We talk on this blog a lot about the common app essay. What makes a good one, how to start brainstorming, and even examples of ones we loved. You can look through all of this and still be wondering, well how do you actually start to write it? You just have to follow a few steps to make your brainstorming ideas into an awesome essay.
Do a thorough brainstorm:
While the brainstorm might start with some texts from friends, it shouldn’t stop there. You can start with stories or more characteristics, even quotes. The most important part is having a lot to work with. Don’t be afraid to include anything that might be helpful to you or that you think you could potentially write about.
Brainstorming can take time. Make sure to give yourself space just to list out your ideas. It doesn’t have to be pretty; all we care about is you getting everything out. We would rather have you write out a bunch of stuff you won’t use than miss something that you would want to write about.
Also, keep it casual--you can brainstorm anywhere. Keep a note on your phone, write it in your journal or on a google doc. It doesn’t really matter where you keep it, but make sure you write ideas down when you think of them (somewhere you won’t lose.) Trust us, there is nothing worse than having a great idea and then forgetting it before you get home to write it on your big whiteboard.
Connect some dots
Have you ever made a Pinterest board? We haven’t, but we understand the ~concept~. Let’s say you are redecorating your room. You might make a board of colors and furniture and decor. You don’t start by thinking, “I am going to only save items that are rose gold,” but as you look back through your pins, you might see that you gravitated to certain colors, textures, or aesthetics.
Even if you weren’t trying to define your style, looking back you can see a lot of what you liked matches. Yes, there are some outliers, the neon-green rug doesn’t fit the pastels of everything else, but overall you can start to see an aesthetic take shape.
This is what should happen when you are almost done with your brainstorm. Instead of cottagecore decor, it’s multiple stories about being great at giving advice. Or it might be that most of your stories have to do with taking responsibility and your friends all called you, “the mom of the group,” and “super mature.” Finding these trends in your brainstorming set you up to write a cohesive essay.
Look for similar words or similar themes. Once you can draw some circles around topics and ideas that fit together, you should have a shortlist of ideas you can write about. Circles should come up naturally. You don’t need to force it. If you try you will end up looking like you are on the hunt for a serial killer covered in red string. If you feel like you are forcing connections that aren’t there, just go back to brainstorming. (You can always do more!)
Just get to writing
Ok, so this sounds scarier than it is. It can be hard to jump in. But we’re here with you, and it’s going to be okay.
We have our students start by just writing down some of the stories that they gravitated to during their brainstorm. Our biggest piece of advice here is to not care about good writing. Your story doesn’t have to be good—you just need to get it out.
Don’t get hung up on sentence structure or flow. We don’t care about grammar at this point. Think of it as a free-write. Don’t worry about word count or word choice. Most of our students start by writing out several short stories about themselves or a set of smaller stories. One of these stories, or even multiple of them, usually become the story that our students will base their essay on.
Sometimes the story is obvious, so we start with an outline. But most of our students don’t start with an outline. They start with a series of free-writes that morph into a final essay.
Once you have the free-write version of your story on the page, it is much easier to shape it, round it out, and make edits. This is where you turn your convoluted free write into a first draft.
Usually, our students go through several drafts. This process can feel like two steps forward, one step back. But that’s okay and normal. Once you have a starting point it’s all about tightening things up and polishing it, but getting anything out can be the hardest part for many. However, we find if you can set yourself up with a good brainstorm and use that brainstorm to find a topic to free-write about, that scary first draft can be eased into for most students.
Still need help starting your essay? We are here to help!