Ready to Write Your College Essay Using These 10 Tips?
The personal statement essay is an important part of your college application. It’s a chance to showcase not just your academic achievements, but also your unique personality, experiences, and goals that drive you to apply to college. However, many students struggle when it’s time to sit down and write. Many have never written about themselves in this format before, and even fewer know how to present their personality and experiences in their essays. If you find yourself struggling to put pen to paper, Marks Education is here with some effective writing strategies to help you learn how to overcome writer’s block.
Understanding Writer’s Block
Writer’s block is an unbearably common affliction among students, writers, and professionals and can be particularly frustrating when you’re faced with the pressure of writing your college application essay, especially if you’re on a deadline! Stressing yourself out about it is only going to make things worse. Take a deep breath and read through these tips to give your brain that spark it needs.
1. Embrace the Prewriting Stage
Writer’s block usually happens when you sit down to write without a plan or any structure. To counter this, try to think of the prewriting stage as its own important part of writing your essay. Our advice is to start with brainstorming exercises like mind mapping or free writing to jot down ideas, memories, and experiences that might find a home in your essay. Consider carrying around a small notebook with you for the day, or a note on your phone, and write down the ideas that cross your mind throughout the day. You might be surprised with what you collect!
2. Set Realistic Goals
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and we hope we’re not the first to say that your college essay shouldn’t be either. Rather than overwhelming yourself with the demand of finishing your essay in one sitting, break the task into smaller, manageable pieces. Set aside specific blocks of time dedicated solely to writing – it doesn’t have to be terribly long! You’ll be surprised how far 10 minutes a day will take you. Our essay specialists encourage students to track their progress and use it to celebrate how far you’ve come.
3. Choose the Right Environment
Creating the right writing environment can have a significant impact on your productivity. Find a quiet, comfortable space, free from distractions, where you can focus on your writing—otherwise you’re bound to find any excuse to stop writing. Experiment with different locations and setups to discover what works best for you but remember to always use that space for writing. After you’ve gotten in the routine, you’ll find that your mind automatically gets in the mood for writing once in your assigned writing spot.
4. Start with the Body, Not the Introduction
Honestly, this is some of our best professional advice for how to write your college essay. The introduction of an essay is actually the most challenging part to write. You feel like you need a showstopper or something big to pique your reader’s interest, but trying to come up with this grand start can stall your essay. Rather than getting bogged down by it initially, start with the body of your essay. This helps with the flow of your essay, and it can be easier to start an essay when you have an idea of where it goes.
Write about the experiences, anecdotes, or ideas you’re most passionate about. Once you’ve laid down the core content, it will be easier to write an introduction that draws the reader in.
5. Write Now, Edit Later
Perfectionism is the enemy of productivity. Allow yourself to write “poorly” during your initial drafts. The goal is to get your ideas down on paper without worrying about grammar, style, or eloquence. You can always revise and polish your work later. Spend your initial energy exploring different parts of yourself. The brainstorming stage is a great place to think about any special experiences you’ve had in your extracurricular activities, meaningful moments at home, or times you’ve learned a lesson.
6. Seek Inspiration
Read essays or articles that inspire you. Analyze what captivates you about them, whether it’s the storytelling, the use of language, or the structure. Drawing inspiration from others can also help jumpstart creativity. Ask a friend, a parent, or a teacher what comes to mind first when they think of you. This can be a great place to start as it gives you a sense of how others view you, but there are so many ways to find inspiration. Check out our blog for more ideas!
7. Take Breaks and Exercise
Sitting for extended periods can lead to mental stagnation. Make sure that you’re incorporating short breaks into your day to clear your mind. Physical exercise, even a brief walk, can rejuvenate your creative juices and provide fresh perspectives. Sometimes the best ideas come from time spent on a walk, out with friends, or on the field. Don’t just stick to traditional methods of inspiration, get out there and see what ideas the world brings you!
8. Discuss Your Ideas
Take part in conversations with friends, family, or teachers about your essay topic. They might see you in a totally different way that helps change your perspective on your essay. We recommend asking them what traits they associate with you, to tell a story about you that sticks out in their mind, or just talking! Having the chance to say your thoughts aloud can also help clarify your ideas and receive valuable feedback and suggestions.
9. Revise and Refine
Remember that writing is a process, and your first draft isn’t supposed to be your last. Most personal statements go through at LEAST five drafts. We recommend that after you finish a writing session, step away from it for a bit before revising. It’s tempting to jump in and start editing right away, but it’s better to come to this step with fresh eyes. When you start editing right away, you don’t have the necessary distance to look at your work objectively. This can mean you’re harder on yourself and get sucked into the doom spiral— as those in the business call it. Put down the pencil, step away for a few hours, and return when you can clearly review your essay.
10. Seek Feedback
While we’ll be the first to say that too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup, you shouldn’t hesitate to share your essay with a few trusted sources. Whether that means asking your English teacher to look it over, any mentors, or peers, their feedback can offer insight that help you fine tune your work. However, we urge caution when encouraging students to seek out feedback. You don’t want to ask for so much feedback that your original draft is unrecognizable, but having a few people you trust look it over for grammar mistakes, potential examples you might’ve left out is important.