1. The College Admission Essay Writing Assignment August 5, 6, 7 CP English IV Simmons

2. Admission Essay Website http://www.admissionessays.net/essaytopics. phphttp://www.admissionessays.net/essaytopics. php What college admission officers want to see. What you should do. It takes time.

3. What colleges want to really see. The Real You! How you think. Why you make particular decisions. –Why you chose to swimming instead of football. –Why you deliver food to the elderly instead of sleep in on Saturdays. –Why you think text messaging is all the rage.

4. What you should do…. Keep yourself as the central focus. Don’t list your accomplishments. –If your soccer team went to state finals, emphasize your role in teamwork and goal setting. –If you clerk at Kroger, emphasize your work skills and new attitudes. –If you won a journalism award, focus on the winning topic, its importance, and what you learned from the process.

5. It takes time! It’s your life, your future you are crafting. Be thoughtful. Allot plenty of time -- hours. Get help. Use readers. Get feedback. Revise, revise, revise

6. Top Essay tips Don’t procrastinate. Determine what you need based on your background. Spend adequate time selecting your topic. Don’t let writer’s block affect you. Talk it out with others. Keep the essay centered on YOU. Provide analytics and insight (the how’s and why’s). Recycle the essay if possible. Proof; Edit! Solicit feedback from trusted others.

7. General Essay Topics Tell us something about yourself. Which question do you wish we had asked? Is there anything else we should know about you? Why are you applying to our college? Send us a writing sample.

8. Specific Essay Topics Discuss a significant event. Who is your role model and why? What issues greatly concern you? Tell us about your favorite extra- curricular activity.

9. Application Essay How To’s Language Network p. 387 The Polygon Effect, Sample p. 387 Scoring guides. –Audience and purpose –Approach –Organization –Voice –Focus –Supporting Details –Wording/Sentence Construction/Language –Editing and Proofreading.

10. Your Task: Write a college admission essay. Select a college admission essay topic. Brainstorm. Prewrite. Rough draft -- Due Aug. 11 at start of class. Run the essay through peer review. Aug. 12 Revise & submit for teacher review. Aug. 13 Discuss the result. Revise again. Edit. Resubmit essay Aug. 11 for teacher assessment.

11. Select a Topic Topic: Describe an experience in your life that helped shape the person you’ve become. –From Language Network, p. 389. Alternate topics: –Select from a real college application. -- See Admission Essay Question Types online. http://www.admissionessays.net/essayquestions.php

12. Use the Student Help Desk See Language Network p. 392- 393 Pay attention to the prompt. Brainstorm Make a time line of your life. Read someone else’s essay. Engage your reader Get feedback Proofread.