Young writers get hung up on formatting. It’s no wonder. We’ve been telling them for years to format their essays in certain ways. As a teacher, editor, and college essay advisor, I’ve seen my share of formatting snafus. But before we dive into the college essay format, let’s make sure we’re talking about the same thing.
When a writer asks, “How do I format my college essay?” I answer their question with a question: “Are we talking about header-font-margins formatting, or are we talking about essay organization?” If they answer, “Um, the first one, like paragraph formatting,” then I ask, “Do you mean whether to indent or skip lines between paragraphs, or are you talking about topic sentences?” If they answer, “Uh, the skipping lines part,” I say, “Okay, I get it.”
Formatting counts and can make writers crazy. Glitches can feel like major malfunctions, even make us want to hurl our computers out windows. I experienced this in technicolor as a webmaster. I’d move between documents and websites and shake my head in disbelief when the formatting went wonky. I couldn’t predict when it would happen, but I did understand the computer code behind what I see is powerful.
So first I recommend you accept this truth and head to textcleanr.com to wash your writing. Paste, clean, copy, paste, voila! This remarkable site saved my sanity and my office windows, and it’s still one of my favorite tricks of the trade.
With textcleanr.com in your pocket, you’ll heal many of your formatting headaches. However, the site won’t give you answers to your college essay format questions. I’ll try to answer those here.
Should I type my essays in the text fields provided on the application?
No. Write your essays in Google Docs. Don’t even bother with Word or Pages anymore. Learn the Google Suite, if you haven’t already. You’ll need to. Eventually you'll copy your essays from your Google Doc and paste them into the fields provided in your online applications.
When you’re working in your document, you can either indent each paragraph OR skip a line between paragraphs. You can either single space OR double space. Whatever you decide, when you paste the essays into the text fields, the code wins the battle, but don't worry, it hasn’t won the war. What I mean is the code behind what you see on the screen — the wacky work computer scientists do — will force your writing to look a certain way, but you can make adjustments to their format.
Should I remove the indents and spaces between paragraphs?
Yes. In the text fields, remove indents and extra spaces. It’s not a crime to leave spaces between paragraphs, but the code is going to create the gap between paragraphs that you need. I’ve run into this formatting automation in web design, and I’ve also faced it with online teaching platforms like Blackboard, which, by the way, many students will use once they get to college, so they might as well understand its formatting power now.
The bottom line is the code will affect your formatting, but you can decide what to give the code. If you give it spaces between paragraphs, the reader will see an extra gap, which isn’t a big deal but also doesn’t look great.
Do I paste the prompt or essay title in the text field?
No. It’s smart to paste the college essay prompts in your Google Doc, but don’t paste them in the text fields unless asked to. College essay titles aren’t required either, but maybe you've got a creative idea on how to use one. Don’t let me stop you.
My English teacher is always talking about MLA format. Do I use that?
No. You don’t use MLA or APA or Turabian or Chicago or IEEE or CSE, or oh my goodness, Maureen, please stop. Someday I’ll teach about these different styles and how the style gods mess with us humans, but when writing your college essays, you can ignore all of them.
How do I know what the essays will look like to the admissions reader?
Look for the button “preview” wherever you’re pasting essays. At the end of the application, look for “print preview.” Don’t skip these steps. Always check to see how the application appears to your reader. That’s what “preview” provides you with — a reader’s view (and a chance for you to proofread in a new way). And if the formatting magicians have erased something, for example your italics (I doubt you’ll use bold or underline), you can add it back while you're in the text field. In sum, the “preview” mode will show you if you need to make last-minute adjustments to the format.
What if I want to edit my Common App essay even if I’ve already submitted it?
You can continue to make edits to your Common App essay every time you apply to a new school. Just head back in, edit, and save. I edit my essays every time I reread them too.
I know I should know this, but how do I check word count? And how many words should I use?
The prompts will tell you how many words (or characters, which means letters, punctuation marks, and sometimes spaces) you're allotted. To make sure you’re within word count, in your Google Doc, highlight the essay, click “tools” at the top, drop down to “word count" and check the number. Easy peasy. When you’re in the text fields, a small number in the lower righthand corner will tell you how many words you’ve used.
As for how many words you should write, you’ll hear conflicting advice: everything from “about 500 words” for your Common App essay to “all 650.” Here’s my advice: use somewhere in between. I know, I know, you’re looking for more direction, but the truth is you can write a brilliant essay without maxing out your word count. I typically guide my undergrad college essay clients over the 600-word threshold, and I tell my med school and grad school applicants to use almost all the space they're given because you can bet their competitors are.
Read more tips HERE.
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