College Essay Examples and Writing Styles for All Student Update

Filed in Education by on April 9, 2021

Writing has been one of the means of proper communication over time. And, this is mostly done with the use of essay writing. Students who intend to know the various college essay examples which we have can find their answers in this article.

All you need to do is to pay attention as you read through.

Meaning of Essay

Before discussing the college essay example, note. An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author’s own argument but the definition is vague. Thus, it overlaps with those of a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story.

Also, essays have traditionally been sub-classified as formal and informal. However, at this point, you may be wondering why you need an essay. please pay attention.

Why are Essays Important for College Student

Admission is a human process. Also. while admissions committees look at grades, test scores, and extracurricular, there could be a lot of students that have great qualifications in those areas for every spot in a university’s class. This is where essays come in.

Essays are an opportunity for you to turn an admissions counselor into an advocate for your application!

Also, essays help you to express why you deserve an award over the other student(s). An essay gives you the privilege to express yourself.

When to Begin Working on Your Essay

While considering a college essay example, note. A good time for students to begin working on their essays is the summer before senior year. And this is when homework and extracurricular activities aren’t taking up time and mental energy.

Furthermore, starting early will also give students plenty of time to work through multiple drafts of an essay. This is before college application deadlines.

How Long Should a College Essay Be?

Though the Common App – which students can submit to multiple colleges – notes that “there are no strict word limits”. However, for its main essay, it suggests a gap of about 650 words.

Also, according to them, “While we won’t as a rule stop reading after 650 words, we cannot promise that an overly wordy essay will hold our attention for as long as you’d hoped it would”. Hence, it’s pertinent you keep your essay short.

Also, note. The word count is much shorter for institution-specific supplemental essays. And they are typically around 250 words.

How to Pick a College Essay Topic Following College Essay Examples

While following a college essay example, note. The first and sometimes most daunting step in the essay writing process is figuring out what to write about. There are usually several essays prompts to choose from on a college application.

Also, they tend to be broad, open-ended questions, giving students the freedom to write about a wide array of topics. Additionally, experts say students should narrow their focus and write about a specific experience, hobby, or quirk that reveals something personal,

Also, students can write about something that illustrates an aspect of their background. Even an essay on a common topic can be compelling if done right. Thus, you don’t have to discuss a major achievement in the essay or a common misconception.

Writing the College Essay Following College Essay Examples

While following some college essay examples, note. In writing college essays, some experts encourage students to outline their essays before jumping into the actual writing. However, there are other experts who posit that there isn’t one correct way of doing things.

Thus, your writing process is your own. As such, you’re encouraged to use whatever process worked for you in the past. Furthermore, some other experts believe the first draft of an essay doesn’t need to be perfect.

Thus, for them, you just have to do a brain dump. Don’t edit yourself. Just lay it all out on the page. Also, if you’re having a hard time getting started, note. You should focus on the opening sentence.

Some Types of College Essay Examples and Writing Styles

Here there will be a discussion of college essay examples. With the discussion of essay types, examples, and writing styles. This section describes the different forms and styles of essay writing. These are used by an array of authors, including university students and professional essayists.

  • Cause and Effect

The defining features of a “cause and effect” essay writing style are causal chains that connect from a cause to an effect. Also, there are careful language and chronological or emphatic order.

Thus, a writer using this rhetorical method must consider the subject. Also, it must determine the purpose. Furthermore, must consider the audience and think critically about different causes or consequences. And must consider a thesis statement/arrange the parts.

  • Classification and Division

Classification is the categorization of objects into a larger whole. While the division is the breaking of a larger whole into smaller parts.

  • Compare and Contrast

Compare and contrast essay writing styles are characterized by a basis for comparison, points of comparison, and analogies. Also, they’re grouped by the object (chunking) or by point (sequential).

The comparison highlights the similarities between two or more similar objects. While contrasting highlights the differences between two or more objects.

Thus, when writing a compare/contrast essay, writers need to determine their purpose. Also, they need to consider their audience and consider the basis and points of comparison. Furthermore, they need to consider their thesis statement, arrange and develop the comparison, and reach a conclusion.

