College Essay Writing Tips: Are You Ready for Your Close Up?

Throughout high school, students have been discouraged from using the word “I” in most of their assignments. Now, all of a sudden, they’ve got to write an essay that’s all “me, me, me.” It’s hard enough to come up with a topic that’s original and compelling, maybe even clever … but asking teens to let go of ingrained rules and risk sounding like a narcissist? Yikes.

(Then again, it’s called the Personal Statement for a reason.)

I see this happen from time to time; my students will start off writing in first person, and then somewhere in the middle of the essay, the voice changes. “Others,” “some,” or “people” will appear, and I find myself thinking, “Wait! I want to know more about you. Come back!” It’s like a car veering off a road.

Even worse, the tone starts to shift. And instead of having a great conversation with an interesting young person, I begin to feel like I’m being lectured to by a philosophy professor … who has yet to graduate high school.

I get it. No one wants to sound braggy or self-involved (and I will talk about that in a future blog post!) But here’s the thing: when the point of view changes from first person (I/me) to second or third (you/they/others), it might be a sign that you’re starting to write about the wrong thing. The essay may be a statement, but not a personal one. 

In other words, if you’re loath to put a first-person pronoun into your essay, then your essay might be something that anyone could write. I often tell my students this: if someone else could put their name on your essay … and it works, then it’s not a good essay.

As awkward as it may be to stand in that spotlight, this is your chance to shine. Take a deep breath, stay in your own story, and own it!