September 17
The “What They Want to Hear” Mistake
A big mistake a lot of students make in writing essays for college applications is that they try to think too much about what their readers want to hear. Now, I can hear you objecting – “Wait a minute,” you’re saying, “We’ve just spent the last four days imagining what admissions officers like to read. Now you’re telling me not think about what they want to hear? That doesn’t make sense!”
Here’s the explanation: you want to know your audience. But you don’t want to think only about your audience.
The most important thing about your essay is yourself.
You need to write something about yourself, in a language and a style that your audience appreciates. The message (you) does not and should not change. The way you deliver that message can change.
When you write something only because you think the readers of an essay will like it, you’re not going to write something genuine. And, chances are, you’re going to write something that other students are also going to write (because they too are trying to figure out what the readers want to hear). So you’ll end up with something flat and unoriginal. Which is not good.
Posts in this Series
- Tell Us About Yourself: Final Advice for Essay Writing - 08 Oct
- Should You Pay To Have Your Essay Edited? - 01 Oct
- The Greatest Editing Trick For College Application Essays - 29 Sep
- How To Edit Your Essay - 28 Sep
- The "What They Want to Hear" Mistake (This post)
- Know Your Reader, Part Four - 16 Sep
- Know Your Reader, Part Three - 15 Sep
- Know Your Reader, Part Two - 14 Sep
- Know Your Reader, Part One - 13 Sep
- Listen to an Admissions Officer Discuss Essays - 11 Sep
- How to Write an Essay for University Applications - 09 Sep
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Tags: common mistakes in essay writing, don't tell them what they want to hear, how to write a college admissions essay, how to write a college application essay, how to write an essay
