to feature what you want to add to your overall application; not simply ones that are easiest to answer. Say you worked as an intern in a science lab; this is your chance to explain what you did and learned. Or that you played classical piano since age six; this is where you can go deeper and share how that shaped you somehow beyond your playing ability.
Impact: The best trick to making your essay engaging and meaningful is to include some type of related problem. For example, if you are writing about leadership (#1), look for examples from your past where you tackled some type of problem in a leadership role. (Problems=challenges, mistake, obstacle, setback, conflict, phobia, flaw, obsession, change, etc.) This can work for all eight prompts.
Substance: Always include specific examples (moments, incidents or experiences from your life) to support your main points in these UC essays. If you don’t have at least one of these real-life details in each essay, it’s almost a done deal that your essay is far too general and will lack meaning. If possible, start your essay with one of these specific examples to grab your reader at the start; then explain their larger meaning and go from there. (Example: If you are talking about leadership, start with a specific “time” you acted as a leader in a group setting. Then explain what qualities you used, your thoughts about what leadership means to you, and why, and what you learned.)
Meaning: In the second half of any of these UC essays you can’t go wrong if you shift from explaining your answer, and supporting it with real-life examples, into explaining WHAT YOUR LEARNED about YOURSELF in the process. This is how you can share something you did, and what you love, or how you are, and also expand into WHAT YOUR LEARNED in the process. If you want to shift even deeper, include a sentence or two on WHY IT MATTERS to you and the world that you learned that lesson.

Hardship: If you have experienced any type of hardship in your life, such as a major financial setback in your family due to job loss, low income, deportation, mental or physical illness, or other reasons, make sure to use at least one of these prompts to share that with the UCs. The best one (in fact, it’s designed for this purpose) is #4, at least the second half asking about an “educational barrier you have faced.” You can also use #5 about a “significant challenge,” just make sure to include second part about how it affected your academics. The UCs want to know if it has been more difficult for you to achieve your success so far, and why. Also, if you will be a first-gen student (first in your family to attend college), tell them! (You can also use the “Additional Comments” section in the Other Academic History section to share personal obstacles to your success.)
Majors: If you know what field you want to study or major in at the UCs, it would be a good idea to use one of these prompts to showcase that, and include what inspired you and why you want to pursue it, and how. (Colleges like to see this.) You could use almost any of the eight UC essays to share your intended field of study or major, or even the general field that interests you at this point. Find the prompts that most naturally allows you to work what you want to say into your related topic.
Effort: These prompts can feel overwhelming at first. Read through all eight so you get a sense of the different topics and options. If any of them spark an idea of a related experience or point you want to showcase about yourself, consider writing about that one. At the same time, you can make a list of the experiences, accomplishments, talents or whatever you want to share with the UCs, and then find the prompt that makes it the easiest to write about them.
Strategy: When you pick your four prompts for your UC essays, make sure the points you make, or the major experiences you share, don’t overlap. Ideally, you want these to highlight a variety of your experiences, accomplishments and talents, but also your defining qualities and values. Look for variety and balance among the four your write about. Make sure your essays are about YOU, and YOUR experiences, and not general discussions about your topic or others.
Style: The UCs have made a huge effort to get out the word that these short essays do not need to be literary masterpieces. Of course, try to know the MAIN POINT you want to make in each one so they have a focus, and support that with specific details and real-life examples. Start with something specific, if possible, and then state the more general main point, and finally, share what you learned. Write in a casual, familiar tone; don’t try to impress with fancy descriptive language or big words; get out a rough draft and then go back and trim under 350 words and proof it for errors. Don’t sweat these!
Formatting: When you copy and paste your four Personal Insight Question UC essays into the application, it only accepts plain text. That means any formatting you did will be lost. So, for indicating paragraphs, do not indent and instead break them up with a double space. Instead of italics (which won’t show), use quotation marks to indicate things like titles, foreign words, etc. Bolding also doesn’t show; instead use CAPS, but sparingly.

Extra Tip: If you need to explain anything about your academic performance (such as issues related to your grades or performance), don’t necessarily use these UC essays to explain why. Instead, there are two places to share these explanations in the “Additional Comments” section of the UC application: One is under “Other Academic History” and the other with the “Personal Insight Questions.”

