Tips for Writing College Essays

I worked for my University's Writing Center as a writing consultant during my senior year of college. This was the hubbub for people of all majors to come and get help with any writing assignment. In fact, we didn't even care if you were in college as we took anyone who needed help getting their thoughts on paper.

The most common request was copyediting. This is not what writing consultants do; this is what copyeditors do. If you are looking for help with grammar and spelling, look in the other direction, as consultants really don't have the time - or patience - to work on this kind of nitty gritty grind work.

But we will help you write. And here is a compilation of tips I've gathered from my experience and fellow writing consultants.

1) Read it Out Loud

Simple, yes. But easy? Not so much. Reading out loud is arduous at best, and is the hardest part for even the most experienced writer. But if you read aloud, you can hear the flow (or lack thereof), and can easily find typos or grammatical errors that just don't stand out from staring at the screen and blinking cursor. As Annie Proulx says, "If you read it out loud and its sounds ghastly, it probably is."

2) Make An Outline

We're not really trained to make outlines in school these days, but for some people this method is a lifesaver. You can also try clustering your thoughts to make sense of all of your ideas. Once you have them separated, arrange them in some kind of order: chronological or thematical. The point is to establish a flow for your paper so recurring thoughts don't come back and make your argument or thesis circular. And speaking of theses...

3) Construct a Strong Thesis Statement

This is the main idea of your topic that helps propel you into the content and context of your piece. If you start with a strong idea, chances are you will come up with some strong content. Make sure you have a focused sentence that clearly defines your subject matter, and flesh it out in no more than five lines if you can.

4) Keep Paragraphs Short and Sweet

This isn't really a rule, but a guideline. To keep your reader interested (and your teacher happy), limit your paragraphs to about five sentences. Transition into a new thought in the next paragraph instead of expounding too much in the same chunk of text so you keep your reader interested.

5) Finish Strong

You will want to refer back to your thesis statement and tie in the rest of the context all within the last few words of your paper. What conclusions did you draw? How can the reader learn from this article? It's not a summary of these things, but an examination of the content you examined throughout your piece. But beware of your opinion: many instructors detest this kind of writing. So keep it concise and to the point from an objective viewpoint.

This is just a starter platform for you to take with you on your next writing journey. Work with a writing consultant in your college and see what a difference just thirty minutes of fresh eyes can make!