College Essays: Six Common Mistakes You Must Avoid
Wow Writing Workshop was asked to guest blo g for StudentAdvisor.com, a Washington Post company offering free information to help students compare colleges and plan for their future. This week, Wow president Kim Lifton writes about six common mistakes to avoid when writing your college application essays. |
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 News You Can Use
Students: The next ACT test is this Saturday, Dec. 8. Are you ready for the writing portion? When you practice (and you should), remember to use a counterargument. It's important, and your score might decrease if you leave it out.
While there are many ways to write these essays, the simplest approach is to follow the format you've used throughout high school. Write an introduction and thesis in the first paragraph, followed by a paragraph for each point you will argue. The counterargument comes last, just before the conclusion.
The structure, "While many believe X, some say Y," is a a great way to introduce the counterargument paragraph. However, one sentence is not enough. A strong counterargument outlines WHY the alternative is not a sound choice.
The five-paragraph format works well for this writing task, but feel free to write four or six paragraphs, as long as you answer the prompt, use your time wisely and support your points with specific examples. Read more. |
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Scholarship Opportunities
Keep the Drive High School Journalism Awards
The Allstate Foundation sponsors the Keep the Drive High School Journalism Awards to encourage teens to educate their peers about teen safe driving.
See additional scholarships on Wow's website. We are updating our scholarship database now and will showcase new opportunities in the coming weeks. |
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Bring Wow Online - College Essay to Your School
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Consider bringing Wow Online - College Essay, our new self-guided tutorial for college application essay writing, to your school this spring as part of your language arts curriculum. |
