Are you staring at a blank page for almost an hour now? Having trouble in writing your grad school admission essay is not uncommon. In fact, even professional essay writers encounter a moment of total inability to write something sensible. Some call it the writer’s block. The pressure placed on submitting a high quality application essay can also set you back a few days before you can write anything for your personal statement, while for some people, keeping their emotions at bay can be their biggest problem.
Let’s discuss these barriers to writing effective grad school essays, so you’ll know what to do when faced with any of these situations.
Writer’s block
The dreaded writer’s block happens when you spend hours trying to write an essay but just can’t find the inspiration or motivation to do so. No matter how hard you try, it seems like your efforts are put to waste. You can’t seem to find the right words or can’t express a sensible thought.
Instead of moping around, it’s best to identify what’s causing the writer’s block. It could be pressure to put out your best, depression, fatigue, or even certain conditions that make writing impossible for you such as insufficient lighting or cramped room space. All these can affect your mood.
Once you know what’s setting you back, you can then focus on the solution. Try to find a place with conditions that are ideal for writing. Some people prefer working in a quiet place; others work better with music as background. Find out what works best for you. Also make sure that you’re not too stressed out. Stress can affect the way you write and only add to the pressure. If you must, schedule a day that’s entirely dedicated to writing your essay. Have enough enough rest, eat well, and forget about the strenuous task before that day.
Do you know that drinking water can also improve concentration? According to some writers, walking can also help alleviate the pressure you’re feeling. A change in position every once in a while can also set the mood for writing or let thoughts run free. Other writers also advise that you should keep writing even without the best ideas, so don’t get trapped with a blank page. Eventually, you’ll be surprised to see that you’re making sense even with your random thoughts.
Lack of self confidence
Since it’s an essay for grad school, you think you should do better than your college application essay. While it might be true for some, there’s not much difference except, of course, for the requirements. Now that you have more experience, your essay should talk about your chosen field, your contributions, and your general interest in pursuing higher studies. Other than these, the rules in essay writing basically remain the same.
Lack of self confidence starts when you compare yourself to other people. Most of the time, this can only bruise your ego. Might as well focus on your accomplishments, what you can do better than others, and your sincere interest in entering grad school. Remember, nobody gets it right the first time. Even novelists had to go through several revisions and were once rejected by publishers.
Getting too emotional
You cannot let emotions control you. Entering grad school is a big decision, and so, you must show some level of emotional maturity if you want to make it through and earn your degree. Don’t let frustration get in the way. Instead, find your motivation. Going through several revisions is no reason for you to stop improving your essay. If you can find the inspiration, don’t be too hard on yourself. Take some time off, but never leave things hanging midway through. Try reading a sample graduate school essay. You may draw inspiration from this, and learn a few techniques in writing.
Writing essays for graduate school can be difficult, most especially when you have to write the essay that will actually get you into the graduate school of your choice. Graduate school admission essays can be stressful, nerve-racking, and downright difficult to compose, because your main goal is to persuade the admissions committee members to accept you into their school. Writing a compelling persuasive essay may seem like a difficult task at first glance, but it is nothing that you cannot do. If you’ve gotten through college, then the chances are that you have already written a persuasive essay, so at least you have a point of reference for your graduate school admission essay. Continue reading to find out more about writing a successful persuasive essay for graduate school.
Basics of a persuasive essay
When writing a persuasive essay, your first task is to understand what you are writing about, why you are writing it, and who you are writing it for. When it comes to your graduate school admission essay, the chances are that you will be writing about yourself and why you should be accepted into the graduate school you are applying to. Your audience is the admissions committee members — the people who will actually make the final decision on whether to accept or reject your application. The trick here is to write an essay that advocates your strengths without coming off as boastful, arrogant, or full of pride. A persuasive essay is a test of your ability to capture the reader’s interest, convince them to hear out your arguments, compel them to agree with what you are saying, and, in the case of graduate school essays, persuade them to accept you into their school.
Tips in writing a persuasive grad school essay
Here are some tips:
- Make sure that your introduction captures the attention of the reader and hints at some of the arguments that you will be making. The body should then follow up with strong arguments as to why you make a good candidate for their school. Finally, your conclusion should wrap everything up, reiterate your arguments, and make a lasting impact on the admissions committee.
- Use experiences and examples to prove your point and to tell the reader the story of how you developed the qualities that make you a good fit in the school that you are applying to.
- Beware of controversial or taboo topics. Try not to talk about anything that might make the admissions committee uncomfortable, such as strong religious convictions, political topics, or ethical topics. Stick to topics that clearly show how you have developed into the person you are now, a person ready to take on the challenge of graduate school and succeed in life.
How persuasive sample essays can help you
Another tip for writing your persuasive essay is to use sample essays to help you with your task. Sample essays are a great resource that can help you think of topics, themes, writing styles, techniques, and writing formats for your essay. Just make sure that you don’t copy these essays, or you may get caught and punished for plagiarism. Use the sample essays as a guide and analyze how the writer tries to persuade the reader. Ask yourself these questions as you read through the samples:
- Is the essay interesting and persuasive?
- What arguments or examples were used by the writer?
- Why were these arguments and examples effective at being persuasive?
- How can you write a similarly compelling essay based on your life experiences?
One of the most common types of essays out there is the compare and contrast essay. Whether you are in elementary school, junior high, high school, college, or graduate school, you are likely to encounter an assignment that calls for a compare-and-contrast essay. In graduate school, though, your teachers are probably going to have high demands and high expectations, meaning that they will be highly critical of your essay as well. Read on to learn about how to write a graduate school level compare-and-contrast essay.
What a compare-and-contrast essay is
In the most basic terms, a compare-and-contrast essay is an essay about the similarities and differences between at least two topics. In graduate school, your essays will probably cover numerous specific topics or a few broad topics. When writing this essay, your aim will be to make a solid assessment of the topics being discussed, arriving at a strong conclusion that expresses your findings throughout the assignment. It may take a lot of research to clearly understand and write about each of the topics that you are talking about. Basically, try to come up with a conclusion that presents new information about the topics that you have studied and written about.
Coming up with a compare-and-contrast essay as your personal statement
You may be asked to write a compare-and-contrast essay for your graduate school personal statement. If this is the case, you should understand that your objectives are not only to compare and contrast the topics you talk about, but also to persuade the admissions committee members to accept you in their school. Make sure that you fully understand the question being asked and the topics that you have chosen to write about. One good way of using the compare-and-contrast format to suit your personal statement is to compare and contrast how you have developed as a person. You may want to use various experiences that have forced changes in your personality and character traits for the better. The point is to put emphasis on how you have developed into a better human being who is capable of handling the challenges of graduate school. Also, you should try to mention your future goals and how graduate school can best prepare you to meet your goals.
Other tips to keep in mind when using compare and contrast as an essay-writing technique
- Make sure to have a clear layout of your essay. For example, talk about a particular topic and all of your observations about that topic, then follow it up with a discussion on another related topic. Make each comparison and contrast device clear to the reader.
- You may want to use a chart, table, or diagram to help you compare and contrast the various topics you will discuss in your essay. A Venn diagram is a great tool for getting started on your essay, or you may want to make a chart displaying the similarities and differences between your topics.
- Use your thesis statement as a backbone for your essay. Anchor each of your arguments, points, and topics to your thesis statement to create a clear and cohesive essay.
- Your conclusion should be persuasive, compelling, and should leave a strong impression on the reader.
