ADMISSIONS ESSAYS

Smooth Transitions.

1). If your essay contains a logical progression of ideas, your paragraphs will transition smoothly from one to another. 2).We've all seen shows or read stories in which one scene didn't seem to logically follow the next. 3). This problem also happens in essay writing but can be prevented by providing smooth transitions between main points. 4). In this paragraph, the opening sentence serves as a transition between this paragraph and the previous one; note the repetition of the phrase, "a logical progression of ideas." 5).That short phrase serves as a bridge between paragraphs.

Goal-Oriented Questions.

1).Admissions officers may want to know about your plans for the future. 2).Do you have any goals? 3).How will an education at their school help you meet your goals? 4). It's important with these questions to be both honest and realistic. 5).Don't make up goals just to impress the admissions officers. 6).What if your goals aren't clear yet? Be honest and tell them. 7).Also tell them that you hope your education at their school will help you to clarify and define your goals. 8)."As you think of the future, explain your most important goal." 9).In what ways do you expect a Christian liberal arts college to contribute to your future goals?" 10)."Please specify your personal ministry goals and how you perceive an education at [name of college] will assist you in meeting them." 11)."Discuss how your system of values would help you succeed as a student at [name of college] and throughout your lifetime."

TYPES OF ESSAY QUESTIONS (Academics, Achievements, and Education Questions.)

1).Admissions officers want to know what you've done with your life up to this point. 2).They want more than a simple list of your accomplishments. 3).How have these things changed you and made you a better person? 4). Be sure to include all your achievements, from academic awards to community service and youth group involvement. 5). Remember: positions of leadership are always an extra "feather in your cap." 6).Examples from actual applications: **"Please write a well-thought out essay to discuss your ideas, your experiences, interests, and achievements." **"What is a liberal arts education? Why is such an education of significance in our contemporary society? Why is such an education of significance to you?" **"Summarize your school experiences in both academic and extra-curricular activities. If your academic performance was not at an acceptable level, please be sure to explain the reason why and what action you have taken to improve your academic ability. You may also want to discuss which of your talents, interests, or school activities means the most to you and why." ** "Please respond to the following question: Are Christian colleges for every believer?" **"In a well-organized essay of 250 words, explain why you are interested in attending [name of college]."

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1).As a general rule, larger schools, such as public universities, are too large to require essays. 2).Their admissions staffs simply don't have the time to read essays from every student who applies. 3).Instead, you will usually find essays as a part of the admissions packet of many smaller, often private, colleges. 4).Essay-writing is a large part of the college experience. 5). College campuses are places where students not only learn their academic material but also hopefully learn to think for themselves. 6).Students are often confronted with ideas that they have never considered before. 7).The best way to understand these ideas is not to just read about them from a textbook but to interact with the material through discussion and analysis. 8).Writing is an extension of the discussion process. 9).The admissions office wants to know if this is a skill that you already have. 10). Very simply, colleges want students who can express themselves logically and intelligently.

Excellent Mechanics

1).As was stated above in the discussion of the lens of professionalism, admissions officers look for evidence that the student has taken the time to search out and fix any errors. 2).The most obvious sign of this professionalism is good grammar, spelling, and sentence structure. 3).Even if these are your areas of strength, you should always have any major essay or research paper proofread by someone else. 4).As you write and rewrite a paper, you become so familiar with it that you often miss the small errors such as misspellings or a skipped quotation mark. 5).Allowing someone else to read your paper gives you a chance to get a fresh perspective on the subject. 6). Asking more than one person to help in this process is always wise. 7).Even though not every college requires an essay as a part of the application process, learning to write a well-developed essay is still an important part of the College Planning journey. 8).Essay writing is a major part of your college education; many college courses require essays and other papers. 9).Additionally, it is a skill that will help you later in life as you master communication skills for business.

