best essays for competitive exams

150+ Important Topics for Essays for Competitive Exams

Competitive exams can be a significant milestone in your educational journey, acting as gateways to prestigious opportunities and career advancements. The essay component often holds substantial weight in the assessment criteria, demanding not only your understanding of various subjects but also your ability to articulate ideas effectively. In such exams, essays serve as a canvas for you to demonstrate your analytical skills, depth of knowledge, and the quality of your education.

As you prepare for competitive exams, selecting the right topics for essay writing is crucial. Your choice will reveal your priorities and readiness to tackle complex issues. The topics you engage with might range from current socio-political affairs to philosophical inquiries and technological advancements. These themes not only test your educational learnings but also challenge you to present coherent arguments that can resonate with your readers. In this post we will cover a list of 150+ Important Topics for Essays for Competitive Exams.

Your essays are a reflection of your critical thinking, and it is essential to align them with the core values and pressing concerns of society. Explore issues that impact education systems, delve into evolving societal norms, or examine scientific progress—all these subjects can demonstrate your competence and foresight. To succeed, you need an insightful connection to your topics, ensuring your essays are informed, pertinent, and well-reasoned.

Page Contents

• 1 List of Important Topics
• 2 General Outline
• 3 Essay Writing Expectations
• 4 List of 150+ Topics for Competitive Exams
• 5 Conclusion

List of Important Topics

When preparing for competitive exams, selecting paramount topics for your essay is crucial. Below is a curated list of diverse topics that encompass various domains. These topics are significant as they often recur in exams and test your comprehension, critical thinking, and ability to present coherent arguments.

Social Issues and Current Affairs

• The impact of social media on society
• Climate change and its global repercussions
• Analyzing the immigration crisis
• The role of the United Nations in maintaining world peace
• Pros and cons of globalization

Politics and Governance

• Merits and demerits of democracy
• Electoral reforms in the 21st century
• Corruption: Root causes and solutions
• The significance of voting in a democratic society
• Evaluating the separation of powers

Economics and Business

• The future of cryptocurrencies
• Balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability
• Influence of taxes on economic growth
• The gig economy and labor rights
• International trade wars and their effects

Technology and Innovation

• Ethical considerations in artificial intelligence
• The digital divide: Global access to the internet
• Cybersecurity in the modern world
• The rise of telemedicine
• Implications of 5G technology

Education and Social Development

• Education as a tool for social change
• Standardized testing: Pros and cons
• The digital classroom and its effectiveness
• Gender disparities in education
• Impact of educational grants and scholarships

Health and Environment

• Universal healthcare: A feasible goal?
• The effects of pollution on urban health
• Sustainable agriculture practices
• Strategies to combat deforestation
• Mental health awareness and its importance

For Language Exam (English)

• The evolution of the English language
• Comparing British and American English
• The importance of learning a second language
• The impact of literature on society
• Language and identity: How language shapes us

This concise list provides an overview of crucial topics you may encounter in your competitive exams. Analyze data, present factual information, use relevant examples, and articulate your opinions clearly to excel in your essays.

General Outline

When preparing an essay for competitive exams, it’s essential to follow a structured approach to present your ideas effectively.

Introduction : Start with a brief introduction that sets the context for your essay. It should capture the essence of the topic and outline the purpose of your discussion.

Body : The body is where you develop your arguments or present information. It must be divided into separate paragraphs, each presenting a unique idea or point. Use bullet points or numbered lists to organize your information when necessary to improve readability.

• Structure : Maintain a logical flow of ideas. Each paragraph should transition smoothly to the next, maintaining coherence throughout the essay.
• Coherence : Ensure that all parts of your essay work together. Use transitional phrases to link paragraphs and maintain a consistent argument or narrative.

Conclusion : Conclude with a paragraph that summarizes your main points and reinforces your thesis or main argument. The conclusion should give a sense of closure without introducing new information.

Clarity : Write in a clear and concise manner. Avoid ambiguity or complex language that could confuse the reader. Your aim should be to communicate your ideas as directly and simply as possible without sacrificing depth and sophistication.

By adhering to these guidelines, you can structure your essay in a way that is logical, clear, and persuasive, thereby enhancing your performance in competitive exams.

Essay Writing Expectations

When you’re preparing for competitive exams, your writing should reflect a strong grasp of the English language. Your essays are a vital tool to communicate your understanding of various topics and showcase your writing skills. Here’s what is expected:

• Engage with a wide array of essay topics.
• Integrate relevant quotes to support your arguments.
• Implement a clear essay structure with an introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Begin with a strong thesis statement to guide your essay’s direction.
• Your language should be formal and precise.
• Employ varied sentence structures to enhance readability.
• Invest time in brainstorming to explore different angles.
• Plan your essay to construct coherent and logical arguments.
• Display advanced grammar and syntax to convey a professional tone.
• Utilize transitional phrases to connect ideas smoothly.
• Your conclusion should succinctly tie together your essay’s main points.
• Avoid introducing new ideas in the conclusion.

Remember, effective communication in your essays requires practice and a clear understanding of the requirements. Competitive exams challenge your ability to express complex ideas in a comprehensible manner. As you write, keep the reader in mind and aim to deliver a polished piece that demonstrates clarity of thought and purpose.

List of 150+ Topics for Competitive Exams

When preparing for competitive exams, you should focus on a broad array of topics. Your breadth of study materials needs to encompass areas like current affairs, general knowledge, and subject-specific material linked to the exam you plan to take. Introducing yourself to a variety of topics can bolster your chances of success.

• The Impact of Social Media on Society
• Climate Change and Its Effects
• The Importance of Education in Modern Society
• Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
• The Role of Technology in Shaping the Future
• Mental Health Awareness and Stigma
• The Power of Literature in Shaping Cultures
• Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Living
• Globalization and Its Impact on Local Cultures
• The Significance of Cultural Diversity in a Globalized World
• The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
• Combating Poverty and Income Inequality
• The Evolution of Communication in the Digital Age
• The Role of Youth in Nation Building
• The Impact of Urbanization on the Environment
• The Power of Music in Influencing Emotions
• The Importance of Critical Thinking in Decision Making
• The Role of Sports in Promoting Health and Unity
• The Challenges of Cybersecurity in the 21st Century
• The Influence of Mass Media on Public Opinion
• The Need for Renewable Energy Sources
• The Impact of Tourism on Local Economies and Environments
• The Role of Ethics in Business and Corporate Governance
• The Dangers of Substance Abuse and Addiction
• The Importance of Civic Engagement and Political Participation
• The Influence of Pop Culture on Society
• The Role of NGOs in Addressing Social Issues
• The Challenges of Overpopulation and Resource Depletion
• The Impact of Global Health Crises on Societies
• The Influence of Art and Creativity on Human Development
• The Role of Education in Fostering Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• The Significance of Historical Preservation and Heritage Conservation
• The Challenges of Food Security in a Growing Population
• The Role of Philanthropy in Addressing Social Problems
• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Future of Work
• The Importance of Interpersonal Relationships in a Digital World
• The Role of Religion in Shaping Cultural Values
• The Challenges of Mental Health Care Accessibility
• The Impact of Fast Fashion on the Environment
• The Influence of Traditional Medicine in Modern Healthcare
• The Importance of Early Childhood Education
• The Role of Social Justice Movements in Promoting Equality
• The Challenges of Aging Populations and Healthcare Systems
• The Role of Technology in Education
• The Significance of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
• The Challenges of Cyberbullying and Online Harassment
• The Impact of Social Welfare Programs on Communities
• The Importance of Cultural Exchange and Diplomacy
• The Role of Art and Creativity in Healing Trauma
• The Challenges of Access to Clean Water and Sanitation
• The Impact of Space Exploration on Scientific Advancements
• The Significance of Human Rights Advocacy
• The Role of Philosophy in Shaping Societal Values
• The Challenges of Mental Health Stigma in Different Cultures
• The Impact of Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding Efforts
• The Importance of Financial Literacy in Personal Development
• The Role of Community Service in Fostering Empathy
• The Challenges of Climate Change Adaptation in Vulnerable Communities
• The Impact of Social Entrepreneurship on Sustainable Development
• The Significance of Intercultural Communication in a Globalized World
• The Role of Media Literacy in Critical Thinking
• The Challenges of Access to Healthcare in Underserved Areas
• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Healthcare Delivery
• The Importance of Cultural Heritage Preservation
• The Role of Nonviolent Resistance in Social Movements
• The Challenges of Inclusive Education for Students with Disabilities
• The Impact of Online Learning on Traditional Education Systems
• The Significance of Empathy in Building Stronger Communities
• The Role of Storytelling in Preserving Oral Traditions
• The Challenges of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery
• The Impact of Renewable Energy Technologies on Climate Change Mitigation
• The Importance of Ethical Consumerism in Sustainable Development
• The Role of Music Therapy in Mental Health Treatment
• The Challenges of Access to Quality Education for Marginalized Groups
• The Impact of Virtual Reality on Empathy Development
• The Significance of Indigenous Knowledge in Environmental Conservation
• The Role of Social Media in Political Mobilization
• The Challenges of Gender-Based Violence and Discrimination
• The Impact of Sustainable Agriculture on Food Security
• The Importance of Intergenerational Relationships in Communities
• The Role of Cultural Festivals in Promoting Diversity
• The Challenges of Post-Disaster Recovery
• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment Opportunities
• The Significance of Emotional Well-being in Academic Success
• The Role of Technology in Preserving Indigenous Languages
• The Challenges of Access to Mental Health Services in Rural Areas
• The Impact of Social Media Influencers on Consumer Behavior
• The Importance of Diversity in Corporate Leadership
• The Role of Community Gardens in Promoting Sustainable Living
• The Challenges of Access to Affordable Housing in Urban Areas
• The Impact of Virtual Learning on Educational Equity
• The Significance of Cultural Appropriation in the Arts
• The Role of Restorative Justice in Criminal Rehabilitation
• The Challenges of Access to Clean Energy in Developing Countries
• The Impact of Social Isolation on Mental Health
• The Importance of Intercultural Understanding in Conflict Resolution
• The Role of Cybersecurity in Protecting Personal Privacy
• The Challenges of Access to Nutritious Food in Low-Income Communities
• The Impact of E-commerce on Traditional Retail Businesses
• The Significance of Emotional Resilience in Overcoming Adversity
• The Role of Technology in Promoting Environmental Conservation
• The Challenges of Access to Legal Representation for Marginalized Groups
• The Impact of Social Media on Body Image and Self-Esteem
• The Importance of Cultural Sensitivity in Healthcare Delivery
• The Role of Youth Mentorship in Personal Development
• The Challenges of Access to Clean Air in Urban Environments
• The Impact of Online Activism on Social Change
• The Significance of Emotional Intelligence in Interpersonal Relationships
• The Role of Technology in Promoting Financial Inclusion
• The Challenges of Access to Quality Education for Refugee Children
• The Impact of Social Media on Political Polarization
• The Importance of Cultural Competence in Global Business
• The Role of Technology in Addressing Climate Change
• The Challenges of Access to Mental Health Support for Veterans
• The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health in Adolescents
• The Significance of Emotional Well-being in Workplace Productivity
• The Role of Technology in Disaster Preparedness and Response
• The Challenges of Access to Clean Water in Developing Nations
• The Impact of Social Media on Interpersonal Communication
• The Influence of Social Media on Political Activism
• The Role of Technology in Promoting Financial Literacy
• The Challenges of Access to Mental Health Services for LGBTQ+ Individuals
• The Impact of Online Learning on Educational Equity
• The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
• The Role of Technology in Promoting Environmental Sustainability
• The Challenges of Access to Mental Health Services for Aging Populations
• The Impact of Social Media on Body Image Perception
• The Significance of Emotional Intelligence in Conflict Resolution
• The Role of Technology in Enhancing Healthcare Accessibility
• The Challenges of Access to Quality Education for Children with Disabilities
• The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health Stigma
• The Importance of Emotional Well-being in Academic Achievement
• The Role of Technology in Fostering Global Connectivity
• The Challenges of Access to Mental Health Services in Rural Communities
• The Impact of Social Media on Social Relationships
• The Significance of Emotional Intelligence in Personal Development
• The Role of Technology in Promoting Sustainable Development
• The Challenges of Access to Mental Health Support for Underserved Communities
• The Impact of Social Media on Self-esteem and Body Image
• The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Interpersonal Communication
• The Role of Technology in Addressing Environmental Challenge.

When preparing for competitive exams, the breadth of potential essay topics can be daunting. Your success hinges on practicing a variety of subjects to enhance your analytical thinking and writing skills. Below are five overarching themes, each with a curated list of topics that are frequently brought up in these exams. Use this as a launchpad to explore issues deeply and refine your essay-writing prowess.

Regular analysis and thorough debate on these subjects will build the foundation of a solid argumentative essay, a skill you’ll find indispensable not just for your exams but for your future endeavors. Remember to stay updated with current affairs as they can often provide a fresh perspective on these topics.

Gagandeep Singh is a highly accomplished and respected educator who has dedicated his career to helping students prepare for the Judiciary Exams. With a wealth of academic qualifications, including an LLB, LLM, MBA, and CS, as well as a B.Com, Gagandeep has spent years honing his teaching methods, and his students consistently report high levels of satisfaction and success.

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Trending Essay Topics | Important Essay Topics for Competitive Exams

Essay writing is a part of various competitive exams. In most of the essay wring exams, trending topics are selected as subjects for essay writing. Here we have prepared a list of trending essay topics which are the most important essay topics for all upcoming competitive as well as academic exams.

• Trending Essay Topics
• Essay on PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana:  Read Here
• Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha: A Resolution to Ramrajya:  Read Here
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• Download PDF of these Essays:  Click Here
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• Essay on Climate Change :  Read Here  
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• Vocal for Local :  Read Here  
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• Importance of Education :  Read Here

The above essay topics are the  most important essay topics  for all competitive exams as well as academic exams. These essay topics are currently in focus and discussed by everyone due to its current relevance. Therefore, these essays are trending essay topics for all competitive exams.

In addition to these trending essay topics , here is a list of evergreen best essay topics that are very important.

Evergreen best essay topics

• Beat Plastic Pollution   (Click on the Topic to Read Essays)
• Meri Mati Mera Desh
• Hate Speech
• PM SHRI School Scheme
• Plastic Waste Management
• Envisioning India @2047
• Commonwealth Games 2022
• Women Empowerment
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet
• Essay on Menace of Fake News  
• Essay on Power Crisis in India
• Essay on Freebie Politics
• Unsung Heroes of Freedom Struggle
• Cryptocurrency

• Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
• Natural Farming
• Download 50 PDF Essays for all Exams
• Free and Fair Election
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Classes
• Corona and Its impact on human life
• Single-use plastic ban
• Impact of Poverty on Education
• Water Pollution: Causes and Prevention
• Environmental Pollution
• Addiction of Social Media
• Importance of Trees
• Importance of Education
• Natural Disaster
• Role of Students in eradication of drugs
• Human Trafficking
• Benefits of Yoga
• Online Shopping
• How to control pollution

These are the best essay topics for all competitive exams which contains all the current topics also. Above trending essay topics are most expected essay topics for competitive exams. 

Due to its current relevance these trending essay topics are most important for all exams. Hope these trending essay topics helped you in your exam preparation.

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100 Essay Topics for 2024

• Government’s Vision of Amrit Kaal
• Central Bank Digital Currency by RBI
• How important is flow of money for the economy?
• Need of the Hour is to Maximize Possibilities of Agriculture in India
• 50 Crore Jan Dhan Accounts: Giant leap towards financial inclusion
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• India to be the world’s third largest economy
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• Is a 70-Hour Work Week Healthy?
• Crypto-currency and issues related to it
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• Fugitive Economic Offenders and the need to bring them back

EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES

• Higher Education versus skill acquisition
• Entrance exams versus Qualifying exams - what is the relevance of entrance exams for admissions to UG and PG courses in India?
• Online schooling, can it be the future of education?
• New Education Policy: A Progressive Policy with Diverse Challenges
• Skills or knowledge: What matters more in today’s world?

ENVIRONMENT

• Biodiversity Conservation– Our Solutions are in Nature
• Hyper-globalism is threat to human prosperity
• Net Zero Carbon Emission
• Shifting of Earth's Geo-Magnetic field and its impact
• Money Laundering and Illegal Wildlife trade
• Ban on plastic: Environment vs. Economy
• Seed Bombs: Solution to Man-Animal Conflict
• Growing Pollution in Rivers
• Organic Farming in India
• Merger of Project Tiger and Project Elephant: Pros and Cons
• Growing Intolerance in the world
• Goodwill is the only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy
• Role of kindness in an utterly competitive world
• Is defection becoming the new norm in Indian politics?
• New India @75
• Supreme Court Judgment on Jammu and Kashmir
• Pro poor policies of Modi Government
• Controversies surrounding the Present-day NDA government in India
• Supreme Court Judgment on Demonetisation
• India China border issues – Where is it headed?
• Too much Democracy is Detrimental to Development
• India needs aggressive and pragmatic neighborhood policy
• Today India Needs ‘Harmony in Diversity’, Not Unity in Diversity
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• India’s claim to UNSC permanent membership
• Presidential vs Parliamentary form of government: which one India should go for?
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• India as the World’s fifth largest economy
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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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• Israel-Hamas Conflict and Operation Ajay
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• 10 years of One Belt One Road (OBOR) Policy and India's Counter
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PHILOSOPHICAL/ ABSTRACT

• A smooth sea never makes a good sailor
• Hour work week
• Light at the end of the tunnel is not an illusion, the tunnel is.
• Is humanity enough to handle crises and serve people in need?
• Is being vegetarian the way to go for the world?
• Happiness is not an ideal of reason, but of imagination.
• Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
• War is the ultimate Price we pay for lasting Peace
• Artificial Intelligence is Not All Evil – It can Promote Social Good Too
• Our World is in a Surplus of Multilateral Challenges and a Deficit of Solutions.
• The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Does India need more missiles or more industries?
• Genetically Modified Crops
• National Infrastructure Pipeline
• How will the FASTag project help in improving the logistics and transport sector?

SOCIAL ISSUES (Society, Gender, Caste)

• Lack of civic sense among Indians is pushing the country backwards
• Media’s duty is to inform public, not manufacture opinion
• Urban exclusion of migrant workers in India is a reality and needs urgent robust policy measures.
• Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition
• Economic Growth and Development are shaped by the societies in which they operate.
• Social media is the fourth pillar of democracy
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• Caste Census: Equity or casteism?
• One Nation, One Ration Card
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How to Write Essays to Score Well in Competitive Exams? IAS Officer Shares Tips

In this Twitter thread, IAS officer Divya Mittal explains five key elements and tips to write well for essay type questions in competitive exams like UPSC CSE.

How to write well for essay type questions in competitive exams. Includes some resources to hone writing skills for other purposes like editorials etc. A ?— Divya Mittal (@divyamittal_IAS) December 4, 2022

2. Thesis statement

Hook: Why should someone be interested in what you are writing? Set the scene & grab attention. – Story/anecdote – Catchy phrase – Cite a shocking fact – Witty statement – Personal experience Or it can simply answer the question – “I am writing this piece because..”— Divya Mittal (@divyamittal_IAS) December 4, 2022

3. Connection between paragraphs

4. rebuttal paragraph:, 5. conclusion:, similar story.

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Remember to: – Use simple language – Avoid too many adjectives, adverbs – Use active voice – Be coherent— Divya Mittal (@divyamittal_IAS) December 4, 2022

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Tips for Writing Essays in a Competitive Examination

Every individual, at one stage or the other, has had to appear for some competitive examinations. These competitive examinations rather act as an elimination procedure to select the best candidates for a particular position (in case of examination to fill in some specific vacancies) or a particular seat (in case of some academic program). The candidates, thus, are tested on various parameters such as their logical reasoning, their critical analysis, their thought process, and most obviously on their writing abilities. The writing abilities and the structuring of their thought process are tested mainly with the use of Essays. Candidates, therefore, might require some essay writing tips for competitive examinations.

Exam Essay Topics

Competitive examinations are directed towards achieving some particular objective, mostly in terms of selecting a candidate for a particular position or selecting students for a particular study program. Therefore essay topics for selecting the right candidate need to fulfill the basic criteria of such examination. An example of this would be in case the position requires testing the candidate on good judgmental capabilities or analytical capabilities, the relevant exam essay topic would certainly be an open ended question which needs to be justified, clarified, and analyzed according to their understanding and depth of knowledge. Mostly, the candidates are given relevant current affairs based topic which has relevance in the current context and the candidate would most likely be aware of such a topic.

English Essays for Competitive Exams

Competitive examinations are held in order to test different attitudes and aptitudes of the candidate. Thus on one hand they are being tested for analytical abilities and on the other they are being tested on their understanding of the current affairs. However, among all the questions, essay based questions serve two purposes. On one hand such question tests the awareness and understanding of a particular issue (mostly related to current affairs or related to their subject area) and on the other hand the fluency in English as a subject of communication too is being tested through these essays. The candidate appearing for such English essays in competitive examination thus need to focus on their writing styles, grammar, and flow of content while presenting their depth of knowledge.

Read – [ Some English Gk Questions and Answers ]

Certification Questions

A competitive examination tests the candidate on almost all parameters. While the essay questions test their English language capabilities, the certification questions test their subject knowledge and certify their aptitude and understanding of the subject.

Read – [ Important Certifications Questions and Answers ]

15 essay writing tips for competitive exams

Focusing more on the essay questions given in competitive examinations, the candidates surely need some handy essay writing tips for appearing and becoming successful in competitive exams. Essays require a good amount of information which needs to be logically and factually presented in the structured format within the stipulated time period, that too without the help of any secondary sources, especially the internet. Therefore, the following list of tips would surely be handy for the candidates:

Before the Examination:

• The candidate should identify the recent affairs happening within the global space, at least the most important one.
• The candidate should gather as much information about these events and affairs as possible which should include key definitions, brief description of the issue, brief sequence of events, comparing and contrasting any views available on such events, among others.
• The candidate should memorize such information to the best of their abilities.
• The candidate should practice writing essays on such events and topics incorporating as much information as possible.
• The candidate can even take short notes of such key information and revise the same whenever possible so that important points are not left out.

During the Examination:

• The candidate should read the question carefully.
• The candidate needs to understand the question and the context in which such a question has been designed.
• In case the candidate gets the topic or similar topic which he or she has been practicing, then create a “memory dump” and write down all the memorized information in short notes style.
• Then elaborate on the points mentioned in such memory dump one at a time while concentrating on the flow of text and idea in such a case.
• While writing such an informed essay start by formulating a thesis which would answer the entire question asked. The candidate can take help of the wording from the question to formulate the thesis. This should be done in the very first paragraph of the essay.
• Along with the thesis statement, a brief introduction to the topic of the question and at least a brief hint of the argument which would be supported in the essay should also be provided in the first paragraph of the essay.
• The candidate should try to provide as many supporting arguments and evidences as possible. This would make the essay strong and convincing.
• The candidate should try to make a persuasive argument (mostly the question of the essay does not have close ended answers of right or wrong) in order to sound convincing to the evaluator.
• In case the candidate gets a topic which he/she has not practiced, it is best not to panic. At best, the candidate needs to think with an open mind and try to logically remember any hint of such a subject or at least derive some logic from the question in order to write something on the topic in a logical manner such that at least the evaluator is impressed by the writing style.
• Leaving out the essay is not a good option since it not only carries a good weightage of number but also is important in evaluating your writing skills. While logic does not support, it is best to at least have a convincing write up which can portray one’s writing and communicating powers.

While good preparation is the key to success for any competitive examination, such essay writing tips for competitive exams would certainly come in handy at the precious moments of preparation and attending the competitive examination.

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14 College Essay Examples From Top-25 Universities (2024–2025)

College essay examples from students accepted to harvard, stanford, and other elite schools.

REVIEWING SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE ESSAY EXAMPLES CAN HELP YOU UNDERSTAND HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR ODDS OF ACCEPTANCE

Responding effectively to college essay prompts is quite different from other essay writing. The combined challenge of addressing a question in an interesting way while avoiding clichés and making yourself stand out, all within a limited number of words, is something that students struggle with every year. With a wide variety of prompts used by each school, alongside the Common App essays , it can be overwhelming to write strong, memorable essays.

However, there are some standard practices that will help elevate your essay:

Directly address any questions the prompt asks. Many essay prompts will ask you to write about extracurricular experiences in your life or to list interests such as your favorite movies or music. Be sure to include the answer to any questions and don't get distracted while providing context or other extra information.

Use specific information. Make sure to mention the specific volunteer program you worked at or the name of your favorite instructor from your summer STEM camp. While it's important not to overburden your essay with small details, peppering in a few specifics will highlight what's important to you both academically and personally—in addition to giving admissions committees (adcoms) memorable details to file away about you as they sort through hundreds of other applicants’ essays.

Create a narrative. Just like with any story or news article, you want to start your essays with a good hook. Setting the stage for your experiences, including anecdotes to drive home a point, or carrying a thematic element throughout your essay will help keep the reader interested and will show off your creativity.

Reuse material. There’s no reason to write completely new supplemental essays for every school you’re applying to. Many schools ask the same questions with slightly different wording, like the commonly used “diversity essay,” which essentially asks how you contribute to and benefit from diversity. With some editing, a single essay could answer multiple prompts — and cut down on your stress! Just be sure that you’re still directly answering the prompt, and you’re still demonstrating fit (more on that below).

Demonstrate fit. Many supplemental essay prompts will ask you explicitly to tell them why you chose to apply to their school, or why you’re interested in pursuing your intended major at their school. In other words, they want you to demonstrate why you’re a good fit for their school—and why their school is a good fit for you. The best way to do this is by providing evidence to back up your claims about why their school is your “dream school,” or why their Biology major is “the perfect place” for you to prepare for a career in medicine. The strongest applicants may even demonstrate fit in response to prompts that don’t explicitly ask them to do so. For example, if you know that the school you’re applying to offers a unique elective course that closely aligns with your interests, you should find a way to mention it in one of your essays.

Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. College admissions officers read hundreds of essays from hopeful applicants, each of whom think their personal experiences and reasons for applying to a particular school are unique. This contributes to the difficulty in standing out in your essays, since almost anything you write about will likely have been encountered by your reader before.

Putting yourself in your reader’s shoes can help strengthen your writing. Remember, it’s not necessarily about what you say, but how you say it. If you read your essay back to yourself and some of the descriptions sound trite or typical, these are spots that are ripe for improvement.

For example, if you describe a trip abroad to help build homes in a developing country with words like “life-changing” and “eye-opening,” you may run the risk of boring your reader. That experience could have been truly life-changing for you, but the simple act of thinking of more creative ways to express an idea not only makes your writing more interesting to read, it signals to your reader the amount of effort you’ve put into your essay.

Describing an experience as transformative can sound less cliché and exaggerated. Moreover, allowing your experiences to speak for themselves (showing instead of telling) will display your imagination and grant you space to emphasize what you learned–something always popular with adcoms.

Go through multiple drafts–and do so early. We can’t stress enough the importance of revision. While your initial ideas may be good, the first couple of drafts will never express them as well as they would after a few edits.

Writing takes place in the mind. It’s a thought process that involves reflecting on your experiences and then translating that reflection into words and—most importantly—time. Make sure you start writing your essays as early as possible to grant yourself as much space as possible to revise.

Be vulnerable and show emotion. Remember that college adcoms are people, not robots reading an essay to make sure you’ve ticked all the boxes for a particular university. Showing some vulnerability or emotion in your writing can make your story come alive for the reader.

Keep in mind there is a fine line between “showing emotion” and exaggerating your experiences just for the sake of a dramatic narrative. It’s a good thing to display your vulnerability in an essay, but adcoms can usually tell if you’re embellishing or exaggerating just for the shock value. And remember, emotion encompasses everything from feelings of triumph to feelings of despair — not all emotions are expressed with tears. Letting these shine through in your essay demonstrates your passion, which engages your reader.

Here are some example essays from some of the thousands of students we've helped get accepted to their dream school.

