Tips For Writing A Kilachand Honors College Essay

Tips For Writing A Kilachand Honors College EssayThe Kilachand Honor College Essay is in the collection of essays and case studies that my wife Kate and I wrote together. It features both students and faculty members at the University of Washington who won their college essay contests.First, here's a little background on the Kilachand essay contest, and the essay the winners wrote for the competition. We took part in the contest for students, which was introduced by President Sherry Lansing to honor the students who have accomplished a great deal in their academic careers. The topic for the contest was: 'How do you define hard work?' The winner of the competition received a $500 prize.As the editor, it was my job to decide which past essays would be included in the book. The choice was made with regard to the author and the specific subject of the essay. Some students wanted to write about academics, some students wanted to write about family, some students wanted to write about thei r personal interests, and some students wanted to write about others (such as sports media).Having spent most of my career as an editor in publishing, I had all the confidence in the world that the essays would come out beautifully and excellently written. I have several examples of articles I edited. And, in fact, all of them turned out so well that we decided to publish the winning entries.Now that the Kilachand Honors College Essay book is available, I wanted to share with you some tips on how to prepare your essay. There are some key points to keep in mind.First, stay away from the temptation to adapt a thesis statement that came directly from the editor's guidance. If you can't even get the subject of your paper right, you are not likely to make it through the competition.Second, make your topic coherent. And third, create an essay that will stand on its own. For example, do not make an essay that reads like an undergraduate business textbook. Instead, get a bit of a story and write about how that story affects your life and the lives of those who know you.And, finally, use the editor's guidance and leave yourself plenty of time to revise. You'll be happy you did.