Mr. Howard is a Connecticut Certified Teacher with over 15 years of classroom and tutoring experience, including at the renowned Joel Barlow High School Writing Center, Greenwich Education Group and Danbury Adult Education.

“Five Steps to a Winning College Application Essay”

1. Research
a. Identify the timeframe. What are your target colleges’ application deadlines?
b. Do any of the colleges require a separate essay for entrance to a specific program?
c. Learn from each target college’s website whether it has its own prompt or whether applicants may choose from the many prompts provided by The Common Application, an organization used by many colleges.

2. Planning
a. Set a series of deadlines for yourself. For instance, how much time do you have to gather ideas before you write? When should the first draft be done? The final draft?
b. When and if you select the prompt, choose one that allows you to best show yourself as a learner (curious, given to exploration) rather than just a student (know how to get good grades).

3. Brainstorming
a. Before you write, prepare to write by asking teachers, coaches, friends and family members to help you identify your strengths and interests, rather than just asking “what should I say in my college application essay?”
b. Before you write anything, toss ideas around in conversation, draw a diagram connecting key words and concepts, or using freewriting (writing fast and freely about what you really think, without bothering with grammar, punctuation, or what others would say).

4. Writing
a. Write a first draft about experiences you have had that truly moved you, inspired you, or mattered to you, either in or outside of school. The experience does not have to be important in the eyes of the world — only to you.
b. Write further about why these experiences were important.
c. Go even further by writing about what these experiences have inspired you to learn or to explore in college.

5. Revising
a. Read your essay aloud to yourself. You will hear what needs to change. Then revise.
b. Go back and make sure that your essay truly responds to the prompt. (You may decide to change prompts!)
c. Now read your essay out loud to a trusted audience. Ask what they heard. You’ll be surprised at what you learn!
d. Based on what you learn, revise again, clarifying points and smoothing out the prose.
e. Proofread. Read aloud again to find the little errors that love to hide and correct them.