...Tips for a Great College Essay Why write an essay? The purpose of the essay is to convince admission officers whom you’ve never met, in less than ten minutes, that you would be a good match for their colleges. At the most basic level, it allows admission officers to evaluate your communication and writing skills. In addition, the essay allows admission officers to discover more about you as a person – a side of you not shown by statistics like grades and SATs. The essay gives information about your history, attitudes, interests and creativity; it gives a sense of your values and goals. What admission officers are doing is creating a community…looking to see how you would fit in that community, what would you bring to that community and what sets you apart. How the essay is evaluated • • • Is your writing mechanically sound? Is your writing style comfortable? Can you write a good sentence? Can you write a good paragraph? Do you address the question asked? Can you form a thesis? Can you discuss a theme? Is your argument logical? Can you get in and out of the essay with some finesse? Do you write with style, nuance and creativity? Do you write with a distinctive voice? Choosing a topic Choose the essay topic that appeals to you most. The topic is less important than your delivery Remember: there is no right or wrong answer. The college just wants to know who you are and how your mind works. Bad essay topics - there are bad essays, not bad topics; but be...
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...HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS Lauren Starkey ® NEW YORK Copyright © 2004 LearningExpress All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Learning Express, LLC, New York. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Starkey, Lauren B., 1962– How to write great essays / Lauren Starkey. —1st ed. p. cm. ISBN 1-57685-521-X 1. English language—Rhetoric—Problems, exercises, etc. 2. Essay—Authorship—Problems, exercises, etc. 3. Report writing—Problems, exercises, etc. I. Title. PE1471.S83 2004 808'.042—dc22 2004003384 Printed in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition ISBN 1-57685-521-X For more information or to place an order, contact LearningExpress at: 55 Broadway 8th Floor New York, NY 10006 Or visit us at: www.learnatest.com Contents Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 vii Organization 1 Clarity 11 Word Choice 21 Mechanics 39 Revising, Editing, and Proofreading 55 Untimed Essay Writing Strategies 67 Timed Essay Writing Strategies 85 Sample Essay Prompts and Essays 97 Resources 111 CONTENTS HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS v Introduction n your preparations for college, you may find yourself facing a handful of high-stakes essays. Your college application requires at least one, and the SAT requires another. Depending upon the high...
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...Baker, G. P. Sulla the Fortunate: The Great Dictator; Being an Essay on Politics in the Form of a Historical Biography. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1967. Print. This hardcover biography was found in Fresno State University’s Henry Madden Library by first searching through their website for Sulla book topics. The purpose of this source is to inform and educate mainly college-level students on politics during the Roman republic and how Sulla became to be who he is remembered as today with a language that is to the point and not as complicated to understand. This was helpful in understanding Sulla’s early life and how he came to rise in power. It was not recently written, but was published by a respected publisher company, and written by an author who has published many other books on ancient Roman history. Keaveney, Arthur. Sulla, the Last Republican. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2005. Print. The format of this book is a biography that includes bibliographical references and an index. This source was found in Fresno State University’s Henry Madden Library by first searching through their website for Sulla book topics. The purpose of this source is to inform and educate its readers on one of the most controversial and debatable figures...
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...possible- walking around with my deepest thoughts in a literal open book for anyone to find by accident just didn’t seem smart. Mind that I’m not equating myself to someone I have just called “one of the greatest men of all time”, but in an attempt to humanize a historical figure I did compare him to the person with whom I’ve spent the most time (and know more about than I do anyone else)- myself. I’m a high school sophomore who’s struggling to find an appropriate topic for her free write essay. Jefferson not only helped to found what is arguably the most influential country humanity has ever claimed (after Ancient Rome and Greece), but was the principal author of it’s foundational documents- including the most-known sentence in the entire english language- served as it’s ambassador to France, and then went on to serve as it’s elected leader for almost a decade. It is amazing to imagine that this man either felt almost no stress, or that, although almost his entire legacy lies in his great passion and skill for writing, he found some better way to organize his thoughts other than to just get it down on paper. For a man who was so obviously comfortable with a pen in his hand, he seemed to have some aversion to writing down anything that affected less than all of humanity itself. Maybe he just had an enormous ego. I think, however, that just like anyone else, he didn’t want his thoughts down on paper for any nerdy kid like me to pour over his or her free time. Most of the writing...
