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2 years ago
Admissions Advice

How should I set up my college essay?
Answered

Like how should my college essay be structured? How should my essay look like?

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11th-grade
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2 answers

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Accepted Answer
2 years ago

There is no definite answer to this. It depends on your style as a writer and what you are trying to evoke through your essay. Your essay should be sophisticated but familiar enough that your reader feels like they know you. Get as close as you can to the word count and use vocabulary that you know. I say start brainstorming and once you have an idea write. From there you can break it into paragraphs and add missing elements.

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2 years ago

Hi @eurydiceW! The answer depends on what you want to write about — there is no one-size-fits-all essay structure.

Some basic tips I can give are that you want a hook or exciting introduction to gain your audience's attention, then work through the body paragraphs and have a definite conclusion. The conclusion shouldn't just restate the content of your essay: you want to demonstrate some retrospection and analysis, tying up the themes and messages of the essay in a satisfying ending.

Beyond that, I'd start by figuring out what kind of essay you want to write — and thus, what type of prompt you are answering. Once you have an idea of what type of college essay you're writing, we can give you more specific advice (like questions you should answer, mistakes to avoid, etc.). I'd start with this blog to learn the main archetypes we use to categorize college essays: https://blog.collegevine.com/the-4-main-college-essay-prompts-you-need-to-know/

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions.

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