Un-Braided Essay

The image of the braid is powerfully suggestive of attempts to reconcile threads that are sometimes difficult to reconcile. In this way, the braided essay can be a helpful teacher: an exercise in creative nonfiction that encourages non-linear storytelling. Three narratives are brought together by connecting words or images that puts the threads into conversation with each other. This can be a refreshing change of pace in the ELA classroom, where so much essay writing instruction is built around the five-paragraph essay rarely seen outside the classroom.

How would you teach the braided essay in your classroom? How can we rethink the role of essay writing in school? Share your reflections in the comments below or find me on Twitter @dispatches_b222.

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.

Powell provided a strict classroom that instilled a sense of self-discipline in the young Ammons. Speaking to the entire student body, Baldwin praised the 14-year-old Ammons' essay on small cows that produced significant quantities of milk. ("This was my first good review," Ammons once said.) Smith instilled a love of biology, and, though Ammons never took a course from Miles, she read and commented upon his early poetry in a way that gave him hope for success in that realm of endeavor.

Students can apply several practices to write a compelling grad school personal statement that gets readers to take notice. These steps include developing a solid outline, conveying a strong and memorable thesis, presenting specific points relevant to the topic, and taking sufficient time to edit and proofread the essay before submitting it.

Graduate school admission or application essays allow graduate programs to get to know applicants better as people. Although an applicant's grade point average (GPA), transcripts, and test scores tell part of their story, grad school essays allow students to show how their personalities, achievements, and past experiences inform their career interests and potential for academic success.

In general, admissions personnel review these essays to determine how well students might fit in with a graduate program and succeed academically. Reviewers also look for a sense of how well prospective students handle stress, overcome challenges, and stand up to the demands of a rigorous program.

Grad school essays should shed light on how well students respond to criticism of their work. Also, graduate school provides a setting where individuals can explore diverse theories and perspectives. To this end, admissions personnel look for clues about students' openness to different viewpoints and their ability to express their ideas in written form.

The prompt for the application essay gives students a sense of how to focus their writing. Before starting to write, students should read the instructions within the prompt carefully. These directions shed light on readers' expectations.

Prompts for grad school application essays vary greatly, with some offering little detail on what the statement should cover. Applicants should pay close attention to the requirements, including word count, format, and submission method.

Some graduate essay prompts offer few instructions or requirements, leaving applicants a lot of room for choosing a topic. To determine the most appropriate topic, focus, and personal examples to include, students should devote considerable time to brainstorming before they start writing.

Outlining is a crucial step in creating a compelling and memorable grad school personal statement. Just as architects need a blueprint to design and build a skyscraper, grad school applicants need a roadmap to organize and write their essays.

The most effective application essays include an attention-grabbing introduction, a body with solid and concise points, and a memorable conclusion. An outline will likely change somewhat during the writing process, but it still allows the writer to stay on top of the essay's construction.

A grad school personal statement should present a clear point or thesis to help it stand out. An overall thesis statement or claim answers the question, "What is this essay about?" A reader should not have to work hard to understand the thesis. If the point of an essay is unclear or confusing, an admissions officer might stop reading.

Applicants should place their thesis in the introduction so that the reader clearly understands what the following essay will address. Students can insert their thesis immediately after an anecdote, quotation, or other attention-getter to provide a smooth transition into the main topic.

Brainstorming allows an applicant to consider a variety of topics and ways of writing about them. However, some subjects may be inappropriate for a grad school application essay because they could alienate certain readers or make them lose interest.

A strong grad school personal statement starts with writing a concise introduction that gains the reader's attention. The writer can make the essay more memorable by using a brief anecdote, quotation, compelling statistic, or rhetorical question.

The introduction should also provide a clear preview or roadmap for the rest of the essay. After the attention-getter, the essay should quickly transition into the thesis statement or main idea, followed by a preview of the upcoming points.

Students should not just focus on what they think admissions personnel will want to read. Instead, they should use their voice to present their ideas in meaningful ways that reflect their true selves. In other words, write with authenticity. While the essay should reflect a polished draft, it should also show applicants as they are.

Graduate school applicants shouldn't lie or misrepresent themselves in the grad school essay. In addition to strengths and accomplishments, admissions departments want to read what applicants say about their shortcomings and how they have worked to overcome them.

While students can use creative anecdotes and personal examples, they need to make their points relevant to the prompt or question. Admissions personnel generally want to learn why students wish to enroll in the program and what makes them qualified. These elements can serve as the foundation when writing the main body of an essay.

A conclusion can also end by tying back to the attention-getting statement in the introduction. This stylistic device brings the whole essay full circle, provides a sense of closure, and strengthens the emotional connection with the reader.

Finishing the draft of a graduate school admission essay does not signal the end of the writing process. Rather, polishing the draft requires re-reading, editing, and getting feedback before submitting it.

A grad school essay containing errors or reflecting poor writing does not leave a favorable impression. Re-reading the essay allows for catching mistakes, clearing up confusing sentences, and strengthening the main points.