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...Essay on “The Great Gatsby” by Francis Scott Fitzgerald The book ”The Great Gatsby” written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, processes lots of different themes. One of those themes is the so-called “American dream”, a dream of success. One of the main characters, Jay Gatsby, you could say is living this dream. His life is extravagant and filled with all the material goods money can buy, Yes Jay Gatsby has it all, or does he? All of this is seen from our narrator’s point of view Nick Carraway, who also along with Gatsby is one of the main characters. In my essay on ”The Great Gatsby” I have chosen to keep my focus on chapter 3, the chapter takes place at Nick Carraway’s first party at Jay Gatsby’s Place. As mentioned earlier the narrator of the book is Nick Carraway, with a 1st person limited point of view, so we hear every thought Nick Carraway has “I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house …”. The fact that we hear every thought Carraway has helps us relate and understand the way he acts. Negatively 1st person narrative is unreliable to the reader, because we only se the situation from one point of view. It’s also a disadvantage because the main character isn’t aware of all events. And therefore as a reader we are very eager to hear what’s going on and what the other characters are thinking. In the book there is also use of direct Talk between the Reader and the narrator “Reading over what I have written so far, I see that I have …”. Because of this we get...
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...Great Gatsby Essay Test Prompt 1 Judgement is an action that has its moral degradations when used incorrectly. In fact, it is almost impossible to use judgement and be a human being that has good moral standing. Past has proven with bullies that judgement has led to suicide in peoples lives and hence is frowned upon. However, time after time people judge others with haste and make them feel that their actions are incorrect. A big question is whether to judge or not because if people aren’t judged on something they do that is incorrect they very well may end up doing it again. Nick Carraway, a character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a person who claims to not judge others. His remarkable ability to not place his judgement on others leads him to extraordinary circumstances because of the resulting friendships. Throughout the whole novel, Nick develops the theme that judgement is almost impossible to reserve for one’s whole life because at one point you will eventually feel ill will towards someone who has hurt you on a personal level, or simply just because they seem inferior of your thoughts. On the few first pages of the book, Nick describes himself and his illustrious friend Gatsby, and how he comes up through different circumstances because of the advice his dad once gave him “ just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had,” (1). That advice is that criticizing others is not fair to him or the person on the other...
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...The Great Gatsby Essay In life we are all bound to meet people who thrive off of ruining the emotions of other people. These people who smash others emotions without a care in the world can be seen everywhere in our world. They will appear in our lives, our friend’s lives, on television, and even in literature. In The Great Gatsby by f. Scott Fitzgerald there are two characters, Tom and Daisy, who serve as emotion crushers. Tom and Daisy are married, but that doesn’t stop them from seeing other people. These two eventually become involved with the relationships of Jay Gatsby and George Wilson, which eventually leads all of these relationships into ruins. Tom and Daisy ruin all that they touch when they both crush Gatsby's loving affair with Daisy, Wilson's love for Myrtle, and the love in their own marriage. Tom and Daisy's power of destroying love can be seen early in the novel when the reader discovers that Tom and Daisy have ruined the love in their own marriage. When Tom and Daisy are married it is clear that the love in their relationship expired soon after the wedding ceremony. The love in their relationship is clearly all gone when Daisy has her child and Tom is nowhere to be found, and most likely with another woman. Though, the worst part about this loveless marriage is that it seems that Tom and Daisy have accepted their relationship as dead, due to Daisy knowing that Tom is cheating on her, but refuses to take action against it. Tom and Daisy’s power of the destroying...