If you want more help on specific Personal Insight Questions and UC essa, check out these 21 Tips for UC Personal Insight Questions that I wrote last year when they first came out. All the info and advice is still relevant and helpful.

Good luck!

The post 10 Quickie Tips to Nail Your UC Essays appeared first on Essay Hell.

The Big Eclipse: A Lesson in College Application Topic Ideas

 

Don’t Even Think About Writing About the Eclipse
And What to Write About Instead

 

When I was invited to give one of my college application essay writing workshops to students at Colorado Academy in Denver, Colorado, I had no idea it would be on the day of the big eclipse.

As Monday, August 21, neared, we all realized the sky would darken just about lunchtime during my daylong workshop.

Even though I knew it would be hard to compete with a full-on solar eclipse, I was excited because Denver was more in line with the action than my home in Southern California.

“You’re going to work in the eclipse into your workshop, aren’t you?” a friend asked weeks before the trip.

“I guess,” I replied, agreeing the idea made perfect sense even though I wasn’t sure how to incorporate it.

Sara Purviance, a college counselor at Colorado Academy, told me that she had ordered the protective glasses for the 100 rising seniors, and they could go outside during the peak hour or so and eat their lunch.

At some point, I realized that watching the eclipse could be an ideal mini experience for the students to capture in the form of an anecdote.

 

Workshop students from Colorado Academy in Denver watching the eclipse

 

If you know my approach to how to write narrative-style college application essays, you have heard me talk about my love of anecdotes many times.

An anecdote is a fancy word for writing about a single moment or incident and recreating the essence of the experience using descriptive language techniques. The goal is to put the reader in that moment so they can imagine what it was like.

RELATED: Learn How to Write an Anecdote

I encourage students to use anecdotes to power their essays with their own real-life experiences, using them to illustrate the greater points they want to make about themselves in their essays.

Anecdotes can be tricky to craft. The goal is to keep them super short (a paragraph or two) without much build-up and start as close to the excitement or whatever happened as possible.

Even though they take practice to master, students usually pick up this writing device quickly if someone teaches them how to craft them, using sensory details, dialogue and emotion.

The bright, attentive students at Colorado Academy were no exception.

When they returned from their lunch break, and eclipse gazing, I gave them an assignment to recreate their experience as an anecdote.

After sharing some sample anecdotes from my best-selling college app essay writing guide, Escape Essay Hell!, so they could get the idea of what they would write, I directed them with a few simple prompts to include:

The Who, What, When, Where and Why.
At least one line of dialogue (quote someone), capturing either what went through their head at the time or something someone else said.
A sentence expressing how they felt

I gave them about 15 minutes to write, and asked them to share. Three brave students read what they wrote. (See two of their anecdotes at end of this post.)

As usual, I was blown away by what they had to say, and how they said it.

After the workshop, it dawned on me that I forgot to tell those students one important point:

Don’t pick the eclipse as your topic (for a personal statement type of essay, such as the Common Application)!!!

The eclipse as a college application essay topic is loaded with common topic pitfalls.

RELATED: How to Find a Great Topic for Your College Application Essay

Even though it was a unique and a rare natural phenomenon, “the time” you experienced the eclipse most likely was not the best experience you could share in your essay to illustrate something meaningful about yourself.

Even though you can write about momentous or special experiences in your essay, the more everyday or ordinary (mundane) moments or incidents typically make better anecdotes.

I would also guess that students who choose to write about the eclipse will end up writing more about the science of the experience than what they experienced and learned from it.

The best college application essays are those that are not academic or formal in content or style, and instead share personal experiences they can use to show how they learned, changed and grew.

Also, anecdotes, which are really mini-stories, need something to happen. Even though something “happened” with the eclipse (the moon went in front of the sun and it got dark in the middle of the day), you need something more personal.

For an effective anecdote, something had to have happened to you. That’s what makes the experience personal and meaningful, which is your goal.

The takeaway?

When brainstorming topic ideas for your essays, you don’t need to find impressive or momentous events to write a great college application essay.

