Like students writing college application essays, professional writers are experts in the art of procrastination. We need ways to get the ideas flowing onto the page—and to keep going until inspiration takes over.
One of our favorite ways to start is with a list.
There are many types of lists you can write to get started on the college application essay. Below are a few of our favorites.
For each, set a timer for yourself for five or 10 minutes. Brainstorm for that period of time, then stop, or take a short break and set the timer again. Don’t think—just write the first thoughts that pop into your head!
1. Common Application Prompts List
Look at the new Common App prompts, and spend five minutes on each one, writing a list of ideas that come to you. Try to recall an incident, a moment, or an experience that makes you feel good about yourself. It might be a time that you helped someone else, it might be a time when you mastered something that you were working on, it might be a time when you read a book or saw a movie or had a realization and it changed you.
2. Five Ways I’m Different From My Friends
You are unique. Start thinking about some ways that you can stand out.
3. Five Subjects I Could Talk About for An Hour
What do you feel passionate about? The best topics involve something you have done something about. For example, if you are interested in music, have you taken lessons? Joined a choir? Where have you played? Have you had any interesting experiences performing?
4. Five Things That Have Surprised Me in the Last Two Years
The best way to write an interesting essay is to write about a topic that you find exciting! Your passion will pour onto the page. What happened to surprise you? How did it change you?
After you have a list, the next step is to free-write on one of the topics that attracts you. Set a timer for ten minutes, keep your pen moving, don’t judge what you write, just get some thoughts and images onto the page. You can’t edit a blank page. Good going! You’ve started. Write on.