Definition and Examples of Back Slang

Back slang is a form of slang in which words are spoken and/or spelled backward. According to  lexicographer Eric Partridge, back slang was popular with the costermongers (street-vendors) in Victorian London. The hallmark of their speech, Partridge said, is the frequency with which they turn words (normal or slangy) into back-slang . . .. The general rule is to spell a word backwards, and then, ideally, to employ the pronunciation approaching the closest to that often impossible arrangement of letters  (Slang Today and Yesterday, 1960). The costermongers themselves referred to back slang as kacab genals.Like rhyming slang, back slang started out as subterfuge, says MIchael Adams, but soon became language games you could play for fun (Slang: The Peoples Poetry, 2009). Examples and Observations If you really want to speak freely around those who shouldnt know your secrets, learn how to form back slang or center slang. When you are next in your local, order a top o reeb  instead of pot of beer, but hope that the bartender understands the slang, or you may be eighty-sixed for the whole kew week. Dont blame the bartender, though, who may not be the right nosper person for the bloomin emag bloomin game.(Michael Adams,  Slang: The Peoples Poetry. Oxford University Press, 2009) Arbitrary Spelling Conventions Back slang is a language constructed on lines—I venture to hint illogical lines—of its own. The initial idea is that all words are to be pronounced backwards; for instance, instead of saying no you say on, for bad man you say dab nam. But you have not proceeded far before you find that the initial idea breaks down. Penny, reversed, would be ynnep, the back slangster says yennup. Evig em a yennup, is his version of Give me a penny. . . . It would be impossible for an English tongue to pronounce many of our words backwards. How would you pronounce night or drink backwards, leaving the spelling as it is? not to speak of more difficult examples. The result is that the back slangster adopts not only an arbitrary spelling, but also an arbitrary pronunciation of his own. (Slang. All the Year Round: A Weekly Journal Conducted by Charles Dickens, November  25, 1893) The Language of Tradesmen and ChildrenBack-slang proper, sometimes employed by barrow-boys and hawkers, and indigenous to certain trades such as the greengrocers and the butchers, where it is spoken to ensure that the customer shall not understand what is being said (Evig reh emos delo garcs dene--Give her some old scrag end) consists simply of saying each word backwards, and when this is impossible saying the name of the letter instead of its sound, usually the first or the last letter, thus: Uoy nac ees reh screckin ginwosh (You can see her knickers showing). An Enfield master reports that he found at least half a dozen boys who could talk it quickly.(Iona and Peter Opie, The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren. Oxford University Press, 1959) Secret Languages Secret languages . . . have an obvious appeal for those who have something to hide. One language used by African slaves, called TUT, was based on phonetics, and used to help teach children to read. Victorian market traders, meanwhile, are thought to have dreamed up back slang—in which a word is spoken backwards, giving us yob for boy--in order to single out customers on whom to palm off shoddy goods. (Laura Barnett, Why We All Need Our Own Secret Slang. The Guardian [UK], June 9, 2009) A 19th-Century Report on Back Slang This back language, back slang, or kacab genals, as it is called by the costermongers themselves, is supposed to be regarded by the rising generation of street-sellers as a distinct and regular mode of intercommunication. People who hear this slang for the first time never refer words, by inverting them, to their originals; and the yanneps, esclops, and nammows, are looked upon as secret terms. Those who practice the slang soon obtain a considerable stock vocabulary, so that they converse rather from the memory than the understanding. Amongst the senior costermongers, and those who pride themselves on their proficiency in back slang, a conversation is  often sustained for a whole evening—that is, the chief words are in the back slang—especially if any flats are present whom they wish to astonish or confuse. . . The back slang has been in vogue for many years. It is . . . very easily acquired, and is principally used by the costermongers and others who practice it . . . for communicating the secrets of their street tradings, the cost of and profit on goods, and for keeping their natural enemies, the police, in the dark.(The Slang Dictionary: Etymological, Historical, and Anecdotal, rev. ed.,  1874)

Should High School Students Be Allowed Cell Phones School

