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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.
Writing Well
While everyone in the running at the most competitive colleges writes well, good writing remains the #1 factor in evaluating college essays, and is without a doubt the hallmark of any good college essay. Good writers demonstrate intelligence, thoughtfulness, and a finely-honed command of the English language. Great writers show, by writing with a skill and flair similar to that shown by past acceptees, that they belong at a prestigious school and have the skills to perform at the level that will be expected of them.
Bad essay writers, on the other hand, demonstrate that they did not care enough about their essays to make sure they were correctly written. It’s tough to turn a good essay into a great one, but to make bad writing into decent writing is simply a matter of attention and focus. And if necessary, seeking help.
This short chapter will not attempt to teach you grammar, punctuation, or proper MLA style. Our thinking is that whatever you know about writing now is what you’re probably going to take into the essay-writing process.
But even if you’ve paid attention to nothing we’ve written thus far, we want you to take heed of the following advice:
Your college essay should be the best piece of writing that you’ve ever produced. There should be no mistakes. There should be no awkward phrasing. Everything about the way your essay is written should indicate that you are an intelligent young person with a strong command of the language and an ability to put ideas to paper.
The following are our simple writing tips that you should keep in mind when putting together your essay.
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