How to Write an Admission Essay

Published by Charlie Davidson on

How to Write an Admission Essay

Writing an essay requires a certain amount of skill. Essays are written for many purposes throughout a person’s life. But some of them happen to be more important and sometimes crucial than the rest of them. Admission essay is one such essay which can matter much more than an academic grade. For the same reason it is something that should be done very carefully.

As you might be aware, to get into a particular course, there are certain formalities which will have to be observed. It involves filling out forms and also, introducing yourself and your skills through a self-assessment essay. There is nothing much you can do to make the forms look particularly good because all you can do is, write down the details asked for. The admission essay, on the other hand, will be your chance to prove your caliber. So it is worthwhile to spend some time to prepare an impressive and interesting personal essay.

The most important thing to keep in mind while writing your admission essay is that the person at the other end does not know you. Your application is just one among a lot of other applications. So unless there is something in your essay that makes it stand out from the rest of them, it may not get noticed. The content you put into your essay should be interesting enough to grab the attention of the person who reads it.

The main task is to project your strengths and skills without making it sound like you are conceited. But being too modest about your skills will not help either as the committee has no way of knowing your good intentions. A very modest essay carries the risk of making you sound insecure or unsure of yourself. That will not work as you are aiming at convincing them of your potential worth.

You are expected to mention your weak spots as well. So, do it, but very tactfully. The trick is to make your limitations sound insignificant in comparison to your virtues. The best way is to ensure that there are more positive aspects than negative ones. Arrange the body paragraphs in such a way that your weaknesses are obscured and your talents and interest in the subject, highlighted. Avoid giving excuses for your failures or shortcomings. Mentioning it, will only make it sound like you are trying to attract sympathy.

While writing the admission essay, talk about your skills in the concerned subjects. It won’t help to talk about your talents and abilities in other areas. All that will matter is what makes you eligible to apply for that particular course. You have to prove that you are capable of handling the subjects which are a part of the syllabus of the course you are applying for.

Do not be repetitive. Repetitive discussion of the same point is not only boring but also unimpressive. Avoid coming back to one point again and again. And do not talk about irrelevant matters. It is very easy to write an admission essay as long as you have a good understanding of what it is aimed at and what is the expected content matter of this type of essay. You may take a look at some samples to get an idea of what a good admission essay should look like.

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