Should High School Students Be Allowed to Bring Cell Phones to School? By Ronnie Phillips | Submitted On July 07, 2011 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook 1 Share this article on Twitter 1 Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest 1 Expert Author Ronnie Phillips Educating young people today is a full time job for all schools in American. Many of our students come to school not prepared to learn. They are in need of extra motivation to get them on the right track. Schools are taking on more and more challenges as they educate our children. The lack of positive support from parents is also at an all time high. To make matters worse, schools have no input on policies that directly affect their job. One of the policies that has a tremendous impact on education involves allowing students to bring cell phones to school. This article will attempt to explain how cell phones are a distraction to the educational environment. Our country is experiencing a breakdown in our K - 12 educational systems. The dropout rate is higher than ever before. When you compare our educational system with those of other countries, we are not in the top twenty. What has happened to our system? There are many reasons for our decline, but this article will deal with one. PoliticiansShow MoreRelatedCell Phones Should Be Allowed in School802 Words   |  4 Pagesanother. You discover that you do not have a cell phone or any device to contact your parents. There won’t be any chance that you and your parents could contact each other. What would you do? How would you feel? It seems to me that if cell phones were allowed in schools, students could contact their parents easier and people could stay in touch. Therefore, cell phones should be allowed to be used in schools. For one, cell phones could provide students with academic help. According to Apple, aboutRead MoreCell Phones And Its Effect On Our Human Interaction1204 Words   |  5 Pageslive off of cell phones, it is considered a necessity of life. By 2015, it is estimated that Americans will consume both traditional and digital media for over 1.7 trillion hours, an average of approximately 15 and a half hours per person per day (Short). Is it good or bad for schools to allow students to have cell phones? The latest Teens and Technology 2013 study, from Pew Research, found that 78 percent of teens aged 12 – 17 own a cell phone (Haselton). However, a Worcester School committee memberRead MoreImportance Of Cell Phones In School809 Words   |  4 Pagesin class with a cell phone going off? Nothing is worse than a phone interrupting you during class. Some schools try to prevent this. For example, at George Washington Middle School, students have to have their phones turned off and in th eir lockers. Although many people believe phones should be in schools for resources, phones shouldn’t be allowed because theyre distracting. they can hurt your education, and they can cause cyberbullying. Phones should not be allowed in school because they areRead MoreLimited Use of Cell Phones1453 Words   |  6 PagesArgumentative essay    Mobile cell phones should be limited in certain schools Mobile phones can be an issue in certain schools. Mobile phones should be banned in elementary and middle schools. However, phones during class in high school and college should be up to the teacher, whether or not to have them. As youths get older, they become more responsible on how they use their phones. Elementary  schools  shouldn’t  have  phones  period.  The  kids  shouldn’t  have  a  phone  that  young.  They  don’t  need  it  for  many  reasonsRead MoreCell Phones Should Not Be Banned910 Words   |  4 PagesCell Phones Should be Allowed in School Seventy eight percent of 12-17 years old have cell phones as of a survey taken in 2013. Cell phones have boomed and its time to let them shine. Cell phones becoming a major part of peoples life’s. Cell phones are welcomed every where this days. There allowed in restaurants and hospitals, but one place they are not welcome are schools. Cell phones should allowed in schools. Cell phones are used by around third of the population. With teenagers being a very bigRead MoreUse Of Cellphones On School Activities Essay1516 Words   |  7 Pagescellphones in school has brought up debates all over the world. While some believe they are an advantage, others believe that they are a hindrance to the learning process. Despite the fact that smartphones can be used for important school activity such as research and time- management, they are also one of the main sources of classroom distractions. As a current student, I can attest to the fact that students often play games or text friends instead of listening to what is being taught. Students often argueRead MoreImpact Of Technology On Our Daily Life1259 Words   |  6 Pagesonly for texting and calling. They are high-tech devices that can access the internet, emails, and social media. However, arguments on whether these functions are necessary for students in high school are beginning to surface. Despite the fact that phones can be utilized educationally and serve as a learning too, this same technology can also be utilized negatively at the wrong time. In agreement with many teachers, â€Å"a fair amount of teachers say cell phones have officially replaced chewing gum asRead MoreShould Cell Phones Be Banned?979 Words   |  4 PagesCellphones in class By: Easton Stackis Have you ever wanted to use cellphones in school? Cell phones have many benefits and positive uses that help students during school a lot. Although cell phones can be distracting they should be allowed in school in case of an emergency, to teach responsibility, and to help in school like homework and research. Cell phones are very helpful in emergencies. With cell phones, parents know if their children alright in an emergency. Which takes a lot of stressRead MoreSmart Phones And Class Rooms1464 Words   |  6 PagesSmart Phones in Class Rooms One of the worst massacre murders to ever occur in an American High School building was the 1999 shooting rampage at Columbine High school in Littleton Colorado. There were 12 students and one teacher who lost their lives because of this incident. Some schools across the country made new policies to allow students to carry cell phones as a means to feel safe. After this incident however, there were schools that continue to ban them. Those schools that don’t allow cell phonesRead MoreCell Phones in School1140 Words   |  5 Pagesever heard of the gruesome Columbine High School massacre? This incident occurred on April 20th 1999 and involved two students embarking on a shooting rampage, killing twelve students, a teacher and wounding twenty three others. Unfortunately during this incident, the school s most easily accessible phone was on the complete other side of the school in the library. Perhaps some of these lives could have been saved if the students in this class had cel l phones that they could ve used to contact the

