As an essay coach, one of my favorite moments is when my student reads through their personal statement for the last time with a look of excitement (and relief!) across their face—that moment when my student feels that their essay is not only done, but that it’s good.
What motivates me most, however, is not simply helping students produce strong essays. I want to help students understand what it is that makes an essay good, and support them in using that knowledge to tell their stories effectively.
There is no single thing that makes an essay good, but every good essay shares three core characteristics:
1. It grabs the reader’s attention.
Think about it: admissions officers often read 50-100 essays a day (day after day after day)—how will yours stand out?
You don’t need to make the person reading your application think you are the most intelligent, successful, unique student applying to their school. But, you do need to grab their attention immediately. Here are a couple examples from real students:
Your life is hip hop dancing, which feels a bit out of place with the small, sleepy suburb you live in. A catchy first sentence jumps off the page and cuts to the essence of who you are: “I’ve always been a dancer in a town that doesn’t dance.”
Sometimes it’s the simple things, like humor and self-awareness: “To be truthful—and at the risk of admitting to choosing the Easy Way Out in the opening sentence of the most important essay of my life—I picked up the bass in 2017 because I thought it would be easier than guitar.”
A good essay starts with something that hooks the admissions officer, gets them excited, and makes them want to read more about you.
2. It doesn’t tell, it shows.
It isn’t enough to simply explain an event, accomplishment or challenge from your life. Compelling essays describe the topic in vivid detail, and paint a picture of how you, the student, responded to a certain situation.
These details add depth and texture; they show your quirks and strengths and vulnerability; they bring your story to life, and make you feel real to the reader. A good essay shows who you are, not just the things that you’ve done. For example:
Instead of stating that you discovered your love of medicine at a summer dissection course, describe the moment when the excitement sparked: “I snap my latex gloves on and dive in. My forceps carefully pull back the thick, gray, dura matter of the sheep’s brain, surprised at how similar it looks to a human brain. I push on slowly, excited by the opportunity to observe its complexities.”
3. It is a window rather than a time capsule.
As important as it is to zoom in on the details of your story, admissions officers also want to know what you will contribute to their campus.
Good essays often begin with something small and specific. But they also build outwards, and show your ability to take lessons from one experience and carry them with you through other parts of your life.
Maybe your love of hiking and the outdoors will help you “navigate” unfamiliar environments, or perhaps learning jazz music helped you embrace your spontaneous side—whatever it is, you want to help admissions officers see how you will bring what you’ve learned from your experiences to their campus community.
So, when you are writing any of your college essays, always ask yourself these three questions:
Does it grab the reader’s attention?
Does it show rather than tell?
Is it a window instead of a time capsule?
If you answer yes to all three, then you’re onto something good! A good essay can take countless different forms, but it will always be anchored by these three principles.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Essay Writing Series—I’ll walk you through, step-by-step, how I and other LogicPrep Essay Coaches help students write awesome essays.