myUface Blog

OK, so you’ve written your college application essay.  What now?

Well, writing it isn’t enough.   Now you need to edit it, again and again, until it’s perfect.

A lot of students think editing means they need to improve their essay – as if their initial work wasn’t good enough, and they need to add something to make it better.  This is the wrong way to think about editing your essay.

Instead, think of editing as refining.  Imagine that your essay is a large chunk of rock, with a precious bit of gold inside.  When you edit the essay, you need to peel off all the pieces of useless rock, to reveal the true gold inside.

Here’s what to look for:

• unnecessary words. Chances are at least 33% of the words you’ve written aren’t needed.  When we’re nervous we tend to say or write a lot of ineffective words – words that make sense, but aren’t 100% needed.  For example, “I hope to come back to help to develop my country” should be “I hope to develop my country.”
• “complicated” words – many students, in an attempt to show how smart they are, use very long words when short ones would do.  Remember, saying something clearly and simply is usually going to be your best bet.
• overly long sentences. Keep your sentences short and to the point.  Don’t run on and on in an attempt to seem hyper-intelligent.  Remember, the essay is not a test of intelligence, or even of writing.  It’s a chance to show something unique and positive about yourself.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about what is, in my opinion, The Greatest Editing Technique Of All Time.

1. Tell Us About Yourself: Final Advice for Essay Writing - 08 Oct
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 (This post)
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