“Don’t pay no mind to the demons; they fill you with fear.” -P. Phillips
College essays should be started during the summer months before your busy senior year. I know. You’re thinking, “Who wants to write in the summer?” Do it anyway. The benefits will outweigh the costs. Go buy a cheap composition book. Keep all your college app. writing in it. Then, set aside a few hours each week to begin responding to questions on the Common App or from colleges you’re considering. Write. Don’t think too much. Just respond. The hardest part of writing, in my experience, is the first sentence. However, once you get going, it’s often hard to stop. Momentum takes over. But you must not edit your thoughts as you’re writing. Your internal critic will confine you and your writing won’t feel authentic. For more on authenticity, see my post on that subject.
Authenticity
Your “authentic voice.” Writing experts talk about it. Teachers say you need it. College admissions offices look for it in your essays. But, what is it exactly? And how do you find yours?
Webster defines “authentic” as “not false or copied; genuine; real.” So, how does this definition translate to your writing? It doesn’t come easily for most writers; they have to work at getting to what’s real.
One way to elicit your authentic writing self is to do a lot of writing when you’re working on an essay. I know that sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people write one draft and consider themselves done. I recommend writing without constraints (i.e. free writing, brainstorming, etc.) to see what unfolds initially. Try doing so for a few days as you process your thoughts on a topic. Time yourself if you want. Write for 15-30 minutes each time. You may be surprised by how much you have to say. Think in terms of vivid moments (snapshots) from your life. These anecdotes will become the “evidence in the text” of your college application essay.
Grammar rules to make your writing more lively
As September rolls in and school doors reopen, I am reminded of learning grammar lessons through the text with the red and black cover, Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition. Of course, this was back in the day when students were drilled on grammar rules and learned how to diagram sentences. For many of us, grammar lessons are a distant memory. Still, I thought the start of the school year might be an appropriate time for a refresher course on a few grammar rules, especially those that can improve your writing.
Rule #1. Misplaced Modifiers
When you misplace a modifier in a sentence, you confuse, and sometimes amuse, your readers. Here’s a well-known example by the always- entertaining Groucho Marx:
“One morning, I shot an elephant in my pajamas.” Hmmm. What was the elephant doing in your pajamas?
Here’s another one. This example comes from my new favorite grammar book, Sin and Syntax, by Constance Hale:
“FOR SALE: Mahogany table by a lady with Chippendale legs” (3). If I had to guess, I would say that the table possesses the Chippendale legs, not the lady. But I’m just guessing here.
(Thank you for the above examples, Grammar Girl!) For additional humorous modifier mistakes, go to: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/funny-misplaced-modifiers#sthash.U1L4bboI.dpuf.
Avoid the Passive Voice in Your Writing
Rule #2. Avoid the passive voice.
We’re Americans. We pride ourselves on being action-oriented, ruggedly independent people. So why let our sentence subjects just sit there passively, depending on another noun to do the work for them? They could easily be the stars of our sentences! For example, doesn’t the first sentence work better than the second one?
Sentence #1: “I heard it through the grapevine.”
Sentence #2: “It was heard by me through the grapevine.”
However, you should use the passive voice in two situations:
1) if you’re unsure of the subject, or the subject is not important.
“The snowy owl can be seen in the woods of Vermont throughout the year.” (The subject isn’t certain; anyone can see the owl.)
2) If you want to focus on the noun being acted upon, instead of the noun performing the action.
“The PTO was advised to consider a new proposal for fundraising next year.” (It doesn’t matter who advised the group; the sentence is highlighting the fact that the PTO is considering this proposal.)
The Right Words 