RELATED: Mundane Topics Work Best

Writing about earning your Eagle Scout badge, or the time you threw a winning pass to win the state football championship, or leading a Model U.N. session, often end up on the dull side.

You can still feature achievements and life-changing moments in your essays, just make sure the essay is about YOU and not only those standout experiences.

One last reason to stay clear of the eclipse as your college application essay topic: There’s a good chance a lot of other students watched that eclipse and will write about it.

I can hear the college admissions folks rolling their eyes and groaning, “Another eclipse essay.”

You’ve probably heard about cliché college application essays, and that’s because so many students have had similar experiences and wrote about them. Examples: mission trips, tutoring special needs kids, sports injuries….watching the eclipse.

It’s not impossible to write a standout essay about the eclipse, but there are thousands of other topics that will serve you a lot better.

Here are two anecdotes that College Academy students crafted in only about 10 to 15 minutes.

First anecdote:

    The light is slightly dimmer, only noticeable by an expecting eye. Quite contrary to the prior visions of the event I had in my head. Disappointment fills the air in murmurs as my high school class munches on their Domino’s Pizza. “That was it?” is being repeated by different mouths throughout the courtyard. I didn’t think it was that bad.

    Seeing the sun almost completely covered by the moon is a sight I am not going to forget too soon. The black as night atmosphere was not achieved like I was expecting, but it will still be a story I can tell my kids.

Second anecdote:

  I stood outside of my high school, staring up at the sky, wearing glasses that blackened the sky except for the beautiful and rarely seen solar eclipse. Everyone around me was wearing the same glasses, but as the moon got closer and closer to covering the sun, more and more people lost interested and started to chat with friends instead.

    “Don’t you want some food, Jack?” My friend Mags asked. “I’m not really hungry right now. Besides, I’d like to experience this beautiful moment in nature instead

    The black silhouette slowly inched closer over the bright glowing orb of gas. It had finally reached it’s peaked so I decided it was time to get food. I looked down, took off my glasses and saw that everything around me seemed darker and colder. It was very surreal and I felt unstable but also very in tuned. I also saw that I was the last person out of 100 students that was still wearing their glasses. I felt a sort of pride to be able to recognize and appreciate this beautiful event. I was able to stand in one spot, look up at the sky, and appreciate what was going on in front of me without missing out on a fun conversation with my friends whom I hadn’t seen all summer. The feeling was sensational.

See how awesome these are?

If these students could write these in such a short time, I know you can find your real-life stories and tell them as anecdotes to power your own essays.

Good luck!

 

The post The Big Eclipse: A Lesson in College Application Topic Ideas appeared first on Essay Hell.

How to Format Your Common Application Essay

Confused on How to Format Your

Common Application Essay?
Here are 9 Hot Tips

The 2017-18 Common Application opened for business earlier this week (August. 1). Chances are you will soon need to know how to format your common application essay.

If you are on the ball, you might be ready to apply to specific colleges and universities and need to submit your core Common Application essay, as well as other shorter essays required by certain schools (often called Supplemental Essays).

Or you are still getting ready or working on writing them, but will need to know how to format your common application essay(s) in upcoming weeks or months.

The first step is to get an account with The Common Application.

Then figure out your list of colleges you will be applying to, and start searching the site for additional shorter essays they want you to write.

Under each college or university, you will see a tab called Writing Requirements. You can find these additional short essays either under the College Questions or the Writing Supplements.

Every school is different, so really root around all the tabs and drop-down options. For example, some schools will ask you to write about an extracurricular activity (in 150 words or so) under the College Questions section, under one of the drop down tabs, such the Activities or Essay Questions tab.

Confusing, yes. But it will make more sense once you get logged on and explore the site.

RELATED: 10 Hot Tips to Power your Supplemental Essays

I like to advise my students to collect all the supplemental essays (by prompt and word count) in one place (such as a Word or Google doc file). That way they know what they will need to write about at the start, and also be able to see which ones are the same or similar. (For example, many schools have supplemental essays about “Why are you a fit?” or writing about your intended major.)

RELATED: Check out this short Slideshare to Learn How to Write Short Essays. 

Of course, the most important essay you will write is the core Common Application essay, although some schools do not require it—and you can determine which ones do as you read through the application site. (Even if you only have one of your target schools that requires the main Common App essays, you will need to write one–and learn how to format your common application essay.)

