Category Archives: writing

Your essay topic is not the same as its subject

admission essay

The Common Application Essay questions presents you a great opportunity to convey elements of your character that are not obvious through your transcript, resume and test scores.  College admission committees really mean it when they say that they want to get to know you.  They seek to understand not only writing skills, but something about your character.  This is the goal of every prompt.

In my essay coaching practice, I find that students often respond to the prompt with a great topic, but they sell themselves short by not taking the time to plumb for deeper meaning –they don’t get to the subject of the essay, or the subtext.

Here’s an example:

I’m working with a student right now –lets call him Caleb–who came to me with the idea of writing about how he learned to drive a manual transmission (a.k.a. “stick shift”) car. He laid out all of the details of learning how to drive, along with the harrowing details of his first time driving in actual traffic and how he overcame that set of fears. A lovely anecdote.

So I pushed Caleb a bit to move from the topic to the subject. I wanted to help him to use the story to indicate a few things about his character: What did the experience convey about him as a human being? So I probed him a bit: Why do you think it’s important to do something that’s relatively obsolete? If you see driving stick as more basic than other ways of driving, what does that say about you? What kind of experience –in this case of driving– do you get by doing this thing? What does that say about what you value? And so forth.

Now Caleb is using the topic of his story -learning to drive stick shift- to express a deeper subject: his appreciation for the basics, for being deeply connected to his endeavors (you really need to give the car, the road and the traffic your deep attention when you drive stick shift), for being in the moment. He thought about other elements of his life that are similar to this “back to basics” mentality and they are weaving through as well. Now the subject of his essay is about appreciating the doing the “basics” of an activity in a mindful way. See the difference?

So when you put fingers to keys for your essay (and please draft in stages), be sure to scrutinize your piece and understand the subject of your essay, beyond the topic.

Happy writing!

have guided hundreds of college applicants in crafting winning essays. 92% of my students have enjoyed admission to their top schools. Contact me if you would like to optimize your summer and enjoy a lower-stress Senior year. My bookings are limited.

For more tips on College Essays, visit my website

Reach out if you need me.

have guided hundreds of college applicants in crafting winning essays. 92% of my students have enjoyed admission to their top schools. Contact me if you would like to optimize your summer and enjoy a lower-stress Senior year. My bookings are limited.

For more tips on College Essays, visit my websit

Short Answer Essays: Make Sure You Do Your Homework

Okay, you’ve written an outstanding personal statement, which will woo the admissions committee and really help them get to know you.  Now it’s time to let them know why you have chosen their school.  The short answer essay usually prompts you to explain why you have selected a particular university or program.  Don’t bomb this one.  If you do your homework about the school and really search your soul to consider what about the school attracts you, you’re sure to make this essay soar.   On the other hand, your short answer essay could present an opportunity to bomb the application.  If you show that you have no idea why you have selected University X or Program Y, you can really alienate the admissions committee.

 

Here’s a tip: really do your homework about the institution.  Educate yourself about the particular academic programs, social events, activities and community community service opportunities that you envision yourself taking on once you arrive on campus.  Does the department that you consider majoring in offer a course that you think you’d like to take?  Is there a performing arts activity or club that you imagine yourself going for?  Then go for it.  Really imagine yourself caught up in the life of the institution. While you may not choose to write your essay from that space of imagination, it’s a good starting point to get yourself going.

 

Happy writing!

-Dr. Kirschner

Moving through writer’s block

Many of my clients complain that they have a hard time getting started and dealing with the “dreaded blinking cursor” on the blank screen.

Writer’s block can plague any writer, no matter how experienced.  For some people, just getting started can feel like an overwhelming task.  Others find that they have no trouble getting started, but midway, their brain locks up.  Here are a few tips to help you work through writer’s block:


-Just start writing!  As I’ve said before, you should write your drafts as though they’re going in the recycling bin to begin with.  That way, you’ll write without censoring yourself.  Just write any old garbage at first.  Once you get into the playful nature of writing, you may say something important or well that you hadn’t thought of before.    Just the act of writing can get your brain revved up for the good prose that’s to come.

-If you get stuck mid-stream, pick a word or phrase and just write it over and over until other words come to you.  Some of my client’s favorite filler-words and phrases include : “junk,” “filler,” “ideas,” and “moving along.”  See what works for you.