Note: Some personally identifying details have been changed.

College essay example #1

This is a college essay that worked for Harvard University .

(Suggested reading: How to Get Into Harvard Undergrad )

This past summer, I had the privilege of participating in the University of Notre Dame’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program . Under the mentorship of Professor Wendy Bozeman and Professor Georgia Lebedev from the department of Biological Sciences, my goal this summer was to research the effects of cobalt iron oxide cored (CoFe2O3) titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles as a scaffold for drug delivery, specifically in the delivery of a compound known as curcumin, a flavonoid known for its anti-inflammatory effects. As a high school student trying to find a research opportunity, it was very difficult to find a place that was willing to take me in, but after many months of trying, I sought the help of my high school biology teacher, who used his resources to help me obtain a position in the program.

Using equipment that a high school student could only dream of using, I was able to map apoptosis (programmed cell death) versus necrosis (cell death due to damage) in HeLa cells, a cervical cancer line, after treating them with curcumin-bound nanoparticles. Using flow cytometry to excite each individually suspended cell with a laser, the scattered light from the cells helped to determine which cells were living, had died from apoptosis or had died from necrosis. Using this collected data, it was possible to determine if the curcumin and/or the nanoparticles had played any significant role on the cervical cancer cells. Later, I was able to image cells in 4D through con-focal microscopy. From growing HeLa cells to trying to kill them with different compounds, I was able to gain the hands-on experience necessary for me to realize once again why I love science.

Living on the Notre Dame campus with other REU students, UND athletes, and other summer school students was a whole other experience that prepared me for the world beyond high school. For 9 weeks, I worked, played and bonded with the other students, and had the opportunity to live the life of an independent college student.

Along with the individually tailored research projects and the housing opportunity, there were seminars on public speaking, trips to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and one-on-one writing seminars for the end of the summer research papers we were each required to write. By the end of the summer, I wasn’t ready to leave the research that I was doing. While my research didn’t yield definitive results for the effects of curcumin on cervical cancer cells, my research on curcumin-functionalized CoFe2O4/TiO2 core-shell nanoconjugates indicated that there were many unknown factors affecting the HeLa cells, and spurred the lab to expand their research into determining whether or not the timing of the drug delivery mattered and whether or not the position of the binding site of the drugs would alter the results. Through this summer experience, I realized my ambition to pursue a career in research. I always knew that I would want to pursue a future in science, but the exciting world of research where the discoveries are limitless has captured my heart. This school year, the REU program has offered me a year-long job, and despite my obligations as a high school senior preparing for college, I couldn’t give up this offer, and so during this school year, I will be able to further both my research and interest in nanotechnology. 

College essay example #2

This student was admitted to Harvard University.

I believe that humans will always have the ability to rise above any situation, because life is what you make of it. We don’t know what life is or why we are in this world; all we know, all we feel, is that we must protect it anyway we can. Buddha said it clearly: “Life is suffering.” Life is meant to be challenging, and really living requires consistent work and review. By default, life is difficult because we must strive to earn happiness and success.

Yet I've realized that life is fickler than I had imagined; it can disappear or change at any time. Several of my family members left this world in one last beating symphony; heart attacks seem to be a trend in my family. They left like birds; laughing one minute and in a better place the next.

Steve Jobs inspired me, when in his commencement address to Stanford University in 2005, he said "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma--which is living with the results of other people's thinking." I want to make mistakes, because that is how I learn; I want to follow the beat of my own drum even if it is "out of tune." The important thing is to live without regrets, so when my heart ceases to beat, it will make one last happy note and move on.

I want to live my life daily. Every day I want to live. Every morning when I wake up, I want to be excited by the gift of a new day. I know I am being idealistic and young, and that my philosophy on life is comparable to a calculus limit; I will never reach it. But I won't give up on it because, I can still get infinitely close and that is amazing.

Every day is an apology to my humanity; because I am not perfect, I get to try again and again to "get it right." I breathe the peace of eternity, knowing that this stage is temporary; real existence is continuous. The hourglass of life incessantly trickles on and we are powerless to stop it.

So, I will forgive and forget, love and inspire, experience and satire, laugh and cry, accomplish and fail, live and die. This is how I want to live my life, with this optimistic attitude that every day is a second chance. All the time, we have the opportunity to renew our perspective on life, to correct our mistakes, and to simply move on. Like the phoenix I will continue to rise from the ashes, experienced and renewed. I will not waste time for my life is already in flux.

In all its splendor The Phoenix rises In a burst of orange and yellow It soars in the baby blue sky Heading to that Great Light Baptized in the dance of time Fearless, eternal, beautiful It releases a breathtaking aurora And I gasp at the enormity

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College essay example #3

This is a college essay that worked for Duke University .

(Suggested reading: How to Get Into Duke )

As soon as the patient room door opened, the worst stench I have ever encountered hit me square in the face. Though I had never smelled it before, I knew instinctively what it was: rotting flesh. A small, elderly woman sat in a wheelchair, dressed in a hospital gown and draped in blankets from the neck down with only her gauze-wrapped right leg peering out from under the green material. Dr. Q began unwrapping the leg, and there was no way to be prepared for what I saw next: gangrene-rotted tissue and blackened, dead toes.

Never before had I seen anything this gruesome–as even open surgery paled in comparison. These past two years of shadowing doctors in the operating room have been important for me in solidifying my commitment to pursue medicine, but this situation proved that time in the operating room alone did not quite provide a complete, accurate perspective of a surgeon’s occupation. Doctors in the operating room are calm, cool, and collected, making textbook incisions with machine-like, detached precision. It is a profession founded solely on skill and technique–or so I thought. This grisly experience exposed an entirely different side of this profession I hope to pursue.

Feeling the tug of nausea in my stomach, I forced my gaze from the terrifying wound onto the hopeful face of the ailing woman, seeking to objectively analyze the situation as Dr. Q was struggling to do himself. Slowly and with obvious difficulty, Dr. Q explained that an infection this severe calls for an AKA: Above the Knee Amputation. In the slow, grave silence that ensued, I reflected on how this desperate patient’s very life rests in the hands of a man who has dedicated his entire life to making such difficult decisions as these. I marveled at the compassion in Dr. Q’s promise that this aggressive approach would save the woman’s life. The patient wiped her watery eyes and smiled a long, sad smile. “I trust you, Doc. I trust you.” She shook Dr. Q’s hand, and the doctor and I left the room.

Back in his office, Dr. Q addressed my obvious state of contemplation: “This is the hardest part about what we do as surgeons,” he said, sincerely. “We hurt to heal, and often times people cannot understand that. However, knowing that I’m saving lives every time I operate makes the stress completely worth it.”

Suddenly, everything fell into place for me. This completely different perspective broadened my understanding of the surgical field and changed my initial perception of who and what a surgeon was. I not only want to help those who are ill and injured, but also to be entrusted with difficult decisions the occupation entails. Discovering that surgery is also a moral vocation beyond the generic application of a trained skill set encouraged me. I now understand surgeons to be much more complex practitioners of medicine, and I am certain that this is the field for me.

College essay example #4

This is a supplemental essay that worked for Stanford University .

(Suggested reading: How to Get Into Stanford Undergrad and How to Ace the Stanford Roommate Essay )

In most conventional classrooms, we are taught to memorize material. We study information to regurgitate it on a test and forget it the following day. I thought this was learning. But this past summer, I realized I was wrong.

 I attended the SPK Program, a five-week enrichment program with New Jersey’s best and brightest students. I lived on a college campus with 200 students and studied a topic. I selected Physical Science. On the first day of class, our teacher set a box on the table and poured water into the top, and nothing came out. Then, he poured more water in, and everything slowly came out. We were told to figure out what had happened with no phones or textbooks, just our brains. We worked together to discover in the box was a siphon, similar to what is used to pump gas. We spent the next weeks building solar ovens, studying the dynamic of paper planes, diving into the content of the speed of light and space vacuums, among other things. We did this with no textbooks, flashcards, or information to memorize.

During those five weeks, we were not taught impressive terminology or how to ace the AP Physics exam. We were taught how to think. More importantly, we were taught how to think together. Learning is not memorization or a competition. Learning is working together to solve the problems around us and better our community. To me, learning is the means to a better future, and that’s exciting.

College essay example #5 

This is a college essay that worked for University of Pennsylvania (UPenn).

(Suggested reading: How to Get Into UPenn)

When I was thirteen and visiting Liberia, I contracted what turned out to be yellow fever. I met with the local doctor, but he couldn’t make a diagnosis simply because he didn't have access to blood tests and because symptoms such as “My skin feels like it’s on fire” matched many tropical diseases. Luckily, my family managed to drive me several hours away to an urban hospital, where I was treated. Yellow fever shouldn’t be fatal, but in Africa it often is. I couldn’t believe that such a solvable issue could be so severe at the time—so I began to explore.

The exploration led me to the African Disease Prevention Project (ADPP), a non-profit organization associated with several universities. I decided to create the first high school branch of the organization; I liked its unique way of approaching health and social issues. Rather than just raising money and channeling it through third parties, each branch “adopts” one village and travels there to provide for its basic needs. As branch president, I organize events from small stands at public gatherings to 60-person dinner fundraisers in order to raise both money and awareness. I’ve learned how to encourage my peers to meet deadlines, to work around 30 different schedules at once, and to give presentations convincing people why my organization is worth their donation. But overall, ADPP has taught me that small changes can have immense impacts. My branch has helped raise almost $3,000 to build water sanitation plants, construct medical clinics, and develop health education programs in the small village of Zwedru. And the effect doesn’t stop there—by improving one area, our efforts permeate into neighboring villages as they mimic the lifestyle changes that they observe nearby—simple things, like making soap available—can have a big effect. The difference between ADPP and most other organizations is its emphasis on the basics and making changes that last. Working towards those changes to solve real life problems is what excites me.

I found that the same idea of change through simple solutions also rang true during my recent summer internship at Dr. Martin Warner’s lab at UCLA. Dr. Martin’s vision involves using already available digital technologies to improve the individualization of healthcare. By using a person’s genome to tailor a treatment for them or using someone’s personal smartphone as a mobile-monitor to remotely diagnose symptoms, everyday technology is harnessed to make significant strides forward. At the lab, I focused on parsing through medical databases and writing programs that analyze cancerous genomes to find relationships between certain cancers and drugs. My analysis resulted in a database of information that physicians can use to prescribe treatments for their patients’ unique cancerous mutations. Now, a pancreatic cancer patient does not need to be the “guinea-pig” for a prototype drug to have a shot at survival: a doctor can choose the best treatment by examining the patient individually instead of relying on population-wide trends. For the first time in my science career, my passion was going to have an immediate effect on other people, and to me, that was enthralling. Dr. Martin’s lab and his book, Digital Healthcare: A New Age of Medicine, have shown me that changing something as simple as how we treat a disease can have a huge impact. I have found that the search for the holy grail of a “cure for cancer” is problematic as nobody knows exactly what it is or where to look—but we can still move forward without it.

Working with Project ADPP and participating in medical research have taught me to approach problems in a new way. Whether it’s a complex genetic disease or a tropical fever, I’ve found that taking small steps often is the best approach. Finding those steps and achieving them is what gets me excited and hungry to explore new solutions in the future.

College essay example #6

This student was admitted to UC Berkeley.

(Suggested reading: How to Get Into UC Berkeley and How to Write Great UC Essays )

The phenomenon of interdependency, man depending on man for survival, has shaped centuries of human civilization. However, I feel, the youth of today are slowly disconnecting from their community. For the past few years, human connection has intrigued me and witnessing the apathy of my peers has prompted me to engage in various leadership positions in order to motivate them to complete community service and become active members of society.

Less than a year before ninth grade began, my cousin and close friend passed away from cancer, and in the hodge-podge of feelings, I did not emotionally deal with either death. However, a simple tale helped me deal with these deaths and take action. 

I was never fully aware of how closely humans rely upon each other until I read The Fall of Freddy the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia in freshman year. The allegory is about a leaf that changes with the seasons, finally dying in the winter, realizing that his purpose was to help the tree thrive. After reading it, I was enlightened on the cycle of life and realized the tremendous impact my actions had on others. 

Last year, I joined the American Cancer Society‘s Relay for Life, a twenty-four-hour relay walk-a-thon designed to raise funds for cancer research and create awareness about its early detection. I started a team at school, gathered thirty students and chaperones, and raised $800 for the cause. I watched as each student created friendships with other students on our team and members of the Phoenix community. This year, I led a team in the relay for life again with the schoolwide team of 95 members, and we raised $2,900 for the cure for cancer. At first the group leader ship consisted of only my advisor in me; however, I gained the support of the administrators. I spent well over an hour a day preparing for the event, and it was all worth it! 

The Sonora Eagles were students of different grade levels, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and educational ability. We joked and played football while volunteering. The most important moment occurred during the night’s luminaria ceremony, during which cancer patients of the past and present were commemorated. Our whole team gathered around, and I asked people to share how they have been affected by cancer. As I went through the crowd, their faces illuminated by candlelight, their cheeks were wet with cleansing tears, I realize the impact I had on them, the purpose I was fulfilling; but most importantly, I realized the impact they had had on me. The Sonora Eagles were my means for dealing with the death of my loved ones to cancer. 

The theme for relay for life is a hope for a cure. Through this experience as a leader, I have come to realize, as a community, we hope together, we dream together, we work together, and we succeed together. This is the phenomenon of interdependency, the interconnectedness of life, the pivotal reason for human existence. I have continued this momentum by starting a Sonora High School chapter of American Cancer Society Youth, a club dedicated to youth involvement and several aspects of the American Cancer Society, including the recent Arizona Proposition 45. 

Each one of us leaves behind a legacy as we fulfill our purpose in life. I believe my purpose as a student is to encourage others to become active community members and motivate them to reach new heights. As a student of the University of California, I will contribute my understanding of the human condition and student motivation to help strengthen student relationships within the campus and throughout the community.

College essay example #7

This is a college essay that worked for Cornell University .

(Suggested reading: How to Get Into Cornell )

My fingers know instinctively, without a thought.  They turn the dial, just as they have hundreds of times before, until a soft, metallic click echoes into my eardrum and triggers their unconscious stop.  I exultantly thrust open my locker door, exposing its deepest bowels candidly to the wide halls of the high school. The bright lights shine back, brashly revealing every crevice, nook, and cranny, gleaming across its scintillating, bare surfaces.  On this first day of senior year, I set out upon my task. I procure an ordinary plastic grocery bag from my backpack. The contents inside collectively represent everything about me in high school – they tell a story, one all about me.

I reach in and let my fingers trail around the surfaces of each object.  I select my first prey arbitrarily, and as I raise my hand up to eye level, I closely examine this chosen one.  A miniature Flamenco dancer stares back at me from the confines of the 3-D rectangular magnet, half popping out as if willing herself to come to life.  Instantly, my mind transports me back a few summers before, when I tapped my own heels to traditional music in Spain. I am reminded of my thirst to travel, to explore new cultures utterly different from my familiar home in Modesto, California.  I have experienced study abroad in Spain, visited my father’s hometown in China five times, and traveled to many other places such as Paris. As a result, I have developed a restlessness inside me, a need to move on from four years in the same high school, to take advantage of diverse opportunities whenever possible, and to meet interesting people.

I take out the next magnet from my plastic bag.  This one shows a panoramic view of the city of Santa Barbara, California.  Here, I recall spending six weeks in my glory, not only studying and learning, but actually pursuing new knowledge to add to the repertoire of mankind.  I could have easily chosen to spend my summer lazing about; in fact, my parents tried to persuade me into taking a break. Instead, I chose to do advanced molecular biology research at Stanford University.  I wanted to immerse myself in my passion for biology and dip into the infinitely rich possibilities of my mind. This challenge was so rewarding to me, while at the same time I had the most fun of my life, because I was able to live with people who shared the same kind of drive and passion as I did.

After sticking up my magnets on the locker door, I ran my fingers across the bottom of the bag, and I realized that one remained.  It was a bold, black square, with white block letters proclaiming my motto, “Live the Life You Imagine.” In my four years at Cornell University, I will certainly continue to live life as I imagine, adding my own flavor to the Cornell community, while taking away invaluable experiences of my own. 

College essay example #8

This student was admitted to Northwestern University .

As I sip a mug of hot chocolate on a dreary winter’s day, I am already planning in my mind what I will do the next summer.  I briefly ponder the traditional routes, such as taking a job or spending most of the summer at the beach. However, I know that I want to do something unique.  I am determined to even surpass my last summer, in which I spent one month with a host family in Egypt and twelve days at a leadership conference in New York City. The college courses I have taken at Oregon State University since the summer after 7th grade will no longer provide the kind of challenge I seek.

Six months later, I step off the airplane to find myself surrounded by palm trees, with a view of the open-air airport.  I chuckle to myself about the added bonus of good weather, but I know I have come to Palo Alto, California, with a much higher purpose in mind.  I will spend six weeks here in my glory, not only studying and learning, but actually pursuing new knowledge to add to the repertoire of mankind.  Through the Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program, I will earn college credit by conducting original molecular biology research, writing my own research paper, and presenting my findings in a research symposium.

I decided to spend my summer doing research because I knew that I liked scientific thought, and that I would passionately throw myself into any new challenge.  I always want to know more – to probe deeper into the laws of the universe, to explore the power and beauty of nature, to solve the most complicated problems. I have an insatiable curiosity and a desire to delve deeper down in the recesses of my intellect.  At the Summer Research Program, I found out how much I enjoy thinking critically, solving problems, and applying my knowledge to the real world. 

While pursuing research in California, I was also able to meet many similarly motivated, interesting people from across the United States and abroad.  As I learned about their unique lifestyles, I also shared with them the diverse perspectives I have gained from my travel abroad and my Chinese cultural heritage.  I will never forget the invaluable opportunity I had to explore California along with these bright people.

I could have easily chosen to spend that summer the traditional way; in fact, my parents even tried to persuade me into taking a break.  Instead, I chose to do molecular biology research at Stanford University. I wanted to immerse myself in my passion for biology and dip into the infinitely rich possibilities of my mind.  This challenge was so rewarding to me, while at the same time I had the most fun of my life, because I was able to live with people who share the same kind of drive and passion as I do.

College essay example #9

When I turned twelve, my stepdad turned violent. He became a different person overnight, frequently getting into fights with my mom. I didn’t deal with it well, often crying to my mom’s disappointment, afraid that my life would undo itself in a matter of seconds. You might say that my upbringing was characterized by my parents morphing everyday objects into weapons and me trying to morph into the perfect white walls that stood unmoving while my family fell apart.

This period in my life is not a sob story, but rather, the origin story of my love of writing. During a fight once, my stepdad left the house to retrieve a baseball bat from his truck. He didn’t use it, but I’ll never forget the fear that he would, how close he’d gotten. And in that moment, I did not cry as I was prone to do, but I pulled out a book, and experienced a profound disappearance, one that would always make me associate reading with escapism and healing.

Soon I came to write, filling up loose ruled paper with words, writing in the dark when we didn’t have money to pay for electricity. And as I got older, I began to think that there must be others who were going through this, too. I tried to find them. I created an anonymous blog that centered what it meant for a teenager to find joy even as her life was in shambles. In this blog I kept readers updated with what I was learning, nightly yoga to release tension from the day and affirmations in the morning to counter the shame that was mounting as a result of witnessing weekly my inability to make things better at home.

At that time, I felt uncertain about who I was because I was different online than I was at home or even at school where I was editor of my high school literary journal. It took me a while to understand that I was not the girl who hid in the corner making herself small; I was the one who sought to connect with others who were dealing with the same challenges at home, thinking that maybe in our isolation we could come together. I was able to make enough from my blog to pay some bills in the house and give my mom the courage to kick my stepfather out. When he exited our home, I felt a wind go through it, the house exhaling a giant sigh of relief.

I know this is not the typical background of most students. Sharing my story with like-minded teens helped me understand what I have to offer: my perspective, my unrelenting optimism. Because even as I’ve seen the dark side of what people are capable of, I have also been a star witness to joy and love. I do not experience despair for long because I know that this is just one chapter in a long novel, one that will change the hearts of those who come across it. And I can’t wait to see how it will end.

College essay example #10

This student was accepted at Yale University .

(Suggested reading: How to Get Into Yale )

I was a straight A student until I got to high school, where my calm evenings cooking dinner for my siblings turned into hours watching videos, followed by the frantic attempt to finish homework around 4 am. When I got an F on a chemistry pop quiz my mom sat me down to ask me what was happening. I told her I couldn’t focus or keep track of all my materials for classes. I thought she would call me lazy, accuse me of wasting the gift of being an American that she and my father gave me. Instead, she looked around at the walls covered in sticky notes, the index cards scattered on the computer desk, the couch, the table, and she said, “How are your friends managing it?” 

It turned out while my peers were struggling to juggle the demands of high school it didn’t seem like they were working as hard to complete simple tasks. They only had to put things in a planner, not make sure the deadlines were placed in multiple locations, physical and digital. At my next doctor’s appointment my mom mentioned that I had a learning problem, but the doctor shook his head and said that I didn’t seem to have ADHD. I was just procrastinating, it’s natural.

My mom took off from her grocery store job to take me to two more appointments to ask about ADHD, the term the doctor had used, but other doctors were not willing to listen. I had As in every class except for World Literature. But I knew something was wrong. After our third doctor visit, I worked with the librarian after school to sift through research on ADHD and other learning disabilities until we came across the term executive functioning. Armed with knowledge, we went to a new doctor, and before my mom could insist that we get testing or get referred to a specialist, the doctor handed us a signed referral. She asked me about the folder in my hand. I told her it was full of my research. My mom mentioned that some doctors had refused to refer us to a specialist because my grades were too high. “It’s because we’re Asian,” she added. 

I was shocked at this revelation. The last three doctors had mumbled something about grades but had never said a thing about race. Before I could deny it fervently, the doctor, who was from Taiwan, nodded sympathetically. She said it’s common to miss learning disabilities among different races due to biases. And some adolescents learn to mask symptoms by building systems. “You don’t have to prove anything to me. I believe you should get tested.” My mom thanked her fervently and the doctor said to her, “She’s going to be a great lawyer.”

The semester following the confirmation of my learning disability diagnosis was challenging to say the least. My school switched me out of all of my IB courses to “accommodate my special needs,” and I went back to the library, working with the librarian with numerous index cards and stacks of books to make a case for discrimination. The librarian, who had become my close confidante, introduced me to an academic tutor who specialized in learning disabilities and taught me skills like using redundancy and time management to make it easier for me to grapple with moving parts. He noted that with ADHD, the problem wasn’t always the inability to focus but rather the difficulty focusing without adequate perceived reward. It wasn’t that I was not capable but that I had to make myself sufficiently interested or reiterate why something mattered. This reframe changed my life, and when I came back to the library with my new schedule in hand, the most advanced courses my school had to offer, the librarian said, “You’re going to make a great lawyer.”

I smiled and said, “I’ve heard that before.”

College essay example #11

This student was accepted at the University of Pennsylvania.

My brother and I are exactly one year and one day apart. We look like twins — people confuse us — but we couldn’t be any more different. As children we wore the same clothes, received the same haircut. By the time we got to middle school it was clear that my older brother preferred quiet, indoor activities, while I was a born performer who preferred the theatrical, even when off stage. I took his relative silence to be disinterest and found it offensive. To the chagrin of my parents, we simply didn’t get along. 

I didn’t mind having a tense relationship with my brother because I was involved at school. In particular I delved into the world of musical theater in addition to regularly singing solos at our high school choir concerts. I spent hours after school preparing for shows. And when I came home, I practiced as well, falling into a rigorous routine I thought I needed to remain at my best and be competitive for parts. 

My bedroom was far enough from my parents so as not to disturb them, but space to practice became an issue with my brother because, well, we shared a room. Imagine him meditating on a window seat while I am belting, trying to sustain a high note. Needless to say, this created tension between us. From my point of view he could have meditated in the living room or while I was at practice, but he wasn’t willing to budge. From his point of view, high school was hard enough without the constant sound of Glee arrangements.

At the start of the semester, I practiced “Circle of Life” for a concert audition. While I could sing it fine in its original key, I had a hard time singing it along with the music because the arrangement of the song we were working on had a key change that was out of my range. I couldn’t change key without my voice cracking as I switched to a head voice. This was the first time I struggled to learn a song, and I was a week from the audition. I was irritable in that period and stopped practicing, declaring I had reached the height of my singing career. My brother experiencing quiet when I got home for the first time in years. 

After a couple days of this, when I got home, he asked me to join him in meditation. And feeling my anger at my inability to navigate this song gracefully, I did. It was difficult at first. I was trying to clear my head. Later my brother told me that wasn’t the point. When your mind drifts away, you simply come back, no judgment. I liked the sound of that, and it became my new philosophy. I kept trying at the song, no longer getting angry at myself, and just in time for the audition I was able to maintain power in my voice despite the key change. It was important for me to learn you don’t have to always get everything right the first time and that good things come with continual effort. As for my brother, we no longer argue. I now understand why he prefers the quiet. 

College essay example #12

This student was admitted to Brown University .

(Suggested reading: How to Get Into Brown )

My parents are aerospace engineers, humble even as their work helps our society explore new frontiers. They believe that you make a stand through the work that you do, not what you say. This is what they taught me. This is what I believed until my sophomore year when I was confronted with a moment where I could not stay quiet. 

I live outside of a major city in a small, rural town that’s majority white but for a small South Asian population. My high school wasn’t diverse by any standards. Some students were openly the children of skinheads. After a racist exchange with a student who insulted her and refused to sit at the same lunch table, my best friend, who was Muslim, did not stand for the pledge of allegiance in homeroom the next day.

I hadn’t heard about the encounter that sparked this move on her part and was surprised when she didn’t stand up beside me, hand against her heart, mouth chanting an oath. She hadn’t mentioned any mounting discomfort to me, nor had I noticed anything. Unlike my “patriotic” peers, I was less upset by her refusal to stand up for the pledge of allegiance and more upset that she didn’t share with me that she was hurting and what she was going to do to protest how she was treated because of her beliefs and the color of her skin. 

She was suspended for insubordination and when I called her, she said that surely in this situation I might find a way to think of more than my own feelings. I felt ashamed. It didn’t even occur to me to seek to understand what was behind her decision in the first place. I apologized, asking how to best support her. She said it was just important that I listen and understand that she could not thrive in an environment that promoted sameness. She spoke to me with a vulnerability I had never heard before. At the end of our conversation, I apologized profusely. She said she did not need my words and what she needed from me was to take a stand.

This was the opposite of the belief my parents drilled in me. I felt conflicted at first, as if by speaking about the situation I was doing something wrong. However, my friend had to deal with a reality that I did not. And perhaps taking a stand would allow my institution and everyone in it to learn to be a more inclusive space for everyone. Maybe there was a way to take a stand and to do the necessary work to change things.

I started a petition with my friend’s permission to end her suspension and to take disciplinary action instead on the student who had taken racist actions in the first place. Of the 1000 students at my high school, over 200 signed, a number that far exceeded my expectation. When I shared the results with my friend, she said to me, “Because of who you are, you will always have supporters. Use your power to do good.”

Since then, I have tried to be more aware that not everyone experiences comfort in the same environments that I do. Rather than assume everyone feels safe and supported, it’s best to create space to listen and to ask how you can be supportive. My friend and I created a club to foster cross-cultural dialogue. In the past year two other clubs of its kind began at other local schools. More than anything I am proud that I have learned to be a better friend and a more thoughtful community member in a way that honors who I am and what I value.

College essay example #13

This is a college essay that worked for Washington University in St. Louis (WashU).

I held my breath as my steady hands gently nestled the crumbly roots of the lettuce plant into the soil trench that I shoveled moments before. Rainwater and sweat dripped from my brow as I meticulously patted and pressed the surrounding earth, stamping the leafy green creature into its new home. After rubbing the gritty soil off of my hands, I looked at Brian, a co-volunteer and nonverbal 20-year-old with autism, who extended his arm for a high-five. In the year that I’ve been working with him, I’ve watched him revel in planting, nurturing, and eventually harvesting his veggies, especially the grape tomatoes, which we enjoy eating fresh off the vine! Upon walking to the next row of hollowed cavities, we were not contemplating the lengthy work that lay ahead, but rather, we sought to liberate the helpless lettuces, imprisoned in produce cartons that were too small for them to grow in. Finally, after taking a step back to admire the day’s last plant, my chest swelled as a wave of contentment flushed through my body. 

