8 Things To Do Before Submitting Your College Essay
For your successful college application
Have you finished your college essay and don’t know what to do next? Even if you feel like you’ve finished your essay, there are some key things to do before you submit it. Read our guide below to learn about the top 8 things you need to do during the very final stage of the writing process.
1. Read your essay out loud to yourself
One of the best ways to see mistakes you didn’t notice before is to read your essay out loud. When you read your essay silently to yourself on a computer screen, you unconsciously begin to skim through the essay. This means you can overlook issues such as repetitive words or sentences that don’t go well together. So, what you can do is read your essay out loud from the very beginning to the end. You can record yourself reading it and listen to it again. This process will help you notice the minor issues that can harm the overall quality of your essay. After reading it out loud, check all the problem areas in your essay and correct them.
2. Proofread for grammar mistakes and spelling errors
Grammatical mistakes and spelling errors are major red flags in college essays! It can give admissions officers the impression that you didn’t spend much time writing your essay, and therefore are not serious about the application process. Therefore, proofread your essay to correct even the smallest mistakes. You can do this by printing your essay and reading it on paper. Grab a red pen and circle all the errors you can find. Remember, grammatical mistakes extend to more than simply using the wrong past tense in verbs. They encompass everything from the usage of apostrophes, or run-on sentences. Refer to our box below to find out the most common grammar mistakes students make.
Additionally, if you don’t have much time, you can rely on Grammarly (www.grammarly.com). Copy-paste your essay, and it will point out spelling and grammar issues for you. However, Grammarly only covers glaringly obvious grammatical errors if you don’t pay a premium fee, so we strongly recommend looking for mistakes on your own as well.
The Most Common Grammar Mistakes Students Make
Run-on sentences: Run-on sentences refer to complete sentences that are used in one sentence without proper conjunction or punctuation. Split the sentence into two, or use punctuation such as commas and semicolons instead.
ex) I’m completing this form the form is extremely complex
=> I’m completing this form. However, the form is extremely complex.
Wordy sentences: Wordy sentences refer to sentences that are filled with filler words. They may look fancy, but the truth is they are overstuffed and need to be unpacked. Take out unnecessary adjectives or adverbs to make the sentence as concise as possible!
ex) The overbearing, destructive voice in my head was incessantly telling me that there was no possible way I could complete the race, filling me with indecision and fear, and I felt my heart beat faster.
-> The voice in my head told me that I couldn’t complete the race. It filled me with fear, and my heart beat faster.
Passive voice: Passive voice is created when you put objects at the very front of sentences. Sometimes the passive voice is inevitable, but using too many sentences with it can make your essay sound weak and unclear. If you detect the passive voice multiple times, re-structure sentences to put the subject first. This will make the sentence easier to understand while emphasizing the roles you undertook.
ex) The articles in our school newspaper were all edited by us.
-> We edited all the articles in our school newspaper.
Vague pronouns: Vague pronouns occur when a pronoun you use can refer to more than one noun in the sentence. When you detect such pronouns, eliminate them or rearrange the words in the sentence!
ex) I gave my mentees worksheets in files and said they had to submit them to me by tomorrow.
-> I gave my mentees worksheets in files. I said they had to submit the completed worksheets to me by tomorrow.
3. Make sure you stayed focused on the topic of your essay
When writing a college essay, it’s easy to stray from the central topic or message you’re trying to deliver to admissions officers. Or, you can find yourself delving too much into the nitty-gritty details, which can distract readers from the main topic of the essay. So, read your essay again, with the main focus of deciding whether its topic is clear and easy to discern for first-time readers. Go back to when you were planning the outline of the essay, and remember what the message you were trying to deliver to admissions officers was. Is that message being delivered clearly and coherently? Or, will readers have to review the essay again to figure out what it is? If your essay is closer to the latter, you need to edit the essay again.
4. Take a break from writing for an hour or two, then come back fresh to edit again
Have you been reading and editing your essay non-stop for the last couple of days? If so, we strongly recommend taking a much-needed break from the writing process. Investing a lot of time and energy in your essay is always a good idea. However, doing it non-stop will prevent you from noticing issues within the essay. So, take a break for an hour or two without feeling guilty. Do whatever you need to do to forget about your essay, and come back with a clear mind and fresh perspective. Read your essay again, and you’ll be surprised at how many obvious problems you hadn’t noticed before taking the break!
5. Ask someone else if they can see any problems with your essay
Getting a third opinion is always a good idea. Request feedback from someone who can give you an objective review of your essay — so, preferably people that are not related to you. Ask them if there are any problems as a first-time reader of your essay. Is the essay easy to understand and is delivering a coherent story? Do the sentences work well together? What about the structure of the essay? Ask the person for both stylistic and content-related issues. Afterward, compile what he or she said and use them to improve the quality of your essay.
6. Review the flow of ideas in your essay, making sure that each paragraph is connected to the next one
One of the biggest issues a lot of students overlook is the overall flow of the essay. However, the flow is what determines if your ideas are being delivered clearly. So, read your essay, concentrating on the flow only. You can do this by checking to see whether the right transition words are being used between sentences. You can also review the overall order of the paragraphs. Lastly, check to see if the ideas in your essay are all relevant to the topic of the essay. If there are any that disrupt the flow or are superfluous, consider taking them out. Instead, replace them with relevant ideas that will contribute to painting a picture of an attractive candidate to the colleges you’re applying to.
7. Review the introduction and conclusion of the essay
The introduction and conclusion of the essay are what make the first and last impression of your essay. Therefore, those two paragraphs need to be as strong as possible — the opening should draw the readers into your essay, while the end gives the readers a lasting impression. So, read the first sentence and the following introduction. Does the introduction grab the attention of the readers effectively? If not, add a more compelling opening sentence. Check to see if the opening paragraph is a good introduction to the essay. Read the conclusion of the essay, too. If you feel like the ending is relatively weak, add a strong concluding sentence that wraps up the story you’re telling while leaving a clear message of who you are as a person.
8. Go back to the beginning and read it all the way through to make sure it makes sense
This is the very final stage of the writing process. Go back to the very beginning of the essay, and read it all the way through! Read with the mindset that this will be the last time you review your essay before submitting it. Are there any last-minute minor changes you want to make? After you’re done reading and editing it, submit the essay!
When you’re done with these 8 steps, take the time to pat yourself on the back. You’ve completed the final stage of the writing process! You should be proud of finishing such a difficult part of college applications. If you want a final check to see if your essay meets all the requirements admissions officers are looking for, go to our app USSIST to read our writing guide for each essay prompt. Also, click our profile down below to read more tips and tricks for applying to colleges!
