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Let’s conclude our series on essay writing by reiterating a main point:

If you remember one thing, remember this: every college application essay is essentially asking you the same thing.   They may ask the question in different ways, but what they really want to know is this:

“Hello International Student, can you please tell us about yourself?”

So when you’re preparing to write your essay, writing your essay, or editing your essay, ask yourself, “Am I telling these people about myself?”

• If you’re worried about what you “should” say, your’e not telling them about yourself.
• If you’re spending hours in a thesaurus or a dictionary, looking for “impressive” words, you’re not telling them about yourself.
• If you’re listening to a “professional” essay writer, you’re not telling them about yourself.

Ask yourself, “What is unique about me?”  And then ask yourself, “How do I answer this essay question in a way that shows them how I’m unique?”

And that will almost certainly lead to a great essay.

Good Luck!

Posts in this Series

1. Tell Us About Yourself: Final Advice for Essay Writing (This post)
2. Should You Pay To Have Your Essay Edited? - 01 Oct
3. The Greatest Editing Trick For College Application Essays - 29 Sep
4. How To Edit Your Essay - 28 Sep
5. The "What They Want to Hear" Mistake - 17 Sep
6. Know Your Reader, Part Four - 16 Sep
7. Know Your Reader, Part Three - 15 Sep
8. Know Your Reader, Part Two - 14 Sep
9. Know Your Reader, Part One - 13 Sep
10. Listen to an Admissions Officer Discuss Essays - 11 Sep
11. How to Write an Essay for University Applications - 09 Sep

2 Responses to “Tell Us About Yourself: Final Advice for Essay Writing”

1. Polina Says:
   October 9th, 2009 at 2:31 pm

   I agree what you’re saying about those concerns. It is, however, difficult to think of what to say if you don’t find anything particularly unique about yourself. Students sometimes forget that even the smallest things like their particular relation to their hometown can make a distinction that’s worth writing about.

2. ntruitt Says:
   October 12th, 2009 at 8:00 am

   This is a great point, and it really highlights the basic difficulty in writing an essay: thinking WHAT you should write about. I think most people spend way too much time on the actual writing – editing, and editing, and editing some more – and not nearly enough thinking about what to write in the first place.

   You’ve got to start with some serious thought and introspection, and then write later.

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Tags: how to write a college admissions essay, how to write a college application essay, how to write an essay, tips on writing an essay

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