Editing

Maybe you know exactly what you want to write your college essay about, or maybe you already have a rough first draft.  Perhaps you have the entire essay written out, but you’re not very excited about it.   Or you’re excited about it, but the adults accompanying you on this applying-to-college journey – parents, teachers, guidance counselors – murmur, ‘it’s good’ instead of raving the way they usually rave about your work.

There are any number of reasons why your essay might not be as effective and personal as you’d like it to be:

You haven’t actually written it yet

You scribbled down any old thing to get it over with

You hate writing and don’t understand why you have to do this stupid essay anyway

You had no idea what to write about, so you chose: ‘How X sport taught me perseverance’

You have a great idea and a string of anecdotes, but it doesn’t really add up to anything

You’ve written about an important and meaningful experience, but somehow your essay doesn’t convey its weight or significance

You’ve written an essay that sounds more like a journalistic account than personal experience 

You’ve included so many details that the reader gets bogged down or you’ve included so few details that the reader doesn’t feel immersed in the piece

Many students – many writers, actually – tend to think of editing as rereading the essay to check for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, awkward phrasing and the like.  But those cosmetic changes aren’t going to make a dull essay exciting or a rambling one tense and powerful.  Your essay might need a change in perspective, a new tone or additional material.  Maybe adding a few gentle jokes will lighten a very serious topic, or including context could give a humorous more significance.  

If you’re at the beginning of the process, an experienced editor can help you figure out how to choose experiences and details that will allow you to shape an effective essay.  Later in the process, the editor** can help you identify the weaknesses in your essay and suggest ways to restructure it into a compelling essay that shows the admissions committee why you would be an asset to their school. 

*In case it isn’t clear, by ‘experienced editor,’ I mean me!

**Still me!