What Makes A Leader Free Essays

What Makes a Leader In this article we explore what makes a great leader and what groups and levels of skills are needed to be a great leader. Daniel Coleman writes about Emotional Intelligence, how It Is evaluated, and the Importance of Emotional Intelligence for effectiveness of an affective leader. Everyone is born with certain levels of skills that can be strengthened with persistence, practice and feedback from colleagues and coaches. We will write a custom essay sample on What Makes A Leader or any similar topic only for you Order Now Mr.. Coleman preformed over the course of an entire year focusing on how emotional Intelligences operates In the workplace. They examined the relationship teen both effective performance and emotional intelligence especially in leadership roles. The 5 groups of skills are listed as follows: self-awareness, self- regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, which I will be discussing. Companies hire trained psychologists to develop â€Å"competency models† to aid in identifying, training, and promoting of individuals with these groups of skills. These individuals are those who can recognize their strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and impact on others who know that one needs to control or redirect disruptive Impulses and moods to be an effective leader. Having relishing achievement for own sake and are considerate to other peoples emotional make up by using the rapport built with others to move them in the desired direction. Daniel Coleman distinguishes what makes a great leader from the average one. The five in one secret to success allows you to maximize your leadership skills. Emotional Intelligence benefits you at every level of business giving you the necessary tools most Important to building the right foundation to a solid future and taking the right direction to ensuring a success in your business venture. Take advantage and use your emotional Intelligence to show how capable and effective you can truly be. Self-awareness in the aspect of big business allocates one resources, strong and weak to use to best impact the goals set forward. People with high self-awareness recognize how their feelings affect them, others, and Job performance. Having high self-awareness allows one to make critical decisions that need to be made in order for deadlines to be met and to save future conflict that could have been avoided. Knowing the time and place for things is a good example of having good self- wariness, without it you could potentially ruin a first impression and hinder Impending possible business endeavors. To enhance emotional intelligence companies are altering their training to include the limbic system. This allows for people to break old behavioral habits and establish new ones. It is key to focus that ones emotional intelligence can only come from sincere desire and resolute effort. Once your self-awareness is up to par you will be able to see your Impact on others and see how malleable the people around you really are. Your self-confidence gives o a desire for constructive criticism to better yourself day by day. 1 OFF redirect any disruptive emotions or any impulses that could spawn from a heated altercation with a fellow employee. Biological impulses guide our everyday emotions, we can never get rid of them, but we can control them. This allows one to pick and choose their words carefully not being tempted to kick the chair or flip the desk. People who can control their emotions are often seen as stiff and dispassionate. With self-regulation, patience is vital and will prove faithful when it comes to your integrity and trustworthiness. With time, you become and grow more comfortable with ambiguity and change thus having a stronger grasp on your emotional intelligence. When looking at the aspect of leadership, one with a good head on their shoulders not eager to Jump to make irrational decisions before first going through all of the possible solutions to the problem. This ensures that the best potential outcome will be explored and evaluated to best serve its purpose helping business run as it should and keeping employees content with the workplace. Motivation or inspirational words are that should be followed with ambitious work. When being driven to achieve for only the sake of achievement and accomplishing the task at hand is the only thing on your mind. Taking the passion for the quality and the challenges that come with completing any new task. Being the most optimistic when staring down at a ticking time bomb knowing exactly what must be done and with tender touch in some cases that create the most success. The passion that you hold for the very things you do on a daily basis, anywhere from work itself or for any new challenges that spark your interest. This challenge gives you unflagging energy to improve on your current status in every aspect of life. Optimism will bring you far in life with the regards to having patience for the right thing to take its place and take us to where we need to be. Stressing over every