Free Writing Resources for DACA Students!
How to Get Free Writing Resources
If You Are A DACA Student
I’m disgusted by our current presidents attempt to take away DACA, which allows students who immigrated illegally as children to the U.S. with their parents to obtain 2-year visas allowing them to stay here (and attend school and get jobs) legally.
Don’t understand what’s going on with DACA? Check out this article and helpful video.
I believe our DACA students are some of our brightest and more promising students. Many are already teachers in schools around our country.
If you are a DACA students and would like access to my online college application writing course, and/or my writing guides, please send me an email. My email address: EssayHell@gmail.com.
In the email, explain briefly your situation (where you are attending high school and how you are a DACA student), and I will send you these resources completely free of charge. Any information you share with me will remain confidential.
I wish all DACA students and all Dreamers the best of luck and encourage them to continue their schooling and efforts to attend college and beyond. I’m sure this is a frightening time for many of you, but know there are many of us in this country who are doing whatever we can to support and protect you!
Janine Robinson
Essay Hell
How to Manage “Helpful” Parents
Parents and College Admissions Essays: In or Out?
In theprevious post, I gave “helpful” parents some pointers on how to help students with their college admissions essays. Now, it’s your turn to help your own parents. Here are some tips:
- First, understand that your parents are on your side. They just want you to have success, and think they can help you. It’s your job, however, to show them how to help.
- The best way to fend off pesky parents is to prove to them that you have it covered. Tell them where you are at in the process, and that you have put together a timeline for yourself. Simply knowing that you have started will relieve anxiety.
- Some parents, however, are certain they can help you write your essay. This is where you need to help them understand how critical it is that this is your essay, in your words and voice alone. Tell them this, nicely.
- Another way to shield yourself from parental intervention is to see if there is a place or specific role where they can help you, but not take over the process. No one knows you or your life like your parent. If you need help with topic ideas, ask them if they would brainstorm with you. Set a time when you both are in a good mood and not tired.
- Once you have a rough draft, and trust they won’t overtake your piece, let them read it and ask for feedback. Again, watch your moods. Ask them to just tell you what they like, and any places that are unclear or might need more work. Finally, it never hurts to have your parents read your final version to help check for punctuation, spelling and other errors.
- Writing is hard, and can make you grumpy. This is usually about the point where your mom or dad will come in your room to “help,” and you want to strangle them. Instead of yelling at them to “Back off!,” try just telling them that you are working on the essay, and will ask them for help when you need it. Say it nicely, and they will magically go away.
- Remember, no one else will care as much about your essay as your parent. If you let them help a little, they might not feel the need to help too much.
Ready to start writing your essays? Try my Jumpstart Guide!
Tips for “helpful” parents…
Here are some tips for parents who just want to help…The trick is knowing when, to intervene:
- Some students are self-motivated, driven and will knock out these essays with ease. Leave them alone! Other students (the majority) could use a little help. However, unless you have a harmonious parent/teenager relationship where you are accepted in a “teaching” role, I would advise only intervening if they ask, or if you feel they are falling way behind.
- Help them set up a simple schedule or deadlines, if they think that will help.
- Back off it they are tired, grumpy or tell you to go away.
- If they are having trouble getting started, help them brainstorm ideas. Initiate this exchange only when the setting is relaxed and the mood is right! Talk about the qualities/characteristics that define them. Talk about their main interests, hobbies, experiences, etc. Help them recall specific personal stories related to those topics, “Remember the time you…” Write down these ideas.
- Be a sounding board. Read their essay in progress, if they allow it. Give lots of encouragement. Tell them what parts you like and why. Gently, point out parts that are unclear or are not supported by examples. Remember how it feels to have your personal work critiqued or criticized!
- Help them understand that writing these essays is a process. Tell them it is normal to work on their essay for a while, then go do something else, then come back and work some more. Urge them to get feedback from teachers, friends, parents, etc. Let them know it is normal to write several versions to get it right.
7. Proofread their final version for errors, such as spelling, syntax, word choice, punctuation, typos. Simply flag them; they can make the corrections. Remember, you may be their only editor. 
…if you choose to accept this mission, well, good luck!
