How To Tackle College Application Essay Questions
College application essay questions can be tackled with great ease, if students follow routine methods to ensure their approach is correct and precise. It often poses for problem for students who are not used to writing competitive essays. While trying to answer an essay question, some students might resort to methods developed earlier. These might not be sufficient to write a quality essay that can withstand competition. Providing the appropriate answer to an essay question is the most important exercise students would have to indulge in. Practice is an important tool that can set them on the right track. There are some techniques that they could adapt to arrive at the optimum answer and to be able to compile a high-quality essay.
1. Refer to essay examples on similar topics. The school library would have stocked standard and well-written essays preparing students for higher education. Students must refer to these essays and check out methods used to provide an answer to a college application essay question. Examples would be in the form of personal essays written by past students who have excelled in the entrance test and qualified for admission to good colleges. The approach taken would provide the direction students should take in writing their own essay. Care should be taken to compile an essay in their unique style of writing.
2. It is vital important to understand an essay question completely. For example, it could be, “Explain how a particular incident helped change your outlook towards life for the better.” This might seem like a general topic, but students have to identify the incident and write specifically on it. Drifting from the topic would indicate lack of focus. Readers and assessors would not be able to appreciate the contents of the essay. College application essay questions are specific questions and need to be answered in a concise and detailed manner. Students must learn the art of expressing themselves about a topic. They must look at the application essay as a review assignment. In this case, it would be a review of their growth as an individual over time.
3. A very good technique is to prepare a draft of the essay based on the essay question. Students have to ensure they have understood the question entirely. They would be heading in a particular direction while preparing a draft. It might not be entirely correct. On reading back the essay, they need to connect it with the essay question. To ensure better understanding, they must raise several subsidiary questions and gather relevant answers. The more they deliberate about the answers, the closer they would get to the correct one.
4. Preparation is the key. Students must learn to compile relevant essays based on common questions asked by colleges. Some of these questions have been listed below.
a. Why did you select this college, and how do you think the study program would help you in your career?
b. Where do you see yourself five years from now, and how would this study program help?
c. Write a brief note on a life-changing incident, and what you learned from the experience?
Tackling a college application essay question the right way is essential to gain admission to a college of your choice.
