5 Tips for Starting Your Common App Essay
The Common App essay is a personal statement required for hundreds of universities in the US (and elsewhere) each year. However, when starting the process, many students feel intimidated by it because it is based on a kind of writing they haven’t practiced as much as others.
With these five tips, however, you’ll become more familiar with the essay’s components and get a head start brainstorming. You’ll potentially even come away with some sentences or phrases that you could incorporate into your first draft.
1. The Essence Objects Exercise.
For this exercise, created by the College Essay Guy, you’ll write down twenty objects that mean something important to you. Start with physical objects—maybe a specific book, hockey stick, flower, or anything else—then use this list of questions to brainstorm more if you get stuck. Once you hit twenty (which can sometimes be difficult!), think of which ones are the most important to who you are as a person. These can serve as starting points for essays, as they provide a material entry point to your personal story.
2. Read and reflect.
We always recommend reading successful Common App essays to get a sense of what they require. One great resource for that is Johns Hopkins, a top university that publishes a selection of Common App essays from successful applicants each year. Read two or three and write down what you think works in each one—or doesn’t—as a personalized “to-do list” for your own.
3. Try some story starters.
The best Common App essays tell a story using specific details and dialogue, not just summary or argument. Think of it as a little personal memoir. To that end, you can try to answer some memoir prompts and see which ones spark an interesting memory. Try this list of 127 as a starting place to see if two or three grab your interest. Then, see if you can write the opening lines to what your Common App essay would look like if it were about those topics.
4. Immerse yourself in your senses.
Great Common App essays use a plethora of sensory details that push the reader into the scene. One way to practice this kind of “scene-writing” is by thinking of all five of your senses. When you were in the moment you’re describing, what were you seeing? Hearing? Smelling? Touching? Tasting? Then, once you have some answers, use some of these words that enhance writing to write those feelings in an engaging way.
5. Think about what you learned.
Common App essays are made of a mix of narrative (story) and reflection. Now that you’ve gotten started with the first part, attack it from the other side by thinking about what some of the biggest lessons for you have been over the course of high school. Make a list of at least ten things you’ve learned—both in and out of school—that you think make you into who you are today. Then, work backwards and think of any specific moments that led to those revelations.