clarity

I’ve read thousands of college essays. Not an exaggeration. When you spend enough time in admissions consulting, you start to see patterns emerge–the good ones, the forgettable ones, and the ones that make you sit back in your chair and think, “This person gets it.” The difference between a mediocre essay and one that actually …

How to Structure a College Essay for Maximum Impact Read More »

I’ve read thousands of argumentative essays. Some were brilliant. Most were forgettable. The difference rarely came down to how smart the writer was or how much research they’d done. It came down to structure. A well-structured argument is like a building with a solid foundation–everything else depends on it. When I started teaching writing at …

Proper Structure of an Argumentative Essay for Maximum Impact Read More »

I’ve read thousands of essays. Not an exaggeration. Between my years teaching composition at a state university and later working as a freelance editor, I’ve encountered every variation of student writing imaginable. Some essays made me sit up straighter. Others felt like walking through wet concrete. The difference between them wasn’t always obvious at first …

What Makes a High-Quality Essay Stand Out from Others Read More »