1. Graded’s College Application Essay Workshop
Day 1

2. Today’s Agenda
* Welcome, introductions, packet distribution, quick Q&A * Basics of entrance essay writing expectations * Examine 3-5 sample essays *Brainstorm for common ap. Topics

3. Intro/Warm-Up Partner? Name and sumpin’ you did besides school stuff
What you want most from this workshop

4. Authenticity SOUND LIKE YOURSELF Proofreading? Slang?
Is this an essay that only you could have written?
Are you trying too hard?
Overblown language?
Does it feel phony?
Are you trying hard enough?
Proofreading?
Slang?
Take an experience you have had and interpret it as only you can.
Tell the truth.

6. Clarity WORDS, SENTENCES, AND BEYOND
Plain, concise language:
“The more I recalled her degradation of me, the more inexorable I became.”
“I replayed her insults over in my mind all night, and I grew that much more determined.”
Clear subjects
While running to class, the bell rang.
When only eight years old, my father warned me about smoking.
Purpose, Focus, Unity, Organization, Development
Write down a subject or two you’re thinking of writing about

7. Uniqueness You really want to write about _________.
___________ is something thousands of other kids/people do – annually… daily…
How will you show the experience through the unique lens of you?

9. Memory and detail… An object? A place? A smell? A sound?
This is show vs. tell.
Hypnotize yourself and draw out the details.

10. Hooks and beginnings…
My will to succeed probably started when I watched my sister fail so miserably.
It was hard to see my sister, dirty and tired, enter our house after living for six months on the streets.
That shirt, I thought as my sister came through the front door, is the same one she had on when she left. By the look and smell of it, it hadn’t been taken off once in the six months she’d been living on the street.

12. You’re a special snowflake! And So is everyone else
Who are YOU?
Avoid comparing yourself to others…
Write from your heart.
Brainstorm and warm-up… it’s time for some adolescent soul searching
You are who you are – no one – not even college admissions officers – want you to be anything other than that.
Don’t try to impress.
Fill in the space that the numbers don’t cover.

13. Let’s examine some samples. (mmmmm…. Samples)

14. What’s a Cliché? Something that has been said before.
An idiom that gets overused.
Symbols that are too easily associated with a particular concept.
Think outside the box. (Oh, the irony!)
When the going gets tough…
A lightbulb went off in my head!

15. Essays to Avoid
The Strained Metaphor essay
How Travel Changed Me
How I Overcame….
(this is even one of the common app prompts!)
Tone Deaf essay about charity work/community service
(Are you coming across as smug? Privileged?)
Resumes in paragraph form
The Tragedy Essay
*** Any one of the above might be acceptable IF you
Show, don’t tell
Lose the formulaic/predictable approach
Avoid moralizing at the end.

16. The “2017/18” Common App prompts
Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you experienced challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what learn from the experience?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

17. The “2017/18” Common App prompts
Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

19. Writing Time…
Begin/brainstorm one of the two common app essays you will write.

20. Keep a digital copy for yourself Print a copy for us.
The ONE PAGE REFERENCE GUIDE
Keep a
digital copy
for yourself
Print a copy for us.
Student Name + your password
(common app and other schools)
College Name
Supplemental Essay Topics
Application Deadline