10 Steps that Will Help You Write a Great College Essay

Preparation: Grab a handful of different colored pens, pencils, and/or highlighters. Print out a draft of your paper. I don’t know why, but you can see your writing better—or at least differently—when it’s on paper.

1. Put a squiggly line under your thesis statement and ask:
   • Where does the statement come?
   • Is it precise and arguable?
   • Does it require evidence and analysis to defend it?
2. Go through the draft and underline the topic sentence of each paragraph.
   • If there is not a clear topic sentence, but a big question mark in the margin.
3. Go back to the paragraphs that have topic sentences and ask:
   • Do all the other sentences relate to this idea?
   • Have I provided evidence to support it?
4. Go back to the paragraphs with question marks and ask:
   • What am I trying to say in this paragraph?
   • Write it and go back to step 3.
5. Go through your essay and look at each piece of evidence (quotation, block quotation, media) and ask:
   • Have I introduced the evidence by identifying its source and giving a brief, purposeful summary?
   • Have I followed up with explanation of how the evidence/quotation serves my argument?
6. Go through your essay and highlight keywords, using a different color for each keyword. See what patterns emerge and ask:
   • Have I drifted in my focus or lost track of an important concept?
   • Have I mixed up too many different concepts?
7. Extract your topic sentences, put them in order in a separate document, and ask:
   • Is there a logical development of ideas?
   • Should you rearrange the order for a more logical flow?
   • Can you envision a shape, path, or structure for this flow of ideas?
8. As you assess the overarching structure of your paper, think about ways to implement parallel structure.
   • Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream would not be nearly as memorable if he had imagined a nation where his children “will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by who they really are on the inside.”
   • You can achieve parallel structure at the sentence level by putting items in a series in the same grammatical structures, e.g.: “not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
   • You can implement parallel structure at the macro level by setting up a template for each source you analyze and addressing each in the same order or pattern.
9. Cut and paste your text into the Writer’s Diet test.
   • Look for diagnoses of passive voice (pink highlighter).
   • Consult the OWL at Purdue website for help converting passive voice to active voice.
10. Read your essay out loud from start to finish.