-Get off the screen: In this computer-driven world, we are so accustomed to associating writing with typing.  Whenever I begin my work with a client, I always provide her/him with an old-fashioned composition book.  The notebook is a great place to jot down ideas, do concept webs and just get started with writing.  One of my students recently told me how relaxing it was for him to just write things out by hand.  He said that his ideas flowed more smoothly and that he felt less rushed.

-Give yourself time.  Although we’re often accustomed to composing emails in a hurry, the kind of self-revealing and engaging writing demanded by the admission essay calls for a sometimes slower pace of writing.  If you’re reading this in October, when I’ve freshly posted it, then you still have a little time to take the time to write in a leisurely way.  Even if you’re working with a deadline, when you write, you should be kind to yourself and don’t feeel rushed even if the clock is ticking down.

-Draw a picture.  Whether you’re a good hand at drawing or not, sometimes trying to capture the elements of your narrative or what you want to say in lines rather than in words can make a world of difference.  You might notice that you spend more time and effort on details that hadn’t occurred to you before you began your drawing.

-Use a recorder.  If talking comes more easily to you than writing, then talk into a microphone to get your thoughts down.  When I wrote my dissertation, I often found myself inspired at the most inopportune times.  I would leave myself messages on my home answering machine.  I eventually graduated to a cell phone with voice notes, which worked great.  These days, many smart phones and iPad-like devices come with apps that take dictation.  Give that a try.

-Talk to someone.  Sometimes working out your idea with a listening partner can make a world of difference.  While complaint may be in order for a while, see if you can actually talk through your writing project.

-Take a breather.  Whether it’s a few deep breaths, a walk or some other activity that gets your mind off you work, it’s okay to take a break every once in a while.  Fresh air, looking at nature, hearing nature or music or even getting up to dance can refresh and recharge your writer’s mind.

Happy writing!

-Dr. Kirschner


Keep a Journal

I recently ran an essay workshop for an audience of mostly rising Sophomores.  The college essay-writing experience seemed somewhat far-off for this crowd, but they were an eager bunch.  One of the students asked what she could do to prepare for her personal statement now. While I admire advanced preparation, I think that it would be excessive to start drafting your personal statement during your Sophomore or even during your Junior year.  You could, however, keep a journal, a practice which will have far-reaching benefits, including helping you craft an outstanding personal statement.


Journal writing of any sort provides you an opportunity to catalog and reflect on your thoughts and experiences.  When you write in a journal, you both recollect and process your experiences: you create  a record to jog your memory for later and you provide yourself the opportunity to process your experiences in a way that moves from thoughts that take place in your head to ideas that you can revisit on paper.  Journals provide you a private outlet for your experiences and your thoughts.  Your journal can become the place where you work out your tragedies and triumphs, note what you find remarkable and imagine the possible.  Keeping a journal provides you the opportunity to become honest and frank with yourself about your life.  Journal writing also helps promote the habit of writing and reflection.  These habits not only provide you with good life skills, they will come in handy as you move through college and beyond.


You can write about anything: little anecdotes from your day, things taking place in your family or community that affect you, exchanges with friends, things that you feel strongly about, little details about the places or activities in your life.  Then you can reflect on those activities, people, places or events.   You name it, it can all prove interesting fodder for your journal and for your essay later on.  Whether it’s dramatic or mundane, if it moves you in the least, consider writing about it and meditating on it for a while.


So if you’re wondering what you can do to prepare for your admission essay, keep a journal. Do it now; do it for the rest of your life, if you like it.   Your admission essay will ask you to both share and reflect upon your experiences and developing those habits early on in your journal will help you when the time comes to write statement.

Happy writing!

-Dr. Kirschner

Think like an anthropologist

When I coach students through the process of writing their admission essays, my training as an anthropologist comes through in two ways.  First, anthropologists like to “dig” much like our archeologist colleagues.  It’s important to dig or delve deeply into a person’s character or the events and symbols that make their lives meaningful.  Any time that you can dig deeply into these aspects of your life, you will create a stronger foundation for your essay.  If you have trouble digging this way, and asking probing (sometimes uncomfortable) questions of yourself, work with a partner or reach out to a coach (you can contact me through the links here at youradmissionessay.com).


As well, the personal statement benefits from the kind of writing that anthropologists do.  Anthropologists often seize upon small details to create a vivid picture of social life.  They then place those pictures into a wider context to show what’s relevant about  the phenomenon or process under examination.  Likewise, strong personal statements ask you to create a vivid impression of yourself using a narrative of some sort.  Ideally, you’ll reflect on that narrative in some way to show a wider understanding of the significance: whether it’s what you learned from an experience or how you plan to put your experiences into practice as you embark on your career.


