College Essay Format

The application essay is the cornerstone of your application. It is here that both the Montgomery College Selection Committee and the supervisors at our participating institutions get to know you as a person and as a professional. It must reflect your interest in the particular institution, your interests and abilities as an honor student as well as who you are at your academic best. Read these instructions carefully and address each item. Essay Research / Preparation: Before writing your essay (500 – 1,000 words), visit the websites of the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, and the United Stated Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) or other institutions that interest you, to determine which institution best fits your interests and needs. Once you have determined which of these you will be applying to, knowledge of the website will enable you to make specific references in your essay to aspects of the institution that you find appealing and meaningful.

college essay format

Considerations for Preparing Your Application Essay:
Your application should demonstrate familiarity with the mission and ongoing projects or initiatives of the institution that interests you. Do you have ideas about how you might be able to support these initiatives or how you can be a part of this? Note: Be aware that you are applying to assist with programs rather than running them. For example, you should refer to yourself as seeking to be an assistant to a researcher rather than a researcher (someone who probably has a PhD).

What kinds of things have you enjoyed studying? About what kinds of things are you intellectually curious? Describe skills gained from recent academic experience, how you have developed as a student. Keep any discussion of high school very brief-or leave it out altogether, if possible, (this will depend on how recently you graduated from high school). You may wish to talk about significant life experiences and how these affected you – such as studying abroad or working with Habitat for Humanity. If you are especially interested in a particular project or kind of work, do say so. Be sure to express your willingness to try other things as well. This is an appealing attribute of a prospective worker and also will make it easier to find placements when your application is shopped around the institution, whether that us SI, LOC, and/or USHMM.

For College Essay Format the USHMM, let them know not only what you have to give (interests, skills, personal attributes), but what you hope to gain from your internship. Most of our interns at the USHMM are placed in capacities where they meet and work with the public. If this is strength of yours, keep it in mind as you write your essay. For the SI, be sure that you indicate that you have done your research on what they offer in terms of internship opportunities and that you indicate clearly what area of the institution you are most interested in. Be specific as we need to know which to which department we should send your application. Also for the SI, note their four “Grand Challenges:” understanding the bio-diverse planet, unlocking the universe, diverse cultures, and the U.S. as part of the global picture. They also have an interdisciplinary focus. This is a formal writing piece. Employ excellent college-standard English in your essay. It must be well-constructed and ready to be read by professionals who are at the top of their fields. Have the essay proofread for content and grammar. Make use of MLA style formatting to document sources you quote or paraphrase in your essay.

Here are the TOP 5 Writing Tips

Whether English is your first, second, or third language, developing your writing abilities will help you in educational, work, and social media contexts. In this lesson, I will talk about writing in general and discuss both formal and informal writing. It is critical to learn the difference between formal and informal writing, including differences based on vocabulary, grammar, and format.