Friday, June 12, 2020

How to Write Succinct Secondary Essays

As you start to work on your secondary essays, one of the things that will become clearer and clearer is that you’re working within some VERY tight character limits. You may sit and stare at your computer screen, thinking you have nothing to say, but once you start writing, you may see that you have too much to say! How can you build on the character-count-wizardry you got going during your primary app? Here are 5 tips for writing a concise secondary essay: 1. Identify what the question is asking, and make sure you’re answering it. There’s some overlap among secondary questions, but before you try to reuse a story or adapt an essay you’ve already written, make sure it fits the question. Don’t try to bend the question to fit your answer. The questions are designed to extract certain information. Giving a different answer won’t gain you any points. 2. Do some pre-writing. Organizing your thoughts can help you stay on target, and also help you think of experiences you want to share in other essays. Don’t worry about the character count in this step. You’ll be able to work on that later on. 3. Once you have a first draft, revise, revise, revise. It’s OK if your first draft is longer than the character limit because you’re soon going to cut away those extraneous words. Read it through (reading aloud can help), and then do a first revision. It’s helpful to take a break and do something else before you come back for another review. Having someone else read your essay is also a good idea. A different set of eyes may see things you missed. 4. As you revise, pay close attention to the details of your writing. Make it more economical wherever you can. Take a look at these wordy-turned-concise sentences: †¢ Active sentences are usually shorter than passive ones, for example: Wordy: The research project that I worked on was in genetic engineering. Concise: I researched genetic engineering. †¢ Delete unnecessary helping verbs, for example: Wordy: I will be going to Africa this summer to work with underprivileged children. Concise: I will work with underprivileged children in Africa this summer. †¢ Forget about â€Å"taking advantage of the opportunity to do,† for example: Wordy: I took advantage of the opportunity to work in a clinic. Concise: I worked in a clinic. †¢ Look for the verbs in nouns, for example: Wordy: I used the assumption†¦ Concise: I assumed†¦ †¢ Take out any words or phrases that are just not needed – not only do they make your writing more wishy-washy, but they take up precious space. Unless they’re absolutely necessary for a point you’re making, cut them out. Wordy: So, in the end, I made the decision to go to Uganda. Concise: I decided to go to Uganda. †¢ Have you used a lot of adverbs? Sometimes you can communicate the same meaning (and sometimes even more effectively) by substituting a stronger verb. Wordy: I slowly and carefully walked through the quiet house. Concise: I tip-toed through the quiet house. 5. Once more, edit! Do a final, final review: read your essay aloud, and fix any awkward phrasing or typos. Check – and double check – your character count. These editing tips will take your long character-laden essays into succinct and highly readable ones that the adcoms will long remember. Need help fine-tuning your secondary essays? Explore Accepted’s Medical School Admissions Consulting Services and work one-on-one with an advisor who will help you maintain your personal voice and highlight your unique stories†¦all within those rigid character limits. By Dr. Rebecca Blustein, former Accepted admissions consultant. Dr. Blustein has a BA and PhD from UCLA in English and Comparative Literature. She formerly worked as a Student Affairs Officer at UCLA’s Scholarship Resource Center where she gained experience guiding applicants in areas of admissions and funding. Dr. Blustein’s clients have been accepted to top Master’s and PhD programs in dozens of fields across all disciplines.  Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: †¢Ã‚  From Example to Exemplary, a free guide to writing outstanding admissions essays †¢Ã‚  Writing Your Medical School Secondary Essays, resource page †¢Ã‚  Get Organized in Preparation for Secondaries and Interviews

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Tips For Writing a Bicycle Theft Essay

Tips For Writing a Bicycle Theft EssayBicycle theft is on the rise, and there are many people who suffer from it. There are some ways to deter thieves that will not only keep your investment safe, but also make sure you're able to pass it down to your children, or other family members. Not every person can write an essay, however there are many useful things that can be included in your bicycle theft essay. You can take simple steps to ensure that your children are able to pass down the bike to their children, or you can share a few of your own stories.The first thing you need to do when writing a bicycle theft essay is to find out exactly what kind of bike you own. If it's a bicycle that is worth a great deal of money, it's going to be a lot harder to steal. Bikes like this are hard to hide, and they don't have any metal parts that can easily be tampered with. Bikes that aren't in that category will be easier to steal, but they are also harder to sell or buy in the future. This is w hat you need to tell your essay.Another way to do good informative writing on the subject of bicycle theft is to talk about the reasons why it's a crime to steal bicycles. Many people think that it's simply about how expensive bikes are, but it's really not that simple. You can learn about what is considered normal for a bike to be stolen, and why it isn't common for them to get stolen. You can also discuss why there are so many bikes stolen, and why it's such a widespread problem.There are some places that will allow you to put up a sign that lets thieves know that a bike is stolen. You should explain that if they try to steal the bike that they might get caught. You might want to include some examples of different signs that you've seen, and the locations of the bikes. You can give examples of some bike signs as well.Some people find that telling the story of their bike theft is a good way to tell a good educational writing on the subject of bicycle theft. They are able to talk ab out how they were able to get it back, or they were able to buy another bike. Talk about how you were able to regain your bike after it was stolen, and the details that lead to your getting it back.Your essay might include a little bit of history about bikes, and why they're so popular. This can help to get you to talk about what kinds of bikes are available, and what kind of bikes are the most popular. You might also want to tell a little bit about how you acquired your bike, and give a few more examples of how you were able to recover your bike.When it's time to teach students about the law, you should use a technique called the I-word. You'll want to put your opinion about theft into the essay, and what it means to you. You'll want to talk about the issue, and you'll also want to talk about how much you fear theft. This can make for a very good introduction to the subject of bike theft, and it can also teach students some valuable lessons about the law.Talking about crime prevent ion is one of the most important things that you can do when writing a bicycle theft essay. Criminals target certain types of people, and you should be prepared to help your students by putting yourself in their shoes. Keep in mind that you are doing something that's very important, so be prepared. You'll be writing for a topic that will be talked about for a long time, so you'll want to use words that you can enjoy, and words that will be able to educate your students.