The College Essay

	The College Essay Pathfinder Review the assignment Send Ms. Hickson comments or suggestions about the pathfinder
Table of contents
Suggested search terms Dewey numbers Books About college essays About the writing process		Articles & electronic databases Web sites P lagiarism policy
Suggested search terms These terms may be helpful for performing keyword searches in the NHHS media center catalog, electronic databases, or online search engines:
· College applications · College application essays · Colleges and universities entrance requirements		· English language composition · English language rhetoric
Return to table of contents Dewey numbers The following ranges of call numbers show the areas where you can browse for books in the library: 378 (Higher education) 808 (Rhetoric & collections of literature) Return to table of contents
Books The following books are available in the NHHS Media Center: About college application essays Bauld, Harry. On Writing the College Application Essay. New York: Barnes and Noble, c1987. Offers tips on how to write meaningful essays for college admission applications. Includes sample essays. Ehrenhaft, George. Write Your Way Into College: Composing A Successful Application Essay. New York: Barrons, c1987. Step-by-step guide to writing a college application essay. 100 Successful College Application Essays. New York: New American Library, 2002. Gain inspiration and knowledge from essays that helped gain their writers admission to such schools as Brown, Harvard, and Wellesley. Fiske, Edward. How to Get Into the Right College. New York: Times Books. Includes a chapter on scoring points with the essay, including a list of turn-offs. Hayden, Thomas C. The Insider's Guide To College Admissions: Find Out What You Really Need To Know About Getting Into College. Princeton, N.J.: Peterson's, c1999. Offers advice to parents and prospective students on college admissions, discussing how to choose the right college, college visits, testing and planning, the application and college essay, financial considerations, and other topics. Leana, Frank. Getting Into College. New York: Hill and Wang, 1980. Includes a chapter on essay topics, approaches, tips, and sample essays. McCloskey, Susan. Writing A Winning College Application Essay. Princeton, New Jersey: Peterson's, c1996. The time-saving tips and strategies for writing a winning college application essay include: dealing with the range of topics; getting over writer's block; turning rough drafts into polished final versions and adapting one essay to meet the need of several applications. Mason, Michael. How To Write A Winning College Application Essay. Roseville, CA: Prima Pub., c2000. Explains how to write an original and creative college application essay, sharing what admissions officers are looking for, sample essays, do's and don'ts, and special advice for the SAT II writing test, scholarship applications, and graduate school applications. Mayher, Bill. The College Admissions Mystique. 1st ed. New York: Noonday Press, c1998. Looks at the broad picture of college admissions and how it fits into contemporary American culture; features an annotated timeline that provides an overview of the admissions year; and presents specific cases and strategies for choosing and applying to colleges. Mitchell, Joyce Slayton. Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean: An Expert’s Advice For Getting into College. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, c2001. Offers advice to high school seniors on how to begin the college admissions process. Newman,Gerald. Writing Your College Admissions Essay. New York: F. Watts, c1987. A guide to organizing, writing, and revising essays for college admission applications, with tips on being informative, personal, and original. Also discusses sample answers to typical questions and includes essays written by students in actual college applications. Paul, Bill. Getting In: Inside The College Admissions Process. Reading, MA.: Addison-Wesley Pub., 1995. A guide for high school students preparing to apply to college, includes insight on the admissions process and selecting a college. Williams, Laurie. College Application Essays. New York: Arco Publishing, 1984. A step-by-step guide to writing an outstanding essay, including expert advice on choosing your topic, organizing your ideas, refining your words, and presenting yourself in the best light. Return to table of contents About the writing process Dunbar, Robert. Making Your Point. New York: Franklin Watts, 1990. Concise lessons on making your point using facts, logic, language, emotion, and humor. Kesselman-Turkel, Judi. Getting It Down. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1983. Provides techniques and exercises for brainstorming, choosing the right approach, working with the unknown, and selecting the best point of view. Sebranek, Patrick. The Write Source. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and Company, 1987. A handbook discussing a variety of principles related to the writing process, such as composition techniques, creative thinking skills, grammar, and proofreading tips. Sohn, David A. Writing By Doing: Learning To Write Effectively. Skokie, IL: National Textbook Co., 1983. Instruction in writing and composition, with activities and exercises for practice and review. Stott, William. Write to the Point. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1984. For writers of papers, reports, books, what to write about, how to write it, organization, important grammar and punctuation. Strunk, William, Jr. The Elements of Style. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2000. A manual conveying the principles of plain English style. Zinsser, William. On Writing Well. New York: Harper & Row, 1976. Considered a classic by professional writers, this book demonstrates effective writing techniques with passages from the works of great nonfiction writers, including H.L. Mencken, James Agee, and Hunter Thompson. Return to table of contents
Articles & electronic databases Using the suggested search terms, look for articles about college-application essay writing in EBSCO Host MasterFILE Premiere, accessible from the NHHS Media Center home page or on the media center computers’ Favorites list. Following is a sample of available articles: Blank, Jonah. “Writing a Winning Essay.” U.S. News & World Report. 31 Aug. 1998: 79. Cantore, Jean Ann. “Make Your College Essay Shine.” Career World. Nov./Dec. 1999: 16. Ewers, Justin and Anna Haigh. “Getting into Colege.” U.S. News & World Report. 30 Aug. 2004: 68. Kashner, Zoe. “It's Gotta Be You.” Literary Cavalcade. Sept. 1999: 16. Kashner, Zoe. “Writing the College Application Essay.” Literary Cavalcade. Sep. 2000: 12. “Where Should They Go?” U.S. News & World Report. 30 Aug. 2004: 82. “Writing a College Essay in Three Easy Steps.” Careers & Colleges. Sept./Oct. 2004: 38. “Writing the College Essay.” Career World. Nov./Dec. 2004: 15. Return to table of contents Web sites About.com Tips for brainstorming college essay ideas: http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegeessay/a/brainstorm.htm Effective essays: http://7-12educators.about.com/od/essaysparagraphspapers/index_r.htm Sample essays: http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegeessay/a/essaysamples.htm Admissions Essays http://www.admissionsessays.com/writing_tips.shtml A five-part writing primer from an online critique service. Associated Colleges of the Midwest http://www.acm.edu/admiss/essay.pdf College admission officers provide insights into writing an effective essay. Cal State University Writing Center http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/write_cn/essaypro.htm An overview of the writing process from first draft to proofreading and revisions. Carleton College http://www.carleton.edu/admissions/essay/ Hints about essay writing from the college’s admissions staff. CollegeBoard http://www.collegeboard.com/apply/essay_skills/ A comprehensive overview of essay-writing skills from this non-profit organization composed of more than 4,700 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Essay Edge http://www.essayedge.com/college/essayadvice/samples/ More than 100 sample essays accepted by the top U.S. colleges and graduate schools. Essay Writing Center http://essayinfo.com/ Advice to help you strive to write more clearly, gracefully, and efficiently IvyEssays http://ivyessays.com/u_tips1.asp General tips for writing successful essays. Quintessential Careers http://www.quintcareers.com/college_application_essay.html A three-part guide to essay writing from the EssayEdge professional editing service, plus sample essays. University of Victoria http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/EssaysToc.html General essay-writing tips, including a summary of common problems to avoid. Return to table of contents
Plagiarism policy Plagiarism demonstrates lack of integrity and character. It is inconsistent with the goals and values of NHHS. Review the plagiarism policy to learn about strategies that will help you succeed with honor. NHHS policy on cheating and plagiarism http://www.nhvweb.net/NHHS/English/cheatingplagiarismpolicy.htm Return to table of contents