Writing Cookbook: Principles of Writing a Great College Essay Intro

Let’s get one thing out of the way first.

When many students say they’re having trouble with writing introductions for a college application essay, they really mean they’re having a hard time getting started with the process as a whole.

If you think you’re struggling with the intro, make sure you have a theme you can state in one sentence and a clear outline. If you don’t know your theme or can’t state it in a single sentence, you have work to do. If you’re trying to write without an outline, you’re making things needlessly difficult.

Admittedly, this is often the hard part! But it makes the rest at least a lot easier, or at least possible.

If you're having trouble identifying your theme, think about some ways you've grown and a story that can illustrate that growth.

If you have BOTH a theme and an outline and you’re still grappling with a great intro, try writing your intro last. Give your permission to have a “weak” or “boring” or “bad” or whatever intro. Tell yourself it’s a placeholder. It may take a few passes at your outline or essay as a whole to fully grasp what you’re really saying.

But, for the sake of discussion, let’s say you have your theme and your outline and maybe even a full rough draft and you are truly and actually ready to write a great intro.

We need to accomplish two things with our intro:

1. Engage your reader

2. Frame the rest of the essay

That’s it.

Now, it’s been long enough, honey – it’s time to talk about engagement.

The Myth of the 'Hook'

One of the most prevalent (and distracting) myths in the world of college admissions essay writing is the need for some dramatic, Earth-shattering "hook" right from the start, dazzling their readers into a sweaty, dazzled daze.

Many students get the idea that they have to turn a shift at the snack bar into an overblown action movie or ruin their reader’s keyboard by provoking a deluge of tears. Others try gimmicks like describing an everyday object in majestic terms or write in an intentionally obscure way that just ends up confusing.

Readers are sweaty and dazed all right, and it’s from reading too many intros like these.

What you're aiming for with your first sentence is simple: get them to read another sentence.

Then another. Then another. Then the next paragraph. Then the next. And so on for about one full page.

That’s it.

What about these? Would you read another sentence? Why or why not?

Examples to Consider:

“Have you ever really looked close at a fly?”

“I always introduce myself as Bill, but for some reason, people never fail to call me Billy.”

“I used to think leadership was all about being in charge.”

Framing the Essay

We’ve talked about what NOT to do; now, let’s talk about what TO do.

Get to the point.

There are plenty of situations in writing where a ‘slow burn’ is a good option. You bring things along slowly, finally culminating in a revelation.

College admissions are not one of those situations.

This is because personal statements are not consumed under the most favorable conditions. They are not carefully considered over a mug of hot tea; they’re gobbled up. That doesn’t mean you can’t make a good impression. It just means you have to be direct.

In the very beginning – and that means within the first three sentences – state your theme clearly. By offering a clear statement about what your essay will explore, you’re doing two things.

The first is priming your reader for how to interpret your story. By stating your theme outright, you're guiding the reader on what to focus on as your story unfolds. (You’re telling a story, right?)

The second is establishing credibility. Tons of application essays meander and never go anywhere. You’re making it clear from the top that your essay has a point to make and that it’s worth reading.

Plus, by getting to the point quickly, you’ll automatically be creating a sense of curiosity (that is, engaging your reader) as they wonder how they story will come to illustrate the theme you’ve told them it does.

Theme isn’t something we get around to later; it’s the core of our essay.

Your Turn

These principles can be applied to any application essay on any topic told in any way.

If you want to show how you became more responsible from your summer job, talk about responsibility in your first paragraph. If you really do have a dramatic moment in a competition, feel free to try out that ‘action’ open, just make sure to bring the theme in quickly. If you want to talk about how much you love computer science, tell us why you love it at the beginning.

Don’t forget though to let loose a little. Good writing is spontaneous, truthful, and authentic. Pressure to write a perfect intro for a college essay can make it harder.

Get started any way you can, and check out some of our other tips about how to tell a story in an application essay!