Grammarly stands with Ukraine.

Join us

How To Write a College Essay, With

Examples
Karen Hertzberg
Updated on August 12, 2022 · Students

Whether you’re prepared or not, there comes a time when

every student is faced with writing their first college essay.
Even if you’re a natural writer, writing a college essay is still a
daunting task. Here’s a method for tackling the process and a
few examples to inspire you.

Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing shines?

Grammarly can check your spelling and save you
from grammar and punctuation mistakes. It
even proofreads your text, so your work is extra polished
wherever you write.
:
 Give your writing extra polish
Grammarly helps you communicate confidently

WRITE WITH GRAMMARLY

Preparing to write your college essay

The old saying goes, “Those who fail to prepare prepare to

fail.” Why spend time and energy cleaning up a mess when
you can avoid making one in the first place?

Make sure you understand the assignment. There’s no

shame in asking your professor to clarify. Your success
depends on understanding what she wants Here are some
ways to ask for clarification.

Research and create a basic outline as you go. Roll

research and the initial outlining process into one simple
step. As you research, create an info dump—a bullet-
pointed list of the topics you want to cover. Add links to
articles and citations as you go so you can refer to them
easily.

Figure out what you want to say. What’s the main

:
 argument or idea you’ll express? You need to know before
you begin. In order to make a point, you have to have one.

Create a classic, canonical outline. Once you have a

clearer vision for your central idea or argument, it’s time to
organize your info-dump. Prune out anything irrelevant
and organize your outline into the classic structure.

Drafting your essay

By the end of the research and planning process, you’ll feel

energized and ready to write about all this interesting stuff
your research (or your brainstorming process, if your essay
requirement is more personal) has uncovered. Use that
energy to write a draft.

Here’s a tip: Don’t spend a lot of time drafting your intro up

front. Often, the article itself informs the introduction, and
you won’t know what your intro should say until your essay
is finished.

The parts of a college essay

Introduction

Your intro tells your reader what to expect from your essay.
Think of it as a brief roadmap that begins with an intriguing
:
 opening line, includes a quick summary of the topic and ideas
you’ll present, and concludes with a thesis statement.

Opening hook

It’s important to draw your reader in from the very first

sentence. Take a look at some of these opening lines
from college entrance essays submitted to Stanford
University.

While traveling through the daily path of life, have you

ever stumbled upon a hidden pocket of the universe?

Some fathers might disapprove of their children handling

noxious chemicals in the garage.

I change my name each time I place an order at

Starbucks.

Summary of your topic, ideas, or argument

Your opening paragraph should introduce the subject matter

and the points you intend to make. They should give some
background to support the thesis statement you’ll make at
the end of the introduction.
:
 The debate over athletes’ use of performance-enhancing
substances is getting more complicated as
biotechnologies such as gene therapy become a reality.
The availability of these new methods of boosting
performance will force us to decide what we value most
in sports—displays of physical excellence developed
through hard work or victory at all costs. For centuries,
spectators and athletes have cherished the tradition of
fairness in sports.

—Argumentative Essay Examples, Skyline College

Thesis statement

Your thesis statement comes at the end of your introduction.

Here’s the thesis statement from the Skyline College example
above. It states the main point of the essay, which the author
intends to make a case for.

While sports competition is, of course, largely about

winning, it is also about the means by which a player or
team wins. Athletes who use any type of biotechnology
give themselves an unfair advantage and disrupt the
sense of fair play, and they should be banned from
competition.
:
 Body

The introduction states what’s at stake, and the body

presents the evidence. In the case of an argumentative essay,
the evidence might be research. In a more personal essay, it
might be made up of the author’s own experiences.

Write the body in a logical order. Some essays work well

chronologically, where the events are presented in the same
sequence that they happened in time. Argumentative essays
are often emphatic, where the least important points are
presented first and build up to the most important.

If your essay includes research, don’t be shy about including

substantial statements, just make sure they’re properly
cited. Use Grammarly’s plagiarism checker to help you find
any citations you may have missed and properly attribute
them. (Trust us—your professor will check for plagiarism and
find it if you don’t!)

Conclusion

In your conclusion, you wrap everything up in a neat package.

Restate your thesis in a clear way without repeating it word
for word. Leave your reader with a takeaway or something to
think about. Here’s the conclusion of the Skyline College
essay sample.

Unless we are willing to organize separate sporting

:
 events and leagues—an Olympics, say, for athletes who
have opted for a boost from the test tube and another for
athletes who have chosen to keep their bodies natural—
we should ask from our athletes that they dazzle us less
with extraordinary performance and more with the fruits
of their hard work.

Your writing,
at its best.

GET GRAMMARLY

Works on all your favorite websites

Related Articles
:
 WRITING TIPS

When To Use Italics, with Examples

STUDENTS

What Is the Hasty Generalization Fallacy?

STUDENTS
:
 How to Write Footnotes: Rules and Examples

Writing, grammar, and communication

tips for your inbox.

Your email... SUBSCRIBE

Get Grammarly Learn More Features

Grammarly for Your Desktop Plans Grammar Checker

Grammarly for Windows Grammarly Premium Plagiarism Checker
Grammarly for Mac Grammarly Business Citation Generator
Grammarly Browser Extension Grammarly for Education Essay Checker
Grammarly for Chrome Grammarly API Tone Detector
Grammarly for Safari Blog Style Guide
Grammarly for Firefox Tech Blog Snippets
Grammarly for Edge Education Blog Analytics
Grammarly for MS Office Business Blog Brand Tones
Grammarly for Google Docs Developers Blog
:
 Grammarly for Google Docs Developers Blog
Grammarly for iPhone
Grammarly for iPad
Grammarly for Android
The Grammarly Keyboard

Company Connect

About Help Center

Careers & Culture Contact Us
Press Facebook
Affiliates Instagram
Trust Center Twitter
Privacy Policy LinkedIn
Terms of Service
Customer Business Agreement
CA Privacy Notice
Security

2023 © Grammarly Inc.

: