This question is for those who already have interviewed with many schools successfully and consequently been accepted. What kind of format, style, paragraphs, etc...) did you guys use for your interview essays. Any insight and comments would help since my writing is really poor and i really want to do well on this part of the interview. Many thanks in advance.
Need Interview Essay Help
- Thread starter Raj Wal
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One problem: None of my interviews required me to write an essay. But then again, I've only done just two interviews.
However, have you not taken the Composition (english) course/prereq? It teaches you the basics of essay writing. And that included paragraphing etc. Formatting, if I'm not mistaken, is mainly for research papers. I don't think it's required for the basic essay...again, I could be wrong.
Nonetheless, I'm no english professor/tutor, but here is the little I know about writing essays.
1. Must contain a minimum of five paragraphs. First paragraph should be for introducing or stating your main thesis; and listing out points you will be using to support that thesis (at least list out three points).
2. The second through fourth paragraph should be used to elaborate on those (three) points you listed in paragraph one. It does not have to stop at three. But I use at least three just to meet up the five minimum paragraph rule - for the sake of timed tests (like the accursed PCAT). Otherwise, you can list as much points/paragraphs as you see fit for your essay.
3. Then the final paragraph should always be used for summarizing your whole essay.
4. Good grammar & punctuations - inevitable for a good essay. Accurate, not random, vocabularies - not really really necessary...but always a significant bonus.
5. I would ultimately suggest setting up a quick review session with an english tutor/professor from any school or something. Write a couple of practice essays & have them review it for you. They'll be in a better position to better horn your essay skills than random throw-ins from an online forum, supposedly.
I hope that helps...best of luck👍
However, have you not taken the Composition (english) course/prereq? It teaches you the basics of essay writing. And that included paragraphing etc. Formatting, if I'm not mistaken, is mainly for research papers. I don't think it's required for the basic essay...again, I could be wrong.
Nonetheless, I'm no english professor/tutor, but here is the little I know about writing essays.
1. Must contain a minimum of five paragraphs. First paragraph should be for introducing or stating your main thesis; and listing out points you will be using to support that thesis (at least list out three points).
2. The second through fourth paragraph should be used to elaborate on those (three) points you listed in paragraph one. It does not have to stop at three. But I use at least three just to meet up the five minimum paragraph rule - for the sake of timed tests (like the accursed PCAT). Otherwise, you can list as much points/paragraphs as you see fit for your essay.
3. Then the final paragraph should always be used for summarizing your whole essay.
4. Good grammar & punctuations - inevitable for a good essay. Accurate, not random, vocabularies - not really really necessary...but always a significant bonus.
5. I would ultimately suggest setting up a quick review session with an english tutor/professor from any school or something. Write a couple of practice essays & have them review it for you. They'll be in a better position to better horn your essay skills than random throw-ins from an online forum, supposedly.
I hope that helps...best of luck👍
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Also, just a few things to add. It's usually best to have your strongest point at the end of those paragraphs illustrating your topical points (some people feel the beginning but I disagree) because that is the last thing to stick with the reader. You don't want to start off with your strongest item and have everything go down hill from there 😛
The opening paragraph should be the kicker to get them amped to continue reading. A joke, a quote, a story or example, etc. would be a good way to get the person interested in your essay because it is out of the norm. We don't want cookie-cutter essays here from a textbook because everyone will do the same thing. Since this essay is for admissions the adcoms will be reading a lot of essays; having something to get them intrigued and remember you is key for acceptance.
You can always pre-plan a few examples of things you can relate to a variety of topics. Research a few key, famous people and what they did. That way you have a bit of your planning done and have something to run with your essay, giving more to the "interesting" part and more time to flesh out the writing. That saved my a** during SATs and college admissions. I think I used penguins, Galileo, Theodore Roosevelt, pros and cons of medicaid, and wikipedia. That range of topics should cover almost anything you would encounter, IMO.
Here is another key thing. People reading the essay are like people who argue on the internet. The second you do a grammatical mistake or misspell something very obvious, they are going to lose credibility in you. We all rely on spell check which isn't available when handwriting so pay attention over the next few days and see what you consistently misspell so you know how to do it right.
Finally, like mentioned, summarize your essay at the end but don't be super redundant. They just read the essay so they haven't forgotten already. This is mainly to tie in the points and why they are related. Use key words to signal you are closing, like I just did with this paragraph.
Hope this helps!
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