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...The Great Gatsby Essay In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows the change in people’s morals during the 1920’s era. It also shows the how society corrupts the “American Dream” and alters it to what it should be like. He shows this in his characters like Daisy, a materialistic woman who cannot live without attention and Tom, a reluctant jerk who lets his riches and ego get the best of him. Daisy and her fiancé Tom are about to get married. While there relationship is going on, Gatsby reunites with Daisy and tries to convince her to leave Tom for him. Daisy ends up staying with Tom because he can provide the things she needs. This shows that back in the 1920’s era people did not marry for love but only for riches. It showed the rich as dominate over the poor. It also showed the altercation of what the “American Dream” should be rather than what it really was. He also shows this corruption in Gatsby as well. Gatsby’s “American Dream” was Daisy. Gatsby’s death can be used as a symbol for the death of the “American Dream”. Gatsby spends his whole life chasing after his “American Dream” he forgets about everything around him. He changes himself completely only to try and achieve this “American Dream”. When Daisy decides to stay with Tom this ends Gatsby’s “American Dream” and coincidently, Gatsby’s life. This shows how people back in the 1920’s would alter their life style in order to achieve the idea of this typical “American Dream”. No matter what the dream was...
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...Prashker 11/15/13 The Great Gatsby essay Mrs. Loughran The Green Light Nick Carraway is a man around 30 years old living in West Egg, an island separated from New York City by a small bay, in 1922 in The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald. Nick was born in the Mid-West and has since gone to Yale; he moves to New York in the summer of 1922 to learn and eventually practice the bond business. While living in West Egg, Nick observes that he has a mysterious neighbor who owns a very large mansion: The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard – it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden (11). Massive parties are thrown in this mansion almost every weekend, and all types of people show up. Nick eventually learns that the man living in this mansion is named Gatsby, and they become friends over the course of the summer. There are many rumors about him but nobody actually knows where he comes from or how he becomes so wealthy. As Nick becomes better friends with Gatsby, he learns that Gatsby is deeply in love with Nick’s cousin, Daisy. This love, however, has taken over Gatsby’s life ever since he meets Daisy before he leaves to fight in the Great War. After he comes back from the war, he finds that Daisy has moved on with her life...
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...Tyler Landry Mrs. Potter American Studies, English July 22, 2015 The Great Gatsby Essay Just after the World War 1, in the US there had been huge changes that involved all aspects of American life, including a tendency towards materialism, changes in clothing, women getting the right to vote gangster life emerging, parties and dances, and most importantly the American Dream. Fitzgerald’s novel define that American dream changed by time; the first time for European living in America was American dream, and originally any discovery which gave them happiness was American dream, but in the ear of 20s mean for American dream has become perverted into desire for wealth by whatever means; thinking that money will bring happiness. The Great Gatsby, was published in this era; therefore; it gives us a vivid portrayal of that time by demonstrating symbols and character behavior the impossibility of American dream. The characters that Fitzgerald describes in his novel all tie in with many aspect of the 1920s lifestyle. The Jazz Age was a tendency toward materialism, and characters are described in the way that shows materialistic tendency. Callahan says “Critics from several different generations have noted how Fitzgerald used his conflicts to explore the origins and fate of the American dream and the related idea of the nation.” (Callahan). Fitzgerald describes Gatsby, the main character in the novel, as a dream achiever, who is looking for wealth and property even...
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...What do you think about when you hear The Great Depression? Some might say the worst economic time in the United States of America. The Great Depression was one of the longest and innermost economic downturn in the world of history between the years of 1929 and 1939. Also, The Great Depression led to the Federal Government having a more involved role in America's economy, this was done through the creation of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal Legislation, which turned out to be effective because, he helped the American people find more jobs, he created social security, and many more beneficial acts. On the other hand, The Great Depression had many issues and conditions. For example the concentration of overproduction and the over speculation...