little thing will only slow you down and make you look like less of a professional. Instead of blaming countless other individuals, taking accountability for your actions and stepping up to learn from this experience and apply it to the work place can cause engineer a turn-around. Empathy or ability to consider others feelings when making a decision in the work lace can save you a lot of time and stress from you saying or doing something without fully thinking it through and it turns out if you would of Just thought that through and been a little less selfish you could of seen the bigger picture. With this trait not only will you be improving your work portfolio so you will be developing the ability to develop others by attracting talent by the expertise that you need for a competitive firm. When in the workplace, one doesn’t have two many second chances or second first impressions’. Understanding proper etiquette and the ability to be insensitive to cross-cultural differences could make or break a clients approval. It is very important to make sure you know every subtle detail about your client to avoid risking potential failure and ending a potential venture before it even starts. One thing in our culture could mean something completely and totally opposite in someone else’s and when you think your conveying the correct platform, in reality you are not on the same page as your client due to lack of preparedness due to poor Social skills are the ability to manage relationships to move people in the direction hat is crucial to the development of the company. Being a leader with good social skills one must be effective in leading change, persuasive, extensive networking, and experience in the leading and building of teams. This allows for the leader to manage what exactly they would want their company to adopt to better the future of the enterprise. With the correct social skills, it will ensure that your ability to persuade allies in other divisions to possibly help fund potential endeavors. Even if your social skills are lacking, there is always room to better your own social skills and evolve into he social butterfly that you always intended to be but never had the right force to push you. Once you have found common ground you can build a rapport and take your business to higher levels. Socially skilled people tend to have a vast amount of acquaintances and have the capabilities of finding common ground with all types of people. People who tend to achieve usually are optimistic including times of setbacks or failures. In conclusion, we are shown that everyone has the skills available to potentially be great leaders but that not everyone has the balanced set or capability to reach the Roth needed so we see that as an individual it takes more than Just one trait to be a great leader but it takes five individual characteristics that make up emotional intelligence that allows us to think before we speak and act making sure that we represent ourselves the way that resembles the characteristics that would make company blush and be glad they have you at their business. Conduct yourself with self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills and you will have the perfect concoction to making a great leader out of yourself and others around you. How to cite What Makes A Leader, Papers

Out Of Africa Essay Example For Students

Out Of Africa Essay The story is about a Danish girl, her name is Karen Blixen who went to Africaafter she married with Baron. In Africa and more precisely in Kenya she startedto run a coffee-farm. But its failure in 1931 caused her to return to Denmark. Baroness Karen Blixen spent 17 years in Africa. Karen began the coffee-farm withher husband, and continued to oversee the farm even after she separated in 1925. Th e farm was an unprofitable venture. Blixen shares her experiences in herbook. actually she is not like all the other colonists. She helps the Kikoejoes,they are the native population Ngong Hills. When the children are sick she helpsthem and she gives them medicines. Kamante is her cook and he his a nativechild. Kamante is her cook because one day Karen helped him whit a disease . Denys is a friend of Karen, he liked to her a story tolded . Denys lived in herhouse between safari. He was a good friend. Denys also had a plane and from timeto time Karen flew with him over Africa. When Karen left Africa she had to saygoodbye to a lot of peoples. E everybody liked her. She was a friendly girl andwhen she was in Denmark she received letters from her friend sin Kenya. It isnot a book like an other. Karen describes her surroundings -Africas people, shepays careful attention to detail. I have chosen this book because I have livedin Africa for 11 years and while I was reading the book I recognised a lot ofthings. I knew what she was talking about. It looked so familiar to me. And so Iliked the book. Book Reports

Intro Essay Example For Students

