College Admission Essays For Dummies E-Book

Geraldine Woods

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Seitenzahl: 488

Beschreibung

The competition to get into your college of choice has never been fiercer. Unfortunately, much of the application process is out of your hands. But one major aspect of the admission process is under your control--your personal statement. Your application essay provides you with the opportunity to let your true, unique and totally irresistible self shine through. College Admission Essays For Dummies is your total guide to crafting application essays that will make people sit up and take notice. It demystifies the authority figures who'll judge your work, helps you decide what to write, and then arms you with the knowledge and skills you need to write your essay on time and on target. Step by step, it walks you through the entire essay-writing process, offering priceless tips on how to: * Choose the best topic, tone, and structure for your essay * Capture the crucial stories that reveal who you are * Avoid common pitfalls that can sabotage your application * Overcome writer's block * Know how to respond to unusual and off-the-wall essay questions * Write successful short answers to specific application questions College admission guru Geraldine Woods punctures common myths about application essays and tells you what you absolutely must do to write a good one. With the help of many inspiring and instructive killer essays, she shows you how to: * Put yourself in the right mental state for writing well * Gather ideas, focus on a topic and choose the best structure for your essay * Use topic sentences, detail, and strong introductions and conclusions * Write a rough draft * Show rather than tell your story * Make sure your spelling and grammar are pitch perfect * Create smooth transitions and avoid repetitions Your college application essay is your chance to show the committee that you're more than just a statistic. Let College Admission Essays For Dummies show you how to write "admit-clinching" college essays.

Leseprobe

College Admission Essays For Dummies®

by Geraldine Woods

College Admission Essays For Dummies®

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2003 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2002114847

ISBN: 0-7645-5482-4

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Geraldine Woods teaches English and directs the independent study program at a high school for gifted students. Throughout her thirty-year teaching career, she has guided a multitude of harried and anxious seniors through the process of writing successful college admission essays. She has written 40 books, give or take a few, including English Grammar For Dummies, and Research Papers For Dummies. She loves bookstores and libraries, minor-league baseball, Chinese food, and the novels of Jane Austen. The mother of a grown son (Tom, a lawyer), she lives in New York City with Harry (her husband of 30 years) and parakeets Alice and Archie.

Dedication

For T. and K., beginning their adventure; and for H., continuing ours.

Author’s Acknowledgments

My sincere thanks to Stephen Singer, a college counselor whose encyclopedic knowledge of higher education is exceeded only by the generosity with which he shares his time and wisdom. I am also grateful to Tom Katzenbach and Barbara Tischler for their helpful advice, to Linda Brandon for her diligent editing, to Pam Mourouzis for her insight during the outlining stage of this book, to Turner O’Neal for his useful comments, and to Lisa Queen for her support. I am exceedingly grateful to the applicants who cheered me on and allowed me to include their essays in this book: Kristina Bennard, Ruthie Birger, Jordyn Cosme, Lindsay Danas, Shanah Einzig, Marc Philippe Eskinazi, Leonard Fishman, Danielle Ginach, Robert Gould, Horace Andrew Patterson, Justin Pattner, Mark Sanger, and Wontaek Shin.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editor: Linda Brandon

Acquisitions Editor: Pam Mourouzis

Copy Editor: Linda Brandon

Technical Editor: Turner O’Neal

Editorial Supervisor: Michelle Hacker

Cartoons: Rich Tennant, www.the5thwave.com

Production

Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees

Layout and Graphics: Amanda Carter, Stephanie D. Jumper, Michael Kruzil, Jackie Nicholas, Barry Offringa, Scott Tullis

Proofreaders: John Greenough, TECHBOOKS Production Services

Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services

Special Help

Michelle Hacker

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies

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Publishing for Technology Dummies

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Composition Services

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Contents

Title

Introduction

How to Use This Book

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organized

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I : Putting Yourself on Paper

Chapter 1: Becoming More Than a Statistic: What the Essay Does for You

Painting a Portrait of You, the Applicant

Understanding Your Audience: The Admissions Officers

Timing Is Everything

Writing Admission Essays While Having a Life

Concentrating on Process, Not Product

Keeping Perspective

Chapter 2: Exploring the Subject of the Essay — Yourself

Mining Your Life

Collecting the Stories of Your Life

Getting Personal with Impersonal Questions

Identifying Themes in Your Autobiography

But Enough about Me: Overcoming the Taboo against Bragging

Chapter 3: Writing for the Tired, the Poor (The Admissions Office)

Meeting Your Readers: The Admissions Committee

Keeping Their Attention When Yours Is the 9000th Essay They’ve Read Today

Avoiding Writing Traits Guaranteed to Annoy the Admissions Committee

Writing What They Do Want to Read

Chapter 4: Keeping It Legal

Buying an Essay on the Internet and Other Things to Avoid

Finding the Right Sort of Help

Dealing with Parental Interference Assistance

Noting a Few Words about Plagiarism

Locating Help When You’re On Your Own

Part II : Getting Your Head Ready for Writing

Chapter 5: Writing as Process, Not Product

Writing with Process, Not Product, in Mind

Separating Your Inner Creator and Editor

Pre-Writing: The First Steps

Drafting: Not Just for the Army Anymore

Taking the Final Steps

Chapter 6: Storming Your Brain: Idea Gathering Techniques

You Can’t Build a Castle Until You Dump the Blocks

Matching Personality and Technique

Gathering Ideas: The Techniques

Reacting to a Specific Question

Chapter 7: Building a Structure to Support Your Ideas

Structuring Your Meaning

Meeting the Major Players in the Structure Game

Structuring the Career Essay

Chapter 8: Putting It All In Order: Creating an Outline

Outlining: The Logical Choice

Putting Your Thoughts in Order

Checking for Gaps

Staying Flexible

Taking the Final, Pre-Write Check

Part III : Writing the Rough Draft

Chapter 9: Showing, Not Telling Your Story

Getting Down to Specifics

Using All Your Senses

Choosing the Best Details and Ignoring the Rest

Selecting Strong Verbs and Nouns

A Little Metaphor Won’t Kill You

Chapter 10: Constructing Good Paragraphs

Punctuating Your Points with Paragraphs

Creating a Strong Topic Sentence

Placing Topic Sentences and Details

Setting Up a Transition

Chapter 11: Leading with Your Best Shot

Taking the Right First Step: What the Lead Does for Your Essay

Capturing the Reader’s Attention

Setting the Right Tone

Orienting the Reader

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Chapter 12: Going Out with a Bang: The Conclusion

