Imagine you’re a college essay reader at an upstanding academic institution and it is your job to read dozens of essays a day, every day, for weeks on end. Let’s be real: ninety percent of the essays that pass your desk are stone-cold boring. And maybe ten percent break through the fuzz and force you to pay attention. Students should want their essays to be a bright light that shines in the face of the reader. No matter what the subject, serious, uplifting, sentimental or pithy, an essay should aim to entertain. This will require many elements working together in harmony. Students need a compelling subject, a direct and powerful narrative, impeccable grammar and a memorable style. A little laughter never hurts either. It is often hard to know whether an essay is truly entertaining until the end stages of writing, but when reading over a draft, one question should always be in the back of a student's mind is, "Is this essay fun to read?" Some students achieve entertainment value by being controversial. Others load their pieces with comic relief. Some are able to describe events in such detail that a reader simply must get to the end of the essay. No matter what the tactics, the goal should be effortless and compelling readability.
For more admissions essay writing tips and tricks, or for information about CEA's private advising services, visit www.CollegeEssayAdvisors.com or call 347-927-9CEA (9232).