My love for gardening began when I moved to Georgia during my sophomore year. In the time I’ve spent learning how to garden, I’ve developed an affinity for watching my vegetables grow to maturity, eager to be harvested and sold at the Saturday market. Though many see gardening as tedious busywork, I find it meditative, as I lose track of time while combining peat moss and soil in the garden’s compost mixer. Saturday morning garden work has become a weekend ritual, ridding me of all extraneous responsibilities. My body goes into autopilot as I let my mind wander. I don’t actively focus on focusing, but rather I observe myself internally digest the week’s events. I’m a bystander to fireworks of thought that explode in my mind as my perception of important matters becomes trivial. Sometimes, it’s the physics midterm that suddenly seems less daunting or the deadlines I need to meet for my Spanish project that push back farther. Other times, I contemplate alternative endings to conversations or make perfect sense of the calculus answer that was at the tip of my tongue in class. 

I met Brian, a close friend of mine who also basks in the tranquility of nature, through my gardening endeavors. While we aren’t able to communicate verbally, we speak the language of earth, water, peat, and seedlings. He doesn’t speak with words, but his face tells stories of newly found purpose and acceptance, a pleasant contrast to the typical condescension and babying he feels by those who don’t think he’s capable of independent thought. 

Throughout my time in the garden with Brian, I began to understand that he, like everyone, has a particular method of communicating. There are the obvious spoken languages, body languages, facial expressions, and interactions we share on a day-to-day basis that reflect who we are and communicate what we represent. Brian expresses himself through various manifestations of unspoken language that he uses to signal how he feels or what he wants. But the nuanced combinations of different methods of communicating are oftentimes overlooked, raising a barrier to mutual understanding that prevents one from being capable of truly connecting with others. I began to understand that in order to reach people, I have to speak in their language, be it verbally or otherwise. Working with Brian over the past year has made me more aware that people can have difficulty expressing themselves. I found that I can positively lead people if I can communicate with them, whether on the track or in my Jewish youth group discussions. As I move into the next phases of my life, I hope to bring these skills with me because, in order to effectuate positive change in my community, I learned that I must speak in the language of those around me. Those are the words Brian taught me.

College essay example #14

This student was accepted at Brown University.

It felt like I threw myself out of a plane without a parachute. My eyes firmly shut, I feared for my life as I plummeted towards the ground. In hindsight, perhaps half coming out at a public restaurant wasn’t the brightest idea. Then again, living as the half-closeted queer kid meant that I was all too familiar with intimidating situations.

I asked my mom: “What would you do if I had a girlfriend?” She instantly replied that she couldn’t understand. Immediately, my heart dropped and the emotional free fall began. She explained that Americans choose to be gay for personal enjoyment, which in my Korean culture is an attitude that is severely frowned upon. I sat there like a statue, motionless and afraid to speak, blindly hurtling towards a hard reality I hadn’t expected. Rejection cut me deeply and I started to feel the itch of tears welling in my eyes, yet I had to contain myself. I couldn’t let the pain seep through my facade or else she would question why I cared. All I could do was keep looking down and shoveling food into my mouth, silently wishing I could just disappear. That night, I realized it would be a long time before I could fully come out to my mom. My eyes tightened as I continued to fall.

In the following weeks, I started noticing how discomfort played a natural part in my life. I recognized the anxious reactions of my classmates as I argued with my Christian friends when they said my queerness is a sin. I observed the judgmental glances my mentors gave me as I passionately disagreed with my conservative lab mates over my sister’s abortion. Eventually, my friends decided to censor certain topics of discussion, trying to avoid these situations altogether. I felt like vulnerability was the new taboo. People’s expressions and actions seemed to confine me, telling me to stop caring so much, to keep my eyes closed as I fall, so they didn’t have to watch.

Had others felt uncomfortable with me in the same way I had felt uncomfortable with my mom? Do they feel that our passions might uncover a chasm into which we all fall, unsure of the outcome?

Perhaps it was too raw , too emotional .

There was something about pure, uncensored passion during conflict that became too real. It made me, and the people around me, vulnerable, which was frightening. It made us think about things we didn’t want to consider, things branded too political, too dangerous. Shielding ourselves in discomfort was simply an easier way of living.

However, I’ve come to realize that it wasn’t my comfort, but rather, my discomfort that defined my life. My memories aren’t filled with times where life was simple, but moments where I was conflicted. It is filled with unexpected dinners and unusual conversations where I was uncertain. It is filled with the uncensored versions of my beliefs and the beliefs of others. It is filled with a purity that I shouldn’t have detained.

Now, I look forward to tough conversations with a newfound willingness to learn and listen, with an appreciation for uncertainty. I urge others to explore our discomfort together and embrace the messy emotions that accompany it. I try to make our collective discomfort more navigable. Since that dinner, my relationship with my mother is still in free fall. It’s dangerous and frightening. Thankfully, the potentially perilous conversations I’ve had with my friends has given me a newfound appreciation for my own fear. I’ll admit, part of me still seeks to close my eyes, to hide in the safety I’ll find in silence. Yet, a larger part of me yearns to embrace the dangers around me as I fall through the sky. I may still be falling, but this time, I will open my eyes, and hopefully steer towards a better landing for both my mom and me.

THERE'S NO REASON TO STRUGGLE THROUGH THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS ALONE, ESPECIALLY WITH SO MUCH ON THE LINE. SCHEDULE YOUR COMPLIMENTARY CONSULTATION TO ENSURE YOU LEAVE NOTHING TO CHANCE.

Essay Exams

What this handout is about.

At some time in your undergraduate career, you’re going to have to write an essay exam. This thought can inspire a fair amount of fear: we struggle enough with essays when they aren’t timed events based on unknown questions. The goal of this handout is to give you some easy and effective strategies that will help you take control of the situation and do your best.

Why do instructors give essay exams?

Essay exams are a useful tool for finding out if you can sort through a large body of information, figure out what is important, and explain why it is important. Essay exams challenge you to come up with key course ideas and put them in your own words and to use the interpretive or analytical skills you’ve practiced in the course. Instructors want to see whether:

• You understand concepts that provide the basis for the course
• You can use those concepts to interpret specific materials
• You can make connections, see relationships, draw comparisons and contrasts
• You can synthesize diverse information in support of an original assertion
• You can justify your own evaluations based on appropriate criteria
• You can argue your own opinions with convincing evidence
• You can think critically and analytically about a subject

What essay questions require

Exam questions can reach pretty far into the course materials, so you cannot hope to do well on them if you do not keep up with the readings and assignments from the beginning of the course. The most successful essay exam takers are prepared for anything reasonable, and they probably have some intelligent guesses about the content of the exam before they take it. How can you be a prepared exam taker? Try some of the following suggestions during the semester:

• Do the reading as the syllabus dictates; keeping up with the reading while the related concepts are being discussed in class saves you double the effort later.
• Go to lectures (and put away your phone, the newspaper, and that crossword puzzle!).
• Take careful notes that you’ll understand months later. If this is not your strong suit or the conventions for a particular discipline are different from what you are used to, ask your TA or the Learning Center for advice.
• Participate in your discussion sections; this will help you absorb the material better so you don’t have to study as hard.
• Organize small study groups with classmates to explore and review course materials throughout the semester. Others will catch things you might miss even when paying attention. This is not cheating. As long as what you write on the essay is your own work, formulating ideas and sharing notes is okay. In fact, it is a big part of the learning process.
• As an exam approaches, find out what you can about the form it will take. This will help you forecast the questions that will be on the exam, and prepare for them.

These suggestions will save you lots of time and misery later. Remember that you can’t cram weeks of information into a single day or night of study. So why put yourself in that position?

Now let’s focus on studying for the exam. You’ll notice the following suggestions are all based on organizing your study materials into manageable chunks of related material. If you have a plan of attack, you’ll feel more confident and your answers will be more clear. Here are some tips: 

• Don’t just memorize aimlessly; clarify the important issues of the course and use these issues to focus your understanding of specific facts and particular readings.
• Try to organize and prioritize the information into a thematic pattern. Look at what you’ve studied and find a way to put things into related groups. Find the fundamental ideas that have been emphasized throughout the course and organize your notes into broad categories. Think about how different categories relate to each other.
• Find out what you don’t know, but need to know, by making up test questions and trying to answer them. Studying in groups helps as well.

Taking the exam

Read the exam carefully.

• If you are given the entire exam at once and can determine your approach on your own, read the entire exam before you get started.
• Look at how many points each part earns you, and find hints for how long your answers should be.
• Figure out how much time you have and how best to use it. Write down the actual clock time that you expect to take in each section, and stick to it. This will help you avoid spending all your time on only one section. One strategy is to divide the available time according to percentage worth of the question. You don’t want to spend half of your time on something that is only worth one tenth of the total points.
• As you read, make tentative choices of the questions you will answer (if you have a choice). Don’t just answer the first essay question you encounter. Instead, read through all of the options. Jot down really brief ideas for each question before deciding.
• Remember that the easiest-looking question is not always as easy as it looks. Focus your attention on questions for which you can explain your answer most thoroughly, rather than settle on questions where you know the answer but can’t say why.

Analyze the questions

• Decide what you are being asked to do. If you skim the question to find the main “topic” and then rush to grasp any related ideas you can recall, you may become flustered, lose concentration, and even go blank. Try looking closely at what the question is directing you to do, and try to understand the sort of writing that will be required.
• Focus on what you do know about the question, not on what you don’t.
• Look at the active verbs in the assignment—they tell you what you should be doing. We’ve included some of these below, with some suggestions on what they might mean. (For help with this sort of detective work, see the Writing Center handout titled Reading Assignments.)

Information words, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject. Information words may include:

• define—give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning.
• explain why/how—give reasons why or examples of how something happened.
• illustrate—give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject.
• summarize—briefly cover the important ideas you learned about the subject.
• trace—outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form.
• research—gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you’ve found.

Relation words ask you to demonstrate how things are connected. Relation words may include:

• compare—show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different).
• contrast—show how two or more things are dissimilar.
• apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation.
• cause—show how one event or series of events made something else happen.
• relate—show or describe the connections between things.

Interpretation words ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Don’t see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation. Interpretation words may include:

• prove, justify—give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth.
• evaluate, respond, assess—state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons (you may want to compare your subject to something else).
• support—give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe).
• synthesize—put two or more things together that haven’t been put together before; don’t just summarize one and then the other, and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together (as opposed to compare and contrast—see above).
• analyze—look closely at the components of something to figure out how it works, what it might mean, or why it is important.
• argue—take a side and defend it (with proof) against the other side.

Plan your answers

Think about your time again. How much planning time you should take depends on how much time you have for each question and how many points each question is worth. Here are some general guidelines: 

• For short-answer definitions and identifications, just take a few seconds. Skip over any you don’t recognize fairly quickly, and come back to them when another question jogs your memory.
• For answers that require a paragraph or two, jot down several important ideas or specific examples that help to focus your thoughts.
• For longer answers, you will need to develop a much more definite strategy of organization. You only have time for one draft, so allow a reasonable amount of time—as much as a quarter of the time you’ve allotted for the question—for making notes, determining a thesis, and developing an outline.
• For questions with several parts (different requests or directions, a sequence of questions), make a list of the parts so that you do not miss or minimize one part. One way to be sure you answer them all is to number them in the question and in your outline.
• You may have to try two or three outlines or clusters before you hit on a workable plan. But be realistic—you want a plan you can develop within the limited time allotted for your answer. Your outline will have to be selective—not everything you know, but what you know that you can state clearly and keep to the point in the time available.

Again, focus on what you do know about the question, not on what you don’t.

Writing your answers

As with planning, your strategy for writing depends on the length of your answer:

• For short identifications and definitions, it is usually best to start with a general identifying statement and then move on to describe specific applications or explanations. Two sentences will almost always suffice, but make sure they are complete sentences. Find out whether the instructor wants definition alone, or definition and significance. Why is the identification term or object important?
• For longer answers, begin by stating your forecasting statement or thesis clearly and explicitly. Strive for focus, simplicity, and clarity. In stating your point and developing your answers, you may want to use important course vocabulary words from the question. For example, if the question is, “How does wisteria function as a representation of memory in Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom?” you may want to use the words wisteria, representation, memory, and Faulkner) in your thesis statement and answer. Use these important words or concepts throughout the answer.
• If you have devised a promising outline for your answer, then you will be able to forecast your overall plan and its subpoints in your opening sentence. Forecasting impresses readers and has the very practical advantage of making your answer easier to read. Also, if you don’t finish writing, it tells your reader what you would have said if you had finished (and may get you partial points).
• You might want to use briefer paragraphs than you ordinarily do and signal clear relations between paragraphs with transition phrases or sentences.
• As you move ahead with the writing, you may think of new subpoints or ideas to include in the essay. Stop briefly to make a note of these on your original outline. If they are most appropriately inserted in a section you’ve already written, write them neatly in the margin, at the top of the page, or on the last page, with arrows or marks to alert the reader to where they fit in your answer. Be as neat and clear as possible.
• Don’t pad your answer with irrelevancies and repetitions just to fill up space. Within the time available, write a comprehensive, specific answer.
• Watch the clock carefully to ensure that you do not spend too much time on one answer. You must be realistic about the time constraints of an essay exam. If you write one dazzling answer on an exam with three equally-weighted required questions, you earn only 33 points—not enough to pass at most colleges. This may seem unfair, but keep in mind that instructors plan exams to be reasonably comprehensive. They want you to write about the course materials in two or three or more ways, not just one way. Hint: if you finish a half-hour essay in 10 minutes, you may need to develop some of your ideas more fully.
• If you run out of time when you are writing an answer, jot down the remaining main ideas from your outline, just to show that you know the material and with more time could have continued your exposition.
• Double-space to leave room for additions, and strike through errors or changes with one straight line (avoid erasing or scribbling over). Keep things as clean as possible. You never know what will earn you partial credit.
• Write legibly and proofread. Remember that your instructor will likely be reading a large pile of exams. The more difficult they are to read, the more exasperated the instructor might become. Your instructor also cannot give you credit for what they cannot understand. A few minutes of careful proofreading can improve your grade.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind in writing essay exams is that you have a limited amount of time and space in which to get across the knowledge you have acquired and your ability to use it. Essay exams are not the place to be subtle or vague. It’s okay to have an obvious structure, even the five-paragraph essay format you may have been taught in high school. Introduce your main idea, have several paragraphs of support—each with a single point defended by specific examples, and conclude with a restatement of your main point and its significance.

Some physiological tips

Just think—we expect athletes to practice constantly and use everything in their abilities and situations in order to achieve success. Yet, somehow many students are convinced that one day’s worth of studying, no sleep, and some well-placed compliments (“Gee, Dr. So-and-so, I really enjoyed your last lecture”) are good preparation for a test. Essay exams are like any other testing situation in life: you’ll do best if you are prepared for what is expected of you, have practiced doing it before, and have arrived in the best shape to do it. You may not want to believe this, but it’s true: a good night’s sleep and a relaxed mind and body can do as much or more for you as any last-minute cram session. Colleges abound with tales of woe about students who slept through exams because they stayed up all night, wrote an essay on the wrong topic, forgot everything they studied, or freaked out in the exam and hyperventilated. If you are rested, breathing normally, and have brought along some healthy, energy-boosting snacks that you can eat or drink quietly, you are in a much better position to do a good job on the test. You aren’t going to write a good essay on something you figured out at 4 a.m. that morning. If you prepare yourself well throughout the semester, you don’t risk your whole grade on an overloaded, undernourished brain.

If for some reason you get yourself into this situation, take a minute every once in a while during the test to breathe deeply, stretch, and clear your brain. You need to be especially aware of the likelihood of errors, so check your essays thoroughly before you hand them in to make sure they answer the right questions and don’t have big oversights or mistakes (like saying “Hitler” when you really mean “Churchill”).

If you tend to go blank during exams, try studying in the same classroom in which the test will be given. Some research suggests that people attach ideas to their surroundings, so it might jog your memory to see the same things you were looking at while you studied.

Try good luck charms. Bring in something you associate with success or the support of your loved ones, and use it as a psychological boost.

Take all of the time you’ve been allotted. Reread, rework, and rethink your answers if you have extra time at the end, rather than giving up and handing the exam in the minute you’ve written your last sentence. Use every advantage you are given.

Remember that instructors do not want to see you trip up—they want to see you do well. With this in mind, try to relax and just do the best you can. The more you panic, the more mistakes you are liable to make. Put the test in perspective: will you die from a poor performance? Will you lose all of your friends? Will your entire future be destroyed? Remember: it’s just a test.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Axelrod, Rise B., and Charles R. Cooper. 2016. The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing , 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Fowler, Ramsay H., and Jane E. Aaron. 2016. The Little, Brown Handbook , 13th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Gefvert, Constance J. 1988. The Confident Writer: A Norton Handbook , 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Kirszner, Laurie G. 1988. Writing: A College Rhetoric , 2nd ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Woodman, Leonara, and Thomas P. Adler. 1988. The Writer’s Choices , 2nd ed. Northbrook, Illinois: Scott Foresman.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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IELTS Writing Task 2 Topics: Exam Format, Common Topics and Preparation Tips

Gaining skills in IELTS Writing Task 2 is essential for both showing your ability to articulate ideas and arguments clearly and for getting the desired score on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Writing Task 2, one of the hardest exam components, requires a thorough comprehension of its structure, knowledge of frequent subjects, and skillful preparation techniques.

In this article, we will explain the exam style, explore typical issues candidates face, and provide important preparation recommendations.

Table of Content

IELTS Writing Task 2 Format

1. structure, 2. word count and timing, 3. question types, common ielts writing task 2 topics, ielts writing task 2 preparation tips, strategies for ielts writing task 2, ielts writing task 2 topics- faqs, what is the word count requirement for ielts writing task 2, how much time should i allocate for writing task 2, what are the common topics in ielts writing task 2, how can i prepare for writing task 2, what are the types of essays in writing task 2, what are the assessment criteria for writing task 2, how can i improve my performance in writing task 2.

IELTS Writing Task 2 presents test-takers with a platform to showcase their ability to articulate arguments, express opinions, and present ideas coherently and logically. Understanding the structure of this task, along with its timing and question types, is fundamental to performing well on the exam.

• Introduction: Introduce the topic and provide an overview of the main points or arguments that will be discussed in the essay.
• Body Paragraphs: Develop the main points or arguments introduced in the introduction. Each paragraph should focus on a single idea and provide supporting evidence or examples.
• Conclusion: Summarize the main points discussed in the essay and restate the thesis statement or main argument.
• Test-takers are required to write an essay with a minimum word count of 250 words.
• The recommended time allocation for Writing Task 2 is 40 minutes.
• Opinion/Argumentative Essays : Candidates may be asked to express their opinion on a given topic, present arguments, and support their viewpoint with examples or evidence.
• Problem-Solution Essays: Test-takers are required to identify a problem, propose solutions, and justify their recommendations.
• Advantages and Disadvantages Essays : This type of essay requires candidates to discuss the pros and cons of a given issue or situation.

The following are just a few examples of the common topics that candidates may encounter in IELTS Writing Task 2. It’s important for test-takers to familiarize themselves with these topics and practice writing essays on them to improve their performance on the exam:

Preparation for the IELTS Writing Task 2 is essential to ensure success on the exam. Here are some effective strategies and tips to help you prepare:

• Understand the Task: Familiarize yourself with the format and requirements of Writing Task 2. Understand the types of essays you may encounter, such as opinion essays, discussion essays, problem-solution essays, etc.
• Practice Regularly: Practice writing essays regularly to improve your writing skills and familiarize yourself with various topics and question types. Allocate time to write essays under timed conditions to simulate the exam environment.
• Expand Your Vocabulary: Enhance your vocabulary by learning new words and phrases related to common IELTS topics. Practice using these words in your writing to demonstrate lexical resource.
• Develop Ideas: Practice brainstorming and generating ideas for essay topics. Learn how to develop coherent arguments and support them with examples, evidence, and relevant details.
• Structure Your Essays: Learn how to structure your essays effectively, including writing clear introductions, developing coherent body paragraphs, and crafting concise conclusions. Use paragraphing to organize your ideas logically.
• Practice Time Management: Allocate time wisely during the exam to ensure that you complete both Writing Task 1 and Writing Task 2 within the specified time frame. Practice managing your time effectively during practice essays to improve your efficiency.
• Review and Revise: Take time to review and revise your essays after writing them. Check for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors, and make revisions to improve clarity, coherence, and cohesion.
• Seek Feedback: Receive feedback on your essays from teachers, tutors, or peers. Identify areas for improvement and work on addressing them in subsequent practice sessions.
• Use Sample Essays : Analyze sample essays to understand what constitutes a high-scoring essay. Pay attention to the language, structure, and argumentation used in these essays and incorporate similar techniques into your own writing.
• Stay Updated: Stay informed about current events and global issues as they often form the basis of essay topics in the IELTS exam. Read newspapers, magazines, and online articles to broaden your knowledge and understanding of various topics.

Here are some specific strategies that will be beneficial for IELTS Writing Task 2:

• Plan Your Essay: Take a few minutes to plan your essay before you start writing. Outline your main points and supporting details for each paragraph. A well-structured plan will help you organize your ideas and maintain coherence throughout your essay.
• Introduction: Start with a clear and concise introduction that introduces the topic and presents your main thesis or argument.
• Body Paragraphs : Develop your main points in separate paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on a single idea or argument. Provide supporting evidence, examples, or explanations to back up your points.
• Conclusion: Summarize your main points and restate your thesis or argument in the conclusion. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion.
• Use Formal Language : Maintain a formal tone and use appropriate vocabulary and grammar. Avoid slang, contractions, and overly informal language. Demonstrate a range of vocabulary and grammatical structures to showcase your language proficiency.
• Address All Parts of the Question: Make sure you address all parts of the task prompt in your essay. If there are multiple questions or instructions, ensure that your essay covers each one adequately.
• Provide Examples and Evidence: Support your arguments with relevant examples, evidence, or personal experiences. Use specific details to illustrate your points and make your arguments more persuasive.
• Check for Grammar and Spelling: Leave some time at the end to review and edit your essay for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. Ensure that your sentences are clear, concise, and free of mistakes.
• Practice Writing Essays: Practice writing essays on a variety of topics under timed conditions. Analyze sample essays and seek feedback from teachers, tutors, or peers to identify areas for improvement and refine your writing skills.

In conclusion, one of the most important steps in passing the IELTS exam is to become proficient in Writing Task 2. To achieve a good grade, you must understand the exam format, become familiar with prevalent themes, and use efficient study techniques. Through a thorough analysis of the exam structure, covering everything from word count to question kinds, applicants can more effectively manage the requirements of their task. Also, exploring prevalent subjects like technology, education, and the environment gives test-takers the knowledge they need to address a variety of essay themes. Moreover, optimizing performance requires careful preparation, which includes consistent practice, vocabulary expansion, and time management techniques. Ultimately, candidates can face IELTS Writing Task 2 with confidence and raise their chances of passing by putting these techniques into practice and putting effort into their preparation.

Also Check: How to prepare for IELTS? IELTS Exam Pattern 2024: Section-wise IELTS Exam Paper Pattern, Question Types How to Apply for IELTS 2024| Step-By-Step Guide TOEFL 2024 Preparation Time: Check Month-wise Plan and Week-wise Plan

The minimum word count for Writing Task 2 is 250 words.

It is recommended to spend 40 minutes on Task 2.

Common topics include education, environment, technology, health, and social issues.

Effective preparation involves regular practice, vocabulary enhancement, and time management skills.

Essays may include opinion essays, discussion essays, problem-solution essays, and more.

Task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy are the key criteria.

Practice under timed conditions, analyze sample essays, and seek feedback to refine your skills.

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What is a well written answer to an essay question?

Well Focused

Be sure to answer the question completely, that is, answer all parts of the question. Avoid "padding." A lot of rambling and ranting is a sure sign that the writer doesn't really know what the right answer is and hopes that somehow, something in that overgrown jungle of words was the correct answer.

Well Organized

Don't write in a haphazard "think-as-you-go" manner. Do some planning and be sure that what you write has a clearly marked introduction which both states the point(s) you are going to make and also, if possible, how you are going to proceed. In addition, the essay should have a clearly indicated conclusion which summarizes the material covered and emphasizes your thesis or main point.

Well Supported

Do not just assert something is true, prove it. What facts, figures, examples, tests, etc. prove your point? In many cases, the difference between an A and a B as a grade is due to the effective use of supporting evidence.

Well Packaged

People who do not use conventions of language are thought of by their readers as less competent and less educated. If you need help with these or other writing skills, come to the Writing Lab

How do you write an effective essay exam?

• Read through all the questions carefully.
• Budget your time and decide which question(s) you will answer first.
• Underline the key word(s) which tell you what to do for each question.
• Choose an organizational pattern appropriate for each key word and plan your answers on scratch paper or in the margins.
• Write your answers as quickly and as legibly as you can; do not take the time to recopy.
• Begin each answer with one or two sentence thesis which summarizes your answer. If possible, phrase the statement so that it rephrases the question's essential terms into a statement (which therefore directly answers the essay question).
• Support your thesis with specific references to the material you have studied.
• Proofread your answer and correct errors in spelling and mechanics.

Specific organizational patterns and "key words"

Most essay questions will have one or more "key words" that indicate which organizational pattern you should use in your answer. The six most common organizational patterns for essay exams are definition, analysis, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, process analysis, and thesis-support.

Typical questions

• "Define X."
• "What is an X?"
• "Choose N terms from the following list and define them."

Q: "What is a fanzine?"

A: A fanzine is a magazine written, mimeographed, and distributed by and for science fiction or comic strip enthusiasts.

Avoid constructions such as "An encounter group is where ..." and "General semantics is when ... ."

• State the term to be defined.
• State the class of objects or concepts to which the term belongs.
• Differentiate the term from other members of the class by listing the term's distinguishing characteristics.

Tools you can use

• Details which describe the term
• Examples and incidents
• Comparisons to familiar terms
• Negation to state what the term is not
• Classification (i.e., break it down into parts)
• Examination of origins or causes
• Examination of results, effects, or uses

Analysis involves breaking something down into its components and discovering the parts that make up the whole.

• "Analyze X."
• "What are the components of X?"
• "What are the five different kinds of X?"
• "Discuss the different types of X."

Q: "Discuss the different services a junior college offers a community."

A: Thesis: A junior college offers the community at least three main types of educational services: vocational education for young people, continuing education for older people, and personal development for all individuals.

Outline for supporting details and examples. For example, if you were answering the example question, an outline might include:

• Vocational education
• Continuing education
• Personal development

Write the essay, describing each part or component and making transitions between each of your descriptions. Some useful transition words include:

• first, second, third, etc.
• in addition

Conclude the essay by emphasizing how each part you have described makes up the whole you have been asked to analyze.

Cause and Effect

Cause and effect involves tracing probable or known effects of a certain cause or examining one or more effects and discussing the reasonable or known cause(s).

Typical questions:

• "What are the causes of X?"
• "What led to X?"
• "Why did X occur?"
• "Why does X happen?"
• "What would be the effects of X?"

Q: "Define recession and discuss the probable effects a recession would have on today's society."

A: Thesis: A recession, which is a nationwide lull in business activity, would be detrimental to society in the following ways: it would .......A......., it would .......B......., and it would .......C....... .

The rest of the answer would explain, in some detail, the three effects: A, B, and C.

Useful transition words:

• consequently
• for this reason
• as a result

Comparison-Contrast

• "How does X differ from Y?"
• "Compare X and Y."
• "What are the advantages and disadvantages of X and Y?"

Q: "Which would you rather own—a compact car or a full-sized car?"