Repeating Yourself and Other Non-Answers to the Conclusion Question

Concluding the Essay with Class

Chapter 13: Overcoming Writer’s Block

Understanding Your Block

Confronting Your Application Anxieties

Leaping Over Writing-Related Blocks

Part IV : I’d Like to Finish before Retirement Age: The Final Draft

Chapter 14: Making a List and Checking It Twice: Grammar and Spelling

Getting the Grammar Right the Second Time Around

Spelling It Rihgt Right

Deciding When to Break the Rules

Chapter 15: Smoothing the Rough Edges: Polishing the Essay

Picking the Best Words

Creating Stylish Sentences

Saying It Once and Only Once

Chapter 16: Leaving a Good Impression

Getting Your Point Across

Verifying That You’ve Answered the Question

Sounding Strong and Mature

The Top Ten Reasons Why Lists Are a Bad Idea

Checking the Essay One Last Time

Chapter 17: Final Answers: The Last Word on Format

Reading the Directions

Cutting to Fit and Lengthening to Suit: Hitting the Word Count Target

Dealing with Paper Forms

Applying Online

Faxing, Express-Mailing, and Other Panic Options

Part V : Analyzing Questions from Real Applications

Chapter 18: Composing Essays Starring You

And Then I Took the Oath of Office: Relating a Personal Experience

Explaining Your A+ in Recess and Other Academic Experiences

Envisioning the Future: When I Retire at 20, I Will . . .

Daydreaming Your Way into College

“Desperate” and Other Descriptions

Chapter 19: Describing Significant Strangers and Friends: Essays About Other People

Defining Others’ Influence: You Are Who You Know

Writing about Friends and Relatives

Relating Strangers’ Lives to Your Own

Entering the Fictional Universe

Chapter 20: Responding to Essay Questions in the Subject Areas

We Really Wanted to Teach English: Answering Literature and Writing Questions

We Stare into Space a Lot: Responding to Philosophy and Science Topics

We’re Paint-Stained but Happy: Expounding on Artistic Topics

We Love Timelines: Discussing Historical or Current Events

Chapter 21: Getting the Most Out of Short Answers

Saying a Lot in Little Spaces

Answering the Most Common Short-Answer Questions

Lassoing the Mavericks: Responding to Unusual Short-Answer Questions

Part VI : The Part of Tens

Chapter 22: Ten Myths About the College Essay

Writing Style Doesn’t Matter

Finding the Right Topic Is No Big Deal

Focusing on a Certain Topic Guarantees Admission

Discussing Any Topic Is Okay

Following Instructions Isn’t Important

Talking about Ordinary Lives Is a No-no

Using Scholarly Language Is Impressive

Writing One Essay Is Enough

Seeking Help from Lots of People Is a Good Idea

Formatting Your Essay into the Standard Five Paragraphs Does the Trick

Chapter 23: Ten Great Essays to Inspire You

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Of Studies” by Francis Bacon

“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan

“The Search for Marvin Gardens” by John McPhee

“The Solace of Open Spaces” by Gretel Erhlich

“The Lives of a Cell” by Lewis Thomas

“Eastern Middle School” by Thomas Friedman

“The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” by Langston Hughes

“On Lying in Bed” by G.K. Chesterton

“On Keeping a Notebook” by Joan Didion

Chapter 24: Ten Absolute Musts for College Essays

Keeping It Real

Answering the Question

Following Directions

Being Specific

Getting Personal

Expanding the Basics

Holding Their Interest

Meeting the Deadline

Going Easy on the Eyes

Using Good Grammar

Appendix: Personal Inventory

Family Ties

School days

Community

The Future

Identity

People

The No-Category Category

Introduction

“F irst class?”

“Yes, definitely definitely yes.”

The postal clerk prints a label, stamps the thick envelope, and tosses it into a bin. As the envelope lands on its side, one corner folds back. The customer winces, looks away, and then looks again. “Excuse me, you wrinkled my envelope.”

No, the postal clerk doesn’t describe the many machines the envelope will pass through before it arrives at its destination. Nor does he point out all that can go wrong with this particular letter, including jammed gears and misplaced mailbags. Instead, he glances at the address and smiles sympathetically. “College application?” he asks, gently repositioning the envelope on top of the pile.

When you send that all-important application to a college, grad school, or scholarship committee, you probably won’t ask the post office to deliver your envelope without wrinkles, as one of my students did. But I bet you sympathize with her panic! These days more and more applicants vie for the same number of slots at top schools. Yet much of the application process — from the way the post office delivers the mail to the way the application is viewed — is outof your hands. You can’t, for instance, predict how your qualifications mesh with the needs of your preferred university. If you’re a tuba player and the college orchestra is desperate for bassoonists, you may be out of luck when acceptance letters are sent out. And by the time you’re filling in little blanks on the application form with a list of your courses and activities, you can’t do much to improve your school record.