More than Communication & Expression

College essay writing is beyond measuring your ability to communicate your understanding of books and lectures, and to express yourself well. The purpose of writing college essays is to discover, investigate, and develop new knowledge. After all, the purpose of going to college is to develop your skills and the attitude to pursue the truth of a particular discipline.
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Many things you will learn in college will become obsolete, but the scientific, analytical and even ecological approach (being able to see the context, interconnectedness or systemic effects of a phenomena) to investigating the truth will remain relevant all throughout your life.
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Everyone is in agreement that there is still much to know. The history of knowledge tells us that theories, assumptions, and world views can be disproved and changed. With this in mind, you do not just simply ingest knowledge and regurgitate it, but you analyze, critique, research, experiment, and exert an effort to make a useful contribution to the continuing pursuit of the truth.
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Choosing a Relevant Thesis Statement
Hence in your essays, why choose a thesis statement that is already widely accepted? Instead choose a topic and thesis statement that is relevant and where there is still debate or wide disagreement. College essay writing needs to be relevant. It is written for a particular audience and not just for yourself or your teacher. However, if the issue is too complex, limit your paper to a specific aspect. Make your paper more specific and manageable.
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There will always be issues that will always be debated, such as the right of women to have an abortion. Study the old arguments in an abortion essay and check whether you can add new insights and new evidence into this debate that has not been touched before. Re-hashing old arguments is not enough. For an abortion essay, advances in technology and the latest scientific studies on the embryo can be used to strengthen the argument against abortion. Statistics of the increase adoption overseas of American families and single parents can be further added to the argument. Moreover, the increase availability of contraceptives is also an argument that can be improved.
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Process of Discovery
Your interest, curiosity, and strong emotion about the subject are essential in choosing your essay topics. If the topic is chosen for you, choose a thesis statement, or focus on the aspect of the topic that interests you. College essay writing is a pursuit of knowledge which requires significant level of emotions on the subject. Why? You need to immerse yourself in your topic which would involve a lot of time on reading, researching for evidence gathering and analyzing.
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Interests in the subject would make this time-consuming and effortful process easier. The ‘flow’ of having ideas synthesize in your mind is more easily attained when you have an interest in your subject. If you are enrolled in the academic discipline that is well suited to your interests and talents, then this will not be an issue for you.
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Use of Reasoning and Logic
Good college essay writing is beyond smart quips and quick comebacks. You do not persuade your audience simply by entertaining them and winning their emotions. You have to persuade them through the use of logic and valid evidence.
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Most importantly, in this internet age, you need to check the sources of your information. Check the qualifications of the author and the references he used. Also, check whether the journal has been peer-reviewed and the date of the studies. Check whether this study has been validated by other studies.
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And most importantly, read about the counterarguments to your thesis. Get information about the most prominent opponent to your thesis. Be able to answer, why your thesis cannot be repudiated by their current arguments. Summarize your keypoints and take time to write a strong essay conclusion
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Remember that in college, you are not just a passive recorder of existing knowledge. You are now a member of the academic community, responsible for the creation of knowledge. And one way you are able to participate in advancing your academic discipline is through your college essay writing.

Why are Educators Not Looking Inward?

Many educators have worked to ban essay writing services in google ads and search engines. This reminds me of the fight against drugs and alcoholism in kids and young adults. It’s easier but less effective to go against suppliers. Essay writing however, is a critical education tool; so why aren’t educators assessing their effective use of this tool? Moreover, educators and the community need to get involved in tackling the context and root of the problem. Removing them from search engines is just a band-aid solution.
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Drugs, Alcoholism, and Essay Writing Companies
So what has this got to do with essay writing companies? The boom in essay writing services is due to lack of adequate preparation of students for college, and like alcoholism and the drug problem, underlying causes are not treated, just the symptoms.
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The large number of students requesting for student loans for tuition have increased rapidly. So why do students spend their limited and hard-earned money buying essays? Instead of paying somebody else to write their essays; why not write their own essays and buy other things they need or want? Let’s face it, some students are not lazy but are overwhelmed in college and they need help. Essay writing services are needed by students due to lack of proper training. Should educators continue believing that students are just lazy to write? Or should they look within themselves and see whether the educational system has done enough to develop the writing skills of students?
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Help with Essay Writing
Studies have shown that students spend less than three hours writing essays every week. This is so much lower than the percentage students spend watching television or playing video games. Moreover, few papers are written by high school seniors every month in their English courses. Science and history courses also seldom require more than two-page essay papers from their students.
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At the very least, preparatory schools should help students realize the importance of essay writing. Writing improves the students’ reasoning skills, analysis skills in reviewing data and its validity. Writing good essays enables students to relate all the things they have learned in school and from their experiences.
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So how can these kids be proficient in essay writing if their educators have not even critically reviewed their educational and writing programs? Help with essay writing should come from educators and not essay writing companies. Ideal solution would be to improve your writing programs and make essay writing services for college students obsolete. But what is happening is, poorly prepared college students who cannot afford to fail due to high tuition fees are using essay writing companies to help them get their degrees.
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Essay Writing Companies and Foreign Students
Not all essay writing companies are scumbags as educators have painted them. Aside from college students who have been inadequately prepared for college and are freaked out with writing their essays, most of the clients are foreign students who have failed in their courses and were asked to rewrite their essays and research papers. These essay companies act as tutors in helping these students understand the requirements of their teachers. They help them organize their thoughts and ideas in English.
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Is there a support system for these foreign students in English universities? Proficiency in another language takes time. However, their length of stay in their university, exposure to English-speaking classmates will eventually improve their English writing skills. Eventually, they may not need these essay writing businesses to organize and edit their paper for them.
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Others that may require temporary essay writing help are adults who have gone back-to-school; and working students who are barely sleeping, to attend their classes and work to pay for their expensive tuition fees. (High college tuition fees is another issue worth discussing!)
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Finally, foreign students would not have been accepted into these English universities if they did not know how to study and are not interested in learning! English essay writing is a practical skill like driving. Long-term goal would always be to write independently of essay writing services!

