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Brody's Guide to the College Admissions Essay
Brody's Guide to the College Admissions Essay is available at bookstores and at online retailers such as Amazon.com. The book was written by a college counselor and writer who has appeared on national television to discuss admissions-related issues, and a dean of law school admissions at a major university. It has been used in high schools and in after-school programs.
For those students who would benefit from professional help with their college admissions essays, we recommend EssayEdge.com, which has been praised by the Washington Post and the New York Times.
About This Guide
At Brody Admissions (come visit us at www.brody.com), we have guided hundreds of clients and families through the admissions process. And we finally decided to put all of our usual advice about the college essay into a book. That’s what you’re holding right now—our comprehensive guide to the college essay.
How does this guide differ from the other ones you’ll find at the bookstore? Most strikingly, it’s shorter—much shorter. That seemed to make the most sense. The meandering essay-writing manuals we have on our shelves are filled with mind-numbing detail, presumably intended to thicken the book enough to lend gravitas and an aura of authority. We left out the 15-point study plans and the six-page lesson on the use of commas; you’ll find here only straightforward advice on what comprises a good admissions essay.
That said, participles shouldn’t dangle and infinitives shouldn’t be split. You need to make clean writing and good grammar a high priority. But if you’re not a great writer, it may be easier to let a parent, teacher, or counselor catch such mistakes. We’ll provide the basic rules about grammar, usage, and clear prose, and let you deal with the details. Our goal is simply to give you a short and effective lesson on how to brainstorm, plan, and write your essay.
Because we’ve cut out the fat, this guide is easy to use. And while it can hard to know what to do with a 200-page manual that includes all sorts of lessons, tasks, and rules, we know exactly what we expect you to do with our short and easy-to-read guide:
Read it cover to cover.
That’s right. Now, or sometime soon, we want you to read this book straight through from beginning to end. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours. While you can always go back to learn more about a particular issue, a careful once-through will ensure that you’re properly approaching each stage of the essay-writing process.
Here’s what’s inside:
I. Know Your Audience. Who’s reading these essays, anyway? What are they looking for?
II. Topics. What should I write about? Should I be serious or funny? What are some examples of good/bad topics?
III. Writing: Putting your Thoughts on Paper. Should I write it all at once? How much time should I leave? Do I need a dedicated workspace?
IV. Format, Structure, and Style. What should my essay look like? Formal or casual style? Is this more like a research paper or an editorial? Can I use incomplete sentences? Should I start with a famous quotation?
V. Writing Well. What are some good tips that will help me write well?
VI. Reviewing and Editing. How should I edit my essay? Should I show it to other people? Professionals?
VII. Sucessful Essays. Seven successful college essays, with complete reviews and notes about what works and what doesn’t.
Let’s get started.
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