A: Thesis: I would own a compact car rather than a full-sized car for the following reasons: .......A......., .......B......., .......C......., and .......D....... .

Two patterns of development:

• Full-sized car

Disadvantages

• Compact car

Useful transition words

• on the other hand
• unlike A, B ...
• in the same way
• while both A and B are ..., only B ..
• nevertheless
• on the contrary
• while A is ..., B is ...
• "Describe how X is accomplished."
• "List the steps involved in X."
• "Explain what happened in X."
• "What is the procedure involved in X?"

Process (sometimes called process analysis)

This involves giving directions or telling the reader how to do something. It may involve discussing some complex procedure as a series of discrete steps. The organization is almost always chronological.

Q: "According to Richard Bolles' What Color Is Your Parachute?, what is the best procedure for finding a job?"

A: In What Color Is Your Parachute?, Richard Bolles lists seven steps that all job-hunters should follow: .....A....., .....B....., .....C....., .....D....., .....E....., .....F....., and .....G..... .

The remainder of the answer should discuss each of these seven steps in some detail.

• following this
• after, afterwards, after this
• subsequently
• simultaneously, concurrently

Thesis and Support

• "Discuss X."
• "A noted authority has said X. Do you agree or disagree?"
• "Defend or refute X."
• "Do you think that X is valid? Defend your position."

Thesis and support involves stating a clearly worded opinion or interpretation and then defending it with all the data, examples, facts, and so on that you can draw from the material you have studied.

Q: "Despite criticism, television is useful because it aids in the socializing process of our children."

A: Television hinders rather than helps in the socializing process of our children because .......A......., .......B......., and .......C....... .

The rest of the answer is devoted to developing arguments A, B, and C.

• it follows that

A. Which of the following two answers is the better one? Why?

Question: Discuss the contribution of William Morris to book design, using as an example his edition of the works of Chaucer.

a. William Morris's Chaucer was his masterpiece. It shows his interest in the Middle Ages. The type is based on medieval manuscript writing, and the decoration around the edges of the pages is like that used in medieval books. The large initial letters are typical of medieval design. Those letters were printed from woodcuts, which was the medieval way of printing. The illustrations were by Burn-Jones, one of the best artists in England at the time. Morris was able to get the most competent people to help him because he was so famous as a poet and a designer (the Morris chair) and wallpaper and other decorative items for the home. He designed the furnishings for his own home, which was widely admired among the sort of people he associated with. In this way he started the arts and crafts movement.

b. Morris's contribution to book design was to approach the problem as an artist or fine craftsman, rather than a mere printer who reproduced texts. He wanted to raise the standards of printing, which had fallen to a low point, by showing that truly beautiful books could be produced. His Chaucer was designed as a unified work of art or high craft. Since Chaucer lived in the Middle Ages, Morris decided to design a new type based on medieval script and to imitate the format of a medieval manuscript. This involved elaborate letters and large initials at the beginnings of verses, as well as wide borders of intertwined vines with leaves, fruit, and flowers in strong colors. The effect was so unusual that the book caused great excitement and inspired other printers to design beautiful rather than purely utilitarian books.

From James M. McCrimmon, Writing with a Purpose , 7th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980), pp. 261-263.

B. How would you plan the structure of the answers to these essay exam questions?

1. Was the X Act a continuation of earlier government policies or did it represent a departure from prior philosophies?

2. What seems to be the source of aggression in human beings? What can be done to lower the level of aggression in our society?

3. Choose one character from Novel X and, with specific references to the work, show how he or she functions as an "existential hero."

4. Define briefly the systems approach to business management. Illustrate how this differs from the traditional approach.

5. What is the cosmological argument? Does it prove that God exists?

6. Civil War historian Andy Bellum once wrote, "Blahblahblah blahed a blahblah, but of course if blahblah blahblahblahed the blah, then blahblahs are not blah but blahblah." To what extent and in what ways is the statement true? How is it false?

For more information on writing exam essays for the GED, please visit our Engagement area and go to the Community Writing and Education Station (CWEST) resources.

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Essay – Civil Services Books – Mains Exam

Last updated on March 15, 2023 by Alex Andrews George

UPSC Civil Service Mains Paper 1 (popularly known as essay paper) is now of 250 marks.

Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics (two topics as of now). They will be expected to keep close to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion and to write concisely.

Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.

Table of Contents

Recommended Books for Essay Paper – Civil Services Books – Mains Exam

• Essays for Civil Services and Other Competitive Examinations by Pulkit Khare .
• Selected Contemporary Essays by Saumitra Mohan (MHE)
• Essay Paper for Civil Services Main Examination by Pavneet Singh and Sonali Bansal
• A Book of Essays by Kalpana Rajaram
• 151 ESSAYS For UPSC Mains Various State Public Service Commissions and Other competitive Examinations
• English-Hindi-Essay Compulsory- UPSC Mains Examination
• ESSAYS(101 Current) for Competitive Exams

How to write a good essay

Here are some tips for writing a good essay:

• Read and understand the essay topic: Ensure that you understand the topic and what is expected of you in the essay.
• Plan and structure: Plan the flow of your essay and create an outline to ensure that your essay has a clear structure.
• Write in a clear and concise manner: Make sure your writing is easy to understand and avoids unnecessary technical terms or jargon.
• Use examples and evidence: Use real-life examples and supporting evidence to reinforce your arguments.
• Address counter-arguments: Consider and address any counter-arguments to strengthen your essay.
• Conclusion: Sum up your key arguments and present a clear conclusion.
• Edit and proofread: Revise your essay several times to ensure that it is error-free and presents your ideas effectively.

Remember to write in a way that is analytical, evaluative and comprehensive. Also, ensure that you stick to the word limit and allocate enough time for each essay.

To get a detailed idea on how to write a good essay, click here

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How to Prepare for Competitive Exams

Last Updated: April 10, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Ted Dorsey, MA . Ted Dorsey is a Test Prep Tutor, author, and founder of Tutor Ted, an SAT and ACT tutoring service based in Southern California. Ted earned a perfect score on the SAT (1600) and PSAT (240) in high school. Since then, he has earned perfect scores on the ACT (36), SAT Subject Test in Literature (800), and SAT Subject Test in Math Level 2 (800). He has a BA in English from Princeton University and a MA in Education from the University of California, Los Angeles. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 20 testimonials and 95% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 299,979 times.

Competitive exams can seem daunting, but if you employ smart strategies to prepare for the exam, the process can be much more manageable. To prepare for competitive exams, buy or find online test preparation materials for the specific test you are taking, take a diagnostic practice test to see what you need to practice, and then make a timeline and outline of your study plan. Learning general tips for studying, relaxation, and keeping healthy will also help you prepare for your test holistically.

Considering Your Options

• The Princeton Review course gives 4 practice tests so that you can measure your progress and target your problem areas. Most other test prep courses will offer something similar for you to chart your progress.
• These classes tend to be expensive but will often include the cost of the study materials that you will be needing.
• Do the homework associated with these courses in order to score the best you can.
• If you live in a rural area, you may need to commute to a city to take the tests.

• Purchase your materials from book stores, online, or check them out from a library.
• Research the best study guides for the specific test you are preparing for and your needs.

Being Healthy and Combatting Stress

• Consider how long it takes you to fall asleep, typically, and make sure you account for that time.
• Add some cushion time in your backward planning for your test day in case something unexpected happens, like you get lost trying to get to a test site.

• On the day of the test, eat complex carbohydrates like oatmeal rather than candy made up of simple carbohydrates and sugar.
• Eat a serving of omega 3’s three times a week. To help you study better and prepare for your test, consider incorporating omega 3’s into your diet. These nutrients have been found to boost your ability to concentrate and stay alert. You can get these nutrients from salmon, herring, mackerel, trout and sardines. [3] X Research source
• Eat dark veggies and fruits for antioxidants that help your cognitive abilities. Oxidants will damage your cell membranes and fruit like blueberries are a great example of a fruit high in antioxidants that protect your brain cells. [4] X Research source

Ted Dorsey, MA

Treat the exam like an athletic event for your brain, and fuel appropriately. The day of your exam, have a full breakfast, complete with carbohydrates and protein. Carbohydrates will give you energy, but it's short term, so it's important to include protein for long-term energy. You should also bring some kind of snack bar with you to eat during a break.

• If you feel like you don’t have the time, take 15 minute walks around your campus when you need a break. This will help you focus better once you get back to studying.
• Go on jogs first thing in the morning to give you energy.
• Look for ways to get exercise without going out of your way. For example, if you are in school, walk to class rather than taking a bus, or take the stairs instead of the elevator. [5] X Trustworthy Source National Health Service (UK) Public healthcare system of the UK Go to source

Studying for the Test

• There are also many websites, like collegeboard.org for the SAT, which provide practice tests for competitive exams. These online tests will score your tests for you. [6] X Research source
• Take the practice test under test like conditions. This means time your test, put away electronics, refrain from listening to music, and sit in a desk/space that will be similar to the environment of the test.

• Sit down with your study materials, and make an outline of the big topics/areas you need to study for the test.

• Start with the most important material and work toward the less important material to make sure the important content gets covered before the test.

• Google Calendar has an email reminders option that you can use to remind yourself of your schedule.
• Revise your schedule as needed. If something comes up and you are unable to study, look at your calendar and revise the study plan. Make room in your schedule to study at another time so that you can cover the material and keep on pace in your studies.

• When testing, don’t consider each question unique. [9] X Research source There are different types of questions that recur in tests. For example, on the English portion of the ACT, test questions come from these categories: grammar & usage, punctuation, sentence structure, strategy, organization, and style. [10] X Research source

• Do not try to learn everything at once, cramming will not help you deeply understand the content you are learning.

Working on Your Concentration

• Try to go to spaces that have a different feel. For example, you might want to switch between rooms painted different colors and/or with different lighting.

• Tense up your muscles briefly and then release. Tense all of your muscles, for example, close your eyes tight, raise your toes up, clench your fists, tense your legs, clench your buttocks, etc. Breathe in a deep breath, and hold it in for a few seconds while your body remains tense. After about 5 seconds, let go all at once, and enjoy the sensation of releasing your built up tension.
• Close your eyes and concentrate on the tip of your nose with your eyes. Pay attention to your breathing. Notice how the breath that you breathe in is cooler and the breathe you breath out warmer. Continue breathing in and out and maintaining your focus on your nose until you calm down.

When Do You Need To Take Standardized Tests For Graduate School?

Community Q&A

• Carefully read over any material about the test. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• The night before the test, refresh your memory of the location, time and materials required for the test. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Find out the location, time and materials required for the test. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.princetonreview.com/college/act-fundamentals-course
• ↑ http://www.actstudent.org/onlineprep/
• ↑ http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/healthy-foods-eat-brain-power?page=2
• ↑ http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/studenthealth/Pages/Exerciseandstudy.aspx
• ↑ https://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-practice-test
• ↑ https://calendar.google.com/calendar/render?pli=1#main_7
• ↑ http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/153451/10-steps-to-taking-lsat-practice-tests
• ↑ https://mcgraw.princeton.edu/node/1586
• ↑ http://www.studypoint.com/ed/the-act-test/
• ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/health/views/07mind.html?_r=0
• ↑ https://www.yorku.ca/scld/learning-skills/exams/

About This Article

To prepare for a competitive exam, start by taking a diagnostic practice test from your test prep book or online to get a sense of what areas you're strongest at, and what areas might need improvement. Based on your results, make a plan for how much study time you will devote to each part of the test and then block off chunks of time in your schedule to do the work using an app like Google Calendar. When you sit down to study, remove distractions, like phones or TV, so you can focus on the material that’s in your study plan. For tips on how to pick the best places and times to study, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Essays on Various Topics - List of Essay Writing Ideas

Essay writing is not everyone’s cup of tea. Most students find it difficult to begin writing. Essays can be made easier if students start thinking about the topic either through brainstorming or by putting them down on a sheet of paper. After getting the ideas, they need to know how to organise them to form an essay. For this, they need to practise essays on different topics. Here, we have compiled a list of Essays on various topics.

These are the general essay topics which are most likely to be asked in the exam. Some of these essay topics are also picked from past year papers. Students of Classes 6 to 10 can go through these essays and know the right way of expressing their thoughts to form a perfect essay. Apart from the CBSE , students of ICSE and other state boards can also use these topics to prepare for their English exams.

Essay Topics: List and Writing Ideas

Usually, one essay is asked in the English paper. The essay writing question mainly comes under the writing section and comprises 5 to 10 marks. By having a look at the essays on the below-mentioned topics, students can easily score these marks in the exam.

We will be soon updating more Essays.

Characteristics of a Good Essay

A composition on a particular topic consisting of more than one paragraph is an essay. The characteristics of a good essay are:

1) Unity: The essay should deal with the main subject and all parts of it should be clearly linked with that subject.

2) Coherence: There should be a logical sequence of thought. This requires a logical relationship between ideas, sentences and paragraphs.

3) Relevance: Unimportant information should not be included.

4) Proportion: Give more space to important ideas.

Students can also get the essays for class 2 and class 3 to improve their writing skills.

Types of Essays

Essays are mainly ways of expressing one’s ideas and thoughts. Essays vary in how one narrates a personal experience, describes an issue, or convinces the reader to accept a certain viewpoint. So, essays are mainly classified into four major types, as mentioned below:

1) Narrative Essays: Telling a Story

While writing a narrative essay, students must consider the topic as if telling a story. Through these essays, they can express themselves in a creative way. These essays are usually written in the first person, so as to engage the readers.

2) Descriptive Essays: Painting a Picture with Words

In a descriptive essay, students have to paint a picture with words. They have to describe something. It can be an object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation or anything else. These essays allow students a great deal of artistic freedom.

3) Expository Essays: Presentation of the Facts

An expository essay is an informative piece of writing that presents a balanced analysis of a topic. To write a good expository essay, students need to investigate the topic, evaluate evidence, express the idea, and set forth an argument clearly and concisely. It can be done by comparison and contrast, definition, example, the analysis of cause and effect, etc.

4) Persuasive Essays: Convince Me

A persuasive essay is one in which a writer tries to convince the reader to accept his/her viewpoint. It presents all sides of the argument but clearly communicates the writer’s personal opinion.

CBSE Unseen Passages

Students can increase their scores in the reading section of the English paper by practising the comprehension passages. To help them, below, we have listed the links to unseen passages.

Students must have found these Essay Topics helpful for their studies. For more study material and latest updates on the CBSE / ICSE / State Board / Competitive exams, keep visiting BYJU’S. Also, download the BYJU’S App for interactive study related videos.

Frequently Asked Questions on Essay writing Essay

How should students practise essay writing.

The following points should be remembered while practising essay writing: 1. Constant written practice is required for honing essay writing skills. Writing alone tests the competency of the students to ideate and execute a proper essay within a specified time. 2. In-depth knowledge on various topics is a prerequisite for students preparing to write essays in school exams and competitive examinations. Such knowledge can be acquired by regularly developing a habit of reading extensively — especially newspapers and magazines — and following other news sources on various media available to them. 3. Developing a good vocabulary is another important factor students should focus on. Essay writing demands a more formal and extensive vocabulary as the range of topics asked are so wide-ranging. Every topic will demand familiarity with words and phrases pertaining to it. Use of good idiomatic English rich with apt vocabulary will help students pen memorable essays.

How to write an essay on an unknown or unfamiliar topic?

If an essay topic is unfamiliar then students can try to write in general about topics which are related to the main topic. Reading magazines and books can help in acquisition of knowledge in various subject matters.

How to score high marks in essay writing?

Given below are some of the points to be considered to ensure that students can score high marks in essay writing. 1. Maintain flow of text in essay: Ensure that the essay follows a natural progression from introduction to conclusion. Make sure that each paragraph is thematically or logically connected to successive paragraphs. Only then will the essay be evocative and easy to read and comprehend. 2. Phrase the essay is a relatable way: Keep the target audience in mind while drafting the essay and use images and language that resonate with them. Otherwise it would fail to connect with the reader, even if you have come up with a decent essay. 3. Be creative: Show the audacity to think out of the box and to deviate from traditional ways of writing essays while coming up with ideas to present your viewpoints in the essay. Readers will be immediately drawn to a piece of writing that gives them a fresh perspective, even if you are writing on a very common topic. But too much creativity and idiosyncratic writing will only mar an otherwise well-researched essay. 4. Present the essay in a better manner: Always think of new ways and strategies to present your ideas which you may have drawn from multiple sources. Doing background research is definitely essential. But that does not mean that you have to present the content you found in the same way. A fresh approach can turn a boring essay into a very engaging one. 5. Do not be over confident: Essays usually require students to state personal opinions as well as facts. Be prudent in voicing your opinions as well as in stating facts – make sure you don’t hurt the sentiments of readers when writing on sensitive and controversial topics. Practice diligence, not overconfidence, while writing essays as a best practice.

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How to Prepare for Competitive Exams?

• Updated on  
• Dec 2, 2022

When it comes to gearing up for a competitive exam , it is a common possibility that sometimes your preparation might not match the level of performance. But you should not let this demean your efforts. If we stay aligned with our quest for the desired result, we will never be deprived of success. When you are planning to appear for a competitive exam, half-hearted efforts and mere speculations will not take you through. You can only clear an entrance exam with tireless endeavour and rigorous hard work. To help you on your quest to nail any competitive exam, here is an ultimate guide elaborating the key tips and tricks on how to prepare for competitive exams.

Preparing for IELTS? Click Here to Book a Free Online Session!

This Blog Includes:

Ivan pavlov’s theory of conditioned learning, sync your coaching timetable and self study schedule, shorter study sessions are more useful, avoid slouchy study, smart work vs hard work, do not schedule similar subjects together, the mantra of ok4r, plan your study time, rejuvenation time is the prime time, keep yourself hydrated, eating healthy, distance the distractions, choose the correct time, add some color to your books, the reward of revision, do-not-disturb mode, stress is negative, prepare with previous year question papers, stay updated about current affairs, take wisdom from toppers, focus more on your weaker points, don’t mug up but use fun ways to understand concepts, highlight the important topics, know everything about the exam, what is your preparation strategy, arrange study material, find smart ways to use your mobile, the habit of writing, solving previous years’ question paper, test your vocabulary, brush up your aptitude skills, update yourself on general knowledge and current affair, motivation is the key, 101 guide on how to prepare for competitive exams.

Preparing for a competitive exam, we are generally aware of what to study and when to study. The only thing that we are not sure about is how to study. It is quite a surprising fact that we actually do not know how to ‘learn’ effectively. So, we have formulated a list of scientific study techniques on how to prepare for competitive exams that you must incorporate to ace any test with flying scores.

Also Read: Success Mantra for Competitive Exams

In a psychological experiment, the renowned Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov made dogs salivate for food by making them wait for the bell to ring and studying their anticipation. A similar technique can be used while preparing for competitive exams. If you study the same subject at the same time and at the same place, your brain picks up the habit of grasping concepts and learning effectively. Over a period of time, all you need is to follow the clock and your body will automatically get in the mood to study within a couple of minutes.

Gearing up for a competitive exam is not always about taking coaching or tuitions. In a rush to compete with other students in your coaching or match the pace of the tutor, you often forget to master your basics and ignore the habit of self-study . This can highly impact your chances of clearing a competitive exam. Therefore, you need to ensure that whatever you’ve studied in your coaching is being revised back home with an attentive mind.

Also Read: GRE Coaching

Empirical studies have shown that an average concentration time span of a healthy human is 10-20 minutes. Thus, expecting productivity out of long strenuous sessions can be exhausting. Plan shorter study sessions of 45 minutes to 1 hour and in between each session take a tiny break to let your mind absorb all the information. However, the time span is not restricted and may vary as per your concentration power and ability to focus. When going about how to prepare for competitive exams, the technique of formulating shorter study sessions can do wonders to your preparation.

Recommended Read: How to Study for Long Hours

Sitting with books when you are feeling sleepy is a total waste of time. It exhausts your precious time and hampers your mental ability with undue fatigue. Preparation for competitive exams can be properly done when you are physically and mentally active. For many students, the hours after lunch can be quite slothful while others might feel drowsy late in the night and there are many who can’t wake up early in the morning to read anything coherently. What’s the best way to fight your laziness in these phases? Get up, do a little exercise or freshen up or have some water. You may always take a quick 15 minutes nap to recharge your mind for your study time.

It is not about the number of hours you are spending in front of your books but instead, you need to measure the amount of focused preparation you’re doing. Avoid wasting your time on unnecessary topics and try to cover the maximum in the least amount of time. Also, it is advised that you start with the most difficult or boring subject when you are fully active while keeping the easier ones for the times when you feel lazy. In order to find the answers to how to prepare for competitive exams, it is important to understand that your approach to studying a subject matters more than the amount of time you are giving it.

Must Explore: Hard Work is the Key to Success or Is it?

Clubbing similar subjects together like Mathematics and Physics might not be a good idea because you might get stressed studying too many intertwined topics which can also lead you to mess up both the subjects. Therefore, the best strategy is to sandwich a lighter subject like History or English Literature in between heavy subjects and your brain will be able to absorb all the three much better.

Know All About Subject Combination !

The OK4R method has been devised by Dr. Walter Pauk and helps you to pack more information and knowledge through power reading strategy. Here’s an illustration to help you understand the process of how to prepare for competitive exams with Pauk’s Power Reading Technique .

Planning plays a crucial role in determining your success in a competitive exam. It is important to plan your time and study pattern beforehand. You can either plan as you prepare every subject or you can create a complete timetable listing the topics and concepts you need to cover. This way you will able to sort out the concepts you need to learn and those that only need revision.

Related Read: How to Concentrate on Studies

Rejuvenation is a key element of exploring the best ways on how to prepare for competitive exams. Take crisp breaks during your hectic study sessions to allow your body and mind to relax. This can be done by watching your favourite movie, listening to some songs, play a sport, sit with the family, enjoy your time with your pets etc. Other than these, you may always do some exercise or yoga and meditation.

It is important to keep yourself hydrated because continuous studying can be tiring and exhausting. You can have a cup of coffee, tea, lime water or juice to pamper your body and allow regular supply of energy to your mind. Do not engage in unhealthy drinking or overuse of coffee and instead go for alternatives like herbal and green tea.

Many students ignore the fact that having a proper and healthy diet during competitive exams can help them learn better and remain focused during exams. Incorporate enough proteins, fats and a little bit of carbohydrates in your diet. Eat healthy vegetables and fruits and minimise the consumption of fried food.

When going about how to prepare for competitive exams, distractions of any form are one of the most common and biggest impediments that students struggle with. Remember to distance yourself from potential distractions (even the pettiest things) because you may end up wasting a lot of resourceful time.

You can study better when you are fresh and energised. Studying early in the morning is one of the oldest principles followed by many. Also, to get up early you are expected to sleep on time and get enough of it. This will help your body in staying active and healthy.

Contrary to the popular notion, keeping your books neat doesn’t always mean that you are an excellent student. You can always use coloured pens, highlighters or adhesive sticky notes to mark important topics or concepts. This aids you in revising concepts and remembering them much better in the long run.

In our ultimate guide on how to prepare for competitive exams, revision is the utmost mantra you should always remember. Cover all the relevant topics at least 2-3 times and revise them thoroughly once before the exam. The rewarding quality of revision is that it strengthens your long-term memory and helps you master the core concepts.

Another important thing you must do is to keep yourself away from social media and random notifications when preparing for competitive exams. You can only crack your exams and score well when you are consistently focused and have this desire to achieve your maximum potential.

Finally, we would suggest you to not to take unnecessary stress during your preparation for exams. We completely understand how crucial it is to ace a competitive exam, but stop worrying too much about it. Prepare well, study hard and do your best and we promise good results will happen.

Also Read: Productivity Improvement Techniques

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How to Prepare for Government Exams?

For government exams , there are some crucial tips and tricks that can prove useful during your preparations. While the essential techniques for readying yourself for any exam remains the same, government exams can demand extensive preparation because of their vast and all-encompassing syllabus. Take a look at the key tips to understand how to prepare for competitive exams especially for the government recruitment tests:

There is a consistent pattern noticed in government exams that they often repeat or resemble the types of questions that were included in the question papers of the previous years. You can find these previous year question papers online and go through the pattern and question types as it certainly assist you in designing the right strategy on how to prepare for competitive exams for government recruitments.

Often the government exams have a crucial section on general awareness which assesses the candidate’s knowledge of world affairs. To stay updated with the current affairs is quite a tricky task but there are helpful ways to ensure that you know what prominent news and happenings to keep a tab on. Read a newspaper daily or get a news application in your smartphone which can send you updates throughout the day.

You can always learn from those who have been successful in acing these exams as they will give you the right advice to stay ahead in your preparation schedule. These tips will eventually help you in combating your anxieties and worries about the exam as they will come from those who have gone through the same phase.

While making a study plan, make sure to analyse which topics and concepts you need to strengthen as well as those sections that you must devote more time to. While exploring the techniques on how to prepare for competitive exams, it is essential to know where you need to emphasise more focus and time and the topics you just need to go through.

While studying for government exams, there can be many lengthy topics under the syllabus which you might not be able to comprehend. But, mugging up is never the right strategies for how to prepare for competitive exams, thus it is imperative that you curate your own fun ways to learn those concepts, be it through visualization, watching youtube tutorials or by writing them down and revising them from time to time.

Rather than covering an extensive syllabus, go through previous year question papers and highlight those topics that have been consistently asked in the exam. This will help you save your valuable time on those concepts or sections which might not appear in the exam.

Must Read: How to Prepare for Bank Exams

Need Help with Your SAT Preparation? Sign Up for an Online Demo Session With Our Experts!

Bonus: 10 Ultimate Tips to Ace Competitive Exams

Thousands of students join the bandwagon aspiring to join top universities and colleges in the world every year. Well, the road is not that cosy. The candidates have to funnel through competitive exams, group discussions and interviews to get selected to pursue their dream course. Here is a list of much-needed tips for students who are keen to know as how to prepare for competitive exams like GMAT, GRE, SAT , IELTS or TOEFL and want to conquer a seat in their desired university or college.

Before you step into the process of how to prepare for competitive exams, the first and foremost thing to do is to know your exam. Identify the details about the exam, the selection process, eligibility requirements, etc. because you can only shape your path once you know the prerequisites of your goals.

After you’ve grabbed all the information about the exam, it’s time to formulate a preparation strategy which you will follow in order to achieve your goals. Usually, competitive exams have a set format of written tests, MCQs, group discussion and interview, which will help you create an effective plan for your exam preparation.

Once you’re aware of the requirements and pattern of your competitive exam, you need to collect the support study material that you’ll use to master the concepts and sections of an exam. Study Materials can include coaching notes, competitive guides and books, online tutorials or previous year question papers.

Also Read: Competitive Exam Books

Technology can have a lot of positive impact on students preparing for competitive exams. Electronic gadgets like mobile phones, tablets have become an integral part of our lives. These friendly devices can actually assist you in effortlessly preparing for all kinds of subjects/topics which are necessary for your competitive exams. Do you want to know how to prepare for competitive exams with the help of technology? Use informative videos, audio playbacks, interactive mobile applications, eBooks, mobile presentations and seminars.

Even though writing is a time-consuming activity, it is a useful and most productive technique for learning. Most of the students agree on this fact, that writing what you’re studying helps you to strengthen your learning process. Moreover, preparing your handwritten notes dramatically also improve your command on the subject. So, while learning the process of how to prepare for competitive exams, always keep in mind that once written is never forgotten .

Know All About English for Competitive Exams

This is one of the most common suggestions you will get while preparing for competitive exams. But why do you need to solve previous years’ question papers ? Applying your study into application can help you understand the problem better and find the relevant solution. Similar is the case when you’re solving previous years’ question paper because it makes you familiar with the exam format and how well do you know your subject. Other than this, you also become aware of the potential questions and how to go about them. Always try to attempt these papers with utmost seriousness as the idea is to create the real examination hall environment as far as possible.