Nine Hot Tips to Format Your Common Application Essay

If you do need to submit a core Common App essay (you pick from one of 7 prompts; 250-650 words), here are some tips on how to format your common application essay:

Compose your draft in either a Word file or Google docs. Do not craft it directly in the Common Application text box (You could lose your work)! If you use Word or Google docs, you can use their word count and, most importantly, the spell check feature. The Common App now allows you do upload Google docs directly from Google Drive. (Hint: If you want to use this feature, you might want to get a Gmail account that you use exclusively for these essays.) You can also copy and paste your Word or Google doc directly into the Common App text box.
The Common Application essay text box does not allow tabbing. So make your paragraphs with block formatting (have a space in between each paragraph instead of an indentation.) You can format this way in your Word or Google doc, but make sure it translates after you either upload your Google doc, or copy and paste from the Word or Google doc.
The Common Application essay text box only has formatting for Bold, Underline and Italics. I would format your essay along MLA guidelines (using italics for things like book titles, foreign words, those types of copyediting rules.), and then make sure they translate or carry over after you upload or copy and paste. If you lose the italics, use the Common App italics formatting to add them inside the text box. I see no reason to use either Bold or Underlining in your essays. Avoid gimmicky formatting, such as ALL CAPS, emojis or #hashtags.
Avoid titles. Even though I think a snappy title can enhance an essay, I see no way to format it at the top of the Common App essay that would center it, and think it could be more of a distraction. If you really love your title, feel free to give it a try, but I think it will only stick on the far left of the first line. (If you go for it that way, maybe put it in Bold to make it clear it’s a title.)
Do NOT include the prompt at the top of your essay. That only eats up precious words. With your Common App essay, you simply check the box that your essay lines up with the best.
Supplemental (shorter) essays have similar formatting options. Use the same rules as above for these. Some do not provide a text box and require you to upload from Google docs or attach a Word file (converting it to a PDF.)
Double check word counts. The Common App text box and text boxes for the supplemental essays show the minimum and maximum word counts, which is very helpful. After you copy and paste an essay, always scroll through it to make sure everything copies (and your formatting carried over) and make sure it’s within the word count requirement shown under the box.
You can go back and make edits after you have submitted your essays. Even after you submit, go back and review to make sure it’s exactly how you wanted it.
General rules for formatting drafts in Word or Google docs: Use a common font (Times New Roman, Arial, Cambria…), write in 12 pt font, double space.

I hope this helps you format your Common Application essay, and not sweat it.

If you are still working on finding a hot topic for your essay, read my Five Top Tips on Finding Topics.

If you have more questions on how to format your common application essay, let me know in the Comments box below. If I don’t know the answer, I will do my best to find a credible source to answer you.

Good luck!

The post How to Format Your Common Application Essay appeared first on Essay Hell.

Why Kids CAN Write–If You Teach Them How

Students Stress Over College App Essays
Because for the First Time They Want to Write
But Realize They Don’t Know How

The New York Times ran an article yesterday called “Why Kids Can’t Write.”

Great piece, but I didn’t agree with the title.

They can write. (Click bait.)

However, as the article chronicled at length, most students have not been taught how to write. The writing experts debated if the problem was at the mechanics end (lack of instruction on writing rules) or the other end with creative writing (lack of opportunity for personal expression through writing.)

I don’t think it’s an either-or issue.

Students need to first learn the rules of the road with writing and develop a basic skill set with grammar, syntax, vocabulary building, punctuations, etc. They also need to learn early on why these skills matter and are relevant.

Everyone knows the only way to learn writing is to do it a lot. If students don’t care about it, or lack something they want to say or express through their writing, they will never do it—and they won’t get better.

You need two things to write: Something to say and the skills to say it.

As a writing coach, I have the privilege of working with students who are highly motivated to write, possibly for the first time in their life—they need to write outstanding college application essays to help get them into their dream school.

When they come to me, however, most are not prepared. They either don’t know what to say in their essays (about themselves and who they are), or if they do have ideas about their topics, they are ill-prepared on how to frame and express them effectively (so others care).

Does this mean they can’t write?