Choosing a College Application Topic: Another Trick
Some college counselors advise students to think of their life as a book and write down some chapter titles. Then pick one you like and expand upon it. This naturally directs the essay into a narrative (story-telling) delivery.
I thought of a few from my own background as examples:
“Chasing grizzlies in Wyoming”
“Playing cribbage with my new blind friend”
“Burning crepes at the Magic Pan”
“Working the graveyard shift at White Castle”
“How I became student body president–by accident”
“The day I spent in the New York bus station”
See what you come up with. You might be surprised that you have a bestseller! Click HERE for other posts to help you find the magic topic!
Essay Topic Ideas: Start Small
So many students have trouble finding an essay topic. It is such a tough assignment to be asked to write a short essay that shows what you are about. The tendency is to try to include as many cool things as possible–their good works, their achievements, their everything.
When students try to cram too many points or subjects into their essays, they become broad and the meaning and ideas then spread thin. Students who understand the idea of picking one smaller highlight or mini-story and use that to illustrate something about themselves tend to produce essays that naturally reveal something deeper.
Think of how water sinks into the ground: wide and shallow, or contained and deep. It’s one of those things that is hard to explain, but easier to recognize when you see it.
For example, here are just a couple topic ideas I have heard in recent weeks from students:
“I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich”
“The time I learned to drive a stick shift”
“Finding creme for my coffee at the Paris airport”
You can see how these students could describe these little moments and then develop them into metaphors about their interests and passions and show something about who they are.
Aren’t these so much better than “I love to cook” or “I am passionate about French”?
Read about how you can tell a story and how to write anecdote in your college application essay.
So, start small and see where it takes you!
Read this post on how to find a topic for your college application essay!
Word Counts: Cut it out!
Most of the college admissions essays have word count requirements, as do other questions on the applications. Do not ignore them. Stick to their numbers. If it says 500 words, make sure your essay is under that number. If nothing else, it shows you can follow directions.
If your essay is too long, start cutting. This is a great opportunity to actually make your essay better. My dad, a retired English professor, told his students that one way to gauge the best length of a piece of writing was to think of it as a woman’s skirt: keep it long enough to cover the material, but short enough to make it interesting. (No intention there to be sexist–the metaphor just doesn’t work as well for men’s shorts.)
Seriously, when you trim your essay, you almost always improve it. Read it for redundant words and sentences. A lot of times you will find you say almost the same thing in back to back sentences, even though you might have thought one supported the other.
The best place to start slicing is when you read your essay out loud and you hear for yourself where it starts to get dull or wordy. Trust yourself and cut it out! Also, go through your essay word for word and if you suspect you might not need a word, take it out. Is your meaning still clear? Then chop it!
My favorite color is red, well, maybe…
It is hard to write about yourself. The college essay often asks you to describe who you are, and what is most important to you. Those are tough questions, for anyone.
It’s like someone asking you to pick your favorite color. Maybe you really like red, but not all shades of red. And even though you like it a lot, you also have other colors you really love. So how do you answer? “I think I like red, sometimes, don’t you?” No. Way too wishy-washy. Instead, make the statement as though it were the truth. “My favorite color is red.” Then, if you need to, you can qualify your statement later.
When you write these personal essays, you need to write with authority. Even though you might have huge doubts or uncertainly about your answers (life is gray!), you must assert yourself and your opinions with confidence.
The trick is to use strong, simple statements. Natalie Goldberg, author of “Writing Down the Bones,” describes it this way:
“The world isn’t always black and white. A person may not be sure if she can go some place, but it is important, especially for a beginning writer, to make clear, assertive statements. ‘This is good.’ ‘It was a blue horse.’ Not “Well, I know it sounds funny, but I think perhaps it was a blue horse.’ Making statements is practice in trusting your own mind, in learning to stand up with your thoughts.”
TIP: One way to strengthen your writing is to avoid “indefinite modifiers,” such as perhaps, maybe, somehow, almost, really, very, etc.
How to Show and Tell your Story
One of the best ways to write about yourself is to start with a little story, also known as an anecdote. Not only are these mini-stories compelling and natural “grabbers,” they are an excellent way to “show” the reader about yourself instead of just “telling” them. (Want to learn how to “show” your reader what sets you apart from the pack, and write in a narrative, or story-telling, style? Read THIS.)
