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9 THINGS TO AVOID WHEN WRITING A COLLEGE PAPER

By Kendall Jenkins on 2023-01-20 09:13:00

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There are plenty of guides out there that offer advice on how to write a college essay. However, too many opinions can confuse you rather than help you with the process. So, instead of telling you what to do, we will tell you what mistakes you can avoid in order to make a good impression on the admission committee. 

Take a look below to see what makes a college essay less appealing to admission officers. 

Writing About a Topic 

When you are writing an essay, you are often tempted to write "about" a topic. If you do so, it might come across as just another analytical essay. Instead, you should be exploring the topic from your personal perspective, including specific moments that reveal your character in action. While this might sound overwhelming, it is much simpler to write. You will simply be taking inspiration from your personal experiences. 

If you need help with the writing part, you can simply insult academic platforms and place a request to "write my college paper." We found that some of these platforms have excellent writers on board who can help present your ideas in a well-structured, interesting way. You will only need to share your thoughts, and the writer will come up with an original essay that shines a light on who you are. And, of course, with a sample, you can make changes to it and create your own version if needed. 

Rehashing your Academic and Extracurricular Accomplishments

You might have already heard this one several times. However, many students continue to disregard this suggestion, especially if they absolutely hate essay writing and want to simply finish the task. Your transcript already contains information on your grades and out-of-school work. Repeating the same information does not offer any value to the application. 

Essays are intended to provide another dimension to your application, such as a perspective or an insight into your personal values. 

Starting With a Preamble 

As we mentioned, you are not writing an essay for a school term paper. Therefore, there is no need to start with a thesis statement such as "This essay is about dealing with stress." 

You only get a few seconds to grab the reader's attention. The best to do this is to set the scene to offer context and even jump directly into the dialogue. Don't hesitate to get creative with the format, do not be so rigid with your college essay. 

Adding a Conclusive Ending 

Yes, you need to add a conclusion to your essay; however, you don't need to say, "that's how I learned to be more accepting,".. etc. If your essay has already shown that you are learning, then there is no need to repeat what you learned. Remember that your readers are smart, so this type of conclusion might not work well. 

Pontificating 

Your essay should never impose your ideas on others. In other words, it shouldn't tell the reader what they should think. You are not writing an academic paper where you have to convince the reader with arguments. It is not necessary to make a case with your essay. 

For instance, if you are writing about voluntary work, you need to tell the reader that they should be doing it too. Instead, use your essay to show what you have learned from your experience. 

Being too Verbose 

You might be tempted to make your essay sound too sophisticated to come across as smart to the reader. However, once again, remember whom you are writing for. An experienced admissions officer can instantly spot superficially fancy language. 

If your essay is stuffed with words that no high school student would commonly use in a sentence, then it won't help your college application. Similarly, you might want to avoid long-winded explanations and run-on sentences that could make the reader swiftly lose interest in your essay. 

In order to grab and keep the attention of the reader, the key is to make the essay readable and enjoyable. 

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Losing Track of the Topic 

It is not uncommon for students to get caught up with their thoughts while writing admission essays, especially if they are writing on a topic that's close to their heart. However, it won't be the best idea to ramble on about how absurd you find "dog yoga." 

Write about something that's meaningful to you without sounding like you are just jotting down your thoughts in a personal diary. 

Failing to Proofread

As with your school essays, it is pertinent that you check your admission essays before submitting them. After you finish writing, you should go over the essay to eliminate any errors. You can use a grammar checker for this. For instance:

  • Make sure that there are no typos, spelling mistakes, punctuation flubs, or grammatical errors. 

  • Ensure that the line spacing and fonts are unique. 

  • Check whether you have gone over the word limit. 

  • Check if you have repeated the same word(s) or used similar sentence structures. This can make your essay monotonous and hard to read. 

Aside from proofing the essay by yourself, you might also want to get a second perspective on the essay - especially from someone who can correct the writing errors in your work. If this person has a good eye for detail, they will be able to point out any mistakes that you might have overlooked. It would also be great to get a second opinion on how the essay comes across. 

Don't Get too Many Opinions

While it is good to show your essay to another person whom you trust, you don't want to go around asking for opinions from many people. You might be tempted to show your essays to your teachers, counselors, parents, and friends. But bear in mind that each person will have a different idea of what you should write in your essay. Before you know it, your essay might be transformed into something that is quite different from the original. 

Writing a college essay doesn't have to be a scary task. If you pick a topic that you love, this can be a smooth journey. Yes, understandably, the process can be daunting. But the best way to approach this is to do your best and hope for the best. 



 

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