How to Write Great Essays

HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 1
Organization
6
3.
Where:
Where does your subject occur? Where is its source?
4.
When:
When does your topic occur? When did it begin/end? When must action
be taken to deal with it?
5.
Why:
Why is it our subject of interest? Why did it develop as it did? Why should
others be interested in your topic?
Admissions essays and some exit essays are intended to be personal, so you must focus
on yourself. Take time answering the personal, taking-stock questions below. This process
involves a different set of W’s, meant to elicit key information about yourself and about the
topic if it has been chosen.
1. Where have you been (chronological history)?
2. What have you accomplished or achieved?
3. What do you do with your time when not in school?
4. What are you good at? What are you passionate about?
5. Who are/were your major influences?
6. READING GOOD WRITING
Consider your print diet: what are you reading in your spare time? This is an important
question because what you read can influence what you write. The computer science term
“garbage in, garbage out” applies. If you are reading mediocre writing, it won’t help your
essay, but if you consistently read great writing, it can make a difference with your own.
Syntax, structure, and style can improve under the influence of writers who are masters at
their craft.
The following list is based on suggestions made by English professors and teachers, col-
lege counselors, and admissions officers. It includes books and periodicals that cover cur-
rent events, book reviews, science, history, race relations, sports, and other topics. Choose
essays that appeal to you; there is no need to force yourself to read about something you
are not interested in.
PERIODICALS
◆
Harper’s
(weekly magazine): essays, fiction, and reporting on political, literary,
cultural, and scientific affairs.
◆
The Economist
(daily newspaper): London publication covering world news,
finance and economics, science and technology, books and arts, and business
news.
◆
The New Yorker
(weekly magazine): political and business reporting, social com-
mentary, fiction, humor, art, poetry, and criticism.