How to Write Great Essays

Give an anecdote. A very short slice of life story that doesn’t clue the reader in
to where you are headed can be a great hook. Write about the last seconds of a
basketball game, checking out your last customer of the day, your brilliant but
disorganized teacher’s lecture on Emerson. Admissions officers will have to
keep reading to discover what you are writing about.
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Untimed Essay Writing Strategies  CHAPTER 6 
HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS

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Ask a question. “When have you ever heard of a basketball coach reading
poetry to her team?” “Why would I want to give up my poolside summer as a
lifeguard to work in a rundown school without air conditioning?” Take your
subject, and first ask yourself what is unusual or in need of an explanation.
Turn it into a question that does not have an obvious answer.
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