You’re filling out your applications; you are trying to make yourself look as well-rounded as possible, listing all of your school and community-based activities and leadership roles; you know your grades and SAT/ACT scores are good enough to meet the requirements of the few colleges you have selected. There is just one more hurdle – that essay! This piece of the application process has you a bit nervous, because you are unsure of your competition and of your ability to write an essay that will really stand out. So here are a 9 tips that should help you craft a college essay that will get noticed, impress the reader(s), and be memorable.

1. START EARLY

I cannot emphasize this enough. This is not the type of essay you can throw together at the last minute. If you are using the “Common Application,” you should already know that those prompts are published in advance, and they do not change often. In fact, for 2016 admissions, the prompts are the same as they have been for the past 5 years. Get online, read through the prompt options, and select the one that most appeals to you. If your prompt comes directly from the college, get the application material during the summer, so that you have plenty of time to look at those options and select one.

2. KEEP A RUNNING LIST

As you think about your prompt, get a small notebook and keep it with you. As something comes to mind that would be a good fit for the prompt, write it down. Don’t worry about whether it is the best thought or not – just get it down at this point. For example, suppose you have selected a prompt that asks you to speak to a life-changing event that significantly changed you in some way. You may, indeed, have several big evets in your life thus far. As they come to mind, write them all down.

3. REFINE YOUR LIST

As you get closer to the time to actually write the essay (1-2 months before it is due), go through your list. Eliminate the items that are least relevant or least likely to get a response from a reader; combine those that can be combined. Finalize that list with the point or points you intend to cover. Going back to the sample prompt of an event in your life that changed you, if you had a sick pet that you nursed for days that eventually died, that is sad. It may appeal to the emotions of a reader; however, that event is meaningless unless it has motivated you to study biology and the go into veterinary medicine. Then there is significance. If you spent a summer tutoring inner-city kids and were appalled at their lack of basic skills, then that may have been the motivating factor in your selection of elementary education, so that you can one day teach in an inner city.

4. READ SAMPLES OF “WINNING” ESSAYS

These are all over the Internet, and can get a “feel” for the types of essays and the styles that really impressed admissions decision-makers. Take ideas from these as you think about how you will write your essay.

5. DEVELOP YOUR OUTLINE

It doesn’t have to be formal – just get on paper the order in which your body paragraphs will be developed and what will be contained in each of them.

6. WRITE THE BODY PARAGRAPHS

There should be a minimum of 3, and each needs a topic sentence and a good transition that leads to the next paragraph. Once written, re-read, revise, ad re-write until they are perfect – not one grammatical or spelling error, and good diversity of sentence types. Don’t be afraid to use humor if it is appropriate, and don’t be afraid to elicit emotions from the reader(s).

7. YOUR INTRODUCTION – THE CRITICAL PIECE

If you have not engaged the reader with your first sentence, you are “toast.” A short, simple “stunner” sentence that gives an amazing fact or leads into an anecdote is required here. The rest of this paragraph introduces your topic and ends with a solid thesis statement.

8. YOUR CONCLUSION

Tie back to your introduction. If you plan to study auto-immune diseases in dogs, with a goal toward prevention and cure, say so; if you plan to be the teacher that turns poor-performing children into success stories, say so!

9. STEP BACK; TAKE A BREAK; LET OTHERS READ IT

Get someone who is an English composition “master” to review and edit your essay; let friends or relatives read it and tell you honestly if they were intrigued and engaged by your first sentence. And don’t over-revise – you’ll lose authenticity!

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About the author: Great desire to make the world better – that’s what caused Julie Ellis to write. Wide experience of work with students in the role of Chief Editor PremierEssay allows her to communicate to readers with only relevant and interesting information. Follow her on twitter to find more interesting articles.