How to write an essay – Tips for writing in college

College writing is a challenging course for many new college students. In my experience teaching college writing, I have found a number of key tips very useful for my students. Although every essay writing situation is different, some general principles apply to most writing problems. Read on to find out how you can write an essay for any college class to get the ‘A’ you want.

The most important thing to keep in mind about college writing is the difference between a high school essay and a college level essay. The differences between these two types of essays can be very difficult to understand at first, since most college writing classes don’t point them out and often assume that students already know the expectations in college writing.

The goal of most high school essays (I’m generalizing here) is to provide information or demonstrate a basic understanding of the course material. You could, for example, write an essay on the life and times of George Washington. You can also write an essay on “A&P”, the well-known short story by John Updike.

In college, your professors will ask you to use critical thinking and analysis in your writing and not just report on the information or topic assigned. Instead of simply writing about the life of Washington, for example, you could discuss the role Washington played in the formation of the United States of America. Instead of writing a simple summary of John Updike’s “A&P,” you can discuss the characters, the theme of the story, or its relationship to larger social, political, or even economic issues.

A good college essay should demonstrate creativity in both essay composition and arguments. Critical thinking requires more work than a basic summary or simple report, but the college experience is supposed to be more challenging than high school.

If you hope to write a good college-level essay, you’ll need to invest time and effort in the process. Of course, the experiences you had with writing in high school will play a big part in your success (or struggle) in a college writing class. Some of my students come well prepared and have little trouble getting an A on an essay. Other students, unfortunately, are not as prepared and have to work harder to get the grade they want.

Keep these points in mind the next time you get stuck writing your college essay, and you’re sure to have more success!