How to Start a College Essay
Have a crystal-clear understanding of the assignment., Master the different types of essays., Define your audience., Define your purpose., Manage your tone.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Have a crystal-clear understanding of the assignment.
Though you may want to jump right into your college essay, you should know exactly what is asked of you before you even open up that blank Word Document.
Carefully read the prompt and see what type of essay your teacher wants you to write, how many words are required, and how much research is required for the essay.
Here are some things you should be very clear about before you begin:
Word count.
If your essay only needs to be 500 words long, it will be very different from an essay that needs to be 2,000 words long.
Be aware of the word requirement and stick to it, or at least within 10% of it.
You don't want to weary your teacher by writing an essay that is much longer than required, or much shorter than required.
The amount of required research.
Some classes will require you to write a paper that is heavily based on outside research you've done.
Others will require you to use the course materials, like novels, or textbooks, for the basis of your paper, and to draw your own conclusions.
Though almost every good essay is based on solid research.
If you have any questions, talk to your teacher well before the day the assignment is due to clarify any concerns you may have. , There are many different types of essays you may have to write in college, and it's good to be aware of the variety of essays out there so you know what is expected of you.
Here are the basic types of essays that you should master:
The persuasive/argumentative essay.
This essay will ask you to persuade your readers to see your perspective on an issue.
For example, an essay showing readers all the reasons why personal handguns should be banned will be a persuasive essay.
The analytical essay.
This type of essay is most common in literature courses.
This essay will ask you to read a work and to analyze the words, themes, characters, and meaning using your own ideas as well as other scholarly sources for the topic.
The expository essay.
This type of essay will pick a process or situation and will explain important aspects of this subject, such as describing the daily lives of college students.
The research essay.
This essay will ask you to dig deeper into a topic by researching it and informing your readers of its history, uses, or relevance.
The compare and contrast essay.
This type of essay will ask you to compare and contrast two topics and to show how they are similar or different.
For example, and essay analyzing all of the similarities and differences between living in New York City and Los Angeles is a compare and contrast essay. , Are you writing for your professor, for your classmates, for experts in your field, or for people who are new to the subject? If you're writing for experts in the field, then you don't have to define basic terms and can use a more advanced vocabulary, but if you're writing for people who don't know much about the topic, like analyzing a film for readers who haven't seen it, then you'll have to give more basic details.
If you're writing a research paper on a topic that may be esoteric or unfamiliar to your readers, then you'll have to explain the research you've found in great detail. , What is your purpose in writing the essay? Is it to inform, to entertain, to persuade, to define, to compare and contrast, to analyze, to synthesize, or to tell a story? Knowing your purpose right away can help you frame your argument and reach the right people in the right way.
For example, if your goal is to persuade people, you'll have to develop a logical argument with compelling main points that convince your readers to see your point of view.If your purpose is to analyze something, like a poem or a play, then you'll have to provide compelling in-text evidence that supports your ideas.
If your goal is to compare and contrast, then you'll have to be knowledgeable about the differences and similarities of two topics.
If your purpose is to inform, then you'll have to thoroughly study a topic and help your readers understand it better. , Tone is another important aspect of writing a successful college essay.
For most essays, your tone should be professional, detached, and informative.
If you use too much biased language to try to convince your research, then you won't sound authoritative.
If you use slang or casual phrasing, then you won't sound professional.
But if you're writing a personal essay (for a course on writing a memoir, for example), then you'll get to use more comfortable, informal language.
Your tone is your attitude toward the subject you're presenting.
Is your tone detached, amused, slightly cynical, suspicious, or more passionate? Whatever the tone is, it has to be appropriate to the subject matter.
If you're writing an essay about stem-cell research, for example, your tone should be objective and detached; if you were writing an essay about online dating, you could take a more amused or playful tone. -
Step 2: Master the different types of essays.
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Step 3: Define your audience.
-
Step 4: Define your purpose.
-
Step 5: Manage your tone.
Detailed Guide
Though you may want to jump right into your college essay, you should know exactly what is asked of you before you even open up that blank Word Document.
Carefully read the prompt and see what type of essay your teacher wants you to write, how many words are required, and how much research is required for the essay.
Here are some things you should be very clear about before you begin:
Word count.
If your essay only needs to be 500 words long, it will be very different from an essay that needs to be 2,000 words long.
Be aware of the word requirement and stick to it, or at least within 10% of it.
You don't want to weary your teacher by writing an essay that is much longer than required, or much shorter than required.
The amount of required research.
Some classes will require you to write a paper that is heavily based on outside research you've done.
Others will require you to use the course materials, like novels, or textbooks, for the basis of your paper, and to draw your own conclusions.
Though almost every good essay is based on solid research.
If you have any questions, talk to your teacher well before the day the assignment is due to clarify any concerns you may have. , There are many different types of essays you may have to write in college, and it's good to be aware of the variety of essays out there so you know what is expected of you.
Here are the basic types of essays that you should master:
The persuasive/argumentative essay.
This essay will ask you to persuade your readers to see your perspective on an issue.
For example, an essay showing readers all the reasons why personal handguns should be banned will be a persuasive essay.
The analytical essay.
This type of essay is most common in literature courses.
This essay will ask you to read a work and to analyze the words, themes, characters, and meaning using your own ideas as well as other scholarly sources for the topic.
The expository essay.
This type of essay will pick a process or situation and will explain important aspects of this subject, such as describing the daily lives of college students.
The research essay.
This essay will ask you to dig deeper into a topic by researching it and informing your readers of its history, uses, or relevance.
The compare and contrast essay.
This type of essay will ask you to compare and contrast two topics and to show how they are similar or different.
For example, and essay analyzing all of the similarities and differences between living in New York City and Los Angeles is a compare and contrast essay. , Are you writing for your professor, for your classmates, for experts in your field, or for people who are new to the subject? If you're writing for experts in the field, then you don't have to define basic terms and can use a more advanced vocabulary, but if you're writing for people who don't know much about the topic, like analyzing a film for readers who haven't seen it, then you'll have to give more basic details.
If you're writing a research paper on a topic that may be esoteric or unfamiliar to your readers, then you'll have to explain the research you've found in great detail. , What is your purpose in writing the essay? Is it to inform, to entertain, to persuade, to define, to compare and contrast, to analyze, to synthesize, or to tell a story? Knowing your purpose right away can help you frame your argument and reach the right people in the right way.
For example, if your goal is to persuade people, you'll have to develop a logical argument with compelling main points that convince your readers to see your point of view.If your purpose is to analyze something, like a poem or a play, then you'll have to provide compelling in-text evidence that supports your ideas.
If your goal is to compare and contrast, then you'll have to be knowledgeable about the differences and similarities of two topics.
If your purpose is to inform, then you'll have to thoroughly study a topic and help your readers understand it better. , Tone is another important aspect of writing a successful college essay.
For most essays, your tone should be professional, detached, and informative.
If you use too much biased language to try to convince your research, then you won't sound authoritative.
If you use slang or casual phrasing, then you won't sound professional.
But if you're writing a personal essay (for a course on writing a memoir, for example), then you'll get to use more comfortable, informal language.
Your tone is your attitude toward the subject you're presenting.
Is your tone detached, amused, slightly cynical, suspicious, or more passionate? Whatever the tone is, it has to be appropriate to the subject matter.
If you're writing an essay about stem-cell research, for example, your tone should be objective and detached; if you were writing an essay about online dating, you could take a more amused or playful tone.
About the Author
Sara Rivera
Specializes in breaking down complex hobbies topics into simple steps.
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