Essay Questions You will be Asked All Your Life

We think of college entrance essays as just a school requirement. But as an adult, holding my 10th job, I began to see them as one of those tools that can help us succeed later in life. But students seldom think of them that way during this critical time in their lives when more reflection and self-knowledge are needed.
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“Who are you?” – Students should understand the relevance of this question in their lives.
This personal essay question is commonly phrased as, “How do you describe yourself as a person? What are your strength and weaknesses? Are there any significant experiences that shaped you? What personal characteristics do you want to strengthen? What do you want to change about yourself?”
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Millions of self-help books are being sold to adults to increase their self-knowledge, find their passion, and help them find the right jobs. How many adults have gone back to school because they took the wrong courses because they only thought of income potential? How many are unhappy with their jobs?
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Your college entrance essay is not just a requirement. It is also tool to help you to reflect and grow into self-awareness. Believe me, living a thoughtful life will give you the power to direct your life and achieve your goals.
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“What are your achievements? – Essay Question that Keeps You Focused in College
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Why should we accept your application? What have you done? What have you accomplished? Why should we hire you? You will be asked these questions all throughout your life. You will hear this question in your personal life when you are dating someone or meeting their parents. You will hear this question in your career when you want to get hired, ask for a pay increase or a promotion. You may even need to answer this question when the company is downsizing.
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Of course you will party and go to dates, but focus on what is important. You are the one paying for your time in college with your student loans. You will work you ass off to pay these loans, so manage your time well. Build your critical thinking skills, team work skills, essay writing skills, presentation and social skills. Am I focusing my time on developing my talent? Am I building skills that are highly demanded in the marketplace?
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Why choose this school?”- An important life skill to learn is how to make informed decisions.
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When you look for work, you will also be asked “why choose our company?” This means you need to research and evaluate your options before making critical decisions in your life. In college entrance essays, the school wants to know, how you were able to arrive at your decision to pursue your chosen degree and apply in their school. Your answer will show how serious and committed you are about your choices. Most significantly, this question will reveal whether you have a plan for your life.
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In college you need to constantly try to find the answer on what do you want to do with your life.
Some people are able to answer these questions easily, while many of us need to explore further. What is your purpose? We need to constantly make plans and change them according to what we discover in ourselves (talent, qualities) during our learning and exploration time in college. To guide your planning, also check out employee requirements of the companies that are highly ranked in your chosen field. What can you do to fit their profile?
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Final thought
As young adults, you need to learn to think critically, write and express yourself well. Start writing personal essays in journals and fill it up with your discoveries about yourself, your questions, your goals, and plans for your life. This will give you direction and help you avoid the frustrations and regrets of an aimless, unexamined and wasteful life. (This will be a valuable document when you become a significant person later!)
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Living your life with self-awareness and goals will help you lead a significant and fulfilling life. I wish, somebody guided me when I was in high school. Hopefully, teachers would go the extra mile and not only teach their students the literal and technical skills on how to write their college entrance essays.

