Seniors spend much of their last year of high school laboring over college essays, especially those directed to selective colleges.  Some of those colleges have several sections for essays on one application.  In addition, many scholarship applications require accompanying essays. Indeed, a valuable real life excursion resides within writing for college applications.

My seniors do a unit called "Beginning with the End in Mind," an idea garnered and adapted from Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Successful People. Within this unit is a section on writing the college essay.  Students choose three of the many colleges to which they apply to request an application.  One application is chosen for practiced in writing essays.

While we are awaiting the arrival of these applications, practice on the following prompt begins the first week of school.

Prompt:  Your immediate environment is rich in writing opportunities that will give our selection committee a window from which to view your experiences prior to coming to our institution, if you are selected, or course.

Directions for Writing:You may write an essay of no less that 250 words and no more than 500 about any topic of personal significance to you.  Your choices may include but are not limited to the following:  a global problem that you would like to eliminate; a personal barrier that you have encountered; a unique experience that you have had; travel excursions at home or abroad; any unique talents or special gifts that you have used to help others; your church; your community; family members or special accomplishments.  Use the attached model of a former student who gained admission to the number one national university that particular year to analyze its components.

Procedures:

• Divide into groups of five.
• Choose a recorder to record your ideas for wall placement.  Use large letters
• Choose a leader to present your information to larger group.
• Use your personal analysis done earlier in your journal as a basis to add to your group analysis. Discuss to decide what you want to include in the following categories: " Strengths of Essay"  "Weaknesses of Essay"
• Collapse back into larger group for presentations.
• Present findings; post charts.
• Try your hand at writing a college essay for a different college.
• Bring to class to present.
• Pair with a classmate for peer editing.
• Conference with a teacher.
• Rewrite the essay.
• Word process and save in your college file that you should begin this week.

This college application essay has definite fluency, definite style and definite voice.  The student has skillfully managed to convey to the selection committee her unique gifts in music, language and writing without specifically pointing out that she is accomplished in these areas.  The "pointing out" is give adequate context, and the points are subtly interwoven into paragraph body development.

The voice is strong and convincing: "Stop!"  "Your time is Up!" are the answers to her tireless and frustrating efforts.

Also, she manages to highlight a  "real" problem that she is experiencing  with standardized testing, a major component in gaining admission to selective institutions.
In these sections, her purpose is obviously didactic, and much can be gained from her teaching.  She rebuts the notion that she is whining as she sets forth the idea that her weaknesses have also been her assets.  This structure, this thinking, this planning are all typical of accomplished writers.

The writer demonstrates control of the language, the thought process involved, and the type of communication that should be taking place between a student and an a selection committee in an obviously persuasive way.  The piece demonstrates proficient usage and is relatively free from surface errors.

Note to teachers:  Far more could be said about this piece, but the beginning of the year is no time to overwhelm the average student.
 
 
 

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