Intro Essay I can still picture those long lines and high prices of the latest CD. This has now become just another one of my childhood memories. No more lines or handing someone else my twenty-dollar bill. We can get our music for free now. This has been called one of the best inventions of the century. Many people including myself spend hours on top of hours downloading all those hard to get songs. Finally the consumers are the ones in control. SummaryShawn fanning a nineteen-year-old multi million dollar dropout had the same dream as many Americans had. One day he awoke and didnt go back to sleep until his task was completed. What was his task? To create a software program where people could share their music for free. This technology is called peer-to-peer file sharing and its the biggest thing to hit the Internet since the Internet. Money and lawsuits are now rolling into Shawns pockets like water. Record companies have been working feverishly day and night to try and put a stop to this fad. Companies realized how much this would affect their profits. Buyers could pay $18.99 plus tax for a CD or just spend twenty minutes online for free. As of yet, no one has been able to stop Napster. Even though some court cases are still in judgment it doesnt look to good for the record companies. This has knocked record companies on their feet. Napster is going to stay running for now. ResponseNapster. One word that is known by people of middle class, lower class, old, young, black, white nearly any classification. What would a car be like without a stereo? Can you imagine? Music is very important to people just like their money. So why waste your money when you dont have to. Napster, while being praised by buyers, hated by artists, and loved by Internet geeks, has done wonders to the music and Internet industry. Many artists have tried to stop this worldwide trend by filling lawsuits and starting groups against Napster. Metallica filed a lawsuit and won yet their music is still being download. On the other hand Limp Bizkit recently did a concert with Napster as the sole advertiser. Still, artists seem to think this software is legal theft. Companies have stilled failed to look at the hard facts. The music industry has had a 6.4% increase for this year alone (SpeakOut). Records are being broken with groups like NSync selling 2.4 million CDs the first week of sales (SpeakOut). So why are record companies and artists still angry? Greed!!! Napster is good for publicity. Im sure a new group wouldnt mind having their music downloaded by 800 million people. Thats as good as it gets. What is music made for? Last I heard it was for people. If this is true why dont we have a say in this matter? This is looked over by companies. Since Napsters debut people have been able to download that song they havent heard since they were sixteen. Many people support Napster and resent the fact that its called stealing. Prices have increased about five dollars a CD (SpeakOut). Napster gives hard working people a chance to sit by the fire and listen to their favorite jazz piece. Besides all this is, is another hobby. I dont care how cheap you are no one is going to download and burn a CD as a Christmas gift. People are still going to go to the store and reach for the plastic wrapped case. If the courts decide to ban Napster there is always going to be some kind of loop whole, I mean cmon its the Internet. So why waste more of your money with expensive lawsuits?Shawn fannings invention of the P2P system is one of the biggest talked about subjects in technology. People can use it t o download whole movies off the Internet and even the Centers for Disease Control are using it. Our own government!!! This is only the beginning to a whole new e-era. Hundreds of services are going to branch off from Napster. So why try to ban Napster when your going to have to do the same thing with hundreds of other categories. Obviously P2P is here to stay and sorry to burs your bubble but so is Napster. .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 , .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 .postImageUrl , .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 , .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06:hover , .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06:visited , .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06:active { border:0!important; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06:active , .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06 .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub9554d3f77cd115859a5be3a357c3c06:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Black Panther Party EssayHonestly record companies are going to have to learn to suck it up. Like the old saying goes, if you cant beat ?em join ?em. Who knows the industry could be trying to get rid of something that is just as poplar as music. Money, since this is their main concern, can be through Napster. If record labels could just pull their head out of their butts and actually cooperate with their foe, the case could be shut. After all isnt there more music listeners than big time executives and artists?Bibliographynone

Eid Collection by Nishat Essay Example

Eid Collection by Nishat Essay Pure silk Chiffon 10 11 Chantilly CollECtion Pure silk Chiffon embroidered shirt, embroidered chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. ct-17 12 13 EmbroidErEd Chiffon CollECtion 14 15 PrEmium lawn EmbroidErEd Chiffon CollECtion Printed front, embroidered back, sleeves, embroidered lace, printed chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. c-49 17 16 Chantilly CollECtion Pure silk Chiffon Printed shirt, embroidered lace, chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. ct-37 18 19 20 embroidered front, embroidered motif, printed back, sleeves, embroidered chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. PrEmium EmbroidErEd Chiffon CollECtion emb-26 21 Chantilly CollECtion Pure silk Chiffon Printed shirt, embroidered chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. ct-27 23 22 PrEmium EmbroidErEd Chiffon CollECtion Printed shirt, buttons, embroidered chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. emb-28 25 24 digital-silk lawn CollECtion 26 embroidered front, printed back, sleeves, printed silk dupatta