Whether you’re going for the GMAT , GRE , SAT , IELTS or TOEFL , you must be aware that Verbal Reasoning and Writing are important sections that test your English-language proficiency. You should work towards increasing your vocabulary and improving your English not just to ace the competitive exam but also to acquire a command over the language.

Also Read: 50 Difficult Words with Meanings for GMAT and GRE Preparation

Aptitude section is a key component of any kind of a competitive exam which tests your ability to perform a specific task under a given set of situation. GMAT, GRE, CAT or SAT are some of the major competitive exams which test your aptitude skills, logical reasoning and thinking performance. Aptitude questions are generally MCQs and will have to be answered within 30 seconds or less.

Current Affairs and General Knowledge play a vital role when you’re going for Civil Service or Defence examinations . However, when you’re preparing for a professional degree and to enter in the world of current development, it becomes very important to have an idea about the environment and the progress happening around you. The section of General Awareness is created to examine a candidate’s knowledge about world affairs and latest happenings.

Now that you certainly know the key elements of how to prepare for competitive exams, keep yourself motivated. Last but definitely not the least, motivation is the key-driving force behind the success of a student. Well, it’s not possible for every individual to crack a competitive exam at the first instance. You ought to have the patience and courage to get through the exam you are vying for until you have achieved the desired outcome. 

Also Read: How to Score Good Marks in Exam

It is advisable to study for 6-7 hours.

Government exams in India such as UPSC is one of the hardest exams to crack.

We hope you’ll follow the above hacks on how to prepare for competitive exams to tap into your potential and emerge victorious. You can also reach out to our experts at Leverage Edu who can help you prepare for varied exams such as GMAT, GRE, TOEFL or IELTS to ensure that your goal to study abroad stands out amongst the hordes of applications.

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Brilliant Article about Prepare for Competitive Exams. Your tips and ideas are simple but very helpful and useful. THANKS for helping us.

Hi, We are glad that you liked our blog and have found an answer for how to prepare for competitive exams. You can get a hold of some important tips and tricks to crack competitive exams through https://leverageedu.com/blog/competitive-exams/

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Extracurriculars.

16 Strong College Essay Examples from Top Schools

What’s Covered:

• Common App Essays
• Why This College Essays
• Why This Major Essays
• Extracurricular Essays
• Overcoming Challenges Essays
• Community Service Essays
• Diversity Essays
• Political/Global Issues Essays
• Where to Get Feedback on Your Essays

Most high school students don’t get a lot of experience with creative writing, so the college essay can be especially daunting. Reading examples of successful essays, however, can help you understand what admissions officers are looking for.

In this post, we’ll share 16 college essay examples of many different topics. Most of the essay prompts fall into 8 different archetypes, and you can approach each prompt under that archetype in a similar way. We’ve grouped these examples by archetype so you can better structure your approach to college essays.

If you’re looking for school-specific guides, check out our 2022-2023 essay breakdowns .

Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Note: the essays are titled in this post for navigation purposes, but they were not originally titled. We also include the original prompt where possible.

The Common App essay goes to all of the schools on your list, unless those schools use a separate application platform. Because of this, it’s the most important essay in your portfolio, and likely the longest essay you’ll need to write (you get up to 650 words). 

The goal of this essay is to share a glimpse into who you are, what matters to you, and what you hope to achieve. It’s a chance to share your story. 

Learn more about how to write the Common App essay in our complete guide.

The Multiple Meanings of Point

Prompt: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. (250-650 words)

Night had robbed the academy of its daytime colors, yet there was comfort in the dim lights that cast shadows of our advances against the bare studio walls. Silhouettes of roundhouse kicks, spin crescent kicks, uppercuts and the occasional butterfly kick danced while we sparred. She approached me, eyes narrowed with the trace of a smirk challenging me. “Ready spar!” Her arm began an upward trajectory targeting my shoulder, a common first move. I sidestepped — only to almost collide with another flying fist. Pivoting my right foot, I snapped my left leg, aiming my heel at her midsection. The center judge raised one finger. 

There was no time to celebrate, not in the traditional sense at least. Master Pollard gave a brief command greeted with a unanimous “Yes, sir” and the thud of 20 hands dropping-down-and-giving-him-30, while the “winners” celebrated their victory with laps as usual. 

Three years ago, seven-thirty in the evening meant I was a warrior. It meant standing up straighter, pushing a little harder, “Yes, sir” and “Yes, ma’am”, celebrating birthdays by breaking boards, never pointing your toes, and familiarity. Three years later, seven-thirty in the morning meant I was nervous. 

The room is uncomfortably large. The sprung floor soaks up the checkerboard of sunlight piercing through the colonial windows. The mirrored walls further illuminate the studio and I feel the light scrutinizing my sorry attempts at a pas de bourrée, while capturing the organic fluidity of the dancers around me. “Chassé en croix, grand battement, pique, pirouette.” I follow the graceful limbs of the woman in front of me, her legs floating ribbons, as she executes what seems to be a perfect ronds de jambes. Each movement remains a negotiation. With admirable patience, Ms. Tan casts me a sympathetic glance.   

There is no time to wallow in the misery that is my right foot. Taekwondo calls for dorsiflexion; pointed toes are synonymous with broken toes. My thoughts drag me into a flashback of the usual response to this painful mistake: “You might as well grab a tutu and head to the ballet studio next door.” Well, here I am Master Pollard, unfortunately still following your orders to never point my toes, but no longer feeling the satisfaction that comes with being a third degree black belt with 5 years of experience quite literally under her belt. It’s like being a white belt again — just in a leotard and ballet slippers. 

But the appetite for new beginnings that brought me here doesn’t falter. It is only reinforced by the classical rendition of “Dancing Queen” that floods the room and the ghost of familiarity that reassures me that this new beginning does not and will not erase the past. After years spent at the top, it’s hard to start over. But surrendering what you are only leads you to what you may become. In Taekwondo, we started each class reciting the tenets: honor, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, courage, humility, and knowledge, and I have never felt that I embodied those traits more so than when I started ballet. 

The thing about change is that it eventually stops making things so different. After nine different schools, four different countries, three different continents, fluency in Tamil, Norwegian, and English, there are more blurred lines than there are clear fragments. My life has not been a tactfully executed, gold medal-worthy Taekwondo form with each movement defined, nor has it been a series of frappés performed by a prima ballerina with each extension identical and precise, but thankfully it has been like the dynamics of a spinning back kick, fluid, and like my chances of landing a pirouette, unpredictable. 

The first obvious strength of this essay is the introduction—it is interesting and snappy and uses enough technical language that we want to figure out what the student is discussing. When writing introductions, students tend to walk the line between intriguing and confusing. It is important that your essay ends up on the intentionally intriguing side of that line—like this student does! We are a little confused at first, but by then introducing the idea of “sparring,” the student grounds their essay.

People often advise young writers to “show, not tell.” This student takes that advice a step further and makes the reader do a bit of work to figure out what they are telling us. Nowhere in this essay does it say “After years of Taekwondo, I made the difficult decision to switch over to ballet.” Rather, the student says “It’s like being a white belt again — just in a leotard and ballet slippers.” How powerful! 

After a lot of emotional language and imagery, this student finishes off their essay with very valuable (and necessary!) reflection. They show admissions officers that they are more than just a good writer—they are a mature and self-aware individual who would be beneficial to a college campus. Self-awareness comes through with statements like “surrendering what you are only leads you to what you may become” and maturity can be seen through the student’s discussion of values: “honor, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, courage, humility, and knowledge, and I have never felt that I embodied those traits more so than when I started ballet.”

Sparking Self-Awareness

Prompt: The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? (250-650 words)

Was I no longer the beloved daughter of nature, whisperer of trees? Knee-high rubber boots, camouflage, bug spray—I wore the garb and perfume of a proud wild woman, yet there I was, hunched over the pathetic pile of stubborn sticks, utterly stumped, on the verge of tears. As a child, I had considered myself a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free. I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms. Yet here I was, ten years later, incapable of performing the most fundamental outdoor task: I could not, for the life of me, start a fire. 

Furiously I rubbed the twigs together—rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers. No smoke. The twigs were too young, too sticky-green; I tossed them away with a shower of curses, and began tearing through the underbrush in search of a more flammable collection. My efforts were fruitless. Livid, I bit a rejected twig, determined to prove that the forest had spurned me, offering only young, wet bones that would never burn. But the wood cracked like carrots between my teeth—old, brittle, and bitter. Roaring and nursing my aching palms, I retreated to the tent, where I sulked and awaited the jeers of my family. 

Rattling their empty worm cans and reeking of fat fish, my brother and cousins swaggered into the campsite. Immediately, they noticed the minor stick massacre by the fire pit and called to me, their deep voices already sharp with contempt. 

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame. 

In the tent, I pondered my failure. Was I so dainty? Was I that incapable? I thought of my hands, how calloused and capable they had been, how tender and smooth they had become. It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive. And I’d gotten glasses, having grown horrifically nearsighted; long nights of dim lighting and thick books had done this. I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain down on a hill, barefaced, and seen the stars without having to squint. Crawling along the edge of the tent, a spider confirmed my transformation—he disgusted me, and I felt an overwhelming urge to squash him. 

Yet, I realized I hadn’t really changed—I had only shifted perspective. I still eagerly explored new worlds, but through poems and prose rather than pastures and puddles. I’d grown to prefer the boom of a bass over that of a bullfrog, learned to coax a different kind of fire from wood, having developed a burn for writing rhymes and scrawling hypotheses. 

That night, I stayed up late with my journal and wrote about the spider I had decided not to kill. I had tolerated him just barely, only shrieking when he jumped—it helped to watch him decorate the corners of the tent with his delicate webs, knowing that he couldn’t start fires, either. When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.

First things first, this Common App essay is well-written. This student is definitely showing the admissions officers her ability to articulate her points beautifully and creatively. It starts with vivid images like that of the “rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free.” And because the prose is flowery (and beautiful!), the writer can get away with metaphors like “I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms” that might sound cheesy without the clear command of the English language that the writer quickly establishes.

In addition to being well-written, this essay is thematically cohesive. It begins with the simple introduction “Fire!” and ends with the following image: “When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.” This full-circle approach leaves readers satisfied and impressed.

While dialogue often comes off as cliche or trite, this student effectively incorporates her family members saying “Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” This is achieved through the apt use of the verb “taunted” to characterize the questioning and through the question’s thematic connection to the earlier image of the student as a rustic princess. Similarly, rhetorical questions can feel randomly placed in essays, but this student’s inclusion of the questions “Was I so dainty?” and “Was I that incapable?” feel perfectly justified after she establishes that she was pondering her failure.

Quite simply, this essay shows how quality writing can make a simple story outstandingly compelling. 

Why This College?

“Why This College?” is one of the most common essay prompts, likely because schools want to understand whether you’d be a good fit and how you’d use their resources.

This essay is one of the more straightforward ones you’ll write for college applications, but you still can and should allow your voice to shine through.

Learn more about how to write the “Why This College?” essay in our guide.

Prompt: How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania? Please answer this question given the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying (650 words).

Sister Simone Roach, a theorist of nursing ethics, said, “caring is the human mode of being.” I have long been inspired by Sister Roach’s Five C’s of Caring: commitment, conscience, competence, compassion, and confidence. Penn both embraces and fosters these values through a rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum and unmatched access to service and volunteer opportunities.

COMMITMENT. Reading through the activities that Penn Quakers devote their time to (in addition to academics!) felt like drinking from a firehose in the best possible way. As a prospective nursing student with interests outside of my major, I value this level of flexibility. I plan to leverage Penn’s liberal arts curriculum to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges LGBT people face, especially regarding healthcare access. Through courses like “Interactional Processes with LGBT Individuals” and volunteering at the Mazzoni Center for outreach, I hope to learn how to better support the Penn LGBT community as well as my family and friends, including my cousin, who came out as trans last year.

CONSCIENCE. As one of the first people in my family to attend a four-year university, I wanted a school that promoted a sense of moral responsibility among its students. At Penn, professors challenge their students to question and recreate their own set of morals by sparking thought- provoking, open-minded discussions. I can imagine myself advocating for universal healthcare in courses such as “Health Care Reform & Future of American Health System” and debating its merits with my peers. Studying in an environment where students confidently voice their opinions – conservative or liberal – will push me to question and strengthen my value system.

COMPETENCE. Two aspects that drew my attention to Penn’s BSN program were its high-quality research opportunities and hands-on nursing projects. Through its Office of Nursing Research, Penn connects students to faculty members who share similar research interests. As I volunteered at a nursing home in high school, I hope to work with Dr. Carthon to improve the quality of care for senior citizens. Seniors, especially minorities, face serious barriers to healthcare that I want to resolve. Additionally, Penn’s unique use of simulations to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world application impressed me. Using computerized manikins that mimic human responses, classes in Penn’s nursing program allow students to apply their emergency medical skills in a mass casualty simulation and monitor their actions afterward through a video system. Participating in this activity will help me identify my strengths and areas for improvement regarding crisis management and medical care in a controlled yet realistic setting. Research opportunities and simulations will develop my skills even before I interact with patients.

COMPASSION. I value giving back through community service, and I have a particular interest in Penn’s Community Champions and Nursing Students For Sexual & Reproductive Health (NSRH). As a four-year volunteer health educator, I hope to continue this work as a Community Champions member. I am excited to collaborate with medical students to teach fourth and fifth graders in the city about cardiology or lead a chair dance class for the elders at the LIFE Center. Furthermore, as a feminist who firmly believes in women’s abortion rights, I’d like to join NSRH in order to advocate for women’s health on campus. At Penn, I can work with like-minded people to make a meaningful difference.

CONFIDENCE. All of the Quakers that I have met possess one defining trait: confidence. Each student summarized their experiences at Penn as challenging but fulfilling. Although I expect my coursework to push me, from my conversations with current Quakers I know it will help me to be far more effective in my career.

The Five C’s of Caring are important heuristics for nursing, but they also provide insight into how I want to approach my time in college. I am eager to engage with these principles both as a nurse and as a Penn Quaker, and I can’t wait to start.

This prompt from Penn asks students to tailor their answer to their specific field of study. One great thing that this student does is identify their undergraduate school early, by mentioning “Sister Simone Roach, a theorist of nursing ethics.” You don’t want readers confused or searching through other parts of your application to figure out your major.

With a longer essay like this, it is important to establish structure. Some students organize their essay in a narrative form, using an anecdote from their past or predicting their future at a school. This student uses Roach’s 5 C’s of Caring as a framing device that organizes their essay around values. This works well!

While this essay occasionally loses voice, there are distinct moments where the student’s personality shines through. We see this with phrases like “felt like drinking from a fire hose in the best possible way” and “All of the Quakers that I have met possess one defining trait: confidence.” It is important to show off your personality to make your essay stand out. 

Finally, this student does a great job of referencing specific resources about Penn. It’s clear that they have done their research (they’ve even talked to current Quakers). They have dreams and ambitions that can only exist at Penn.

Prompt: What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

Coin collector and swimmer. Hungarian and Romanian. Critical and creative thinker. I was drawn to Yale because they don’t limit one’s mind with “or” but rather embrace unison with “and.” 

Wandering through the Beinecke Library, I prepare for my multidisciplinary Energy Studies capstone about the correlation between hedonism and climate change, making it my goal to find implications in environmental sociology. Under the tutelage of Assistant Professor Arielle Baskin-Sommers, I explore the emotional deficits of depression, utilizing neuroimaging to scrutinize my favorite branch of psychology: human perception. At Walden Peer Counseling, I integrate my peer support and active listening skills to foster an empathetic environment for the Yale community. Combining my interests in psychological and environmental studies is why I’m proud to be a Bulldog. 

This answer to the “Why This College” question is great because 1) the student shows their excitement about attending Yale 2) we learn the ways in which attending Yale will help them achieve their goals and 3) we learn their interests and identities.

In this response, you can find a prime example of the “Image of the Future” approach, as the student flashes forward and envisions their life at Yale, using present tense (“I explore,” “I integrate,” “I’m proud”). This approach is valuable if you are trying to emphasize your dedication to a specific school. Readers get the feeling that this student is constantly imagining themselves on campus—it feels like Yale really matters to them.

Starting this image with the Beinecke Library is great because the Beinecke Library only exists at Yale. It is important to tailor “Why This College” responses to each specific school. This student references a program of study, a professor, and an extracurricular that only exist at Yale. Additionally, they connect these unique resources to their interests—psychological and environmental studies.

Finally, we learn about the student (independent of academics) through this response. By the end of their 125 words, we know their hobbies, ethnicities, and social desires, in addition to their academic interests. It can be hard to tackle a 125-word response, but this student shows that it’s possible.

Why This Major?

The goal of this prompt is to understand how you came to be interested in your major and what you plan to do with it. For competitive programs like engineering, this essay helps admissions officers distinguish students who have a genuine passion and are most likely to succeed in the program. This is another more straightforward essay, but you do have a bit more freedom to include relevant anecdotes.

Learn more about how to write the “Why This Major?” essay in our guide.

Why Duke Engineering

Prompt: If you are applying to the Pratt School of Engineering as a first year applicant, please discuss why you want to study engineering and why you would like to study at Duke (250 words).

One Christmas morning, when I was nine, I opened a snap circuit set from my grandmother. Although I had always loved math and science, I didn’t realize my passion for engineering until I spent the rest of winter break creating different circuits to power various lights, alarms, and sensors. Even after I outgrew the toy, I kept the set in my bedroom at home and knew I wanted to study engineering. Later, in a high school biology class, I learned that engineering didn’t only apply to circuits, but also to medical devices that could improve people’s quality of life. Biomedical engineering allows me to pursue my academic passions and help people at the same time.

Just as biology and engineering interact in biomedical engineering, I am fascinated by interdisciplinary research in my chosen career path. Duke offers unmatched resources, such as DUhatch and The Foundry, that will enrich my engineering education and help me practice creative problem-solving skills. The emphasis on entrepreneurship within these resources will also help me to make a helpful product. Duke’s Bass Connections program also interests me; I firmly believe that the most creative and necessary problem-solving comes by bringing people together from different backgrounds. Through this program, I can use my engineering education to solve complicated societal problems such as creating sustainable surgical tools for low-income countries. Along the way, I can learn alongside experts in the field. Duke’s openness and collaborative culture span across its academic disciplines, making Duke the best place for me to grow both as an engineer and as a social advocate.

This prompt calls for a complex answer. Students must explain both why they want to study engineering and why Duke is the best place for them to study engineering.

This student begins with a nice hook—a simple anecdote about a simple present with profound consequences. They do not fluff up their anecdote with flowery images or emotionally-loaded language; it is what it is, and it is compelling and sweet. As their response continues, they express a particular interest in problem-solving. They position problem-solving as a fundamental part of their interest in engineering (and a fundamental part of their fascination with their childhood toy). This helps readers to learn about the student!

Problem-solving is also the avenue by which they introduce Duke’s resources—DUhatch, The Foundry, and Duke’s Bass Connections program. It is important to notice that the student explains how these resources can help them achieve their future goals—it is not enough to simply identify the resources!

This response is interesting and focused. It clearly answers the prompt, and it feels honest and authentic.

Why Georgia Tech CompSci

Prompt: Why do you want to study your chosen major specifically at Georgia Tech? (300 words max)

I held my breath and hit RUN. Yes! A plump white cat jumped out and began to catch the falling pizzas. Although my Fat Cat project seems simple now, it was the beginning of an enthusiastic passion for computer science. Four years and thousands of hours of programming later, that passion has grown into an intense desire to explore how computer science can serve society. Every day, surrounded by technology that can recognize my face and recommend scarily-specific ads, I’m reminded of Uncle Ben’s advice to a young Spiderman: “with great power comes great responsibility”. Likewise, the need to ensure digital equality has skyrocketed with AI’s far-reaching presence in society; and I believe that digital fairness starts with equality in education.

The unique use of threads at the College of Computing perfectly matches my interests in AI and its potential use in education; the path of combined threads on Intelligence and People gives me the rare opportunity to delve deep into both areas. I’m particularly intrigued by the rich sets of both knowledge-based and data-driven intelligence courses, as I believe AI should not only show correlation of events, but also provide insight for why they occur.

In my four years as an enthusiastic online English tutor, I’ve worked hard to help students overcome both financial and technological obstacles in hopes of bringing quality education to people from diverse backgrounds. For this reason, I’m extremely excited by the many courses in the People thread that focus on education and human-centered technology. I’d love to explore how to integrate AI technology into the teaching process to make education more available, affordable, and effective for people everywhere. And with the innumerable opportunities that Georgia Tech has to offer, I know that I will be able to go further here than anywhere else.

With a “Why This Major” essay, you want to avoid using all of your words to tell a story. That being said, stories are a great way to show your personality and make your essay stand out. This student’s story takes up only their first 21 words, but it positions the student as fun and funny and provides an endearing image of cats and pizzas—who doesn’t love cats and pizzas? There are other moments when the student’s personality shines through also, like the Spiderman reference.

While this pop culture reference adds color, it also is important for what the student is getting at: their passion. They want to go into computer science to address the issues of security and equity that are on the industry’s mind, and they acknowledge these concerns with their comments about “scarily-specific ads” and their statement that “the need to ensure digital equality has skyrocketed.” This student is self-aware and aware of the state of the industry. This aptitude will be appealing for admissions officers.

The conversation around “threads” is essential for this student’s response because the prompt asks specifically about the major at Georgia Tech and it is the only thing they reference that is specific to Georgia Tech. Threads are great, but this student would have benefitted from expanding on other opportunities specific to Georgia Tech later in the essay, instead of simply inserting “innumerable opportunities.”

Overall, this student shows personality, passion, and aptitude—precisely what admissions officers want to see!

Extracurricular Essay

You’re asked to describe your activities on the Common App, but chances are, you have at least one extracurricular that’s impacted you in a way you can’t explain in 150 characters.

This essay archetype allows you to share how your most important activity shaped you and how you might use those lessons learned in the future. You are definitely welcome to share anecdotes and use a narrative approach, but remember to include some reflection. A common mistake students make is to only describe the activity without sharing how it impacted them.

Learn more about how to write the Extracurricular Essay in our guide.

A Dedicated Musician

My fingers raced across the keys, rapidly striking one after another. My body swayed with the music as my hands raced across the piano. Crashing onto the final chord, it was over as quickly as it had begun. My shoulders relaxed and I couldn’t help but break into a satisfied grin. I had just played the Moonlight Sonata’s third movement, a longtime dream of mine. 

Four short months ago, though, I had considered it impossible. The piece’s tempo was impossibly fast, its notes stretching between each end of the piano, forcing me to reach farther than I had ever dared. It was 17 pages of the most fragile and intricate melodies I had ever encountered. 

But that summer, I found myself ready to take on the challenge. With the end of the school year, I was released from my commitment to practicing for band and solo performances. I was now free to determine my own musical path: either succeed in learning the piece, or let it defeat me for the third summer in a row. 

Over those few months, I spent countless hours practicing the same notes until they burned a permanent place in my memory, creating a soundtrack for even my dreams. Some would say I’ve mastered the piece, but as a musician I know better. Now that I can play it, I am eager to take the next step and add in layers of musicality and expression to make the once-impossible piece even more beautiful.

In this response, the student uses their extracurricular, piano, as a way to emphasize their positive qualities. At the beginning, readers are invited on a journey with the student where we feel their struggle, their intensity, and ultimately their satisfaction. With this descriptive image, we form a valuable connection with the student.

Then, we get to learn about what makes this student special: their dedication and work ethic. The fact that this student describes their desire to be productive during the summer shows an intensity that is appealing to admissions officers. Additionally, the growth mindset that this student emphasizes in their conclusion is appealing to admissions officers.

The Extracurricular Essay can be seen as an opportunity to characterize yourself. This student clearly identified their positive qualities, then used the Extracurricular Essay as a way to articulate them.

A Complicated Relationship with the School Newspaper

My school’s newspaper and I have a typical love-hate relationship; some days I want nothing more than to pass two hours writing and formatting articles, while on others the mere thought of student journalism makes me shiver. Still, as we’re entering our fourth year together, you could consider us relatively stable. We’ve learned to accept each other’s differences; at this point I’ve become comfortable spending an entire Friday night preparing for an upcoming issue, and I hardly even notice the snail-like speed of our computers. I’ve even benefitted from the polygamous nature of our relationship—with twelve other editors, there’s a lot of cooperation involved. Perverse as it may be, from that teamwork I’ve both gained some of my closest friends and improved my organizational and time-management skills. And though leaving it in the hands of new editors next year will be difficult, I know our time together has only better prepared me for future relationships.

This response is great. It’s cute and endearing and, importantly, tells readers a lot about the student who wrote it. Framing this essay in the context of a “love-hate relationship,” then supplementing with comments like “We’ve learned to accept each other’s differences” allows this student to advertise their maturity in a unique and engaging way. 

While Extracurricular Essays can be a place to show how you’ve grown within an activity, they can also be a place to show how you’ve grown through an activity. At the end of this essay, readers think that this student is mature and enjoyable, and we think that their experience with the school newspaper helped make them that way.

Participating in Democracy

Prompt: Research shows that an ability to learn from experiences outside the classroom correlates with success in college. What was your greatest learning experience over the past 4 years that took place outside of the traditional classroom? (250 words) 

The cool, white halls of the Rayburn House office building contrasted with the bustling energy of interns entertaining tourists, staffers rushing to cover committee meetings, and my fellow conference attendees separating to meet with our respective congresspeople. Through civics and US history classes, I had learned about our government, but simply hearing the legislative process outlined didn’t prepare me to navigate it. It was my first political conference, and, after learning about congressional mechanics during breakout sessions, I was lobbying my representative about an upcoming vote crucial to the US-Middle East relationship. As the daughter of Iranian immigrants, my whole life had led me to the moment when I could speak on behalf of the family members who had not emigrated with my parents.

As I sat down with my congresswoman’s chief of staff, I truly felt like a participant in democracy; I was exercising my right to be heard as a young American. Through this educational conference, I developed a plan of action to raise my voice. When I returned home, I signed up to volunteer with the state chapter of the Democratic Party. I sponsored letter-writing campaigns, canvassed for local elections, and even pursued an internship with a state senate campaign. I know that I don’t need to be old enough to vote to effect change. Most importantly, I also know that I want to study government—I want to make a difference for my communities in the United States and the Middle East throughout my career. 

While this prompt is about extracurricular activities, it specifically references the idea that the extracurricular should support the curricular. It is focused on experiential learning for future career success. This student wants to study government, so they chose to describe an experience of hands-on learning within their field—an apt choice!

As this student discusses their extracurricular experience, they also clue readers into their future goals—they want to help Middle Eastern communities. Admissions officers love when students mention concrete plans with a solid foundation. Here, the foundation comes from this student’s ethnicity. With lines like “my whole life had led me to the moment when I could speak on behalf of the family members who had not emigrated with my parents,” the student assures admissions officers of their emotional connection to their future field.

The strength of this essay comes from its connections. It connects the student’s extracurricular activity to their studies and connects theirs studies to their personal history.

Overcoming Challenges

You’re going to face a lot of setbacks in college, so admissions officers want to make you’re you have the resilience and resolve to overcome them. This essay is your chance to be vulnerable and connect to admissions officers on an emotional level.

Learn more about how to write the Overcoming Challenges Essay in our guide.

The Student Becomes the Master

”Advanced females ages 13 to 14 please proceed to staging with your coaches at this time.” Skittering around the room, eyes wide and pleading, I frantically explained my situation to nearby coaches. The seconds ticked away in my head; every polite refusal increased my desperation.

Despair weighed me down. I sank to my knees as a stream of competitors, coaches, and officials flowed around me. My dojang had no coach, and the tournament rules prohibited me from competing without one.

Although I wanted to remain strong, doubts began to cloud my mind. I could not help wondering: what was the point of perfecting my skills if I would never even compete? The other members of my team, who had found coaches minutes earlier, attempted to comfort me, but I barely heard their words. They couldn’t understand my despair at being left on the outside, and I never wanted them to understand.