  • Expository

An expository essay is used to inform, describe, or explain a topic, using important facts and teaching the reader about the topic. Also, it is mostly written in third-person, using “it”, “he”, “she”, “they”.

Furthermore, the expository essay uses formal language to discuss someone or something. Examples of expository essays are a medical or biological condition, social or technological process, life, or character of a famous person.

  • Descriptive

Descriptive writing is characterized by sensory details. And this appeals to the physical senses, and details that appeal to a reader’s emotional, physical, or intellectual sensibilities.

A description is usually arranged spatially but can also be chronological or emphatic. Thus, the focus of a description is the scene.

Description uses tools such as denotative language, connotative language, figurative language, metaphor, and simile to arrive at a dominant impression.

  • History (thesis)

A history essay sometimes referred to as a thesis essay describes an argument or claim about one or more historical events.

Also, it supports that claim with evidence, arguments, and references. The text makes it clear to the reader why the argument or claim is as such.

  • Narrative

A narrative essay uses tools such as flashbacks, flash-forwards, and transitions that often build to a climax. And the focus of a narrative is the plot.

Furthermore, when creating a narrative, authors must determine their purpose and consider their audience.

Also, they must establish their point of view, use dialogue, and organize the narrative. Additionally, a narrative is usually arranged chronologically.

  • Argumentative

An argumentative essay is a critical piece of writing. And it is aimed at presenting objective analysis of the subject matter, narrowed down to a single topic. Furthermore, the main idea of all the criticism is to provide an opinion either of positive or negative implications.

As such, a critical essay requires research and analysis. Also, it requires a strong internal logic and sharp structure. And its structure normally builds around introduction with a topic’s relevance and a thesis statement.

Furthermore, it is built around body paragraphs with arguments linking back to the main thesis, and conclusion. Additionally, an argumentative essay may include a refutation section where conflicting ideas are acknowledged, described, and criticized.

Another Strong College Essay Examples/Writing Style

Below is another example/strong essay writing style:

The Common Application Essays Example/Writing Style

You might be familiar with The Common Application. However, it is called the Common App for short. And it serves as a single application that over seven hundred colleges, including every Ivy League school and Stanford, share.

Also, The Common App allows you to fill out things like your name, demographics, extracurricular activities, and more. However, this is just once for every school that uses it. Also, it is where you’ll encounter “The Common App Essay” known as your personal statement (PS).

Though not every school uses the Common App, note. Many state or public schools often have their own systems. Thus, the work you do in writing your Common App Essay will serve you in every other component of the process. This includes non-Common App schools.

Why Does the Common App Essay and Other College Essays Matter?

You may have heard the phrase “holistic” admissions thrown around. Many universities follow this model. And this means they don’t necessarily have an ACT or SAT cutoff score. Nor do they require a certain number of AP/IB/Honors courses.

Thus, instead, they’re trying to get to know candidates as humans. Also, since admissions officers are people, they may be horribly bored if their job came down just to numbers, statistics, cutoffs, and counting up your AP and SAT and ACT scores.

Thus, in order to get into your dream school, note. You’ll need not only great grades and test scores but also a strong personal statement. Why? Your Personal Statement is the single loudest ‘qualitative’ element of your application. Also, it brings to life the student (you).

What are These Mystical College Essays, Anyway?

Let’s define our terms—

  • Personal Statement (PS)

When people refer to the personal statement, they’re talking about the 650-word Common Application Essay which all schools using the Common App will see.

Your Personal Statement is your major chance to articulate the qualitative aspects of yourself to the admissions committee, and the admissions committee’s major chance to know you as a person. Throughout this guide, “Common App Essay,” “Common App personal statement,” and “personal statement” are used interchangeably.

  • Secondary or supplemental essays

These are the essays that schools can choose to have you fill out on top of the core Common App Essay. They might invite you to talk more about an extracurricular activity on your resumé or to reflect on a quote from a famous alumna/alumnus of the college and share your thoughts. They’re wide-ranging, and we’ll be covering them in an upcoming guide!

You can learn more about the Common Application Essays Examples/writing Style HERE.

The above are some college essay examples. Do well to read and understand them. Also, feel free to adopt any of the above styles.

CSN Team.

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