Unfortunately, writers can gloss over errors after reading the essay just once. As a rule of thumb, when students believe their draft has gone through enough editing and proofreading, they might take a little more time and read the document one more time.

Students should find individuals they trust to check their personal statement for clarity, errors, and other stylistic inconsistencies. Also, having others review the essay can give the applicant a sense of how others perceive its tone, organization, and potential to engage the reader.

Most applicants should expect to write at least 500 words for their grad school admission essay. However, length varies by graduate program. Many application materials contain specific instructions on how to write the essay, including word limits.

Prospective students should write a clear and compelling grad school essay free of errors. Also, the statement should help make the applicant stand out from their peers. It can include specific examples of unique experiences that illustrate students' strengths and abilities.

Students should not wander off topic when answering a prompt, especially if it asks a specific question. Also, an essay should not include so many personal examples that they read as a list. Instead, the applicant can provide a brief anecdote for each main point they want to make.

The best graduate school admission essays have a clear thesis statement and good organization. They also grab the reader's attention right away and maintain it to the end. The best essays also reflect the writer's careful attention to the application instructions by addressing the prompt thoroughly.

Juliann Scholl, Ph.D., was a tenured professor at Texas Tech University for several years, where she taught undergraduates and graduate students and served as a graduate admissions director. She also worked as a social scientist for the CDC. Juliann currently enjoys writing about higher education, health and medicine, crisis communication, travel, business, finance, and lifestyle.\r\n\r\nJuliann holds a Ph.D. in communication studies from the University of Oklahoma. She also has an MA from the University of Alabama and a BA from the University of Nebraska.","image":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/highereducation\/images\/c_fill,g_face,f_auto,q_auto,h_60,w_60\/v1659637629\/BestColleges.com\/Juliann_Scholl_12213146f8\/Juliann_Scholl_12213146f8.png?_i=AA","link":"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/contributors\/juliann-scholl\/","linkedin":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/juliann-scholl-0730639\/","twitter":"","web":"","career":"","subject":"Higher education, health and medicine, crisis communication, travel, business, finance, lifestyle","categories":[{"name":"Writer","slug":"writer"}],"interviews":[],"events":[]}],"date":"November 7, 2022","content":"The college application essay is a key part of the admissions process. Learn how to write a personal statement for college, including what to avoid.","id":2201},{"link":"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/blog\/admissions-experts-college-essay-tips\/","image":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/highereducation\/images\/v1634835886\/BestColleges.com\/Top-7-College-Essay-Tips\/Top-7-College-Essay-Tips.jpg?_i=AA","title":"Admissions Experts' Top 7 College Essay Tips","author":[{"id":12169,"name":"Tyler Epps","description":"Tyler Epps is an editor for BestColleges. He writes and edits content about higher education, specializing in degree planning and college rankings. He is passionate about helping students prepare for college and navigate their educational journey. He holds a BSBA in management and a minor in human resources from Appalachian State University. He also has a background in online research and writing.","image":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/highereducation\/images\/c_fill,g_face,f_auto,q_auto,h_60,w_60\/v1659637439\/BestColleges.com\/Tyler-Epps_1331150706\/Tyler-Epps_1331150706.jpeg?_i=AA","link":"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/contributors\/tyler-epps\/","linkedin":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tyler-epps-690a01106\/","twitter":"","web":"","career":"","subject":"","categories":[{"name":"Editor","slug":"editor"},{"name":"Writer","slug":"writer"}],"interviews":[],"events":[]}],"date":"January 18, 2022","content":"Applying to college? Discover seven tips for writing a college essay that can help you gain admission to your top school.","id":14442},{"link":"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/business\/mba\/common-mba-essay-questions\/","image":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/highereducation\/image\/upload\/f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto\/v1\/BestColleges.com\/cards\/BC_default.jpg","title":"Common MBA Essay Questions and How to Tackle Them","author":[{"id":12153,"name":"Stefanie Grodman","description":"Former tutor Stefanie Grodman has a bachelor's degree in English from Muhlenberg College. She enjoys researching and writing about a variety of topics including education, sustainability, politics, and the arts.","image":"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/highereducation\/images\/c_fill,g_face,f_auto,q_auto,h_60,w_60\/v1659637662\/BestColleges.com\/Stefanie_Grodman_12188debb8\/Stefanie_Grodman_12188debb8.jpeg?_i=AA","link":"https:\/\/www.bestcolleges.com\/contributors\/stefanie-grodman\/","linkedin":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/stefaniegrodman\/","twitter":"","web":"","career":"","subject":"Education, sustainability, politics, the arts","categories":[{"name":"Writer","slug":"writer"}],"interviews":[],"events":[]}],"date":"April 25, 2022","content":"The MBA admission essay can be a crucial part of your application. Explore common prompts and essay samples so you can stand out.","id":9863}]; Explore More College Resources View all Graduate Admissions Guide by Chinh Ngo April 16, 2021 Should You Go to Graduate School? by Kasia Kovacs May 4, 2020 Financial Aid Guide for Graduate Students by Bethanny Parker August 26, 2021 BestColleges.com is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site. 2b1af7f3a8