So let’s assume you have chosen your story. (Click HERE to find great story topics!) Now, where do you start? Make sure the beginning has the most interesting, dramatic, compelling part of the story–otherwise you won’t hook your reader. It is quite common to “bury your lead,” that is, have the best part of your story, the highlight, the drama, the irony, etc., too far down in the narrative. If this is the case, just bring it up–and background it later.
Start your story at the best part, even if it happened in the middle. Start with the good stuff, the action, the impact, the peak of the problem, the punch of the moment, whatever has the most “juice.” Usually, you will only describe “a time” or moment that only lasted a few minutes. Often, this incident also will reflect on your larger message–that’s why it has that “juice.”
If you start in the middle of your story, and describe the highlight, you just need to quickly take your reader back to the beginning of your story in the following paragraph. You always want to go back and start at the beginning because that’s the most natural way to tell a story: chronologically. That way, you also end at the end, so writing your conclusion is natural and simple.
Read some sample essays that tell stories and note where the writer starts her or his story, and study how the narrative was handled. If you want more help on writing a mini-story or anecdote, read THIS POST on how to write an anecdote. If you need help getting started with your college admission essay, try my Jumpstart Guide.
More on “Show, Don’t Tell”
I remember wanting to improve my writing in high school, and feeling frustrated by all the “tips” in the popular how-to-write books: “Be concise,” “Use action verbs,” and the all-popular, “Show, don’t tell.”
OK, but how do I write better?
Later, I came upon one writing book that made a little more sense, called “Writing Down the Bones,” by Natalie Goldberg.
Here is what she said about “Show, don’t tell,” that helped me:
“‘Don’t tell, but show.’ What does this actually mean? It means don’t tell us about anger (or any of those big words like honesty, truth, hate, love, sorrow, life, justice, etc.); show us what made you angry. We will read it and feel angry. Don’t tell readers what to feel. Show them the situation, and that feeling will awaken in them.”
And she goes on: “Some general statements are sometimes very appropriate. Just make sure to back each one with a concrete picture. Even if you are writing an essay, it makes the work so much more lively.”
One great way to “show” readers is to be specific with your writing and use details! I talk about how to be specific when writing your college application essay in this post.
Put yourself behind the camera
A strong college admissions essay often involves creative writing. These essays often tell a story, or use an anecdote (a mini story using narrative writing style) to lead into the piece. Sadly, many high schools and English teachers don’t have a lot of time to teach creative writing, and focus on more conventional essays (such as those that compare works of fiction, you know the ones, where you use theme, diction, etc.) It’s great to learn how to structure those essays, but often students don’t get a chance to explore creative writing.
A great way to try to switch into writing creatively is to think visually. You have probably heard that you should “show, don’t tell,” when trying to describe something, such as a scene or event. So put yourself behind an imaginary video camera, and point it at a past event and simply describe what you see (or saw).
Pretend you are describing it to someone who can’t see it. You can start with a general, sweeping description, but quickly zoom in on the details. Include those 5Ws, who, what, when, where and why. In general, you usually can’t go wrong when you present information in the form of a story. And if you add visual pictures, it will be even better, like a movie.
Don’t forget, once you pound out your story, full of description and action and detail, remember to go back and slice out the words you don’t need. Read it out loud. Does it bog down in spots? Then cut those. At some point, you will like what your hear–and see!
Check out my Jumpstart Guide to help get you started on your college application essay!
Choosing a Topic: a jumpstart
My daughter will be a senior this year, and has started working on her college admissions essays. Like a lot of kids, she has a hard time just getting going–especially in the middle of summer!
We talked about how these essays are supposed to be a student’s “personal introduction” to the college she or he wants to attend. So the key is to make them genuine. (And obviously, answer the question posed in the prompt!)
To do that, though, take some time to explore what is most important to you. Then you can move on to choosing a compelling topic. I typed out a mini-assignment for my daughter to help jump-start the process. See if this works for you:
If you can zero in on something you have done or experienced that illustrates one of your unique qualities as well as explores a subject that means a lot to you, you could have found a strong essay topic.
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