Starting Is the Hardest Part: Brainstorming the Perfect College Essay

Completed by 5 learners

For students working on Coalition or Common Applications, this course will help spark ideas and prevent procrastination.

Dan Johnston

There are no upcoming classes.

16-18

year old learners

4-10

learners per class

$15

Charged upfront

Meets once

55 minute class

Class Experience

In this class, we will cover the hardest part of writing a college personal essay: starting it.

Learners in this class will start by sharing information about if they have chosen or thought about which essay topic they would like to write about. After this short group discussion, we will work through a brainstorming activity that will have students think about a central message or angle they would like college admissions officers to know about them. For this activity, I will challenge...

Students will learn how to identify an angle, establish a position, and establish a narrative for a college personal essay. We will talk about and use tools that will make students feel more confident and prepared to tackle this essay, and will develop a brainstorm and a writing plan. With this in mind, a primary goal of this class is to mitigate procrastination and to increase student confidence in their ability to write a great college essay.

There will be no homework--all the work related to this class will be done in class.

Students may come with an essay topic in mind already, or we can start from scratch!

Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.

Students will receive informal and ongoing assessment throughout the class. All assessment will be friendly, encouraging, and aimed at increasing confidence.

55 minutes per week in class, and maybe some time outside of class.

We will look at some of the essay prompts on Coalition and Common Applications. Students may bring their own essay prompts to class as well.

Meet the teacher

Dan Johnston

Hi, my name is Dan Johnston and I am passionate about teaching writing and English! 

I teach a variety of classes aimed at developing confident, unique, and self efficacious writers. These courses range from format or essay driven goals, like...