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...Clever and captivating, F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ is perhaps the most critically analysed American piece of the past century. Arguably this is because Fitzgerald uses many diverse literary devices to fascinate the reader. Gatsby and Daisy embody the theme of complicated relationships, which Fitzgerald uses to make the reader question the legitimacy of Daisy’s feelings and Gatsby’s persistence in chasing his dream. Fitzgerald involves symbolism in many ways including a green light at the end of Daisy’s dock to symbolise Gatsby’s dream and comment on the greed of the people of the roaring twenties. The American Dream is a theme through which Fitzgerald is able to comment on the moral decay of the Roaring Twenties society. Fitzgerald uses the theme of complicated relationships between characters as a symbol of misjudgement, this is especially evident for Gatsby and his relationship with Daisy. When Gatsby and Daisy began their love, Daisy was a symbol of wealth and the upper class of American society. Circumstantially it was the case that for Gatsby to fulfil his dream he would have to work to once again be worthy of Daisy’s love. It is hard not to question whether during their time apart Gatsby had glorified Daisy and it is uncertain as to whether she was worth it. Gatsby strongly desired the past to be repeated. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow...
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...Haley Davis Mrs.Cowgill Period 2 6th February 2013 “Corruption is like a ball of snow once it is set rolling it must increase” (Charles Caleb). Although the valley ashes and West Egg in the Great Gatsby are completely different at first glance because of their physical characteristics and the characters status they are the same when looked into more deeply. The Valley of ashes and the West Egg are similar through the violence, abuse, and infidelity that happen there. Fitzgerald uses these two places to show that despite the characters status and money there are immoral people in every place throughout the world. When looking at the physical characteristics of the Valley of Ashes and comparing it to the physical characteristics of West Egg a reader might make the generalization that there is abuse going on in the Valley of ashes because of the lack of many and happiness in West Egg because of the flow of money in households. Although once the story progresses further it is shown that abuse and unhappiness are present in both places. Myrtle is from the Valley of Ashes although her husband George is not physically abusive like Tom he is not a “gentleman” and at one point he shows abuse by saying to one of his neighbors “I’ve got my wife locked up in there”(Fitzgerald 136). George does not think anything of his abuse and ill treatment of his wife he just feels that she deserves it and should obey him or be punished. In the same way Tom abuses Daisy in West Egg. There are no...
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...What does Fitzgerald suggest about truth and illusion in The Great Gatsby? Truth and illusion are two of the key themes explored in the novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Truth and illusion are explored with every character in the novel as we discover that no one is who they seem to be. There are multiple examples involving all characters in which their appearances are far different to how they are described. Jay Gatsby is one of the main characters that show he cannot see reality because his whole life is one big illusion. Another main character that portrays the theme of illusion is Daisy as we learn early in the novel that she creates an illusion to cover up who she really is. Nick is the only character that seems to be the only one who is really honest about who he is but he is only honest to the reader and not the characters. Perhaps his honesty is just an illusion about what he really is like. Jay Gatsby’s whole life is an illusion. Early in the novel we learn that Gatsby’s past was not the best and that he came from a poor background, which he tries to cover up. He gives this idea that he lives the perfect life with a huge house and always wears nice clothes and throws the biggest most amazing parties. The truth is that he does not really have any friends. This is evident when we learn that Nick discovers he was the only one who got an invitation to Gatsby’s party, this is also evident when we learn the rumours going around about Gatsby. The...
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...The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (published on April 10, 1925) is one novel that anyone would regret not reading. It has gone down in history as one of the most important works in American literature — and, to many, the great American novel. Fitzgerald has succeeded in offering up commentary on a variety of themes — justice, power, greed, betrayal, the American dream and so on through Nick as a narrator. There are two most impressive symbols in the novel. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock and the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg remains obsessing in readers’ minds. The first is a perfect example of the manner in which characters The Great Gatsby. Situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from Gatsby’s West Egg lawn, the green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams. Gatsby associates it with Daisy, to whom “ he bought house to be near her, he threw all those parties hoping she would wander in one night”. In Chapter 1 he reaches toward the green light on the other side of the river, in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal. Gatsby’s quest for Daisy is broadly associated with the American dream: “all man are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness”, the green light also symbolizes that more generalized ideal. Though, The Great Gatsby illustrates the downgrade value of American Dream, instead of...
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