dyed shalwar. dg-04 27 Chantilly CollECtion Pure silk Chiffon embroidered front, printed back, sleeves, embroidered chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. ct-28 29 28 EssEnza dE silk 100% Pure silk ColleCtion embroidered front, back, embroidered yoke, printed sleeves, silk dupatta dyed shalwar. s-38 30 31 PrEmium EmbroidErEd Chiffon CollECtion Printed shirt, embroidered motif, embroidered chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. emb-16 33 32 EmbroidErEd Chiffon EmbroidErEd Chiffon CollECtion embroidered jacquard shirt, sleeves, printed chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. c-63 37 36 EmbroidErEd Chiffon CollECtion embroidered jacquard front, printed back, sleeves, embroidered lace, printed chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. sandals exclusively available at all ideas GulAhmed exclusive stores. c-96 39 38 EmbroidErEd Chiffon CollECtion embroidered front, printed back, sleeves, printed chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. andals exclusively available at all ideas GulAhmed exclusive stores. c-82 41 40 C hantily de l aCe 100% silk ColleCtion embroidered front, printed back, embroidered sleeves, embroidered chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. ct-10 43 42 Chantilly CollECtion Pure silk Chiffon Printed shirt, embroidered motif, lace, chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. ct-23 44 45 embroidered front, back embroidered sleeves, printed chiffon dupatta dyed shalwar. EmbroidErEd Chiffon CollECtion PrEmium lawn c-36 47 46 PrEmium lawn EssEnza dE silk 100% Pure silk ColleCtion embroidered front, printed back, sleeves, printed silk dupatta dyed shalwar. s-13 48 49 Chantilly CollECtion Pure silk Chiffon Printed shirt, embroidered chiffon dupatta embroidered shalwar. ct-12A 50 51 Chantilly CollECtio n Pure silk Chiffon Printed shirt, embroidered chiffon dupatta embroidered shalwar. ct-12b 52 53 PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, sleeves, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-76A 55 54 PrintEd lawn CollECtion cl-76b 56 Printed shirt, sleeves, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-76c 57 PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-70A 59 58 cl-70b 60 PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-70c 61 We will write a custom essay sample on Eid Collection by Nishat specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Eid Collection by Nishat specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Eid Collection by Nishat specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer EmbroidErEd lawn CollECtion embroidered front, printed back, sleeves, printed dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-71A 63 62 EmbroidErEd lawn CollECtion embroidered front, printed back, sleeves, printed dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-71b 64 cl-71c 65 Printed shirt, embroidered neckline, printed sleeves, dupatta dyed shalwar. EmbroidErEd lawn CollECtion cl-64A 67 66 Printed shirt, embroidered neckline, printed sleeves, dupatta dyed shalwar. EmbroidErEd lawn CollECtion cl-64b 68 cl-64c 69 PrEmium lawn EmbroidErEd lawn CollECtion embroidered shirt, printed dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-59A 70 cl-59b cl-59c 1 cl-60b cl-60c EmbroidErEd lawn CollECtion cl-60A 72 Printed shirt, embroidered neckline, printed sleeves, dupatta dyed shalwar. 73 EmbroidErEd lawn CollECtion embroidered front, printed back, sleeves, printed dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-72A 75 74 EmbroidErEd lawn CollECtion embroidered front, printed back, sleeves, printed dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-72b 76 cl-72c 77 lawn Printed shirt, printed dupatta dyed shalwar. PrinttEd CollECtion cl-80A 78 cl-80b cl-80c 79 m-14A m-14b PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, dupatta dyed shalwar. m-14c 80 81 m-12A PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, dupatta dyed shalwar. m-12b m-12c 82 83 PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-86b cl-86A 84 cl-86c 85 PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, sleeves, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-92A 86 cl-92b cl-92c 87 single prints lawn ColleCtion s-05 88 89 s-16 90 91 s-03 92 s-12 93 s-08 94 s-10 95 s-07 96 97 s-01 s-02 98 99 s-11 100 s-15 s-14 101 102 s-13 s-09 s-04 103 cl-84A PrintEd lawn CollECtion cl-84b Printed shirt, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-84c 104 105 PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, sleeves, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-74A 106 cl-74b 107 cl-83A PrintEd lawn CollECtion cl-83b 108 Printed front, back, sleeves, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-83c 109 cl-49b cl-49c cl-49A 110 PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, dupatta dyed shalwar. 