How to Write a College Essay

Cindy was in a fix. She was never much into writing, except for the exams and stuff. So when she got to know she had to write an essay, she was almost at her wits end. She did not know what to do. She started off, then deleted the words, typed some more and again deleted them. Exasperated she almost gave up. But then her friend dropped in and her essay became an easier job.

This might be a familiar situation for a few amongst us and this is my personal experience too. Writing is a thing you need to have a germ of and then you can develop on it. But when it comes to essay writing, you need not be Shakespeare or Sidney Sheldon. You just need to be a bit smart and know the basics of the language. If you were or are in a fix too, may be what is coming up would prove to be helpful to you. Presenting to you therefore, tips on writing a college essay!

Steps to Write a College Essay

Step #1
Zero in on a concept, or rather a topic and for that, let your imagination run wild. But while you let loose on your imagination, do not forget things and issues which you can relate to and are interested in. Let the topic portray one of the aspects of your personality.

Step #2
Now, you are clear about the topic. What you have to do is to pen down a few words about the topic- the few main words. Then list the words or phrases which support your argument. Then list the words which are not exactly in support of your topic.

Step #3
After getting these words in your kitty, the next task is to create an outline of the essay. Just make a rough outline of your essay using the words and concepts listed in the earlier step. Write a few good sentences for use later on. This is the skeleton of your essay.

Step #4
The skeleton or rather the bones of your essay are ready now. It is time to get those bits and pieces together and come up with a rough draft of the essay. When you are learning how to write a college essay, this is a very crucial step, so make sure that this is as close to the final essay as it can be. For instance, add a few sentences to the introductory sentence to elucidate the original sentence better. Do the same thing with topic sentences - for and against. Finally, think about a nice concluding paragraph.

Step #5
When you are done with the draft, forget about it. Come back after sometime and read it with a fresh mind. There are good chances that you will spot the mistakes and chinks in your armor. This is an imperative aspect of writing an essay or any kind of writing in fact. Ask yourself questions like is the purpose of the essay? Does it have a proper flow and connectivity? Is there any unnecessary clutter of words and eventually, does my essay have proper introduction, body and conclusion?

Step #6
It's time for adding the punch and emotional content to your work. Varying the sentences, adding a nice phrase here and there, vivid description of people will add a colorful and interesting touch to your essay. One of the creative ways to write a college essay is to have an intriguing or mysterious introduction. You can even start off with a relevant quote or a saying, or even end with something similar. You can even give perhaps a first person account. While editing, if you find a particular sentence, change it.

Step #7
Spring up surprises in the essay, for which humor can work very well. Once you are done with all this, read the essay once again. After you read it, give it to someone else to read it and take as many opinions as possible. A sure shot way to make sure that the essay has turned out well is not to be bored with it even if you read it 5 times again! That is a must remember for when learning how to write a college essay.

Eventually do a thorough spell check, thrice! Wrong spellings are a big turn off for the examiners! Be sure of what you have written and your concept and hope the effort pays off! That was all about writing college essays! All the Best!