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!!



Browse Successful Application Files

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Harvard


Accepted to Harvard, Yale, MIT, Columbia, UVA

Lover of physics, math, and chess. Football player and bass player. California born and raised.
aa192002
Stanford


Accepted to Stanford, Dartmouth, Drexel, Wisconsin, IWU, UChicago

A Boy Having Intrinsically Nuanced Acumen for Vacuity
katiesawildcat
Northwestern


Accepted to Northwestern

Optimist, dancer, artist, & biologist. EDed NU.
tifstar1997
Cornell


Accepted to Cornell, CMU, Northwestern, JHU, UCSD, UCSB, UC Irvine

Cornell Engineering '19

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