Let’s face it; the college application essay is important. In fact, many college admissions directors will tell you that it is just as important as high SAT scores, an impressive high school resume filled with extra-curriculars, and a list of impressive volunteer activities. Unfortunately, this crucial component worthy of time and consideration is often the last part of the application to be tackled. So, amid the stress and excitement of your child’s pursuit towards a top choice university or college, here are some helpful tips on how to help your child to take a step back, take a deep breath, and prepare a great essay.
There is an abundance of helpful information available on the internet regarding the types of questions asked for a college essay, but chances are, your son or daughter will already have the application in hand and will know exactly the questions he or she must choose from. These questions are more like writing prompts and tend to be very open-ended. Before selecting the essay to answer, your child should carefully consider each question and determine which they are most interested in or feel most passionate about. Once they select the essay to write, their work, and yours, is just beginning.
Step One: Thinking
Help your son or daughter begin thinking about the essay in a relaxed manner and environment. Your child might already be fearful of or insecure about writing, or may be nervous about completing what should be the best essay of his or her academic career to date. Many students consider the time it takes to mull over ideas and consider a thoughtful response a waste of time, or they are already so busy with other activities (including homework) that they skip the thinking part altogether, opting to sit right down and begin typing away. It’s often difficult for a teenager to allow enough thinking time to come up with a response that will be suitable to the prompt, will be easy to write, and will result in a meaningful essay. So eager are they to complete it, students rush past the very first step.
How you can help with step one:
Encourage your child to take a day or two to just let ideas float around in his/her mind.
Discuss some options in a relaxed setting, like a drive in the car or at dinnertime.
Ask lots of questions about the topic.
Unobtrusively offer input, such as memories about your teen’s childhood, important family events, or brilliant or funny things they said as a child, all of which may help spark experiences for your child to draw from.
Give your child his/her favorite colored pens or markers and some blank paper. Ask him/her to write down ideas. Most students are hesitant to adhere to the command “Brainstorm!” but students love to think in color, and I’ve seen even the most sophisticated and reluctant teens forget all about the task at hand with a dozen colorful markers to choose from. Most importantly, this activity really does help!
Remember, whatever your child decides, it is important to support his/her decision. The essay must be written in his own voice, with his own perspective and thoughts. If your child is writing about a topic that he doesn’t really care about, or has rushed into with little consideration, the finished product will probably not give the college admissions director a good sense of who your child is.
Step Two: Drafting
Draft. Why does this word make almost all students everywhere cringe? Because they have already put a great deal of time and effort into getting their ideas to form coherent sentences, organized paragraphs, and just the right amount of words required for their college essay. They have hit the final key, a period appears at the end of the very last sentence, and they want to walk away from this time consuming task. Forever.
Not so fast! This is the point where you may have to be extra supportive, and maybe (just a little) like a drill sergeant.
At this point in the process, your child has come up with a typed response to the essay question in a meaningful and personalized way. Keeping in mind that the result will be draft one, it is important that it emphasize strong examples, a positive tone, and a succinct focus on the topic at hand. There is always room for a vocabulary scan later on in the editing process, but keep in mind that the language used for this type of essay should come across as personable, thoughtful, and intelligent. The result should give the essay a fine balance reminiscent of a warm conversation and a well-researched speech.
How you can help with step two:
Remind your child that the perfect college essay cannot possibly be perfect in just one draft. Talk to him or her about the importance of patience. Writing is a process and there’s always room for improvement.
Remember that the purpose of the first draft is to get everything in the mind onto paper, or more likely, onto the computer screen. Urge your child to take a break and not return to the draft until the following day.
Sit down with your child the following day, and ask him/her to read it aloud to you. This is a very important step. Reading aloud helps the student to hear areas of confusion or weakness.
Again, ask questions. Do not rush right into a lengthy critique. Do not tell your child how great it is, even if it is, because he/she may get the impression that it is finished. Compliment your son or daughter on the hard work, the time, and thought that was put into the essay. Ask your child what he feels is the strongest part of the essay. Ask how he might add to it, or even leave some of it out. Ask what she hopes the reader will learn about her through reading this essay.
After you’ve asked some questions, then you may give some honest feedback. Tell your child that the two most important goals that should be achieved by this essay are that the reader gets an impression of who your son or daughter is (what’s important to him, what does she truly care about, what interests him) and that the essay itself be well written. Urge your child to focus on those goals now that he/she has accomplished draft one. Have him go back to the essay and cut, paste, add or remove in areas that can be strengthened or clarified.
Revisit the essay together after he/she has spent another day or two on it. At this point, you may want to ask another family member or friend to join in the discussion. Focus on these new goals. Does the essay tell the reader something important about your child? Does it leave a lasting impression? Is it well organized? Does it smoothly transition from idea to idea, and include relevant supporting details?
Final Steps: Edit, Edit, Edit
Following the second meeting, your child should go back and edit one or two more times, resulting in the final draft.
Upon finishing these first few important steps, your child should have a thoughtful, well-written, organized essay that he/she feels good about. The last finishing touches can be reviewed by an English teacher at your child’s school, a guidance counselor, or a private tutor who can read the final draft and give any additional tips, feedback or advice.
No matter what the topic, following these tips to assist your child in the writing process will result in a college entrance essay that belongs to him/her and that he/she has put thought, time and effort into. It’s so important for your child to take ownership of this application component, and it’s a wonderful way to help instill a useful process for all of the upcoming essays he/she will be required to write during their college career. This specific essay truly is a way for those reviewing your child on paper to get a feel for how he or she thinks, and equally important – his or her communication style.
Many grade schools focus solely on teaching the format of an essay, and students as young as ten or twelve years old can now produce a five paragraph essay. What teachers don’t always focus on is assisting students in an awareness and development of their own writing style. Teaching one and ignoring the other can result in a cold, uninspiring essay – not the type of essay that attracts colleges. Allowing plenty of time to complete the essay and helping your child through all the steps, will accomplish the overall goal of this task – to make a positive impression on the college entrance board, so that the readers place it, along with the rest your child’s credentials, into the “Yes!” pile.
Michelle Tryhubczak is a certified English teacher and private tutor specializing in teaching the writing process and helping students of all ages learn how to write an ‘A’ essay. She has worked with students attending Manhattan’s finest private schools, as well as Ivy League universities. Please contact Michelle at Mtryhubczak@Gmail.com for more information or questions.