No.

As long as they have their most basic writing skills down—and yes, most do by their senior year of high school—these students mainly need specific guidance on how to think about themselves (what they value, how they learn, why it matters…) and direction on how to frame and structure their piece.

Toss in specific writing techniques, ideas and devices (found all over this blog and in my books!), and they are off.

THEY CAN WRITE AFTER ALL!

Yes, if those same students had more opportunities and efficacious writing instruction during their English classes over the years, especially sophomore and junior year, of course they would have more confidence when it came to these college application essays.

The more you write, the better you get at it.

Like all other skills—tennis, throwing pots, hacking computers, etc.—the combination of good instruction and practice is the only way to get better.

Same with writing. It’s not a gift, although some people catch on faster for whatever reason (again, not that different from tennis stars and hackers). But even the pros practice like maniacs.

If you took the time to read the The New York Times piece on Why Kids Can’t Write, they quoted several experts who were at the helm of efforts to improve student writing.

Some believed the “problem” was with the mechanics, and promote solutions, such as returning to sentence diagramming. (I actually did that in 7th grade with an ancient English teacher and thought it was fun, but I still suck at grammar and I don’t think that held back my writing career.)

Others made the case for setting students loose to free write to find their voice. I think free writing is a great exercise to flesh out ideas, but I also think structure can be very freeing in writing and gives students a productive framework for expression. You can free write for a month straight and still not be able to kick out a meaningful personal essay.

 

And, of course, all of them lamented the lack of reading.

I join their despairing chorus.

You can write even if you don’t read a lot. It’s possible. But chances are your ideas won’t be as wide and informed, and your ear for language will be on the flat side.

Also, the best way to learn is to see how others do it. (This goes for writing college application essays: Read sample essays by other students to see how it works, and borrow ideas and techniques from the ones you like.)

As far as “bad writing” crisis discussed in this article, there’s no easy fix.

If The New York Times had asked me about students and writing, this is what I would have said:

First, we need to value writing as one of the most important skills most students need both in their education journey and the workplace.

Second, we need to train our English teachers how to write well themselves, and then how to teach writing. This is not happening in most high schools.

(I believe people–from teachers to administrators to policy-makers—are scared of writing because it’s such an intangible skill, hard to quantify and a pain to review, and are happy to not have to deal with it.)

Teachers are time-strapped, burdened and overwhelmed by the mandates of excelling at those stupid standardized tests (AP classes and SAT/ACT). There’s literally no time to allow lessons on different types of writing, including personal and creative writing.

So, of course, kids can’t write very well, and lack confidence in their ability. They are not taught how to do it, and they aren’t given time to practice it. Also, most of what they have had to write about is irrelevant to their world and BORING.

And as non-readers in a culture that doesn’t prize writing, they have little reason to value it.

Until then one day, usually in the summer or fall of their senior year, they are tasked with writing an essay about themselves that could make or break their college dreams.

To me, it’s a golden moment. They suddenly care about writing.

And most are willing to scramble to find something meaningful to say and learn how to write about it.

Most students surprise themselves that they do have something to say. That they have things they care deeply about and opinions they want to express.

For the first time, they have a chance to hear their unique writing voice.

The New York Times article mentioned my favorite writing exercise to help students capture their voice and write about their background. It’s called “Where I’m From,” based on using a template from a poem by George Ella Lyons.

I mentioned it in my post of College Application Essay Lesson Plans for English Teachers (at the bottom.) I also just used these exercises working with high school sophomores attending a collegebound camp here in Orange County, sponsored by Girls, Inc. And I used it with students at another collegebound program down by the border in the Rio Grande Valley last year.

It’s almost magic when they read their poems out loud and experience the power of simple, everyday details and images from their childhood.

For a few minutes, they felt like writers, because they were, and they liked it. They got a glimpse at the impact of their own words and background. They cared. And wanted to learn more.

All students deserve opportunities like this to learn how to write for a purpose other than pleasing their teachers or standardized mandates.

It’s not fair that for most students, the one time they will care about a writing assignment is when it feels too late to learn how to do it.

(Good news If this is you: It isn’t too late to learn. That’s why I started this blog—to share loads of advice and tips on how to learn writing skills and techniques to craft standout essays about yourself! Read more posts!!!)

