The First
Draft: Beginning to Write
”@”@By the time you start writing you will
have already done some important prewriting preparation.
You will have reviewed your personal history and have
written record of it (for help with this, see
self-examination). You will also have researched the
universities that you are applying to and carefully read
the essay questions in their applications.
Which essay should I begin writing?
”@”@You can start working on the essays for your first choice
school, but do not mail the application until you have completed two or three other
applications. Writing essays for your "back-up"
schools will help you to think about and revise the essay
for your first-choice school. Another tactic is to see if
the different schools you are applying to ask the any of the same
or similar essay questions and to start working on those.
How do I start writing?
”@”@After you have chosen your essay topic, you are
ready to start writing. If you know how you want to answer the essay,
you can first write a general outline to
follow while writing. If you uncertain about what to write about,
do not write an outline first, this will
only confuse you and waste time. Instead, first review the
answers you wrote for the self-examination and then write
your essay spontaneously, as ideas come to you. After you
get your ideas down on paper you can review them and
then write an outline, if necessary, for helping you revise.
”@”@Regardless of if you follow an outline or not, try to control your urge
to edit and write simultaneously. For the first draft,
focus on writing only, do not edit. If you try to write and edit
at the same time, you will spend a lot of time writing very little.
”@”@Write only. Do not worry about spelling or
editing, or how closely you follow your outline. Do not
worry if your writing does not seem to have focus or a theme. If
you get stuck, refer back to your personal evaluation.
Try to focus on writing specifics.
Challenge yourself to write down exact details about past
experiences.
”@”@When you are done writing your draft, you should
have written much more than required. Except
for research proposals, you will have also covered a lot
of topics. Your writing may not have a solid structure
and probably will not have a real essay introduction,
which generally is the first paragraph, or essay
conclusion, the last paragraph. Do not worry about this,
writing an effective opening and closing comes later in
the essay writing process.
”@”@Now that you have written something down on
paper, set your writing aside and take a break. After a
day or two, or a few hours if you are in a hurry, go
back, read your essay, and begin revising.
For more information, check out these articles:
The Application
Essay as a Story
Show and Tell
Application Essay Openings
Application Essay Body
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