1ADMISS IONS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

WRITING FOR COLLEGE

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ROBERTS’S RULES (FROM “HOW TO SAY NOTHING…”

• Avoid obvious content and take the less expected approach, even if it means the more difficult one.• Avoid abstractions and padding.• Avoid hedging, euphemisms, jargon,

colorless words, and clichés.

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TO ENLIVEN YOUR WRITING, FOCUS ON…

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SUBJECT / THESIS IN PERSONAL ESSAYS

The prompt you’re given to write about is a SUBJECT, not a THESIS.• Draw meaning from your experience, and you’ll

have a thesis and not just a story.• Remember, as Baker said, to “Generalize your

private feelings, and you’ll change from subject to thesis.” • Be sure your admission / scholarship essays

answer the SO WHAT question!The Danilo example…

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THE “SO WHAT ?” TEST

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REMEMBER, “THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE RISKY”

Risky essays…

• Have unique start or hook• Show the confidence of the

writer• Have a strong, practiced

voice• Might be a little offensive,

especially at the start

Good essays…

• Include specific, concrete details

• Have a clear voice• Show rather than tell• Appeal to readers’ senses

Bad essays — the “McEssays”…

• Are written to formula (the five paragraph “ideal”)

• Are full of abstractions• Contain clichés• Show poor word choice

with thesaurus overload

• Have no voice• Are boring