111 cl-87b PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-87A 112 cl-87c 113 PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-04A 114 cl-04b 115 PrintEd lawn CollECtion Printed shirt, dupatta dyed shalwar. cl-03A 116 cl-03b 117 Rawalpindi Saddar Ideas Plaza, Opp. Pizza Hut, Adamjee Road, Saddar. Tel: 051-5120792-6 Building No. B-1, City Shopping Center, Commercial Market. Tel: 051-4428819-21 Satellite Town Plot No. 13, Commercial Area, Lahore Cantt. Tel: 042-36610234-6 Building No. 1, Block Z, Phase-3, Commercial DHA. Tel: 042-35692884 City Tower Shop No. MF C2-A, Main Boulevard Road, Gulberg. Tel: 042-35788778 042-35788791-2 Plot No. 100 B-II, Gulberg III, (MM Alam Road) Adjacent Hardees (opening soon) Plot No. 17, Pak Block, Allama Iqbal Town. Tel: 042-37800577 Building No. 5 Commercial Zone Liberty Market, Gulberg III. Tel: 042-35789702-4 Shop No. S-19-59, Mall Road, Near Panorama Center. Tel: 042-36309166-8 Plot No. 207 B/P-II, Link Road, Model Town. Tel: 042-35201592-7 Metro Cash Carry Store, Link Road, Model Town. Tel: 042-35916953 New Anarkali New Anarkali, Wool House. Tel: 042-37360855-7 Metro Cash Carry Store, Main Ravi Road. Tel: 042-37947261-3 Plot No. 189-F, PIA Housing Society. Tel: 042-35955403 GulaHMed international UAE UK GulAhmed International Limited FZC, Sharjah, UAE. Tel : +971-6-557 9483 Fax : +971-6-557 9485 GTM Europe Limited, 4-7 Suites, Universal Square No. 2, Devonshire Street, Ardwick Manchester M12 6JH Tel : +44-161-2760882 +44-161-2760888 Fax : +44-161-2760998 KaRacHi Bahadurabad Bahadurabad Arcade, Shop No. 6, Block-3, Near KFC. Tel: 021-34858951-54 BC 13, Block-9, Ground Floor, Razi Towers, Near Schon Circle, Main Clifton. Tel: 021-35374131-5 Dolmen City, Outlet No. G-4, Block-4, Scheme No. 5, Ground Floor. Clifton Tel: 021-35296106-10 Park Tower, Shop No. GR-35, Clifton. Tel: 021-35837515-18 The Ocean Mall, Plot No. G-3 Khyaban-e-Iqbal, Block-9, Clifton. (opening soon) Dhoraji Colony Gulistan-e-J ohar Block 78, Shop No. 3 4. Tel: 021-34942441 Millenium Mall, G-1, Shop No. 17, 18, 19 Main Rashid Minhas Road, Tel: 021-34603366 021-34680671 Shop No. 3 4, Block-3, KDA Scheme No. 24. Tel: 021-34988285 Plot No. D-4, Block H, North Nazimabad, Hyderi. Next to Saima Pari Mall. Tel: 021-36724481-88 Shop No. G3 G4, Bagh Sarah Apartment, Lawrence Road, Garden West. Tel: 021-32237341-2 Atrium Mall, 249 Staff Lines, Shop No. 2, 3, 24, 25, Zaib-un-Nisa Street, Saddar. Tel: 021-35640994-6 Metro Cash Carry Store, Lines Area, Saddar. Tel: 021-32788868 021-32788801 Shahrah-e-Faisal Metro Cash Carry Store, Star Gate, Shahrah-e-Faisal. Tel: 021-34602257-8 Dolmen Mall, 3rd Floor Outlet No. T-32, Block No. 3, PECHS. Tel: 021-34321180-4 Shop No. 23, Ground Floor, Liberty Chowk. Tel: 021-34389554-5 University Road Shop No. 4, Ground Floor, Al Khyber Market, Adj. Samama Mall. Tel: 021-34810980 laHore Cavalry Ground HydeRabad Auto Bhan Road Plot No. 07, B-15/7, Railway Employee Co-operative Housing Society, Main Auto Bhan Road. Tel: 022-3820023-24 022-3820084-85 Shop No. 56-57, Cantonment Shopping Center, Salahuddin Road, Chandni Bazaar, Cantonment. Near Bombay Bakery. Tel: 022-2729972-3 022-2729934 Clifton DHA For business enquiries, please contact : Gulberg Chandni Bazaar +9221-111-485-485 +9221-111-486-486 Ext. 6530, 6517 6510 inquiry. [emailprotected] om [emailprotected] com [emailprotected] com [emailprotected] com Gulberg III Faisalabad Jaranwala Road Doburj Shopping Mall, Kohinoor City. Tel: 041-8535685 Iqbal Town Liberty sialkot Sialkot Cantt. Eastern Portion Building, V Mall Adj. to Borjan, Sialkot Cantt. Tel: 052-4292070 Mall Road www. gulahmedshop. com www. gulahmedfashion. com www. gulahmed. com Exclusively available at IDEAS GulAhmed exclusiv e stores and nationwide all GujRat Main Court Road Abdullah Mall, Main Court Road. Tel: 053-3606490 053-3607945 Gulshan-e-Iqbal Hyderi Lasbela Model Town GujRanwala Satellite Town Wapda Town Green Center, Main Market. Tel: 055-3734007 Kings Mall, By Pass, Opposite Wapda Town, (opening soon) LEADInG STorES Get Mobile Stay Connected With Us On Your Smart Phone/Tablets Saddar Ravi Road Mirpur (ajk) Kotli Road Plot No. 63-A, Muhammad Ismail Plaza. Tel: 05827-437353-5 Wapda Town Multan Ismail Abdali Road 77, Abdali Tower, Near Ramada Hotel Abdali Road. Tel : 061-4574005-10 Pace N Pace, Shop No. 15-18 24-30 Ground Floor Hall, Bosan Road. (opening soon) islaMabad F-7 Markaz Plot No. 13-A, Main Double Road, F-7 Markaz. Tel: 051-2652491-96 Al-Safa Gold, Shop No. S-21 S-28 Second Floor, Plot No. 5, Markaz F-7. (opening soon) F-10 Markaz Building No. 7-G, Lords Plaza, F-10 Markaz. Tel: 051-2113614-19 Download QR Reader From Your Mobile APP Store And Place Device Cam On The Above Image Tariq Road pesHawar University Road Property No. 1185/1242 Main Jamrood University Road. Tel : 091-5854154-8 facebook. com/gulahmedfashion twitter. com/gulahmedfashion Designs, Patterns and brand names are exclusive property of GulAhmed Textile Mills Limited under the copyright act, and no attempt shall be made to counterfeit these designs patterns and brand names. 118 119 eid C o l l e C t i o n 120

What Is a Personal Statement Everything You Need to Know About the College Essay

What Is a Personal Statement Everything You Need to Know About the College Essay SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In addition to standardized test scores and transcripts, a personal statement or essay is a required part of many college applications. The personal statement can be one of the most stressful parts of the application process because it's the most open ended. In this guide, I'll answer the question, "What is a personal statement?" I'll talk through common college essay topics and what makes for an effective personal statement. // Even the terminology can be confusing if you aren't familiar with it, so let's start by defining some terms: Personal statement- an essay you write to show a college admissions committee who you are and why you deserve to be admitted to their school. It's worth noting that, unlike "college essay," this term is used for application essays for graduate school as well. College essay - basically the same as apersonal statement. (I'll be using the terms interchangeably.) Essay prompt - a question or statement that your college essay is meant to respond to. Supplemental essay - an extra school or programspecific essay beyond the basic personal