Since my first lesson 12 years ago, the members of my dojang have become family. I have watched them grow up, finding my own happiness in theirs. Together, we have honed our kicks, blocks, and strikes. We have pushed one another to aim higher and become better martial artists. Although my dojang had searched for a reliable coach for years, we had not found one. When we attended competitions in the past, my teammates and I had always gotten lucky and found a sympathetic coach. Now, I knew this practice was unsustainable. It would devastate me to see the other members of my dojang in my situation, unable to compete and losing hope as a result. My dojang needed a coach, and I decided it was up to me to find one. 

I first approached the adults in the dojang – both instructors and members’ parents. However, these attempts only reacquainted me with polite refusals. Everyone I asked told me they couldn’t devote multiple weekends per year to competitions. I soon realized that I would have become the coach myself.

At first, the inner workings of tournaments were a mystery to me. To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side. I learned everything from motivational strategies to technical, behind-the-scenes components of Taekwondo competitions. Though I emerged with new knowledge and confidence in my capabilities, others did not share this faith.

Parents threw me disbelieving looks when they learned that their children’s coach was only a child herself. My self-confidence was my armor, deflecting their surly glances. Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

Despite the attack, I refused to give up. When I saw the shining eyes of the youngest students preparing for their first competition, I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was. The knowledge that I could solve my dojang’s longtime problem motivated me to overcome my apprehension.

Now that my dojang flourishes at competitions, the attacks on me have weakened, but not ended. I may never win the approval of every parent; at times, I am still tormented by doubts, but I find solace in the fact that members of my dojang now only worry about competing to the best of their abilities.

Now, as I arrive at a tournament with my students, I close my eyes and remember the past. I visualize the frantic search for a coach and the chaos amongst my teammates as we competed with one another to find coaches before the staging calls for our respective divisions. I open my eyes to the exact opposite scene. Lacking a coach hurt my ability to compete, but I am proud to know that no member of my dojang will have to face that problem again.

This essay is great because it has a strong introduction and conclusion. The introduction is notably suspenseful and draws readers into the story. Because we know it is a college essay, we can assume that the student is one of the competitors, but at the same time, this introduction feels intentionally ambiguous as if the writer could be a competitor, a coach, a sibling of a competitor, or anyone else in the situation.

As we continue reading the essay, we learn that the writer is, in fact, the competitor. Readers also learn a lot about the student’s values as we hear their thoughts: “I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was.” Ultimately, the conflict and inner and outer turmoil is resolved through the “Same, but Different” ending technique as the student places themself in the same environment that we saw in the intro, but experiencing it differently due to their actions throughout the narrative. This is a very compelling strategy!

Growing Sensitivity to Struggles

Prompt: The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? (650 words)

“You ruined my life!” After months of quiet anger, my brother finally confronted me. To my shame, I had been appallingly ignorant of his pain.

Despite being twins, Max and I are profoundly different. Having intellectual interests from a young age that, well, interested very few of my peers, I often felt out of step in comparison with my highly-social brother. Everything appeared to come effortlessly for Max and, while we share an extremely tight bond, his frequent time away with friends left me feeling more and more alone as we grew older.

When my parents learned about The Green Academy, we hoped it would be an opportunity for me to find not only an academically challenging environment, but also – perhaps more importantly – a community. This meant transferring the family from Drumfield to Kingston. And while there was concern about Max, we all believed that given his sociable nature, moving would be far less impactful on him than staying put might be on me.

As it turned out, Green Academy was everything I’d hoped for. I was ecstatic to discover a group of students with whom I shared interests and could truly engage. Preoccupied with new friends and a rigorous course load, I failed to notice that the tables had turned. Max, lost in the fray and grappling with how to make connections in his enormous new high school, had become withdrawn and lonely. It took me until Christmas time – and a massive argument – to recognize how difficult the transition had been for my brother, let alone that he blamed me for it.

Through my own journey of searching for academic peers, in addition to coming out as gay when I was 12, I had developed deep empathy for those who had trouble fitting in. It was a pain I knew well and could easily relate to. Yet after Max’s outburst, my first response was to protest that our parents – not I – had chosen to move us here. In my heart, though, I knew that regardless of who had made the decision, we ended up in Kingston for my benefit. I was ashamed that, while I saw myself as genuinely compassionate, I had been oblivious to the heartache of the person closest to me. I could no longer ignore it – and I didn’t want to.

We stayed up half the night talking, and the conversation took an unexpected turn. Max opened up and shared that it wasn’t just about the move. He told me how challenging school had always been for him, due to his dyslexia, and that the ever-present comparison to me had only deepened his pain.

We had been in parallel battles the whole time and, yet, I only saw that Max was in distress once he experienced problems with which I directly identified. I’d long thought Max had it so easy – all because he had friends. The truth was, he didn’t need to experience my personal brand of sorrow in order for me to relate – he had felt plenty of his own.

My failure to recognize Max’s suffering brought home for me the profound universality and diversity of personal struggle; everyone has insecurities, everyone has woes, and everyone – most certainly – has pain. I am acutely grateful for the conversations he and I shared around all of this, because I believe our relationship has been fundamentally strengthened by a deeper understanding of one another. Further, this experience has reinforced the value of constantly striving for deeper sensitivity to the hidden struggles of those around me. I won’t make the mistake again of assuming that the surface of someone’s life reflects their underlying story.

Here you can find a prime example that you don’t have to have fabulous imagery or flowery prose to write a successful essay. You just have to be clear and say something that matters. This essay is simple and beautiful. It almost feels like having a conversation with a friend and learning that they are an even better person than you already thought they were.

Through this narrative, readers learn a lot about the writer—where they’re from, what their family life is like, what their challenges were as a kid, and even their sexuality. We also learn a lot about their values—notably, the value they place on awareness, improvement, and consideration of others. Though they never explicitly state it (which is great because it is still crystal clear!), this student’s ending of “I won’t make the mistake again of assuming that the surface of someone’s life reflects their underlying story” shows that they are constantly striving for improvement and finding lessons anywhere they can get them in life.

Community Service/Impact on the Community

Colleges want students who will positively impact the campus community and go on to make change in the world after they graduate. This essay is similar to the Extracurricular Essay, but you need to focus on a situation where you impacted others. 

Learn more about how to write the Community Service Essay in our guide.

Academic Signing Day

Prompt: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

The scent of eucalyptus caressed my nose in a gentle breeze. Spring had arrived. Senior class activities were here. As a sophomore, I noticed a difference between athletic and academic seniors at my high school; one received recognition while the other received silence. I wanted to create an event celebrating students academically-committed to four-years, community colleges, trades schools, and military programs. This event was Academic Signing Day.

The leadership label, “Events Coordinator,” felt heavy on my introverted mind. I usually was setting up for rallies and spirit weeks, being overlooked around the exuberant nature of my peers. 

I knew a change of mind was needed; I designed flyers, painted posters, presented powerpoints, created student-led committees, and practiced countless hours for my introductory speech. Each committee would play a vital role on event day: one dedicated to refreshments, another to technology, and one for decorations. The fourth-month planning was a laborious joy, but I was still fearful of being in the spotlight. Being acknowledged by hundreds of people was new to me.     

The day was here. Parents filled the stands of the multi-purpose room. The atmosphere was tense; I could feel the angst building in my throat, worried about the impression I would leave. Applause followed each of the 400 students as they walked to their college table, indicating my time to speak. 

I walked up to the stand, hands clammy, expression tranquil, my words echoing to the audience. I thought my speech would be met by the sounds of crickets; instead, smiles lit up the stands, realizing my voice shone through my actions. I was finally coming out of my shell. The floor was met by confetti as I was met by the sincerity of staff, students, and parents, solidifying the event for years to come. 

Academic students were no longer overshadowed. Their accomplishments were equally recognized to their athletic counterparts. The school culture of athletics over academics was no longer imbalanced. Now, every time I smell eucalyptus, it is a friendly reminder that on Academic Signing Day, not only were academic students in the spotlight but so was my voice.

This essay answers the prompt nicely because the student describes a contribution with a lasting legacy. Academic Signing Day will affect this high school in the future and it affected this student’s self-development—an idea summed up nicely with their last phrase “not only were academic students in the spotlight but so was my voice.”

With Community Service essays, students sometimes take small contributions and stretch them. And, oftentimes, the stretch is very obvious. Here, the student shows us that Academic Signing Day actually mattered by mentioning four months of planning and hundreds of students and parents. They also make their involvement in Academic Signing Day clear—it was their idea and they were in charge, and that’s why they gave the introductory speech.

Use this response as an example of the type of focused contribution that makes for a convincing Community Service Essay.

Climate Change Rally

Prompt: What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? (technically not community service, but the response works)

Let’s fast-forward time. Strides were made toward racial equality. Healthcare is accessible to all; however, one issue remains. Our aquatic ecosystems are parched with dead coral from ocean acidification. Climate change has prevailed.

Rewind to the present day.

My activism skills are how I express my concerns for the environment. Whether I play on sandy beaches or rest under forest treetops, nature offers me an escape from the haste of the world. When my body is met by trash in the ocean or my nose is met by harmful pollutants, Earth’s pain becomes my own. 

Substituting coffee grinds as fertilizer, using bamboo straws, starting my sustainable garden, my individual actions needed to reach a larger scale. I often found performative activism to be ineffective when communicating climate concerns. My days of reposting awareness graphics on social media never filled the ambition I had left to put my activism skills to greater use. I decided to share my ecocentric worldview with a coalition of environmentalists and host a climate change rally outside my high school.

Meetings were scheduled where I informed students about the unseen impact they have on the oceans and local habitual communities. My fingers were cramped from all the constant typing and investigating of micro causes of the Pacific Waste Patch, creating reusable flyers, displaying steps people could take from home in reducing their carbon footprint. I aided my fellow environmentalists in translating these flyers into other languages, repeating this process hourly, for five days, up until rally day.  

It was 7:00 AM. The faces of 100 students were shouting, “The climate is changing, why can’t we?” I proudly walked on the dewy grass, grabbing the microphone, repeating those same words. The rally not only taught me efficient methods of communication but it echoed my environmental activism to the masses. The City of Corona would be the first of many cities to see my activism, as more rallies were planned for various parts of SoCal. My once unfulfilled ambition was fueled by my tangible activism, understanding that it takes more than one person to make an environmental impact.

Like with the last example, this student describes a focused event with a lasting legacy. That’s a perfect place to start! By the end of this essay, we have an image of the cause of this student’s passion and the effect of this student’s passion. There are no unanswered questions.

This student supplements their focused topic with engaging and exciting writing to make for an easy-to-read and enjoyable essay. One of the largest strengths of this response is its pace. From the very beginning, we are invited to “fast-forward” and “rewind” with the writer. Then, after we center ourselves in real-time, this writer keeps their quick pace with sentences like “Substituting coffee grounds as fertilizer, using bamboo straws, starting my sustainable garden, my individual actions needed to reach a larger scale.” Community Service essays run the risk of turning boring, but this unique pacing keeps things interesting.

Having a diverse class provides a richness of different perspectives and encourages open-mindedness among the student body. The Diversity Essay is also somewhat similar to the Extracurricular and Community Service Essays, but it focuses more on what you might bring to the campus community because of your unique experiences or identities.

Learn more about how to write the Diversity Essay in our guide.

A Story of a Young Skater

​​“Everyone follow me!” I smiled at five wide-eyed skaters before pushing off into a spiral. I glanced behind me hopefully, only to see my students standing frozen like statues, the fear in their eyes as clear as the ice they swayed on. “Come on!” I said encouragingly, but the only response I elicited was the slow shake of their heads. My first day as a Learn-to-Skate coach was not going as planned. 

But amid my frustration, I was struck by how much my students reminded me of myself as a young skater. At seven, I had been fascinated by Olympic performers who executed thrilling high jumps and dizzying spins with apparent ease, and I dreamed to one day do the same. My first few months on skates, however, sent these hopes crashing down: my attempts at slaloms and toe-loops were shadowed by a stubborn fear of falling, which even the helmet, elbow pads, and two pairs of mittens I had armed myself with couldn’t mitigate. Nonetheless, my coach remained unfailingly optimistic, motivating me through my worst spills and teaching me to find opportunities in failures. With his encouragement, I learned to push aside my fears and attack each jump with calm and confidence; it’s the hope that I can help others do the same that now inspires me to coach.

I remember the day a frustrated staff member directed Oliver, a particularly hesitant young skater, toward me, hoping that my patience and steady encouragement might help him improve. Having stood in Oliver’s skates not much earlier myself, I completely empathized with his worries but also saw within him the potential to overcome his fears and succeed. 

To alleviate his anxiety, I held Oliver’s hand as we inched around the rink, cheering him on at every turn. I soon found though, that this only increased his fear of gliding on his own, so I changed my approach, making lessons as exciting as possible in hopes that he would catch the skating bug and take off. In the weeks that followed, we held relay races, played “freeze-skate” and “ice-potato”, and raced through obstacle courses; gradually, with each slip and subsequent success, his fear began to abate. I watched Oliver’s eyes widen in excitement with every skill he learned, and not long after, he earned his first skating badge. Together we celebrated this milestone, his ecstasy fueling my excitement and his pride mirroring my own. At that moment, I was both teacher and student, his progress instilling in me the importance of patience and a positive attitude. 

It’s been more than ten years since I bundled up and stepped onto the ice for the first time. Since then, my tolerance for the cold has remained stubbornly low, but the rest of me has certainly changed. In sharing my passion for skating, I have found a wonderful community of eager athletes, loving parents, and dedicated coaches from whom I have learned invaluable lessons and wisdom. My fellow staffers have been with me, both as friends and colleagues, and the relationships I’ve formed have given me far more poise, confidence, and appreciation for others. Likewise, my relationships with parents have given me an even greater gratitude for the role they play: no one goes to the rink without a parent behind the wheel! 

Since that first lesson, I have mentored dozens of children, and over the years, witnessed tentative steps transform into powerful glides and tears give way to delighted grins. What I have shared with my students has been among the greatest joys of my life, something I will cherish forever. It’s funny: when I began skating, what pushed me through the early morning practices was the prospect of winning an Olympic medal. Now, what excites me is the chance to work with my students, to help them grow, and to give back to the sport that has brought me so much happiness. 

This response is a great example of how Diversity doesn’t have to mean race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, age, or ability. Diversity can mean whatever you want it to mean—whatever unique experience(s) you have to bring to the table!

A major strength of this essay comes in its narrative organization. When reading this first paragraph, we feel for the young skaters and understand their fear—skating sounds scary! Then, because the writer sets us up to feel this empathy, the transition to the second paragraph where the student describes their empathy for the young skaters is particularly powerful. It’s like we are all in it together! The student’s empathy for the young skaters also serves as an outstanding, seamless transition to the applicant discussing their personal journey with skating: “I was struck by how much my students reminded me of myself as a young skater.”

This essay positions the applicant as a grounded and caring individual. They are caring towards the young skaters—changing their teaching style to try to help the young skaters and feeling the young skaters’ emotions with them—but they are also appreciative to those who helped them as they reference their fellow staffers and parents. This shows great maturity—a favorable quality in the eyes of an admissions officer.

At the end of the essay, we know a lot about this student and are convinced that they would be a good addition to a college campus!

Finding Community in the Rainforest

Prompt: Duke University seeks a talented, engaged student body that embodies the wide range of human experience; we believe that the diversity of our students makes our community stronger. If you’d like to share a perspective you bring or experiences you’ve had to help us understand you better—perhaps related to a community you belong to, your sexual orientation or gender identity, or your family or cultural background—we encourage you to do so. Real people are reading your application, and we want to do our best to understand and appreciate the real people applying to Duke (250 words).

I never understood the power of community until I left home to join seven strangers in the Ecuadorian rainforest. Although we flew in from distant corners of the U.S., we shared a common purpose: immersing ourselves in our passion for protecting the natural world.

Back home in my predominantly conservative suburb, my neighbors had brushed off environmental concerns. My classmates debated the feasibility of Trump’s wall, not the deteriorating state of our planet. Contrastingly, these seven strangers delighted in bird-watching, brightened at the mention of medicinal tree sap, and understood why I once ran across a four-lane highway to retrieve discarded beer cans. Their histories barely resembled mine, yet our values aligned intimately. We did not hesitate to joke about bullet ants, gush about the versatility of tree bark, or discuss the destructive consequences of materialism. Together, we let our inner tree huggers run free.

In the short life of our little community, we did what we thought was impossible. By feeding on each other’s infectious tenacity, we cultivated an atmosphere that deepened our commitment to our values and empowered us to speak out on behalf of the environment. After a week of stimulating conversations and introspective revelations about engaging people from our hometowns in environmental advocacy, we developed a shared determination to devote our lives to this cause.

As we shared a goodbye hug, my new friend whispered, “The world needs saving. Someone’s gotta do it.” For the first time, I believed that someone could be me.

This response is so wholesome and relatable. We all have things that we just need to geek out over and this student expresses the joy that came when they found a community where they could geek out about the environment. Passion is fundamental to university life and should find its way into successful applications.

Like the last response, this essay finds strength in the fact that readers feel for the student. We get a little bit of backstory about where they come from and how they felt silenced—“Back home in my predominantly conservative suburb, my neighbors had brushed off environmental concerns”—, so it’s easy to feel joy for them when they get set free.

This student displays clear values: community, ecoconsciousness, dedication, and compassion. An admissions officer who reads Diversity essays is looking for students with strong values and a desire to contribute to a university community—sounds like this student!  

Political/Global Issues

Colleges want to build engaged citizens, and the Political/Global Issues Essay allows them to better understand what you care about and whether your values align with theirs. In this essay, you’re most commonly asked to describe an issue, why you care about it, and what you’ve done or hope to do to address it. 

Learn more about how to write the Political/Global Issues Essay in our guide.

Note: this prompt is not a typical political/global issues essay, but the essay itself would be a strong response to a political/global issues prompt.

Fighting Violence Against Women

Prompt: Using a favorite quotation from an essay or book you have read in the last three years as a starting point, tell us about an event or experience that helped you define one of your values or changed how you approach the world. Please write the quotation, title and author at the beginning of your essay. (250-650 words)

“One of the great challenges of our time is that the disparities we face today have more complex causes and point less straightforwardly to solutions.” 

– Omar Wasow, assistant professor of politics, Princeton University. This quote is taken from Professor Wasow’s January 2014 speech at the Martin Luther King Day celebration at Princeton University. 

The air is crisp and cool, nipping at my ears as I walk under a curtain of darkness that drapes over the sky, starless. It is a Friday night in downtown Corpus Christi, a rare moment of peace in my home city filled with the laughter of strangers and colorful lights of street vendors. But I cannot focus. 

My feet stride quickly down the sidewalk, my hand grasps on to the pepper spray my parents gifted me for my sixteenth birthday. My eyes ignore the surrounding city life, focusing instead on a pair of tall figures walking in my direction. I mentally ask myself if they turned with me on the last street corner. I do not remember, so I pick up the pace again. All the while, my mind runs over stories of young women being assaulted, kidnapped, and raped on the street. I remember my mother’s voice reminding me to keep my chin up, back straight, eyes and ears alert. 

At a young age, I learned that harassment is a part of daily life for women. I fell victim to period-shaming when I was thirteen, received my first catcall when I was fourteen, and was nonconsensually grabbed by a man soliciting on the street when I was fifteen. For women, assault does not just happen to us— its gory details leave an imprint in our lives, infecting the way we perceive the world. And while movements such as the Women’s March and #MeToo have given victims of sexual violence a voice, harassment still manifests itself in the lives of millions of women across the nation. Symbolic gestures are important in spreading awareness but, upon learning that a surprising number of men are oblivious to the frequent harassment that women experience, I now realize that addressing this complex issue requires a deeper level of activism within our local communities. 

Frustrated with incessant cases of harassment against women, I understood at sixteen years old that change necessitates action. During my junior year, I became an intern with a judge whose campaign for office focused on a need for domestic violence reform. This experience enabled me to engage in constructive dialogue with middle and high school students on how to prevent domestic violence. As I listened to young men uneasily admit their ignorance and young women bravely share their experiences in an effort to spread awareness, I learned that breaking down systems of inequity requires changing an entire culture. I once believed that the problem of harassment would dissipate after politicians and celebrities denounce inappropriate behavior to their global audience. But today, I see that effecting large-scale change comes from the “small” lessons we teach at home and in schools. Concerning women’s empowerment, the effects of Hollywood activism do not trickle down enough. Activism must also trickle up and it depends on our willingness to fight complacency. 

Finding the solution to the long-lasting problem of violence against women is a work-in-progress, but it is a process that is persistently moving. In my life, for every uncomfortable conversation that I bridge, I make the world a bit more sensitive to the unspoken struggle that it is to be a woman. I am no longer passively waiting for others to let me live in a world where I can stand alone under the expanse of darkness on a city street, utterly alone and at peace. I, too, deserve the night sky.

As this student addresses an important social issue, she makes the reasons for her passion clear—personal experiences. Because she begins with an extended anecdote, readers are able to feel connected to the student and become invested in what she has to say.

Additionally, through her powerful ending—“I, too, deserve the night sky”—which connects back to her beginning— “as I walk under a curtain of darkness that drapes over the sky”—this student illustrates a mastery of language. Her engagement with other writing techniques that further her argument, like the emphasis on time—“gifted to me for my sixteenth birthday,” “when I was thirteen,” “when I was fourteen,” etc.—also illustrates her mastery of language.

While this student proves herself a good writer, she also positions herself as motivated and ambitious. She turns her passions into action and fights for them. That is just what admissions officers want to see in a Political/Global issues essay!

Where to Get Feedback on Your College Essays

Once you’ve written your college essays, you’ll want to get feedback on them. Since these essays are important to your chances of acceptance, you should prepare to go through several rounds of edits. 

Not sure who to ask for feedback? That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review resource. You can get comments from another student going through the process and also edit other students’ essays to improve your own writing. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools.  Find the right advisor for you  to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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What I’ve Learned From My Students’ College Essays

The genre is often maligned for being formulaic and melodramatic, but it’s more important than you think.

By Nell Freudenberger

Most high school seniors approach the college essay with dread. Either their upbringing hasn’t supplied them with several hundred words of adversity, or worse, they’re afraid that packaging the genuine trauma they’ve experienced is the only way to secure their future. The college counselor at the Brooklyn high school where I’m a writing tutor advises against trauma porn. “Keep it brief , ” she says, “and show how you rose above it.”

I started volunteering in New York City schools in my 20s, before I had kids of my own. At the time, I liked hanging out with teenagers, whom I sometimes had more interesting conversations with than I did my peers. Often I worked with students who spoke English as a second language or who used slang in their writing, and at first I was hung up on grammar. Should I correct any deviation from “standard English” to appeal to some Wizard of Oz behind the curtains of a college admissions office? Or should I encourage students to write the way they speak, in pursuit of an authentic voice, that most elusive of literary qualities?

In fact, I was missing the point. One of many lessons the students have taught me is to let the story dictate the voice of the essay. A few years ago, I worked with a boy who claimed to have nothing to write about. His life had been ordinary, he said; nothing had happened to him. I asked if he wanted to try writing about a family member, his favorite school subject, a summer job? He glanced at his phone, his posture and expression suggesting that he’d rather be anywhere but in front of a computer with me. “Hobbies?” I suggested, without much hope. He gave me a shy glance. “I like to box,” he said.

I’ve had this experience with reluctant writers again and again — when a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously. Of course the primary goal of a college essay is to help its author get an education that leads to a career. Changes in testing policies and financial aid have made applying to college more confusing than ever, but essays have remained basically the same. I would argue that they’re much more than an onerous task or rote exercise, and that unlike standardized tests they are infinitely variable and sometimes beautiful. College essays also provide an opportunity to learn precision, clarity and the process of working toward the truth through multiple revisions.

When a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously.

Even if writing doesn’t end up being fundamental to their future professions, students learn to choose language carefully and to be suspicious of the first words that come to mind. Especially now, as college students shoulder so much of the country’s ethical responsibility for war with their protest movement, essay writing teaches prospective students an increasingly urgent lesson: that choosing their own words over ready-made phrases is the only reliable way to ensure they’re thinking for themselves.

Teenagers are ideal writers for several reasons. They’re usually free of preconceptions about writing, and they tend not to use self-consciously ‘‘literary’’ language. They’re allergic to hypocrisy and are generally unfiltered: They overshare, ask personal questions and call you out for microaggressions as well as less egregious (but still mortifying) verbal errors, such as referring to weed as ‘‘pot.’’ Most important, they have yet to put down their best stories in a finished form.

I can imagine an essay taking a risk and distinguishing itself formally — a poem or a one-act play — but most kids use a more straightforward model: a hook followed by a narrative built around “small moments” that lead to a concluding lesson or aspiration for the future. I never get tired of working with students on these essays because each one is different, and the short, rigid form sometimes makes an emotional story even more powerful. Before I read Javier Zamora’s wrenching “Solito,” I worked with a student who had been transported by a coyote into the U.S. and was reunited with his mother in the parking lot of a big-box store. I don’t remember whether this essay focused on specific skills or coping mechanisms that he gained from his ordeal. I remember only the bliss of the parent-and-child reunion in that uninspiring setting. If I were making a case to an admissions officer, I would suggest that simply being able to convey that experience demonstrates the kind of resilience that any college should admire.

The essays that have stayed with me over the years don’t follow a pattern. There are some narratives on very predictable topics — living up to the expectations of immigrant parents, or suffering from depression in 2020 — that are moving because of the attention with which the student describes the experience. One girl determined to become an engineer while watching her father build furniture from scraps after work; a boy, grieving for his mother during lockdown, began taking pictures of the sky.

If, as Lorrie Moore said, “a short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage,” what is a college essay? Every once in a while I sit down next to a student and start reading, and I have to suppress my excitement, because there on the Google Doc in front of me is a real writer’s voice. One of the first students I ever worked with wrote about falling in love with another girl in dance class, the absolute magic of watching her move and the terror in the conflict between her feelings and the instruction of her religious middle school. She made me think that college essays are less like love than limerence: one-sided, obsessive, idiosyncratic but profound, the first draft of the most personal story their writers will ever tell.

Nell Freudenberger’s novel “The Limits” was published by Knopf last month. She volunteers through the PEN America Writers in the Schools program.

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Top 10 Magazines for Competitive Exam Preparation

Preparing for a competitive exam is an extremely tough task and requires utmost dedication and hard work. The most significant aspect that is relevant here is the study source as that is what helps the student prepare effectively. Now, different students opt for different study materials and modes of learning. While some choose to watch educational videos , others resort to buying books , referring to online study materials, or monthly magazines. With so many of such magazines available in the market, we know how confusing it might get to choose one, especially if you are thinking to prepare for multiple exams. So, in this blog, we will cover top 10 magazines that will help you prepare for multiple exams at the same time. This will save you tremendous amount of time, effort and money and will help achieve the desired preparation results.

10 All- Rounder Magazines for Competitive Exam Preparation

Pratiyogita darpan.

'Pratiyogita Darpan' is the name that is no longer unknown to any candidate aspiring to take any government or institute related competitive exam. Pratiyogita Darpan has been on the top of the list for every student since years. This Indian bi-lingual magazine is available in English as well as Hindi. It contains material related to current affairs, general knowledge, geography, economy, politics, and history. The information provided by the magazine is apt and correctly laid out according to the importance of each topic for an exam. Since current affairs and general knowledge are common to all exams, it can be used for all the exams from undergraduate levels to postgraduate levels. However, since the magazine is a little detailed, it is best recommended for civil services and similar competitive exams.

Link to Pratiyogita Darpan's official website

Competition Success Review

This is one of the most trusted current affairs magazines for candidates appearing for IAS. Many previous year IAS test takers have referred Competition Success Review or CSR for preparation of general knowledge. As claimed by CSR itself, it is “India’s largest” magazine in this genre since the past 40 years. Apart from general knowledge, the magazine also contains helping tips for college interviews, IAS special mock tests from India's top institutes as well as solved papers for UPSC CDS exam, MBA Admission Test and SBI PO exam for practice purposes.

