Know Yourself In your essay, effectively identify your interests, abilities, values, and personality characteristics. An excellent way to demonstrate your motivation is to summarize what triggered your interest in the occupational field of interest and describe the choices you made that led you to pursue a graduate degree in that field.
Getting Started Anxiety and intimidation about writing an essay is normal. Yet, it's not necessary. Begin with a rough draft that you can polish later. Be sure to avoid procrastination!
An essay should not simply list each activity in which you participated in college. Instead, it should be more specific and memorable. The following are seven good essay topics identified by Zilber*:
In addition to content, your writing style (that is, how you communicate) is another criterion on which you are being evaluated. Your writing should display confidence (action verbs are a must!), have specific examples, and be well thought-out.
Editing Your essays should be one to two pages in length. In the editing process, you can eliminate any unnecessary wording to shorten the essay and make it more concise.
Polishing Proofread until your essay is flawless. A good technique is to proofread the essay backwards, word by word. Ask the Career Center, the Writing Center, and your professors to provide feedback.
*Zilber, Suzanne. (October 2000.) "Graduate and Professional School Application Essay Guide." Presentation at Graduate and Professional School Networking Days, Ames, IA.