Admissions Tutors' Tips on How to Write an EssayOctober 09, 2019

You want to impress the admissions tutors about your knowledge in a variety of subjects including vampirism in Balinese culture. This was your impression after visiting a temple in Bali, which your parents weren't interested. It was supposed to be a holiday, but you were a curious teenager. And you still are. Admissions tutors would be interested in it, but they want to know you. Your essays must reflect your thoughts, if not give them a sense of you.

Let's make clear of a few things: Your knowledge could be one of the factors that would determine your place in the university (or not); admissions tutors are likely to be impressed at your attempt to be the next great author from Down Under; and showing off would be a plus factor. All of which are true, yet you must be selective about what to write about. (If you are aspiring for a degree in Literature, it would be too early to write an essay on the impact of comics on popular culture. You can request it, but some tutors may not be too thrilled about your brief critique on "Joker" and the social issues plaguing Gotham City.) In other words, you must settle with what is expected to be studied during your first year.

Let's see the tutors' definition of a great essay paper.

5 Things That a Good College Essay Writer Must Do

You don't have to be a show off. Boastful doesn't translate to smart. In other words, too much information would lead to the tutors' loss of interest in your essay. If you want attention, then reveal something that would excite them. For instance, you want to write about the relevance of bush poetry in the 21st century. You would be veering away from your prompt if you opt to describe your visit to Uluru. You might have done extensive research on the pre-colonial days, but not all information would serve you. State what you only know about the topic. If you think that you haven't provided adequate information, then browse the Internet. This would lead to the next item.

Don't ever write your essay on the day before the due date. Admissions tutors would make an exception if your writings could make it to the short list of the Miles Franklin Literary Award. It would be wishful thinking for most students, which doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Paper writing can be exhausting in the long run, and you might struggle sooner than the others. There's nothing wrong if you would write about it for a week, as it should give you some time to make the necessary changes. Clarity could be achieved in this manner.

You don't need a bad experience to spurn you to write a great essay. You might have read too many classics, which would make you conclude that greatness equates suffering. It's a big lie, even if you read the flooding in the Yorkshire moors (and you insist that Emily Brontë might have witnessed such a thing while writing "Wuthering Heights"). Your essay could include a short description of backyard cricket. It would reveal your thoughts on sport and a word or two about your mates. Tutors would like to know all about it.

Here's a warning about writing about a person you admire the most. You may end up not writing about yourself, if not your (objective) thoughts on that figure. It could be your parent, if not a sibling you look up to. It may be your grandparents, if not a sports figure that make you hook to the telly. You like this person because you see a part of yourself in him (or her), and this would be a great start. You may be tempted to include a less-flattering trait, which is not as bad as you think at first. Humor could endear you to your tutors, and the next item is somehow related to this one.

A thoughtful tone would help you win you over your tutors. Writing is not an exercise in vanity, even if you have perceived it in some novelists. One of your professors would discuss it (gladly), but you must focus on one thing. You're writing for your tutors, who want to read through your essay. It should be a quick one, as there are other essays to read.

Keep Calm and Throw the Thesaurus

You’re not writing an essay on a science-fiction novel by H.G. Wells, and you’re not thinking about what to write on Aldous Huxley’s notes on his dreams. Don’t rely too much on the (online) thesaurus yet, as your immediate goal is to finish your essay on time. It also means that you can use simple words more frequently than the obscure words that you read in novels. There’s a higher chance that you won’t use such words, which is fine. You’re not writing a novel, and you’re not attempting to impress your tutors.

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