How to Write Great Essays

part of a whole. They are not intended as source material for your essay. Remember
that plagiarism is a serious academic offense, and will disqualify you from consider-
ation by the school(s) to which you are applying. It is too high a price to pay after all
HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 6
Untimed Essay Writing Strategies
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Untimed Essay Writing Strategies
CHAPTER 6 
HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS
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of the work you have done to get yourself this far. Be certain your ideas and words
are your own.
CONCLUSION
Your conclusion is the final impression left with your reader. End your essay memorably by
avoiding these three conclusion blunders. You should avoid:
■
Answering the big questions.
If you wrote about a topic such as world peace
or a personal tragedy, resist the temptation to give reasons or solutions. You
don’t need to explain why there is evil in the world, or how world hunger can
be stopped.
■
Using clichés.
Too many essays end with “therefore,” “in conclusion,” or “in
summary.” End in your own voice, using fresh words and phrases.
■
Summarizing your essay.
The biggest blunder is when the essay is short
enough that you can expect your reader to remember what you wrote a few
paragraphs ago. Summaries are boring, and waste your opportunity to leave
your reader with something memorable.
You want your conclusion instead to echo the dynamic start of your essay. How can you
achieve that?
■
Continue your discussion.
Propose where it might lead, what it might mean
to future generations, or how it might be resolved.
■
Make sense of what happened.
If you told a story that would benefit from an
explanation of what it means to you in larger terms, take a few sentences to
explain. What did you learn? How will you benefit from the experience?
■