So, when you approach your essay, think and write like an anthropologist.  If you need a hand, keep in touch!


-Dr. Kirschner

Writing as Practice

I like for my students to think of writing as an ongoing process, or a practice.  Here’s a way to think about it:


Writing is not only a tool for communication, for transmitting ideas or transcribing what has already been thought: It is itself a way of thinking, of developing ideas, trying them out, arranging them, testing them.  It is a way of separating your thoughts from yourself –making them take a visible form outside your mind– so that you can think about them and improve them.  It is, in fact, always practice, and realizing this can make you a stronger, more confident writer.  (Scholes et al, The Practice of Writing. 1994: St Martins Press, New York.  Pp 13).


Happy Writing!

-Dr. Kirschner

On Style

We can say much about the style of your admission essay.  Since these writing assignments generally call for you to tell a story about yourself, they invite you to write in a personal tone.  That tone should come from you and your voice.  I urge you to avoid trying to add an inauthentic “style” to your essay.  As William Zinssser, cautions in his essential book, On Writing Well:

There is no style store; style is organic to the person doing the writing…Trying to add     style is like adding a toupee.  At first glance the formerly bald man looks young and even     handsome.  But at second glance –and there’s always a second glance– he doesn’t look     quite right…The point is that he doesn’t look like himself. (1998:19).

When you write your essay, you will go through a process of finding your voice.   This voice is how you express yourself and come across as the real you.  And that’s what admissions committees want to hear.

Happy writing!
-Dr. Kirschner

Small details can create a hook to your essay

Your admission essay demands that you paint a vivid picture in short order.  Sometimes you can do this by working through small details, which you put into a wider context.  At it’s best, you will offer enough context so that your reader can read between the lines about you.   I’ll illustrate.


I’m currently working on an essay that’s about coming to terms with the frailty of life and the preciousness of kid’s creations.  But the essay doesn’t come out and say it.  Instead, it illustrates these points by way of details.  The story involves a paper crane, which my daughter left behind when she visited me in the hospital after I experienced a life-threatening illness.  My then 8-year old, Ella, had been making so many paper cranes in the previous months, that they literally littered my house in her creative wake.  Yet, this lone, paper crane left me to tears as I sat alone in my recovery room.  I will draw upon the details of the crane, where I found it, and the scene of me sitting in the hospital room, alone, to contrast with the lively, rambunctious visit with my family earlier that evening.  I do not plan to spell out the themes, yet if I craft the essay well, the reader will be able to infer the points of the essay.


In crafting your personal statement, you draw a fine line between the artistic and the explanatory.  Sometimes, it’s perfectly acceptable to talk about what’s at stake in your story.  Other times call for a light touch.

Happy Writing!

-Dr. Kirschner

Happy writing!

-Dr. Donna  Kirschner

Talking through your writing

I recently had the privilege of coaching two colleagues who are writing their dissertations.  Both of these scholars had a strong sense of the direction of their projects, how they were evolving etc.  They seemed to both benefit from talking through their work to an interested listener -a non-expert who could ask clarifying questions.  While my questions may have pushed their thinking a bit, I think that the broader contribution of listening and asking questions comes from just creating a space in which a writer can talk about her work and sit in the “expert’s seat.”


When you find yourself in the midst of a writing project, great or small, consider finding a partner with whom you can bounce ideas.  Or you can always drop me an email.


Happy Writing!

-Dr. Kirschner

Honor the supplements!

Sometimes students place great emphasis on their main essay at the expense of the short-answer essays.  Yet, these shorter essays provide colleges the opportunity to see the specific reasons for why you chose them among all of the other schools.  You can use these essays to really prove to a college that you have done your homework and you know their school.

 

I strongly suggest that you before you fill out the short-answer questions, you should do your homework about the school. Check out their website and get to really know the campus, their academic programs, their extracurricular activities, the arts, cultural and athletic scenes in and around the campus and some details about the community of which the school is a part.  Which teams are longstanding rivals to the school?  In which coffee houses do students hang out?  Which initiatives has the school promoted? What kind of relationship does the school have with its surrounding community? What are alumni up to? What’s the hardest/most interesting course in the major that you think you’ll be taking? What’s the name of the school newspaper/literary journal, etc.

If you know these details, you can incorporate them into an honest essay that shows the things that draw you into the life of the college.

 

Happy writing!

-Dr. Kirschner