Link to Competition Success Review's official website

Exambazaar Monthly Current Affairs PDFs

Much like an e-magazine, Monthly Current Affair PDFs covering extensive exams including UPSC, CLAT, SSC, Banking, Railways, and all Government examinations is now offered at Exambazaar. The best part about these PDFs is its extremely reasonable one-time price, under which students are able to benefit with all monthly and all weekly PDFs for an year. Furthermore, for the convenience of readers, the news is segregated section-wise as per national, international, sports, etc.

Link to Exambazaar Monthly Current Affair PDFs

Chronicle is another name that is very famous amongst the students and in the market as well. Commonly know as Civil Services Chronicle, the name by which it was published for the first time, t he book is known best for UPSC Civil Services and other similar competitive exams. This monthly magazine helps candidates to be more precise about their preparation and accommodate themselves into a time zone that delivers them the best results. There are several tests, tips, and special features such as mock tests and do's and don'ts in interviews for enhancing competitive exam preparation. Another prominent feature of this magazine is that it is designed in a very reader friendly manner.

Link to Chronicle's official website

The next name on the list is again very familiar. Yojana is not just any of the general knowledge or current affairs magazines, it is a reputed monthly journal that addresses socio-economic issues. The magazine has been providing information to social activists, civil services aspirants, and several economists since 1957. Yojana is among the best for interviews as it covers social and national issues along with the government schemes. It is also referred to as a “must have element” for preliminary and main examination. The magazine is published monthly by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. More so, it is now available in 13 languages including English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese, Kanada, Odia, and Malayalam.

Link to Yojana's official website

LearnEnglish Magazines by British Council

Under the esteemed British Council, LearnEnglish is an online platform where young learners can work to enhance their English speaking, writing, and listening skills. The website offers e-magazines in General English and Business English. By reading and learning a variety of subjects, a reader will not only be able to enhance his/her knowledge but also will be able to improve their vocabulary and reading comprehension. Moreover, the e-magazine comes with a set of exercises that helps one understand and use the language effectively.

Link to LearnEnglish's official website

Samanya Gyan Darpan

Samanya Gyan Darpan is from the same publication as Pratiyogita Darpan. The magazine has content related to general knowledge and economy only. Finding an English version of this magazine can be tough as it is mostly published and purchased in Hindi. Hence, it is one of the top-selling Hindi general knowledge and current affairs magazines for competitive exams.

Link to Samanya Gyan Darpan's official website

Kurukshetra

Published by the Government of India, Kuruskshetra is a monthly magazine that presents government's views on various issues while also providing data and analytics on them. This is one of the best current affairs magazines, with major focus on recently launched government schemes, initiatives, etc. In fact, the magazine covers a good portion of general knowledge sections for almost all competitive exams. Entailing multiple perspectives of people from diverse backgrounds, this magazine is also beneficial for group discussions, college interviews, and essay writing on distinct subjects.

The Economic Times

The magazine, The Economic Times, is another fantastic source for candidates appearing for any undergraduate or post graduate exams. Just as the name reads, the magazine contains economic issues and its possible or complete solutions. Since i t is published by an esteemed news organization, the information is a credible source and is presented in an orderly and well-structured manner. The magazine also features some opinionated articles that help in interviews of civil service and other competitive exam preparation.

Link to The Economic Times's official website

Civil Services Times

The name clarifies the exam for which the magazine is used. However, it can be used for other common competitive exams that requires information and analytical review of national issues and their solutions. Registered under the Registrar of Newspapers for India under Government of India (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting), t his magazine has information from reliable sources from trusted organizations like PIB, government departments and ministries, etc. The magazine is a good source for analytical information that can be used for an i n-depth understanding of a particular topic. Civil Services Times can further be referred for interviews and subjective questions for competitive exams like UPSC.

Link to Civil Services Times's official website

Therefore, these were the magazines that can be helpful for preparing for multiple exams. The subject matter of all these exams is either current affairs, general knowledge or English, which is common to most competitive exams of the country. Hence, picking up one of the will aid the time wasted for preparing the same topic for multiple exams.

Give a read to some of the following blogs for effective competitive exam preparation:

• Complete Student Guide for Competitive Exam Preparation | Know where to start
• How to Get the Edge in Your Competitive Exam Preparation | Start with Previous Year Question Papers Today
• Essential GK and Current Affairs Checklist for your Competitive Exams Preparation
• 9 Reasons to Prepare Using Exambazaar Current Affairs

We at Exam Bazaar wish you all the best and hope you get good results! We are open for any feedback, suggestion or add on to our content, please connect to us through comments below or via Instagram or Facebook . You can also write to us at [email protected] !

Essay Topics – List of 500+ Essay Writing Topics and Ideas

List of 500+ essay writing topics and ideas.

Essay topics in English can be difficult to come up with. While writing essays , many college and high school students face writer’s block and have a hard time to think about topics and ideas for an essay. In this article, we will list out many good essay topics from different categories like argumentative essays, essays on technology, environment essays for students from 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th grades. Following list of essay topics are for all – from kids to college students. We have the largest collection of essays. An essay is nothing but a piece of content which is written from the perception of writer or author. Essays are similar to a story, pamphlet, thesis, etc. The best thing about Essay is you can use any type of language – formal or informal. It can biography, the autobiography of anyone. Following is a great list of 100 essay topics. We will be adding 400 more soon!

But Before that you may wanna read some awesome Essay Writing Tips here .

Get the Huge list of 100+ Speech Topics here

Argumentative Essay Topics

• Should plastic be banned?
• Pollution due to Urbanization
• Education should be free
• Should Students get limited access to the Internet?
• Selling Tobacco should be banned
• Smoking in public places should be banned
• Facebook should be banned
• Students should not be allowed to play PUBG

Essay Topics on Technology

• Wonder Of Science
• Mobile Phone

Essay Topics on Festivals on Events

• Independence Day (15 August)
• Teachers Day
• Summer Vacation
• Children’s Day
• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
• Janmashtami
• Republic Day

Essay Topics on Education

• Education Essay
• Importance of Education
• Contribution of Technology in Education

Essay Topics on Famous Leaders

• Mahatma Gandhi
• APJ Abdul Kalam
• Jawaharlal Nehru
• Swami Vivekananda
• Mother Teresa
• Rabindranath Tagore
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
• Subhash Chandra Bose
• Abraham Lincoln
• Martin Luther King
• Lal Bahadur Shashtri

Essay Topics on Animals and Birds

• My Favorite Animal

Essays Topics About Yourself

• My Best Friend
• My Favourite Teacher
• My Aim In Life
• My Favourite Game – Badminton
• My Favourite Game – Essay
• My Favourite Book
• My Ambition
• How I Spent My Summer Vacation
• India of My Dreams
• My School Life
• I Love My Family
• My Favourite Subject
• My Favourite Game Badminton
• My Father My Hero
• My School Library
• My Favourite Author
• My plans for summer vacation

Essay Topics Based on Environment and Nature

• Global Warming
• Environment
• Air Pollution
• Environmental Pollution
• Water Pollution
• Rainy Season
• Climate Change
• Importance Of Trees
• Winter Season
• Deforestation
• Natural Disasters
• Save Environment
• Summer Season
• Trees Our Best Friend Essay In English

Essay Topics Based on Proverbs

• Health Is Wealth
• A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
• An Apple a Day Keeps Doctor Away
• Where there is a will, there is way
• Time and Tide wait for none

Toppr provides free study materials like NCERT Solutions for Students, Previous 10 Years of Question Papers, 1000+ hours of video lectures for free. Download Toppr app for Android and iOS or signup for free.

Essay Topics for Students from 6th, 7th, 8th Grade

• Noise Pollution
• Environment Pollution
• Women Empowerment
• Time and Tide Wait for none
• Science and Technology
• Importance of Sports
• Sports and Games
• Time Management
• Cleanliness is next to Godliness
• Cleanliness
• Rome was not Built in a Day
• Unemployment
• Clean India
• Cow Essay In English
• Describe Yourself
• Festivals Of India
• Ganesh Chaturthi
• Healthy Food
• Importance Of Water
• Plastic Pollution
• Value of Time
• Honesty is the Best Policy
• Gandhi Jayanti
• Human Rights
• Knowledge Is Power
• Same Sex Marriage
• Childhood Memories
• Cyber Crime
• Kalpana Chawla
• Punctuality
• Rani Lakshmi Bai
• Spring Season
• Unity In Diversity
• Artificial Intelligence
• Online Shopping
• Indian Culture
• Healthy Lifestyle
• Indian Education System
• Disaster Management
• Environmental Issues
• Freedom Fighters
• Grandparents
• Save Fuel For Better Environment
• Importance Of Newspaper
• Lal Bahadur Shastri
• Raksha Bandhan
• World Environment Day
• Narendra Modi
• What Is Religion
• Charity Begins at Home
• A Journey by Train
• Ideal student
• Save Water Save Earth
• Indian Farmer
• Safety of Women in India
• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
• Capital Punishment
• College Life
• Natural Resources
• Peer Pressure
• Nature Vs Nurture
• Romeo And Juliet
• Generation Gap
• Makar Sankranti
• Constitution of India
• Girl Education
• Importance of Family
• Importance of Independence Day
• Brain Drain
• A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed
• Action Speaks Louder Than Words
• All That Glitters Is Not Gold
• Bhagat Singh
• Demonetization
• Agriculture
• Importance of Discipline
• Population Explosion
• Poverty in India
• Uses Of Mobile Phones
• Water Scarcity
• Train Journey
• Land Pollution
• Environment Protection
• Indian Army
• Uses of Internet
• All that Glitters is not Gold
• Balanced Diet
• Blood Donation
• Digital India
• Dussehra Essay
• Energy Conservation
• National Integration
• Railway Station
• Sachin Tendulkar
• Health And Hygiene
• Importance Of Forest
• Indira Gandhi
• Laughter Is The Best Medicine
• Career Goals
• Mental Health
• Save Water Save Life
• International Yoga Day
• Winter Vacation
• Soil Pollution
• Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining
• Indian Culture And Tradition
• Unity Is Strength
• Unity is Diversity
• Wildlife Conservation
• Cruelty To Animals
• Nelson Mandela
• Of Mice And Men
• Organ Donation
• Life in a Big City
• Democracy in India
• Waste Management
• Biodiversity
• Afforestation
• Female Foeticide
• Harmful Effects Of Junk Food
• Rain Water Harvesting
• Save Electricity
• Social Media
• Social Networking Sites
• Sound Pollution
• Procrastination
• Life in an Indian Village
• Life in Big City
• Population Growth
• World Population Day
• Greenhouse Effect
• Statue of Unity
• Traffic Jam
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
• Importance of Good Manners
• Good Manners
• Cyber Security
• Green Revolution
• Health And Fitness
• Incredible India
• Make In India
• Surgical Strike
• Triple Talaq
• A Good Friend
• Importance of Friends in our Life
• Should Plastic be Banned
• Nationalism
• Traffic Rules
• Effects of Global Warming
• Fundamental Rights
• Solar System
• National Constitution Day
• Good Mother
• Importance of Trees in our Life
• City Life Vs Village Life
• Importance of Communication
• Conservation of Nature
• Man vs. Machine
• Indian Economy
• Mothers Love
• Importance of National Integration
• Black Money
• Greenhouse effect
• Untouchability
• Self Discipline
• Global Terrorism
• Conservation of Biodiversity
• Newspaper and Its Uses
• World Health Day
• Conservation of Natural Resources
• A Picnic with Family
• Indian Heritage
• Status of Women in India
• Child is Father of the Man
• Reading is Good Habit
• Plastic Bag
• Terrorism in India
• Library and Its Uses
• Life on Mars
• Urbanization
• Pollution Due to Diwali
• National Flag of India
• Vocational Education
• Importance of Tree Plantation
• Summer Camp
• Vehicle Pollution
• Women Education in India
• Seasons in India
• Freedom of the Press
• Caste System
• Environment and Human Health
• Mountain Climbing
• Depletion of Natural Resources
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
• Health Education
• Effects of Deforestation
• Life after School
• Starvation in India
• Jan Dhan Yojana
• Impact of Privatization
• Election Commission of India
• Election and Democracy
• Prevention of Global Warming
• Impact of Cinema in Life
• Subhas Chandra Bose
• Dowry System
• Ganesh Chaturthi Festival
• Role of Science in Making India
• Impact of Global Warming on Oceans
• Pollution due to Festivals
• Ambedkar Jayanti
• Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat
• Family Planning in India
• Democracy vs Dictatorship
• National Festivals of India
• Sri Aurobindo
• Casteism in India
• Organ trafficking
• Consequences of Global Warming
• Role of Human Activities in Global Warming
• Issues and Problems faced by Women in India
• Role of Judiciary in the Country Today
• Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan
• PUBG Mobile Game Addiction
• Role of Youths in Nation Building
• Value of Oxygen and Water in Life/Earth
• Farmer Suicides in India
• Start-up India
• Pollution Due to Firecrackers
• Life of Soldiers
• Child Labour
• Save Girl Child
• Morning Walk
• My School Fete
• Essay on Financial Literacy
• Essay On Sustainable Development
• Essay On Punjab
• Essay On Travel
• My Home Essay
• Child Marriage Essay
• Importance Of English Language Essay
• Essay On Mass Media
• Essay On Horse
• Essay On Police
• Essay On Eid
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• Animal Essay
• Essay On Mango
• Gender Discrimination Essay
• Essay On Advertisement
• My First Day At School Essay
• My Neighborhood Essay
• True Friendship Essay
• Work Is Worship Essay
• Essay On Self Confidence
• Essay On Superstition
• Essay On Bangalore
• Sex Vs Gender Essay
• Essay On Social Issues
• Time Is Money Essay
• Essay About Grandmothers
• Essay On Hard Work
• First Day Of School Essay
• Flowers Essay
• My Favorite Food Essay
• Essay on Birds
• Essay on Humanity
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• Essay on Kargil War
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• Francis Bacon Essays
• Importance of Cleanliness Essay
• My Sister Essay
• Self Introduction Essay
• Solar Energy Essay
• Sports Day Essa
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50 Most Expected Essay Topics for Judiciary Exams 2024

Author : Yogricha

Updated On : May 9, 2024

Overview:   Essay writing is one of the most important skill that you must work on if you are planning to crack Judiciary. In most State Judiciary Examinations essay writing is an important part in Mains examination.

To help you with the preparation of essay writing for Judiciary Mains examination then we have made a list of important topics that you should know and we have also curated a list of tips and tricks that will help you socre better in essay writing in Judiciary Mains Examination.

Before writing an essay you should know things like, details of the topics, how to start wirting, how to give examples, etc. therefore, in this blog we will cover:

• How to start your preparation for essay writing?
• Important Essay Topics for Judiciary Exams 2024
• Topics from Previous year question papers
• Expected essay topics in 2024 Judiciary Exams

Download FREE Notes for Judiciary Exams by Judiciary Gold

How to start your preparation for essay writing for 2024 Judiciary Exams?

If you want to crack judiciary exams in 2024 then you must master the art of essay writing. This article will discuss some important essay topics you should be prepared for, along with tips and strategies to help you write effective essays.

So, whether it's analyzing social issues, addressing legal topics, or exhibiting language proficiency, mastering the art of essay writing is crucial to excelling in judiciary exams. Prepare to sharpen your writing skills and delve into the 50 most expected essay topics for Judiciary Exams 2024.

Download FREE Notes of Transfer of Property Act by Judiciary Gold

Most Important Essay Topics for Judiciary Exams 2024

Writing an essay on legal topics for a judicial exam becomes more challenging since research and sufficient legal understanding are required. In such scenarios, practice is the only key to writing a good essay in the Upcoming Judiciary Exams .

The following are some of the most critical essay topics for a judiciary or current essay topics in 2024 for Judiciary exams that you need to focus on to score well in essay writing:

Read Now:  Note-making ti ps suggested by the judiciary exam toppers

Download FREE Notes of Indian Contract Act for Judiciary

Apart from the above-mentioned topics, here are more topics for your reference:

•   Lawyers' Role in Speedy Justice-delivery
• Capital Punishment
• Human Rights in India 
• Empowering a woman empowers the next generations.
• Marriage - an institution of great social relevance
• Farmers' stir - more than a loan waiver
• The drug, drinking and driving never go together
• Cyberbullying - more extreme than face-to-face taunts
• Global warming is warning us through sea level rising and ice caps melting
• With value education, build the pillars of character
• Lawyers' Role in Speedy Justice-delivery
• Apolitical Education
• Skilling the youth of India
• Education is a weapon that can change the world
• Right to education - challenges and prospects
• The dark disparity gap between rich and poor

Read More:  When to begin Judiciary Exam Preparation

Download Smart Study Plan for Judiciary Exams 2024

• Why is the administration insensitive to the plight of slum dwellers
• Environment vs Growth
• Is communalism a challenge to peace or propagation of religion or something else
• Right to privacy
• Young Indian's preferences from job search to job creation
• Should educational qualifications be made mandatory for politicians
• Reservations and Human Development in India
• Beto Bachao - Beti Padhao, India ko aage badhao
• India & China, from rivalry to enmity
• How the internet changed the way we live
• Cybernation - a threat or a convivial to employment
• Be the change you want to see in others
• Justice delayed Justice denied

Know more: How to prepare for Judiciary in 2024?

Download 1 Year Preparation Strategy for 2024 Judiciary Exams

Previous Year's Essays Topics in Judiciary Exams

Here is the table of the essay topics that were asked in the previous year's PCS J Exams:

Understand Now:   Judiciary Exam Pattern  

Download Functions of Judiciary Notes

50 Most Expected Essay Topics for Upcoming Judiciary Exams 2024

Essays can increase your score and improve your final rank with little effort and the proper technique. Follwong the fifty most important essay topics for PCS J exams. Prepare these topics well in advance to excel in the Essay section of the Judicial Services Exam :

• Role of courts/courts during a pandemic
• Violence against women
• Child rights during lockdown
• Digitalisation of education
• Right to digital education
• Vaccination Policy of India
• Contempt of court
• Power of court to order relief for covid affected patients
• Labourer's/daily wage workers' rights
• Women's Rights during lockdown
• Hate speech
• Organizing mass gatherings during a pandemic
• Essential services during lockdown
• Restriction of rights of citizens during pandemic/lockdown
• Freedom of religion vis a vis pandemic
• Role of social media in the Pandemic
• Growing unemployment
• Medical infrastructure of the country
• Participation of the Judiciary in Politics
• Mental health
• Freedom of speech and expression
• Freedom of movement
• Sustainable environment
• Growing intolerance
• Social and legal ramifications of CAA/UAPA
• Right to protest
• Rights of the LGBTQIA+ community
• Too much democracy
• Atmanirbhar Bharat
• Terrorism (talibanism)
• Problem of malnutrition
• New India - Why Still A Union Territory?
• Debate on nationalism
• Pollution crises
• Article 370
• Water disputes between states
• Fugitive economic offender bill
• Labour Reform
• White collar crime
• Women Empowerment
• Triple Talaq
• Cyberbullying
• Global Warming
• Right to Education
• Gender disparity in the social sector
• Justice delayed justice denied
• Protection of Child Rights in India
• Social Justice in Indian Democracy
• Alternate Dispute Redressal (ADR)
• Right to Constitutional Remedy

Know About:  Best Books for Judiciary Exams  

Download Hindu Law Notes for Judiciary by Judiciary Gold

Important Current Legal Essay Topics for Judiciary Exam 2024

Solving previous year's Questions Papers for Judiciary Exams  will help you know the difficulty level and the type of questions asked in the essay paper. Refer to the following list of essays on current legal topics in India:

• Importance of Uniform Civil Code in India
• Role of Media in protecting democratic values in India
• Causes and Consequences of Violence Against Women in India
• Protection of human rights; Indian scenario
• How gender inequality affects the progress of our country
• The education system in India
• Causes and Consequences of Corruption in India
• The Practice of Child Labour In India
• The right to privacy is a fundamental right in India
• Right to Education in India

Read More : How to Read Bare Acts for Judiciary Exams?

• Barriers to Access to Justice in India
• Social Justice in Indian Democracy: An Overview
• The law relating to contempt of courts in India
• Review of administrative law in India
• Alternative dispute resolution in India
• Child Rights in India
• Right to constitutional remedies under the Constitution of India
• Emergency provisions of the Constitution of India
• Role and Powers of Governor
• Functions of Parliament in India: An overview
• Right to a fair trial in India

Important English Essay Topics for Judiciary Exams 2024

English is a subject where you can improve your grades in the judicial services examination. 

Following a few  English preparation tips for Judiciary Exams will help enhance your grammar and vocabulary, which are essential for writing a good essay.

The following are essential English essay topics for the Civil Judge exam:

• Role of Media
• Demonetisation
• Cyber Security
• Child Labour
• Industrial Development/Pollution
• Farmers suicide
• Water disputes
• Social Media
• Globalization
• Recent Laws
• World meetings
• Social issues

Read More : Short Tricks to Memorize Bare Acts for Judiciary exams

Mastering the Art of Writing An Excellent Essay for Judiciary Exams 2024

While an essay is a large project, there are many steps a student can take to break down the task into manageable chunks.

Following are the six steps to drafting an essay:

• Read and understand the topic : Know precisely what is being asked of you. 
• Plan:  Prepare an outline or diagram of your ideas around the selected topic.  To write a successful essay, you must organize your thoughts. You must see connections and links between ideas more clearly by taking what's already in your head and putting it to paper. 
• Write the body:  The body of your essay argues, explains, or describes your topic. Each main idea that you wrote in bullets.
• Write the introduction:  The introduction should attract the reader's attention and show the focus of your essay. Your diagram or outline will become a separate section within the body of your essay.
• Write the conclusion:  The conclusion brings closure to the topic and sums up your overall ideas while providing a final perspective on your topic.
• Proofread : Read your response carefully to ensure there are no mistakes and you didn't miss anything.

How to Write a Good Essay in Judiciary Exam 2024?

Essay writing is an art that cannot be learned overnight or in a month. To write a good essay, you must read books, love reading and writing, and follow good authors. An Essay mainly depends on your command of the language and how much you know about the topic .

The following are some of the best essay writing preparation tips for the Judiciary exam :

First, you should read newspapers, magazines, etc., as it will help improve your vocabulary, knowledge, and viewpoint.

1. Selection of Topic

• Generally, you will be given 3 to 4 topics in the exam.
• You have to choose the one per your knowledge of the particular topic.

2. Planning

• After finalizing the topic, you must plan your writing with a balanced approach.
• Jot down the key points to be mentioned in your essay.
• Your views must be presented in objective nature rather than presenting them in subjective nature.
• Also, mention your opinions and arguments with examples in your essay.
• Include facts and figures to support your approach.

Read more : Judiciary Exam Syllabus

3. Prioritize Important Points

• Highlight the essential points in the initial paragraph of the essay. 
• Try to include all the critical points related to the topic in the essay.
• Make text bold or italics to highlight the critical points in the middle of the paragraph.

4. Interlink Each Point

• Try to interlink each point in the essay.
• The second paragraph must continue the first paragraph; the third paragraph must relate to the second one, and so on.
• Do not repeat the content of the introduction.
• The essay topics encompass diverse areas of law, including constitutional law, criminal law, and civil law.
• Understanding key concepts and recent developments in these areas is crucial for success.
• Candidates should enhance their analytical and critical thinking skills to address these topics effectively.
• Regular practice and mock essay writing will help candidates develop their writing style and time management.
• Familiarity with landmark judgments and relevant case laws will strengthen essay arguments.
• Continuous self-assessment and revision will ensure a well-rounded preparation for the judiciary exams.

By utilizing these key takeaways, candidates can confidently and competently approach the essay section of the judiciary exams.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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May 9, 2024

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Showcase your ideas on public policy and current affairs by entering our essay writing competition. Every month, students can choose any one topic and send their essays. Make sure you first prepare well and then write down the essay as it will give you great practice for the actual UPSC essay exam.

• Selected essays will be published on our website with the name of the author.
• Two essays will be reviewed and practice will be given to enhance the essay writing ability.
• They will also get a Free Subscription of our current affairs E magazine for six months and 50% off on our Prelims test series.
• Other nominated essays will be given one month free current affairs E-magazine and 50% off on our Prelims test series.

We hope more and more students will participate in the Essay contest, which includes topics of current affairs. One should remember that these topics will be useful not only for the IAS exams but also for other competitive exams.

Practice Essay Topics for UPSC

May - June 2024 Essay Contest (Last date is June 30, 2024)

Candidates should send their essay to [email protected]. Please mention your mobile number in your mail .

View: Upsc essay topics

Essay Contest Topics: January - 2021

• In the tussle between a local vaccine and an international vaccine, how does a government decide?
• Is it important to be a good human being and accommodating or should we be aggressive and achieve success?
• How can individuals contribute to the growth of a nation’s economy?
• Should India close down its dams and focus on nuclear and solar energy?

