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How to Write a College Application Essay: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading

By Tania Runyan 5 Comments

young man striped shirt revising, editing, and proofreading college application essay
Congratulations! You’ve written the first draft of your college application essay. While you still have work ahead of you, the most mentally taxing part–coming up with your initial story and reflection–is done. Now it’s time to polish your story to a shine.

Writers often confuse revising, editing, and proofreading. Let’s quickly review the difference among these three important tasks, for they will all need your attention.

***

For a full discussion of the important differences between revising, editing, and proofreading (and why you should even care), see the rest of this article in Chapter 6 of our title How to Write a College Application Essay: Expert Advice to Help You Get Into the College of Your Dreams.

Photo by Heather Williams,  Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Tania Runyan, author of How to Read a Poem and How to Write a Poem.

 

__________________

TR-How to Write a College Application Essay Front Cover 300 highProviding everything a student needs to go from draft to polished essay, the instruction in How to Write a College Application Essay is straightforward, easy to apply, and inspiring. Includes sample essays from students who got into the colleges of their dreams.

“How to Write a College Application Essay is a valuable resource that I enthusiastically recommend to my students and their families.” —Lisa Scanio, High School Counselor, Adlai Stevenson High School

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Tania Runyan
Tania Runyan
Tania Runyan lives in Lindenhurst, Illinois, a sort-of suburb, sort-of small town, where the deer and the minivans play. She's a 2011 NEA fellow and mama to four poetry books—A Thousand Vessels, Simple Weight, Delicious Air, and What Will Soon Take Place—and three (much cuter and noisier) human children. Tania is also the author of five non-fiction books—Making Peace with Paradise, How To Read a Poem, How to Write a Poem, How to Write a Form Poem, and How to Write a College Application Essay. Visit her at TaniaRunyan.com
Tania Runyan
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Filed Under: Blog, College, Creative Non-Fiction, English Teaching Resources, How to Write a College Application Essay

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About Tania Runyan

Tania Runyan lives in Lindenhurst, Illinois, a sort-of suburb, sort-of small town, where the deer and the minivans play. She's a 2011 NEA fellow and mama to four poetry books—A Thousand Vessels, Simple Weight, Delicious Air, and What Will Soon Take Place—and three (much cuter and noisier) human children. Tania is also the author of five non-fiction books—Making Peace with Paradise, How To Read a Poem, How to Write a Poem, How to Write a Form Poem, and How to Write a College Application Essay. Visit her at TaniaRunyan.com

Comments

  1. Charity Singleton Craig says

    July 1, 2016 at 11:26 am

    Tania – I continue to be impressed by how universal these tips are, and yet you have made them so specific to college essay writing, too. Thanks again for all the insight.

    Reply
    • Bethany says

      July 1, 2016 at 12:02 pm

      I second that!

      Reply
  2. Tania Runyan says

    July 5, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    Thank you, Charity and Bethany! It’s been a pleasure!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Write a College Application Essay: Some Final Thoughts - says:
    September 20, 2016 at 12:35 pm

    […] How to Write a College Application Essay: Revising, Editing, and Proofreading […]

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  2. Poetry Prompt: 6 Steps to Writing the Polished Acrostic - says:
    October 11, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    […] Read through your lines and revise any that seem to throw off the balance of your […]

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