BIG IDEA: The best personal statements (this is the type of essay you are writing for your college applications and scholarships) show off your personality and reach out to the reader as if you were sitting in the room having a deep and meaningful conversation about the core essence of who you are. The introduction is an important step in building to that goal. Your intro must engage the reader and compel them forward in your story.
 
How do I “engage and compel” my reader? There are three ways:
 
1. Present a problem that must be solved

• “When I flipped to the last page of the first pre­calculus exam of my junior year, a tornado of numbers smacked me in the face.”
• “As I sat in my chair, I started to shake. It was the nerves. Wiping my hands on my black cotton dress, I stood reluctantly to walk to the bench, suddenly regretting my decision to wear stilettos (the piece didn’t require pedals, and I’d foolishly taken it upon myself to wear fancy footwear accordingly).”
• “Keeping my head down and avoiding eye contact, I tried not to attract attention. Drunken shrieks and moans reverberated through the darkening light of the bus stop, while silhouettes and shadows danced about. My heart pounding, I hoped I would survive the next 40 minutes. I had never seen the homeless at the stop act so deranged. But I had never been there so late.”

 
2. Start with a detailed image that doesn’t at first make any sense

• “The idea that in the morning, LeBron James, somewhere in Ohio, brushes his teeth with the same Crest toothpaste I have sitting by my sink is amazing to me.”
• “Baba opened the door and embraced the dark-featured man on her stoop. His tallness enveloped her, making her short stature almost comically diminutive. She shooed us to the living room, flipping on Crocodile Hunter and pointing firmly at the couch where we were expected to stay. We didn’t sit still there for long.”

 
3. Just start the essay

• “In the back of my closet, amidst winter coats and old family keepsakes, sits the trumpet that once belonged to my great-grandfather, Lawrence Axelson.”
• “The Oath of the Night’s Watch begins with a vow: Night gathers and my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I share more than just a name with one of HBO’s most famous characters; Jon Snow and I share a sense of purpose: a determination to live a principled life of leadership.”

If you are wanting a space and guidance to think through what to write about, how to approach this essay, and feedback on how to take it from good to great, you might be a good fit for our College Essay Workshop. It's an intensive but phenomenally productive two days. We cram the class time full of examples and instruction, then you draft in between sessions, getting high-quality feedback on day 2 from two instructors in a class size with low student numbers. Registration is here (three spots left). 

Please nominate us (Guru Academic Advising) using this link for Best of Denton County, College Planning. Thank you for your support!

​Along with time at the lake, a job at Bahama Bucks, and mornings spent sleeping in, the college essay is the often a fixture of summer for rising seniors.  Many students, however, run into a mental wall shortly after starting. What sort of topics are best to write about? How can I make my writing hold the reader’s attention while showcasing the types of qualities that will support a competitive application? How do I keep the essay from sounding braggy?
 
Writing the college essay is often the first time students are confronted with the task of writing a personal narrative. It’s an essay unlike anything they’ve written in school thus far, and if students try to approach it like an essay they would write for English class, there’s a good chance they will submit something rather mediocre. We wanted to start your summer off right by putting together a bunch of FREE resources your student can use to write a compelling personal narrative that strengthens their application instead of dragging it down.
 
What’s a personal narrative?
First, let’s define a personal narrative. A narrative is a fancy literary term for story. Your college essay is a personal story. A well-written personal narrative has focus and uses one story from the student’s life, allowing room or a deep dive so the reader can understand more of the student’s nuances and complexities. 
 
What does a strong personal narrative with focus and complexity look like?
Great question. Example here, and here, and here. Oh, and try this one on for good measure.
 
Ok, so where do I start?
My best advice? Go sit at the top of a mountain for an hour and think about who you are. Want something more practical? Use this values exercise to clarify what matters to you most as a person. There are a couple pieces of advice that if you do nothing else for your college essay I’d want you to do these things:

1. Be yourself, warts and all. We call this authenticity. Think of your favorite novel or movie. Are the characters perfect? Does the plot line have everything go perfectly for them all the time? No! That would make for a terribly boring story. Consider the same with your essay. Life is perfect. None of us is perfect. Don’t pretend to be perfect or manufacture experiences that you believe sound impressive because you will end up annoying your reader. Just be yourself.
2. Write about something the reader can’t otherwise learn about you. Your resume lists your activities, your transcript shows off your smarts, use the essay to be human and connect with the other real human(s) who will be reading your essay.

 
Which prompt do I choose?
Want to hear something crazy? My students don’t write to prompts (at least at first). I tell them to just write me a essay that tells me a story from their lives that teaches me something important about who they are. That’s it. That’s the heart and soul of the personal narrative anyway. Don’t limit your thinking by introducing a prompt prematurely. Also ignore word counts until the editing phase.
 
Once the first draft is done, then go back and see which prompt it best aligns with from the Common App and Apply Texas.
 
Just write
Struggling? Just write. Put pen to paper or fingers to keys or even voice to recorder if you think aloud like I do and let the story flow, perhaps in a stream-of-consciousness the first time to see what’s there, perhaps in something a little more formed, but either way, just write.
 
Ready to edit? Great. We have some handouts.
First, see if the topic of your essay is falling into one of the categories for things we suggest not to write about. There are exceptions to this, but most students are well-advised to steer clear of the things listed here.
 
Here are some suggestions on how to turn good writing into great writing. This handout was put together by Wendy Reimann, a professional writer who also partners with us for our essay workshops.
 
Are your students younger and this is not quite on your radar yet?
Have them keep a summer journal. Journaling is one of the greatest precursors to writing in the style of a personal narrative. Pick up a book of journal prompts from Barnes and Noble (and stop by my favorite place, The Flour Shop, while you are there!).  Have your student do three prompts a week, with a paragraph minimum.
 
Want to run through all of this together? We can do that.
Option 1: Essay workshop (camp focused solely on the college essay)
Option 2: College App Camp (essays + most everything else you need to apply)