Essay Writing Follows Human Reasoning

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A strong conclusion will boost the quality of your essay, while a poor conclusion will just turn your essay into a disaster. Yet, some college students just hurry the last part, for the sake of finishing their essays. They fail to wrap-up their essay and leave their readers uncertain and unconvinced. So below are tips on how to write the conclusion for  your college essays.
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Structure of the Conclusion
Classic essay structure is that the conclusion begins narrowly and ends expansively (Payne, 1965). It starts with a specific summary of your key points and arguments. Next, your thesis statement is restated, in the form shaped by your arguments. Finally, the conclusion is closed by a final statement that imparts a generalized understanding of your essay topic.
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An English teacher once gave me this advice in my personal essay, “You do not have to end your personal essay with a life lesson all the time. You can also look forward and end your essay with a statement about your future. You can use statements about possibilities and not just about past learnings.”
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Don’t Panic, Don’t Get Lost
If you are starting to panic in writing your essay conclusion, it means that you’ve gone off the limits of what is being required of you in your essay question. Remember that you are only asked to write a conclusion for “your particular thesis statement” and not a conclusion of the topic itself.
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Also remember that you are only required to sum up “your essay and your arguments” and not the thousands of complex arguments, other experts may have about the issue. This is why some students get so stressed about writing for essays topics such as abortion essay or global warming essay because they feel that they need to present all the arguments ever written about the topic. The scope of your essay is limited by your thesis statement, so focus on that.
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Good Essay Writing, Follows the Structure of Human Reasoning
If you think about it, essay writing follows the way we humans find answers or understand the events in this world. We begin with questions, which is usually included in the essay introduction. We don’t start with a blank slate. We have our assumptions from our past experiences and learning. We also love to guess and hypothesize. Then we investigate and research arguments and evidence and this becomes part of the body of the essay. Next, we evaluate and form our findings.
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Finally, from this specific essay question and finding, we don’t just stop and think that it only applies to a specific instance. As humans, we naturally generalize our understanding and experiences. Our brains evolved that way, so we can function and survive in this world. We may have a specific experience about a certain cat, but our understanding of this cat, is used as a general understanding of all cats. We may not even find the answers, but each pursuit of the question, leads us to another path in investigating that question.
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Conclusion- A Better Understanding or Passing the Torch
How to write an essay conclusion? Satisfy your reader’s need to understand your thesis statement. You may not even have the answer to your question and conclude that more research is needed. Your conclusion, however, has led to a better understanding of the phenomena you were investigating, and opened a new path where others may continue the pursuit of knowledge.

Good Essay Introduction Translates to Real Life Skills

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Watching Joe Biden, the VP hopeful in the U.S. 2008 elections, highlighted to me the importance of capturing the interest of your audience. Even if you are highly competent and you have solid experience, you still suck if you are not able to introduce your ideas well. So no matter how extensive your research is on your argument essay; or how exact and illustrative your sentences are in your descriptive essay; it will be for nothing if your essay introduction sucks!
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So here are Tips on How to Write an Essay Introduction:
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Be Arresting- You have to draw the reader, boost his interest and decrease his resistance to reading. How? Aside from an opening statement which leads your reader to your main point, you can also open with a provocative question. You can also begin with a narrative, then a question which introduces the reader to what the essay is about.

Flash Review of the Argument Essay and Research Essay

Interested in being a fab essay writer? Writing a good essay is like wearing the right dress for each occasion. Choosing the right words, tone, and structure in the essay is as critical as choosing the right material and cut for your body. Each academic discipline has its own guidelines and essay formats so dig up your student handbook and read it!
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Also read your essay questions carefully because they are as important as party invitations in giving you the heads up on what you need to know to write a good essay. And as different events we go to require different dress styles; different academic disciplines also require different degrees of formality. Hence, you have to understand what is expected of you and how your work will be evaluated. Below are two essay types and their guidelines.
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1. Argument Essay – Casual Chic
Why are you being asked to write an argument essay? You have to establish that your position or thesis statement is more relevant and credible than the other positions. The degree of formality in tone depends on the requirements of your teacher.
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How to write it? Start with an introduction on why the topic is relevant and how you will tackle the topic. Is there a growing misinformation on the issue? Is the popular view on the topic not based on facts? Include your position on the issue or the thesis statement in the introduction. Next, in the body of the essay, write the arguments or supporting evidence to your thesis or position. Evaluate the evidence. Why is it more credible and authoritative?
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Then write the counter-arguments or opposing viewpoints. This adds more credibility in your paper because it shows that you have analyzed the opposing viewpoints before you adopted your position. Evaluate why the opposing view is less authoritative or convincing.
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Lastly, write your conclusion. Reassert your position by writing down a brief summary of your key points and your final evaluation of the issue, which should solidly affirm your thesis in the introduction.
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2. Research Report Essay – Formal Attire Please! How is it different from the argument essay? It more rigorous and has a more formal structure. Convention dictates that the tone should not be personal or conversational.
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Structure of the Research Report
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Purpose of the Paper
What are you trying to investigate or research? Why is it important? If you made any changes in the research proposal you submitted, include them in this section and explain why they were necessary.
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Literature Review
Discuss the previous studies made on the subject, the background issues and theories. Was your research initiated to support new theories in your academic field, negate old theories or present your own theory? What methods of research were previously used? Analyze whether the methods were adequate or can be improved?
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Methodology
Describe the methods you used and any changes you may have adapted in your methods during your research. State the reason you chose that method. Also, describe the manner in which you conducted the research.
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Findings
Write the results of your research. How do they relate with the findings of other researchers in your literature review? Present your evidence from the data you collected to substantiate your findings.
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Evaluation
Are your research findings relevant to the purpose of your research? Does it answer your research questions adequately? Or do you see the need to modify your research method in order to come up with more accurate results? What additional research can be made to substantiate your findings?
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References
You must cite all the resources you have used to avoid plagiarism. Usual essay format used in sociology and psychology research is APA.
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Appendices
Include additional data that explains and supports your research.
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Like fashion, a good essay must be tailored to your academic discipline!