A College Essay as Delicious as Fine Dining
So, by now, you must be saying, "so, what?"! The tips posted prior to today should be a brief, simple review of "good" writing. The trick is now to employ these tips in order to wow admissions officers. Let me leave you with these comments:
Many students expect to sit at the computer and spit out a well-written, A+ essay, on any given topic. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone (adult or student, alike) who can accomplish such a feat. Writing is like fine dining - you have to follow certain steps to have a satisfying, wonderful, perfect end result. Consider this...
When dining at a stellar restaurant, first, the wait staff pulls the chair from the table and presents the customer with a dinner napkin and a variety of menus. All this has happened, presuming you have made the necessary reservations and are on time.
When writing, you are the waiter or waitress. Admissions Officers are the customers - your audience. You must first consider the time. You would not seek dinner reservations for nine AM. Likewise, are you beginning to write one hour before bed, after a long day at school and practice, or is it just after supper, when you are feeling refreshed and relaxed? Hopefully, the latter is true...Next, your tools are like the dinner napkin and menus. You need a clear workspace, academic references, when necessary, and generally, a computer or writing instruments.
Next, after reviewing the menu, you decide upon an appetizer. Similarly, when writing, you must first consider the question or topic. Your prewriting is the lobster salad of your main essay. It should never be passed over in anticipation of what is to come!
The next course after appetizers is usually the soup of the day. Fresh, creamed asparagus soup - an introduction to the main course. Just enough cream, but not enough to fill you for your dinner. Your soup of the day is your topic sentence, supporting details, and thesis statement....to prepare the audience for the outstanding main body of your presentation.
The body of your paper should be like your main course: filled with enough details to leave you satisfied and not wanting more, and examples memorable enough, about which your audience will rave!
Your conclusion should not just be one or two sentences. It should also not simply and exactly restate your thesis, nor should it ever introduce new ideas. It should wrap up your essay like a neat package - like the dessert at the end of your fine dining experience. Your conclusion should be as effective as the crème brule at the finest restaurant in town. You should reiterate your thesis, briefly restate your main ideas, and conclude as firmly as you would expect someone to shake your hand upon first meeting.
I hope these suggestions are helpful in creating your masterpiece for admission to the college of your dreams. Visit www.coll-edge.com to contact Tara Malia for additional assistance. Good luck!