We can change this. But first, we all need to care more. About writing.

What do YOU think? 

Please let me know if you think kids can write or not in the comments.

The post Why Kids CAN Write–If You Teach Them How appeared first on Essay Hell.

The Trouble with Boys and College Application Essays

Who Writes Better College Application Essays:

Boys or Girls?

When I gave one of my summer college application essay writing boot camps this last weekend in my hometown of Laguna Beach, I had 11 boys and one girl.

As the students showed up, I casually mentioned this gender imbalance to the group and one of the boys quipped: “Because boys can’t write.”

I like to think of myself as someone who is gender neutral, and this comment caught me off guard.

My first thought was: That’s hogwash.

I’ve worked with hundreds of students on these dreaded college admissions essays for the last decade, and noticed no difference among the quality of writing between boys and girls.

 

 

The variety in the overall writing ranged wildly from awful to brilliant, with most coming in somewhere in the middle. But that disparity had nothing to do with gender, as far as I could tell.

In general, girls often had more confidence in their writing ability coming into the essay writing game than boys, but once most boys landed on a topic they liked and received a little guidance on how to execute their essays, they often knocked it out of the park.

I reflected for a moment on why my workshop attracted so many young men, and concluded that the problem was not boys and writing.

The issue was well-meaning parents not believing their sons could write—and they have a tendency, as with all things college admissions, to panic and overreact.

In fact, two of the boys were high school sophomores! In my opinion, that’s nearly two years too soon to start worrying about these essays.

A couple were juniors, and I guess it didn’t hurt for them to start learning the college application essay writing drill. But I believe the seniors were on the mark, especially since they were the most focused and motivated.

 

Here’s a Few Tips for Parents of Boys (and Girls, if they apply)
(Disclaimer: This advice is speaking in very general terms, based on my anecdotal observations and experiences working with boys and girls, and there may be many exceptions. If you are a girl who falls into any of these patterns, these tips totally apply to you, too!)

1. Boys often can have a more difficult time finding topics, at least at first. The hardest ones are those who have not developed many outside interests, and seem to spend most of their free time playing video games. These can be very challenging, though not impossible. You just have to dig deeper. One of my favorite sources of hot topics are summer jobs. (You kids out there starting early; not too late to get one!) (Check out Jobs Can Make Excellent Topics.)

2. The best college application essays are highly personal, in my opinion. Generally speaking, it can be harder to persuade the young men I work with to open up with me about their feelings and deeper thoughts and ideas. It’s not that they are incapable or don’t have them; it just takes more prodding and even gentle nudging to get them out. Boys can be as deep of thinkers as girls at this age, and I love that these essays offer an opportunity to explore their personal thoughts, ideas and opinions. (Try Open Up: How to Connect with Pathos.)

3. Boys love action—and a good story (which go together)! I have found that once boys understand that the magic bullet of a great essay is an entertaining or interesting story from real-life—their life!—many of them have a change of attitude. If they can recall one they like, most boys are naturals at crafting them into mini-stories to use to power their essays. This can help you start: How to Write a College App Essay Even if You Think You Can’t Write.

4. Boys are more comfortable breaking the rules. Boys often end up writing the best essays because they have an easier time of letting go of all the English class writing rules, which often included using long words and a “voice” trying to sound smart. Once they learned that the goal was to “write more like they talk,” many boys are off and running with their essays. Learn how to Find Your Essay Voice.

5. Boys gravitate toward sports-related topics. Since many boys have been defined by their sports through playing on them and fan culture, many first want to write their essays about sports. Often sports, especially sports injuries and victories, are red-flagged on the cliche list of college application essay topics, it’s worth trying to expand their thinking. Once boys are educated about the pitfalls of sports themes, however, they are typically game to find other awesome topics. These can help: 5 Top Tips on Finding Topics.

So there. Boys write just as well as girls. And many even better.

Parents can stop worrying about them. It’s great to offer them resources to help them with their writing, but trust that once they know what they need to do—most knock it out of the park!

Just like girls!

Good luck!

The post The Trouble with Boys and College Application Essays appeared first on Essay Hell.