Selected Essay Topics: March 2024

1. Changing trends in the female workforce, how it can be harnessed for better growth. -JNANDEEP BORA (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: December 2023

1. Is the caste barrier breaking due to increased love marriages in India? -SHUVAJYOTI DUTTA

Selected Essay Topics: November 2023

1. Is the caste barrier breaking due to increased love marriages in India? -JNANDEEP BORA (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: August - September 2023

1. Religion Vs Nation - Write an essay on the harmony and the conflict? -Jatin Sethi

2. Poverty and the Indian story of the numbers below the poverty line. What are the solutions? -MUDRA PADMASHALI (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: April 2023

1. Role of Social Media in Indian Politics -Shri Rishija

2. Role of Social Media in Indian Politics -Vinita Murmu (Winner)

3. Role of social media in Indian politics. -JNANDEEP BORA.

4. ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN INDIAN POLITICS -MUDRA PADMASHALI

5. Where are the oil economies headed with the rise of electric vehicles? Discuss the impact on India. -RICHA RAJ (Winner)

6. Future of printed currency. Discuss. -DR. RUPALI KUMARI

7. Role of social media in Indian politics -SANJEEV KUMAR

Selected Essay Topics: March 2023

1. How important is God in a civil society? -Jatin Sethi (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: January 2023

1. BRAIN DRAIN A DECADE AGO AND NOW -Dr Rashmi bhat (Winner)

2. BRAIN DRAIN A DECADE AGO AND NOW -Gudibandi vaishnavi

3. Should a civil servant be honest? How corruption in offices can be monitored? -JNANDEEP BORA.

4. Should a civil servant be honest? How corruption in offices can be monitored? -Jatin Sethi (Winner)

5. India has some of the richest business houses, how does it affect our GDP? -Swagata Sengupta

6. Should a civil servant be honest? How corruption in offices can be monitored? -Mudra Padmashali

Selected Essay Topics: November - December 2022

1. Is being a Hindu more important than being an Indian? should we have to choose? -Kajal Bansal

2. With Rishi Sunak becoming the British PM, does India benefit in any way? -Dr. Rashmi Bhagat

3. Food distribution in India-the way ahead -Mudra Padmashali

4. Is being a Hindu more important than being an Indian? Should we have to choose?” -Jatin Sethi (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: October 2022

1. Analyze the economic status of India vis-a-vis the world economic scenario -Vijay Sridhar

2. Is Success a mind game or sheer hard work? -Mudra Padmashali

Selected Essay Topics: August 2022

1. Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole. -Vijay Sridhar (Winner)

2. Quick but steady wins the race -Mudra p (Winner)

3. Dreams which should not let India sleep -SHUVAJYOTI DUTTA

4. Dreams which should not let India sleep. -Sangeeta Paul

5. Dreams which should not let India sleep. -Muhammad Fasal (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: June 2022

1. Role of money in health and happiness -Jnandeep Bora

2. Role of Money in Health and happiness -Dr.Rashmi Bhat

3. Work life balance how can it be achieved? -Dr. Reshma Bhat

4. Work life balance how can it be achieved? -Ani Ysl

5. Work life balance how can it be achieved? -Sangeeta Paul

6. Role of money in health and happiness -Anusha Kolli (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: April & May 2022

1. How important is that PT/sports class in school? -AISHWARYA THORAM

2. How important is that PT/sports class in school? -Dr.Reshma Bhat

3. How Important is that PT/ sports class in school ? -Abraham Johnson Anchaniyil

4. The effect of war in modern days with reference to Ukaraine and Russia. -SATARUPA MUKHERJEE

5. How important is that PT/Sport class in school? -JNANDEEP BORA

Selected Essay Topics: February & March 2022

1. What is important for the voters of India? Do they carry away by propaganda? -Jayant Joshi

2. What should we do to improve Indians to be honest in public life? -VAISHNAVI GUDIBANDI

3. What is important for the voters of India? Do they carried away by propaganda? -Jayant Joshi

4. What should we do to inspire Indians to be honest in public life? -Twinkle

5. What is important for the voters of India? Do they get carried away by propaganda? -JNANDEEP BORA (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: January 2022

1. India’s economic growth, the way forward -Anusha Kolli

Selected Essay Topics: December 2021

1. Should money weigh over choice passion in the choice of career? -Twinkle

2. The Corona virus, it’s variants and the way forward -Dr. Reshma Bhat (Winner)

3. How useful is celebrating festivals for human society? -Rashmi Bhat

4. How useful is celebrating festivals for human society? -Jayant Joshi

5. How useful is celebrating festivals for human society? -Anusha Kolli (Winner)

6. The Corona Virus , it`s variants and the way forward -Sanjyot Dhavale

7. Should money weigh over choice, passion in the choice of career? -Muhammad Fasal (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: December - 2019

• Are we corrupt as a nation? How can the common man stay away from activities that encourage Corruption? -SRISHAKTHI.M
• Are we corrupt as a nation? How can the common man stay away from activities that encourage Corruption? -ADARSH BAJPAI
• Are we corrupt as a nation? How can the common man stay away from activities that encourage Corruption? -ARPIT SAMANT (Winner)
• Air Pollution, the road ahead. Will using alternate number cars, no firecrackers in Diwali help? -NIVEDITA ROY (Winner)
• Air Pollution, the road ahead. Will using alternate number cars, no firecrackers in Diwali help? -Sangeeta Paul
• Is nationalism above humanism? -ABRAHAM JOHNSON ANCHANIYIL
• Is nationalism above humanism? -Sujeet Kumar (Winner)
• Should India, Pakistan and Bangladesh become one country? List advantages and disadvantages. -JNANDEEP BORA (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: November - 2019

• Unemployment in India and the roadmap ahead. - SADIQUE MD YUSUF SHAIKH (Winner)
• Rural development – what are the possibilities?. - ZEENAT ABDUL KARIM SHAIKH
• Rural development – what are the possibilities?. - NIVEDITA ROY (Winner)
• Can live in relationships be considered a new age form of marriage? - shuvajyoti dutta
• Can live in relationships be considered a new age form of marriage? - JNANDEEP BORA. (Winner)
• What does the youth of India want? Engaging the youth. - Shaoni Chakraborty
• What does the youth of India want? Engaging the youth. - Rachna Gupta (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: October - 2019

• Biased Media is a real threat to Indian Democracy. - Sangeeta paul (Winner)
• Biased Media is a real threat to Indian Democracy. - Surya M
• Rise of Artificial Intelligence : the threat of jobless future through reskilling and upskilling - Maryam Maqsood (Winner)
• Courage to accept and decision to improve are two keys to success - SRISHAKTHI.M (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: September - 2019

• How Important the Role of a Housewife to India’s Economic Growth? - Srishakthi.M
• Feeding India's Billion plus Population , the Roadmap Ahead. - Uday Kiran.D
• What Does Marriage Mean to the Millennials in India? - Surya. M
• What Does Marriage Mean to the Millennials in India? - Abraham Johnson Anchaniyil.
• Feeding India's Billion plus Population , the Roadmap Ahead. - Niharika Tahasheeldar
• Tree Plantation Drives, Are They Enough to Get Sufficient Rains - Prathamesh Mahajan
• Feeding India's Billion plus Population , the Roadmap Ahead. - Krupan.P.M (Winner)
• Feeding India's Billion plus Population , the Roadmap Ahead. - Goutham.R
• What Does Marriage Mean to the Millennials in India? - Jnandeep Bora (Winner)
• How Important the Role of a Housewife to India’s Economic Growth? - Nikita Mehta
• Feeding India's Billion plus Population , the Roadmap Ahead. - Shuvajyoti Dutta

Selected Essay Topics: August - 2019

• Fulfilment of ”new Women” in India Is a Myth - Dr.Rashmi Bhat.
• Fulfilment of ”new Women” in India Is a Myth - Yohalakshmi Nethi Gopalakrishnan
• Farming Has Lost the Ability to Be a Source of Subsistence for Majority of Farmers in India - M.Surya (Winner)
• Is There Enough Employment for the Youth of India? What Can Be Done? - Jnandeep Bora. (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: July - 2019

• Customary Morality Cannot Be a Guide to Modern Life - Karthiayani Nair
• A Good Life Is One Inspired by Love and Guided by Knowledge - Krupan P M (Winner)
• A People That Values Its Privileges above Its Principles, Loses Both - Shuvajyoti Dutta

Selected Essay Topics: June - 2019

• Alternative Technologies for Climate Change. - Surya
• Alternative Technologies for Climate Change. - Sayyed Samreen Roomi
• Poverty Anywhere is a Threat to Prosperity Everywhere. - Durgesh Kumar Singh (Winner)
• Poverty Anywhere is a Threat to Prosperity Everywhere. - Mimansa Sahrawat
• Poverty Anywhere is a Threat to Prosperity Everywhere. - Jnandeep Bora

Selected Essay Topics: May - 2019

• Rise of Religious Terrorism in Sri Lanka - Sayed Nishat Tanaum (Winner)
• India's Decision to Create Indo-pacific Division. - Malavika.R
• The Proposal to Allow Dentist Practice as General Physician. - Reshma Bhat.DR

Selected Essay Topics: April - 2019

• Rahul Gandhi's minimum income guarantee scheme - Harshini Manthripragada (Winner)

Selected Essay Topics: March - 2019

• Priyanka Gandhi and her entry into politics - JNANDEEP BORA (Winner)
• Pulwama terror attack and its aftermath - Amit Aseri (Selected)
• Government announcement of No tax for income till Rs. 5 lakh - Sneha Lad (Selected)

Essay Topics: February - 2019

• 10 Per Cent Reservation For General Category - Veena Goyal (Winner)
• 10 Per Cent Reservation For General Category - Manish Kumar (Selected)
• Economic Offenders in India - Abraham Johnson Achaniyil (Selected)

Essay Topics: January - 2019

• Plastic ban in India - Manish Kumar (Winner)
• Importance of reservation of seats for women in Parliament - Dr Rashmi Bhat (Selected)
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Civil Service Essay Contest May - June 2024

• Are elections free and fair in India?
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• Should we do away with reservation and open up to all as equal opportunity?

Civil Service Essay Contest (March 2024)

• Changing trends in the female workforce, how it can be harnessed for better growth. Views : 354
• Is the caste barrier breaking due to increased love marriages in India? Views : 1839

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30 Important Idioms for Competitive Exams | Part 1

Last updated on 6 may 2021 by eazyprep.

Important Idioms for competitive exams are one of the most important parts to give attention to while preparing for the verbal ability section of English for Entrance Exams . Usually, a candidate gets a sentence where he/ she has to fill in the appropriate Idiom or the candidate has to choose an idiom that would be the best fit for the given description. Questions appear in the forms of:    

• Fill in the blanks
• Choose the right option

An Idiom is a phrase or expression that presents a figurative meaning, a meaning that is not directly evident in the phrase. It contains two or three words. There are instances where the idiom can have a literal meaning too, but it is rare. The English language has over 25,000 idioms in use. Consider the following phrase:

• Once in a blue moon

The above-given phrase is an idiom that has a figurative meaning. Blue moon is a very rare occurrence, that happens at most once in a month. Here, the phrase does not mean something that happens when the blue moon rises, but an event or an act that happens very rarely, as the occurrence of a blue moon. An example of the idiom in use is given below:

• He visits his mother once in a blue moon .

Important Idioms for Competitive Exams

Important idioms for competitive exams along with their meaning and examples in use are given below in the box:

English for Entrance Exams is generally an easy section for any entrance examinations, but the grammar part of it has always confused exam takers. Questions of the section conduct tests about the in-depth knowledge of a student in using the English Language. Hope this article was helpful to you in understanding the Important idioms for competitive exams . All the best!

More Articles on Verbal Ability:

• Parts of Speech
• Types of Adverbs
• Degrees of Comparison
• Subject Verb Agreement
• Parallelism

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Test your reading comprehension skills for the English section of entrance exams using the questions given here in this article!

Verbal Ability

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Preparing for the English section of any entrance exam? Check out these reading comprehension practice questions for performing better in the exam!

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TS TET 2024 Hall Ticket releasing tomorrow on tstet2024.aptonline.in, here’s how to download

Ts tet 2024 hall ticket releasing tomorrow, may 15, 2024. steps to download is given here..

Department of School Education, Hyderabad, will release the TS TET 2024 Hall Ticket on May 15, 2024. Candidates who will appear for Telangana State Teacher Eligibility Test can check and download the admit card through the official website of TSTET at tstet2024.aptonline.in.

The TS TET examination will be conducted on May 20, 21, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30, 31, June 1 and 2, 2024. The eam will be conducted in 11 districts of the state in two shifts- first shift from 9 am to 11.30 am and second shift from 2 pm to 4.30 pm. The question paper shall be bilingual i.e. English followed by the Language-I chosen by the candidates for all languages except Sanskrit. For the candidates choosing Sanskrit, the questions shall be in Telugu followed by Sanskrit (Devanagari script).

TS TET 2024 Hall Ticket: How to download

To download the hall tickets, candidates can follow the steps given below.

• Visit the official website of TSTET at tstet2024.aptonline.in.
• Click on TS TET 2024 Hall Ticket link available on the home page.
• Enter the login details and click on submit.
• Your hall ticket will be displayed on the screen.
• Check the hall ticket and download the page.
• Keep a hard copy of the same for further need.

In case any candidate could not download the Hall ticket she/he should contact the Director, SCERT & Ex- officio Director, TET, Hyderabad between 10.30 AM and 5.00 PM on all working days between 15.05.2024 to 03.06.2024. For more related details candidates can check the official website of TS TET.

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Gemini Advanced vs ChatGPT Plus: Which is better?

• Gemini Advanced costs $20 monthly with constantly updated training data, making it better at answering current event questions.
• ChatGPT Plus is $20 too and creates better graphic designs but has limitations like poor text quality.
• Gemini Advanced is faster at generating results and provides clearer, more concise written content than ChatGPT.

Listen long enough to the buzz about artificial intelligence, and the names ChatGPT and Gemini will stand out from the noise. The AI chatbots from OpenAI and Google are some of the biggest players in the space. However, asking both the same question may yield wildly different answers due to their use of different training datasets.

Both Google's Gemini Advanced and ChatGPT Plus subscriptions cost around $20 every month for access to the full list of features. (Notably, ChatGPT does not have a free trial, while Gemini offers two months free). However, the two chatbots use different training datasets, which can significantly influence the responses they generate. GPT-4's dataset was trained on approximately 570 GB of data, but this knowledge extends only through April 2023, requiring the integrated Bing browsing tool to find facts about recent events that occurred after that cutoff.

Google's Gemini Advanced does not use a static training database; it is constantly being updated, which means the chatbot is better at answering questions about current events.

However, that's not the only way the two platforms differ. I posed the same questions to ChatGPT Plus and Google Gemini Advanced, with topics and tasks ranging across art, politics, math, and ethics. The chatbots often churned out wildly different answers -- and those responses offer a clear indication of which platform to try.

I tried ChatGPT Plus. Here's everything it can do

Image test: chatgpt plus produces more art, gemini advanced has paused image generation of people.

First, I asked both platforms to create a watercolor image of a woman holding flowers . ChatGPT Plus delivered two different options with soft, flowing brushstrokes , which helped obliterate the details in the face and hands that image generators aren't great at yet.

Gemini Advanced declined to produce anything. Google temporarily removed the option to generate images of people in February 2024 after complaints that it made historical depictions of the Founding Fathers inaccurate by depicting multiple races. Racism is an issue among many artificial intelligence platforms. Google explains that Gemini Advanced was programmed to represent a wide range of people but admitted that diversity-focused programming created issues when requesting images of someone of a specific demographic.

Since Gemini Advanced couldn't create a person, I tried just asking for watercolor paintings of spring flowers. Both did a pretty good job, but Gemini Advanced produced three paintings faster than ChatGPT Plus created one option. Frustratingly, however, Gemini Advanced seemed to only produce square images, even when I specifically requested a different aspect ratio.

I next switched from paintings to graphic design and quickly realized that Gemini Advanced wouldn't actually design anything. Instead, Gemini made a list of suggestions for how to design it, wrote the content, and even suggested software and places to hire a freelance graphic designer.

ChatGPT Plus, on the other hand, will create graphic designs but often probably shouldn't. I asked it to create an infographic about what to wear and what not to wear to a family photo shoot. The graphics looked quite good, but much of the text was gibberish. The inability to create text in graphics is a known shortcoming for AI generators. I then asked it to remove the text entirely. While the resulting graphic was good, it included both the dos and don'ts in the graphic without differentiating which was which. I then asked it to create a postcard advertising my photography , but the results were straight out of a horror film. The faces were so wrong they looked like decaying corpses. One groom was holding the hands of two brides, one of whom had an arm coming straight out of her bosom.

ChatGPT Plus will produce more types of graphics . However, the types of images that Gemini Advanced refuses to produce are the same types that the other AI failed miserably at creating.

What is Gemini? Google's AI model and GPT-4 alternative explained

Writing test: gemini advanced gets right to the point, chatgpt plus tends to be more long-winded.

I asked both programs to write me a 500-word short story about a haunted house. Both followed the instructions well. However, neither came up with anything beyond the usual haunted house tropes, as AI is more a remix of ideas than a creator of something entirely new. ChatGPT Plus's story felt clichéd and was littered with passive voice, while Gemini Advanced did a better job showing the details rather than offering a bland retelling of the story.

Transitioning from creative to professional writing, I then asked both platforms to write a sample cover letter for a software engineer looking for a job. Both produced a rather bland template but included spots to insert specific details. Gemini's letter was shorter, more to the point, and followed up with tips for writing a cover letter. ChatGPT's output was longer and redundant -- I would have cut out at least a paragraph from what was generated. I then asked both programs to write a letter of resignation and a professional email, and the results were similar, with ChatGPT Plus being a bit longer (if the prompt isn't limited to a specific word count) and Gemini Advanced getting right to the point .

While both platforms can handle mundane tasks like writing emails, I preferred Gemini Advanced's results . The Google-owned AI was straight to the point for business writing, while the short story it generated also felt more refined, whereas ChatGPT's felt more like a first draft.

How to use Google's Gemini AI from the web or your phone

Advice test: gemini advanced answers with linked resources, but chatgpt plus is sometimes less frustrating.

I then asked both platforms a range of different questions. First, I asked for advice on avoiding bears during a hike . Both offered some of the same advice, but Gemini Advanced linked to sources where I could find out why exactly bear bells don't work. ChatGPT Plus sometimes has links at the end but did not for that specific question.

I then asked them to solve one of my fifth grader's math problems . (I hated learning fractions the first time around, and the second time isn't any more enjoyable.) Both platforms got the correct answer, but ChatGPT Plus said simplifying 10/3 to 3 1/3 was optional, while Gemini Advanced called it an improper fraction and explained that you should simplify it. Both initially wrote the answer as a decimal until I specifically asked for an answer written as a fraction.

Gemini's explanation of how to solve the math problem was only three steps long; ChatGPT's was six. Just like with the writing tasks, ChatGPT Plus was unnecessarily wordy, and I thought Gemini's shorter description was easier to follow.

I then asked questions about current events -- which actually took multiple tries to find a question that both platforms would attempt to answer. Gemini Advanced wouldn't answer questions about politics , while ChatGPT Plus didn't know that the prime minister of Haiti had resigned. This was somewhat expected as ChatGPT is trained on older data, but it did not even attempt to use the Bing search plugin to verify if the answer was current.

I finally found a question about current events that both platforms would answe r-- sort of. I asked about moon landings , looking specifically for the February 2024 landing that happened after ChatGPT's training data was updated. ChatGPT Plus answered immediately with a number followed by an explanation, including the latest Odysseus mission. Gemini erred on the side of caution and told me that there were six crewed and multiple uncrewed landings. I asked again, and Gemini said that the question was "a bit complex to answer definitively." I never did get a number -- though I did get several links -- but when I finally adjusted my question to "successful uncrewed soft landings," the most recent February 2024 landing was included, which is what I was looking for.

6 Google Gemini prompts to try for the best results

Speed test: gemini advanced is faster, chatgpt plus / gpt-4 is limited to 40 messages every 3 hours.

One of the main purposes of generative AI is to handle tasks that we don't want to deal with -- such as fifth-grade math -- or to accelerate more mundane processes. With the latter in mind, I submitted several prompts simultaneously to see which platform would generate a result first. Gemini Advanced consistently responded first , even creating three watercolor paintings before ChatGPT Plus had completed one. Gemini Advanced was also noticeably quicker at solving math questions.

The results are unsurprising once you delve into the data. GPT-4 is limited to 40 messages every three hours, whereas Gemini Advanced can handle up to 60 requests per minute.

One of the main purposes of generative AI is to handle tasks that we don't want to handle -- like 5th-grade math -- or to speed up the more mundane processes. With the latter in mind, I sent across many of the prompts at the same time, looking to see which platform generated a result first. Gemini Advanced answered first nearly every time, including creating three watercolor paintings before ChatGPT Plus had finished with one. Gemini Advanced was also noticeably faster at answering math questions.

10 ChatGPT extensions to try and what exactly they can do

Ethics test: chatgpt plus refuses to copy artists' style, and gemini advanced won't talk about politics.

Ethics should be a key consideration when comparing different AI platforms. If you refuse to use an AI that scrapes training data from the web without the owner's permission, then you're still out of luck here. Both are also capable of answering questions incorrectly, so factual data should always be double-checked when working with any AI chatbot. But what about ethics and how each chatbot answers key questions?

When prompted, Gemini Advanced created a landscape painting in the style of Picasso. ChatGPT Plus, on the other hand, responded that requesting a specific artist's style violated content policies. It then suggested creating a painting "inspired by early 20th-century art movements that emphasize geometric shapes, fragmented forms, and vibrant colors." The result was similar to Gemini Advanced's, but the prompt was not connected to the artist's name. That courtesy seems to be limited to visual arts. Neither one refused when I asked them to write in the style of Stephen King.

Overall, Gemini's approach is to disable options that aren't quite right. It won't respond to questions about politics and has disabled generative images of people until some diversity issues can be remedied. However, ChatGPT Plus won't produce results in a specific visual artist's style .

How to master GPT-4 in ChatGPT: Prompts, tips, and tricks

Privacy test: chatgpt lets you delete more data, gemini will keep data for up to three years.

Another consideration is how your data is used. Both platforms retain data for later training. Some Gemini prompts will be viewed by human staff, so users should not share personal data on the platform. Gemini Advanced can keep the data for up to three years, though it is not associated with your account that far out. In comparison, ChatGPT allows you to turn off chat history , which means you will not be able to go back to previous chats, but the company has less of your data. With this setting, ChatGPT deletes your conversations once every 30 days . Your data is still used for training, but not for the long term.

Google launches Gemini AI, its answer to GPT-4, and you can try it now

Extra features test: gemini advanced has more, but chatgpt plus does have a wealth of plugins.

As part of the Google family, Gemini Advanced can be found in more than just the web browser chat window. Gemini can assist you with writing or proofreading in Gmail, as well as in apps like Google Docs. integrated into Pixel devices , though iOS users can still access the AI inside the Google app. The $20-a-month subscription also includes 2TB of cloud storage with Google One .

ChatGPT Plus doesn't offer the same integrations, but with a longer history, it boasts a more extensive list of different custom GPTs for users to explore. In the Explore GPTs tab , you can discover anything from tutors to coding to coloring book pages. You can find custom GPTs from companies like Kayak, Canva, Khan Academy, and more. With ChatGPT web browser extensions , you can also access a range of tools that work directly inside a web browser. GPT-4 also supports the uploading of JPGs and PDFs, whereas Gemini Advanced is limited to image uploads. ChatGPT has both a web application and a dedicated app that, like Gemini, can also use voice.

Verdict: Which is AI chatbot subscription is best?

I prefer gemini, but chatgpt is needed for ai image generation.

Google's Gemini Advanced produced clearer, more concise written content. I preferred the written results of Gemini Advanced over ChatGPT. The Google-owned chatbot also had the fastest performance out of the two. The fact that it comes from a large tech company also gives it clear benefits like 2 TB of cloud storage included in the price and integration into Google Docs and other apps.

While I preferred the results from Gemini Advanced a majority of the time, ChatGPT Plus was capable of more tasks. It can, for example, produce graphic designs that Gemini refused. It's worth noting, however, that the types of images Gemini won't create are also the types of images that ChatGPT struggles to produce acceptable results with, including images of people and graphics that contain text. However, ChatGPT also allows users to delete their data every 30 days, while Google keeps it for up to three years. ChatGPT's longer history also means that it offers a lot of different custom plug-ins that are tailored for a specific task.

Overall, Google's Gemini Advanced is the subscription that I would pick if I wanted an AI to help type out emails or decipher math homework. ChatGPT Plus would be my choice for generating images using DALL-E, using specific plug-ins, or for greater control over what happens to your data.

Q: What is Gemini Advanced and ChatGPT Plus?

Gemini is Google's AI chatbot that's integrated with Google products, and Advanced is the AI's paid subscription tier. ChatGPT Plus, on the other hand, is a paid subscription to OpenAI's ChatGPT. Like Advanced, it's more powerful and has more features and capabilities.

Q: How much do Gemini Advanced and ChatGPT Plus cost each?

Here's the current pricing information:

• Gemini Advanced: Included in the Google One AI Premium Plan at $19.99 per month. This plan also offers other Google AI benefits and increased Google One storage.
• ChatGPT Plus: Costs $20 per month. This plan offers access to DALL-E image generation and the GPT store.

This article may contain affiliate links that Microsoft and/or the publisher may receive a commission from if you buy a product or service through those links.

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• Published: 08 May 2024

Accurate structure prediction of biomolecular interactions with AlphaFold 3

• Josh Abramson   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0000-3496-6952 1   na1 ,
• Jonas Adler   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9928-3407 1   na1 ,
• Jack Dunger 1   na1 ,
• Richard Evans   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4675-8469 1   na1 ,
• Tim Green   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3227-1505 1   na1 ,
• Alexander Pritzel   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4233-9040 1   na1 ,
• Olaf Ronneberger   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4266-1515 1   na1 ,
• Lindsay Willmore   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4314-0778 1   na1 ,
• Andrew J. Ballard   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4956-5304 1 ,
• Joshua Bambrick   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0003-3908-0722 2 ,
• Sebastian W. Bodenstein 1 ,
• David A. Evans 1 ,
• Chia-Chun Hung   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5264-9165 2 ,
• Michael O’Neill 1 ,
• David Reiman   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1605-7197 1 ,
• Kathryn Tunyasuvunakool   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8594-1074 1 ,
• Zachary Wu   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2429-9812 1 ,
• Akvilė Žemgulytė 1 ,
• Eirini Arvaniti 3 ,
• Charles Beattie   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1840-054X 3 ,
• Ottavia Bertolli   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8578-3216 3 ,
• Alex Bridgland 3 ,
• Alexey Cherepanov   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5227-0622 4 ,
• Miles Congreve 4 ,
• Alexander I. Cowen-Rivers 3 ,
• Andrew Cowie   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4491-1434 3 ,
• Michael Figurnov   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1386-8741 3 ,
• Fabian B. Fuchs 3 ,
• Hannah Gladman 3 ,
• Rishub Jain 3 ,
• Yousuf A. Khan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0201-2796 3 ,
• Caroline M. R. Low 4 ,
• Kuba Perlin 3 ,
• Anna Potapenko 3 ,
• Pascal Savy 4 ,
• Sukhdeep Singh 3 ,
• Adrian Stecula   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6914-6743 4 ,
• Ashok Thillaisundaram 3 ,
• Catherine Tong   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7570-4801 4 ,
• Sergei Yakneen   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7827-9839 4 ,
• Ellen D. Zhong   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6345-1907 3 ,
• Michal Zielinski 3 ,
• Augustin Žídek   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0748-9684 3 ,
• Victor Bapst 1   na2 ,
• Pushmeet Kohli   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7466-7997 1   na2 ,
• Max Jaderberg   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9033-2695 2   na2 ,
• Demis Hassabis   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2812-9917 1 , 2   na2 &
• John M. Jumper   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6169-6580 1   na2  

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• Drug discovery
• Machine learning
• Protein structure predictions
• Structural biology

The introduction of AlphaFold 2 1 has spurred a revolution in modelling the structure of proteins and their interactions, enabling a huge range of applications in protein modelling and design 2–6 . In this paper, we describe our AlphaFold 3 model with a substantially updated diffusion-based architecture, which is capable of joint structure prediction of complexes including proteins, nucleic acids, small molecules, ions, and modified residues. The new AlphaFold model demonstrates significantly improved accuracy over many previous specialised tools: far greater accuracy on protein-ligand interactions than state of the art docking tools, much higher accuracy on protein-nucleic acid interactions than nucleic-acid-specific predictors, and significantly higher antibody-antigen prediction accuracy than AlphaFold-Multimer v2.3 7,8 . Together these results show that high accuracy modelling across biomolecular space is possible within a single unified deep learning framework.

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Author information.

These authors contributed equally: Josh Abramson, Jonas Adler, Jack Dunger, Richard Evans, Tim Green, Alexander Pritzel, Olaf Ronneberger, Lindsay Willmore

These authors jointly supervised this work: Victor Bapst, Pushmeet Kohli, Max Jaderberg, Demis Hassabis, John M. Jumper

Authors and Affiliations

Core Contributor, Google DeepMind, London, UK

Josh Abramson, Jonas Adler, Jack Dunger, Richard Evans, Tim Green, Alexander Pritzel, Olaf Ronneberger, Lindsay Willmore, Andrew J. Ballard, Sebastian W. Bodenstein, David A. Evans, Michael O’Neill, David Reiman, Kathryn Tunyasuvunakool, Zachary Wu, Akvilė Žemgulytė, Victor Bapst, Pushmeet Kohli, Demis Hassabis & John M. Jumper

Core Contributor, Isomorphic Labs, London, UK

Joshua Bambrick, Chia-Chun Hung, Max Jaderberg & Demis Hassabis

Google DeepMind, London, UK

Eirini Arvaniti, Charles Beattie, Ottavia Bertolli, Alex Bridgland, Alexander I. Cowen-Rivers, Andrew Cowie, Michael Figurnov, Fabian B. Fuchs, Hannah Gladman, Rishub Jain, Yousuf A. Khan, Kuba Perlin, Anna Potapenko, Sukhdeep Singh, Ashok Thillaisundaram, Ellen D. Zhong, Michal Zielinski & Augustin Žídek

Isomorphic Labs, London, UK

Alexey Cherepanov, Miles Congreve, Caroline M. R. Low, Pascal Savy, Adrian Stecula, Catherine Tong & Sergei Yakneen

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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Max Jaderberg , Demis Hassabis or John M. Jumper .

Supplementary information

Supplementary information.

This Supplementary Information file contains the following 9 sections: (1) Notation; (2) Data pipeline; (3) Model architecture; (4) Auxiliary heads; (5) Training and inference; (6) Evaluation; (7) Differences to AlphaFold2 and AlphaFold-Multimer; (8) Supplemental Results; and (9) Appendix: CCD Code and PDB ID tables.

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Abramson, J., Adler, J., Dunger, J. et al. Accurate structure prediction of biomolecular interactions with AlphaFold 3. Nature (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07487-w

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Received : 19 December 2023

Accepted : 29 April 2024

Published : 08 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07487-w

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