Writing the perfect college essay is often a matter of trial and error, as students try to craft a written masterpiece to get into the schools of their dreams. Whether it is a personal statement, a letter to the school about why one would like to attend, or an argumentative piece, students need the correct tools to finalize the draft they will submit under college application. Let’s go over 5 of the best exercises to complete the perfect revision of a college essay rough draft.
5 College Essay Revision Exercises to Try
#1 – Identifying a Students’ Voice
Often with argumentative essays, students have a voice in which they portray and construct their argument along with a different tone used for evidence and explanation of that evidence. An exercise that helps balance the differing voices needed for an impactful argumentative essay is to highlight all the different tones used and ensure that no one color of highlighter dominates the others. Visualizing your writing in such a way is proven to be effective.
#2 – Understanding the Limits of Proofreading
Consider the following excerpt:
According to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn’t myyaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. this is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter.
The excerpt shows that proofreading can be fallible, especially if the student writing the essay does their proofreading. Having someone else look at your work can help others identify mistakes and help you correct yourself. It is also helpful for another brain to look at it and see how they interpret it differently from yourself.
#3 – Enrich Descriptive Writing
In the eyes of admissions officers, the worst thing an essay can do is fail to live up to its promised potential. Reasons for this shortcoming include the word choice used and how descriptive the student becomes. It is challenging to go straight into a draft and start plugging in more descriptive terms to enrich an essay. A helpful exercise is to describe a simple process using rich, colorful words.
#4 – Keep the Title in Mind
One of the most important aspects of a college essay is doing the cover page perfectly right, including coming up with an impactful title. Not only should a good title hook the reader just like a good introduction, but it should also let the reader know what is to come and is an opportunity for students to show their creative side. For this simple exercise, students should swap essays with a peer and try to name the peer’s piece for themselves. Another way to do this exercise is to figure out the name of short stories. Either way, the idea is to try to unlock a creative side that can help enhance the essay.
#5 – Using Clear and Direct Language
Using clear and concise language in a college essay can help prevent paragraphs from becoming too cluttered or repetitive while also ensuring that students do not exceed the word count with unnecessary words or phrases. For this exercise, students should focus on tidying up the topic sentences and the closing sentence of each paragraph. These sentences should outline what is to come, but they should not repeat information already in the essay. The conclusion should close the writing without being too conclusive or too open-ended. It is also best to avoid clichés.
Why Try College Essay Revision Exercises?
There are many benefits to trying out different college essay revision exercises. The main one is challenging yourself to view your writing in a way that may not feel natural to you. The college admissions officers reviewing your work may not interpret things the way you intended, or they may have higher expectations than what is familiar to you. You eliminate potential downfalls by trying different exercises.
The Importance of College Essay Revision
Your college essays can have a massive impact on your future, so do your best to receive positive results. These exercises are just some techniques that can improve your essay. Explore other revision options if you feel your writing is still falling short of your goals. If you’re looking to take things up a notch, consider working with Curvebreakers to perfect your essay.
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