7 Do’s and 7 Don’ts When Crafting Your Essay (Includes examples!)

October 03, 2013

Since Lydia shared with the Twittersphere the 7 worst types of college admission essays, here’s a great article that helps you figure out what to do RIGHT.

In case you’re too lazy to click through, I’ve provided Kathleen Kingsbury’s 7 main suggestions, but check out the article because she explains her points AND provides sample essays that illustrate each point!

  • Rule #1: When Tackling a Global Issue, Make it Personal
  • Rule #2: Show That You Have Some Perspective
  • Rule #3: Essays Succeed or Fail in the Details
  • Rule #4: Make Sure You’re the Hero of the Story
  • Rule #5: Make Your Intellectual Curiosity Clear
  • Rule #6: Know Your Audience
  • Rule #7: Don’t Be Afraid to Show You’re Not Perfect

For 12 additional essays that worked, check out this compilation.

Want more sample essays and drafting advice? Don’t worry, we’re bringing that and more to an AdmitSee profile near you!!



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aandinofrydman
Stanford


Accepted to Stanford, Columbia, UC Berkeley, UMich, UNC, UCSB, NYU, UCLA, Washington, UCSD, UC Davis

Bay Area local studying econ, cs, and human rights, and trying to figure out the world!
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Princeton


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Unhooked Asian girl from the Bay Area! Princeton CS '22
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Harvard


Accepted to Harvard, CalTech, Duke, WashU, UVA, VA Tech, UToronto, Alabama

Advice more down-to-earth than my profile pic.
lmelcher
Columbia


Accepted to Columbia, Brown, UPenn, Rice, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UVA, UC Davis, UCSD, UCSC, USC

Hey! I'm a John Jay Scholar at Columbia, and I'm from Los Angeles. I'm planning to major in Art History and do ballet and theater. Hope I can help!

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