How to Write Great Essays

Connect your content with the desire for a college education.
What does it
say about your decision to apply, specifically, to their college?
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Echo your introduction to provide balance.
Use some of the same words,
phrases, or ideas mentioned in your first paragraph.
■
Bring the reader to the present day.
This works especially well if you wrote
about something that happened in your past. What does it say about who you
are now? How has it influenced the plans you are making for the future?
■
If it works well with your content, end with words on the subject said by
someone famous.
Be certain the quote substantiates what you have said, and
speaks obviously to your topic.
■
Enlarge your discussion by linking it to a wider context.
Your weeklong
hands-on experience with the problems of a small group of migrant farm
workers could conclude with a paragraph on the widespread nature of the
problem.

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HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 6
Untimed Essay Writing Strategies
82
DON’T REPEAT YOURSELF
The essay is not the place to repeat information that can be found elsewhere in your
application. For instance, you have already listed your extra curricular activities and
GPA, and they have been noted by the admissions committee. There is no need to
remind them of these accomplishments. Use your essay to tell your readers some-
thing they don’t already know about you. You only have a few hundred words to make
your mark. Don’t waste them on sentences such as: 
As I pointed out in my list of extra-
curricular activities, I was elected to student council four years in a row, and spent two
years as president.
W