BE SUCCINT: WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR WHEN WRITING UNDERGRAD ESSAYS

The golden rule: be succinct.

This is true for any type of undergrad essay you are writing, one of the most important assets adcoms are looking for is effective communication.

DO NOT use any "large descriptive" words. To be blunt: it sounds pretty stupid. In sixth grade you were told to use a lot of words like gargantuan, luscious, etc, and SAT words are there as a vocab quiz. You are strongly discouraged from using them in your admissions essays and your undergrad essays in college.

Also: Have meat in what you're saying.
Sit down and really think about your life: perks, personality, special interests, adventures, epiphanies that changed your life in any way, etc that are important to your life

Delivery: The ratio of your story and yourself
Use a small intro section to get the story across. This is probably one of the trickiest part because you want to be really efficient with word count here, but also have it really engaging.

Then the bulk of the middle should be saying why that's important to who you now (you can do this by contrasting it to who you were) and then say what it says about who you would be in the future

The conclusion: tie in the story again, but also touch on who you are again.
This section you also want to be careful with word count and also it's a delicate section that you want this to be one of the most powerful parts of your essay.

GOOD LUCK CLASS OF 2015

Excellent advice here. And for those essayists who are of a more vegetarian persuasion, this means it is important to tell the reader something significant with each sentence of the essay. Do not waste any words on sentences that express abstract ideals and ill-defined aspirations.

I would rather read an awkwardly written sentence about an aspiration to do something for a specific reason than a beautifully written sentence that expresses a general interest or makes a vague assertion.

Let the reader know your specific interests and also what specific motivators drive you toward success.

Thanks, Andy!

thanx <<< succinct enough ?? :D

is there any advice you have on writing prompts that involve usage of a quote?

I like this thread a lot. Instead of thinking of "succinct" I often think of brevity. I appreciate brevity so much that, sometimes, I order my coffee by saying, "Medium regular!" even though I actually would prefer milk instead of cream.


It is a challenge to see if you understand the quote. Look online, see what others have said, and make sure your essay contributes meaningfully to the discourse that is happening.