Format for College Essays TextWhite paper use ordinary white a4 paper 500 sheets of multipurpose paper, or 20 lb. Buy it in bulk and don't be tempted to use leftover mauve stock, heavier r 233 sum 233 paper, or any other size. Double space all of your work, and make sure that the printer is set for black ink. Indent paragraphs five spaces, or one tab, unless instructed otherwise, and indent block quotations 10 spaces. At the undergraduate level and depending on your school or discipline, you will probably be asked to use either the apa or mla style, although several other style guides exist. If using apa style, number the first page and include a running head an abbreviation of the title if using mla style, do not number the first page and include your last name before the subsequent page numbers. Phd Thesis on SorghumFor apa, center the title of your paper on the cover and type your name and college affiliation below for mla, center the title of your paper on the cover and supply your name, instructor's name, course information, and date in the bottom right hand corner of the page. Format direct quotations with quotation marks and parenthetical citation depending on the style sheet, this can be simply the author's last name and a page number or last name and the year of publication. If footnotes are required, use the option in your document software to format them for you this will save you time and many headaches. Short quotations guides vary three lines or less should be appropriate are contained within the text of the paper longer quotations should be centered in a block form and indented 10 spaces as a separate sentence or sentences. Assume that a works cited or bibliography section is required it is necessary if you have used outside sources , and be sure to provide complete bibliographic listings of the source materials you have quoted from works cited or referred to bibliography , in alphabetical order by author's last name. Refer to your style guide for the editorial style they use for these sections, as they vary in their specifics. You start with an introduction, throw in a thesis statement, find about three paragraphs' worth of evidence, and wrap it all up with a tidy conclusion. Now, forget all that, because writing the college application essay is different. your college application essay needs to capture your personality and breathe life into your application, explaining who you are even if the reviewer knows nothing else about you. Take a minute and think about who might be reading your essay and how it will convey your background. What makes you unique? if you had the opportunity to stand in front of an admission committee to share a significant story or important information about yourself, what would you say? the college essay is your chance to share your personality, goals, influences, challenges, triumphs, life experiences, or lessons learned. These are the stories behind the list of activities and leadership roles on your application. One of the most common struggles students encounter is resisting the urge to squeeze everything they rsquo ve seen, done, and heard into one essay. The purpose is not to write a comprehensive summary of your life in an allotted number of words. Admission officers realize that writing doesn rsquo t come easily to everyone, but with some time and planning, anyone can write an essay that stands out. The end result should be a carefully designed, insightful essay that makes you proud. Take advantage of being able to share something with an audience who knows nothing about you and is excited to learn what you have to offer. Take time to understand the question being asked. truly understanding the question or essay prompt may be the single most important part of your preparation. When you are finished writing, you need to make sure that the essay still adheres to the prompt. These can vary from personal to trivial, but all seek to challenge you and spark your creativity and insight. Take some time to think about what is being asked and let it really sink in before you let the ideas flow. Before you can even start brainstorming, define what it is you rsquo re trying to accomplish. Is this essay prompt asking you to inform? defend? support? expand upon? if it doesn rsquo t already, relate the question back yourself by asking, ldquo how does this mdash or how could this mdash apply to me? rdquo avoid sorting through previous class essays to see if the topics fit the bill. get your creative juices flowing by brainstorming all the possible ideas you can think of to address your essay question. believe it or not, the brainstorming stage may be more tedious than writing the actual essay. The purpose is to flesh out all of your possible ideas so when you begin writing, you know and understand where you are going with the topic. You have years to draw from, so set aside time to mentally collect relevant experiences or events that serve as strong, specific examples. Ldquo how would my friends describe me? rdquo ldquo what are my strengths? rdquo ldquo what sets me apart from other applicants? rdquo write any and all ideas down. There rsquo s no technique that works best, but you rsquo ll be thankful when you are able to come back to thoughts you otherwise would have forgotten. Choose three concepts you think fit the scenario best and weigh the potential of each. Which idea can you develop further and not lose the reader? which captures more of who you really are? choose your story to tell. You should have enough supporting details to rely on this as an excellent demonstration of your abilities, achievements, perseverance, or beliefs. map out what you rsquo re going to write by making an outline. architects use a blue print. After you brainstorm, you rsquo ll know what you want to say, but you must decide how you rsquo re going to say it. Following this natural progression will make your story coherent and easy to read. How are you going to open your essay? with an anecdote? a question? use of humor? try to identify what the tone of your essay is going to be based on your ideas. It rsquo s particularly important when writing a piece about yourself that you write naturally. By planning the layout of your essay ahead of time, you rsquo ll avoid changing your writing style mid essay. once you are satisfied with your essay in outline format, begin writing! by now you know exactly what you will write about and how you want to tell the story.
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