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Help! How Do I Start?

Brainstorming and Collecting Advice Sheet
You have been collecting ideas for your essay since the beginning of the year!  Look back at all of your work...your free writes, your life map, your 6 word memoir, your this I believe! There's a brainstorming sheet linked above but look below for more advice!
Picture
Picture
This is a silly animation I made about brainstorming, inspired by the class of 2013 during our college essay writing last year.
Check out my silly animation for some advice!

Brainstorming for your college essay is hard to do, but if you think about it, you have all of the material! Begin by looking at your life maps...are there any experiences you have had that could explain who you are or who you hope to become?  You are looking for a DEFINING MOMENT, not just a big experience, but a small moment within that experience that shows why this was "defining".  

Consider creating lists or webs, or just free writing about a few different topics to "try one on" to see if it feels like there is something meaningful there. Sometimes, it's through writing that we discover our topic.

Be sure you're talking with each other...share your stories as you go- this helps to tap in to your memories.

You may choose to write from the COMMON APP prompts.... (click here!)

Another way to brainstorm is by thinking about a quality you want to show about yourself.  A student did this last year and she created a web around the word "Motivation".  She wanted to show she was motivated so she started with motivation then listed all the small moments she could that show this about her.
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Here's some more advice from a NY Times article....But check out the "expert advice" on the college essay home page, as well!

  • NY Times: On Topic Choice: ‘Some of the More Mundane Moments in Life Make Great Essays' http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/essay/



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  • Home
  • Students
    • My POV: Narrative Non Fiction and The College Essay >
      • Studying the genre: College Essay Ingredients and Models
      • Brainstorming College Essays
      • Drafting College Essays
      • Revising and Editing College Essays
      • Common App Prompts
      • Rubrics: MY POV Writing
      • P.O.V: Mentor Text Annotation
      • The Color of Water Assignment
    • Classics Book Club Unit >
      • Night
      • Fahrenheit 451
      • The Adventures of Huck Finn
      • Survey and Summaries
      • Of Mice and Men
      • The Great Gatsby
      • Jane Eyre
      • 1984
      • Lord of the Flies
      • Invisible Man
    • 11th ELA >
      • Agenda 11th ELA
      • Bluest Eye 2017 ELA
      • Contemporary Fiction
      • Exploding the Canon >
        • Socratic Resources- Exploding the Canon
      • This I Believe Fall 2016
      • New SAT Prep
      • Goodreads Work
      • Six Word Memoir
      • Resumé Advice
    • Regents Prep- Common Core
    • AP Lang & Comp >
      • AP AGENDA
      • AP: Rhetorical Analysis Portfolio
      • AP Calendar
      • AP For All and Test Info
    • 11th Grade Writing Center >
      • 11th Grade Citation Guide
    • 6th Grade >
      • Humanities 6 Agenda
      • Humanities Calendar
    • TYWLS Portfolios
    • Jumprope
  • Teachers
    • Teachers
    • Intensives
    • Advisory Camp TYWLS
    • How-To Videos
    • Outcomes & mastery based grading
  • About
  • Archive
    • World Themes
    • Student Publications >
      • Student Publications Home
      • This I Believe Publications
      • 6 Word Memoir
      • 7th grade FLMS
    • Books!
    • Photography >
      • Photo stories and Artist Statements
      • Photos from 2012
      • Links to Photo Galleries
      • Editing and Publishing Advice
    • Assignment during intensives
    • Tumblr Portfolio 2013- 2014
    • 6th >
      • Move your Body- Beyonce!
      • The Grapes of Wrath
      • Zumba
    • April 10-11 & Spring Break Goodreads
    • College Prep
    • 12th Grade >
      • 12th Grade Home
      • CHRISTY film adaptation unit
      • XENIA and YANA 12th Grade
      • Senior Committee >
        • Senior Hoody Choice
      • Critical Theory- Lenses
      • 12th - Calendar
    • Contemporary Fiction Project