Thesis Sentence

1).Begin with a well-defined thesis sentence. 2).The thesis sentence is a single summary sentence that answers the question, "What is my one main idea for this paper?" 3).The thesis acts as a controlling agent for the entire paper. 4).Also called a statement of purpose, the thesis states the main idea and the intention of the author directly or indirectly, guiding the writer as he writes. 5).Stay focused on your thesis. 6).It's very easy for some writers to wander from the main idea and become side-tracked by less important sub-points and supporting ideas as they develop the outline and topic sentences. 7).Keep the thesis before you as you write; keep coming back to it and stay focused. 8).Be sure the topic sentences of each main point support, clarify, or explain the thesis sentence.

Topic Sentences

1).Every main point will begin with a topic sentence. 2). Each topic sentence will be a "mini thesis," or a main idea for that main point. 3).The topic sentences should each support the thesis sentence for the essay. 4). Each following sentence in the paragraph is a sentence of explanation or clarification about the topic of the paragraph. 5). They express further detail about the subject of the paragraph. 6).The sentences within the paragraph should follow each other in a logical progression of thought. 7).A logical progression of ideas makes understanding easy for the reader.

Admissions officers look at your essay through a number of different "lenses." Among these are:

1).The lens of composition. Can the student write an intelligent essay using complete sentences, correct grammar, and logical structure? 2).The lens of clear thought. Can the student synthesize a number of different viewpoints and come to his or her own conclusions? 3).The lens of professionalism. Does the student present a professional-looking essay? Is it typed (not hand-written), neat and clean, with no typographical errors and no messy correction fluid? Making this extra effort may be more important than you realize. It is a sign of a student who cares about the quality of his work. He has taken the time to search out and fix any errors. 4). Remember: if you accept anything less than 100%, it means that you're willing to accept errors.

Outline

1).The next key step of writing the essay involves the development of a thorough outline. 2).The outline serves as the "skeleton" for the entire paper. 3).Just like the skeleton of your body provides structure and support, the outline does the same for your paper. 4).A typical outline for most papers will have five main parts: I. Introduction II. Main Point 1 III. Main Point 2 IV. Main Point 3 V. Conclusion 5). The introduction (usually just one paragraph) presents a short overview of what you're going to say in the essay. 6).The body of the paper (main points 1 through 3) presents your main ideas. 7).The conclusion (again, just one paragraph) reviews and summarizes what you've just said in the essay. 8).Order of the outline. 9).The order of main points 1 through 3 should show a logical progression. 10).If any parts are out of order, the disorder will be more obvious in the essay. 11).You should have a reason for the particular order that you use. 12). Maybe the least important idea will come first, perhaps last. Perhaps the order is determined by the sequence of events.

Miscellaneous Questions.

1).These questions don't seem to fit into any of the other three categories. 2).They might ask about anything, and some are amazingly vague (such as the first two examples below). 3)."Share any additional information about yourself that might be helpful to the Committee on Admissions in the selection process." 4)."Write about something that is important to you. Describe what it is and tell why it is important." 5)."Describe a person, living or dead, you consider to exemplify the characteristics of an effective leader. Explain how this person's words and actions qualify them for this description. How has this person influenced you?" 6)."What is the most interesting book you've ever read and how did it impact you?"

Spiritual Questions.

1).These types of questions will only show up on the applications for Christian colleges. 2).Admissions officers want to know about your Christian experience and how you live out your faith. 3)."Who is Jesus Christ and what is your personal relationship to Him?" 4). "What in your life indicates that you are walking with the Lord?" 5)."Briefly relate your salvation experience (include Scripture references)." 6)."Describe the attributes of a true Christian community. Explain how a college could exhibit these attributes. What would you contribute to such a community?" 7)."What are your standards of Christian conduct? Please include your attitude toward and participation in amusements and recreation, such as theater and dancing; your use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs; your use of TV, videos, and pornography."

WRITING THE ESSAY

Although this isn't your Language Arts curriculum, we will briefly cover the five essentials of writing a good essay.

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Many colleges (although not all) require prospective students to write an admissions essay and submit it along with the applications, financial aid forms, and other paperwork.