Click here to explore thousands of successful college essay exemplars!
Writing a compelling Common App essay can be a challenging task, but it’s a great opportunity to showcase your unique story. This post is here to give you some essential strategies for writing the Common App essay right from brainstorming ideas to proofreading and submission. Whether you’re brainstorming ideas or editing your final draft, these tips are here to guide you through every step of the process!
How To Write A Common App Essay
Before You Begin
Choosing a prompt: Take a look at the 2024-25 prompts, which can be found here. You will need to choose one of these prompts before starting the essay writing process.
Brainstorming: If you are confused about which prompt to choose, you will need to start brainstorming some ideas for each prompt and see which one you can write about the most naturally. For some tips on brainstorming, check out this post here.
Choosing the right topic: After you have settled on a prompt, you may be wondering what topic to write about since prompts can be answered in a large variety of ways. For some Common App essay ideas for each of the prompts read this post here. For essay topics to avoid, see this post here.
Writing and Structuring the Essay
Start off strong: Grab the reader's attention with a hook statement that draws them in. More details on writing a good hook can be found here.
Have a compelling introduction: Your introduction should provide an overview of what is to come and should set the scene for the rest of your narrative. See this post for a guide on how to format an introduction, and this post for some examples of good introductions. You can also find some introduction strategies here.
Have a clear structure: Make sure each body paragraph has a clear focus and that ideas transition smoothly between body paragraphs as well as between the introduction, body and conclusion. For more advice regarding structure, see these posts here and here.
Avoid clichés: Don't use overused phrases in your essay as this will not help you stand out. For a list of clichés to avoid, see this post here. Instead, you should come up with your own creative phrases related to the main topic of your essay.
Have a memorable conclusion: Your conclusion should reinforce the main message of your essay and provide your reader with a satisfying ending to your narrative. See this post for a guide on how to format a conclusion, and this post for some examples of good conclusions. You can also find some conclusion starters here.
Suggested Grading Methods
Criteria: Although there are no official criteria set by the Common App, check out this guide that outlines a suggested set of criteria to keep in mind when writing your Common App essay.
Rubric: Similarly, although there is no official rubric set by the Common App, check out this guide that outlines a suggested rubric to keep in mind when writing your Common App essay.
Editing and Proofreading
Check for mistakes: Thoroughly read your essay to ensure it is free from grammatical errors. For an in-depth guide to editing and proofreading your Common App essay, see these post here and here. For a guide on common mistakes to avoid, see this post here.
Formatting: Check that the formatting of your essay in terms of font size, colour, etc. is appropriate for submission. Formatting guidelines for the Common App essay can be found here.
We hope that this guide has provided you with some advice and further resources that you can explore when writing your Common App essay. Good luck with your college applications!
The Fast Track To Your
Best IB Coursework & College Essays
All content on this website has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. International Baccalaureate and IB are registered trademarks owned by the International Baccalaureate Organization.