statement. Many colleges ask for only one essay. However, some schools do ask you to respond to multiple prompts or to provide supplemental essays in addition to a primary personal statement. Either way, don't let it stress you out! This guide will cover everything you need to know about the different types of college essays and get you started thinking about how to write a great one: Why colleges ask for an essay What kinds of essay questions you'll see What sets great essays apart Tips for writing your own essay // Why Do Colleges Ask For an Essay? There are a couple of reasons that colleges ask applicants to submit an essay, but the basic idea is that it gives them more information about you, especially who you are beyond grades and test scores. #1: Insight Into Your Personality The most important role of the essay is to give admissions committees a sense of your personality and what kind of addition you'd be to their school's community. Are you inquisitive? Ambitious? Caring? These kinds of qualities will have a profound impact on your college experience, but they're hard to determine based on a high school transcript. Basically, the essay contextualizes your application and shows what kind of person you are outside of your grades and test scores. Imagine two students, Jane and Tim: they both have 3.5 GPAs and 1200s on the SAT. Jane lives in Colorado and is the captain of hertrack team, while Tim lives in Vermont and regularly contributes to the school paper, but they both want to be doctors and they both volunteer at the local hospital. As similar as Jane and Tim seemon paper, in reality they're actually quite different, and their unique perspectives come through in their essays. Jane writes about how looking into her family history for a school project made her realize how the discovery of modern medical treatments like antibiotics and vaccines had changed the world and drove her to pursue a career as a medical researcher. Tim, on the other hand, recounts a story about how a kind doctor helped him overcome his fear of needles, an interaction that reminded him of the value of empathy and inspired him to become a family practitioner. These two students may seem outwardly similar but their motivations and personalities are very different. Without an essay, your application is essentially a series of numbers: a GPA, SAT scores, the number of hours spent preparing for quiz bowl competitions. The personal statement is your chance to stand out as an individual. // #2: Evidence of Writing Skills A secondary purpose of the essay is to serve as a writing sample and help colleges see that you have the skills needed to succeedin college classes. The personal statement isyour best chance to show off your writing, so take the time to craft a pieceyou're really proud of. That said, don't panic if you aren't a strong writer. Admissions officers aren't expecting you to write like Joan Didion; they just want to see that you can express your ideas clearly. No matter what, your essay should absolutely not include any errors or typos. #3: Explanation of Extenuating Circumstances For some students, the essay is also a chance to explain factors affecting theirhigh school record. Did your grades drop sophomore year because you were dealing with a family emergency? Did you miss out on extracurricularsjunior year because of an extended medical absence? Colleges want to know if you struggled with a serious issue that affected your high school record, so make sure to indicate any relevant circumstances on your application. Keep in mind that in some cases there will be a separate section for you to address these types ofissues, as well as any black marks on your record like expulsions or criminal charges. #4: Your Reasons for Applying to the School Many colleges ask you to writean essay or paragraph about why you're applying to their school specifically. In asking these questions, admissions officers are trying to determine if you're genuinely excited about the school and whether you're likely to attend if accepted. I'll talk more about this type of essay below. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: // What Kind of Questions Do Colleges Ask? Thankfully, applications don't simply say "Please include an essay about yourself" - they includea question or prompt that you're asked to respond to. These prompts are generally pretty open ended and can be approached in a lot of different ways. Nonetheless, most questions fall into a few main categories. Let's go through each common type of prompt, with examples from the Common Application, the University of California application, and ApplyTexas, as well as a few individualschools. Prompt Type 1: Your Personal History This sortof questionasks you to write about a formative experience, important event or key relationship fromyour life. Admissions officers want to understand what is important to you and how your backgroundhas shaped you as a person. These questions are both common and tricky. The most common pitfall students fall into is trying to tell their entire life stories - it's better to focus in on a very specific point in time and explain why it was meaningful to you. Common App 1 Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. Common App 5 Discuss an accomplishment, event, orrealizationthatsparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. University of California 2 Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. University of California 6 Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. // Prompt Type 2:Facing a Problem A lot of prompts deal with how you solve problems or how you cope with failure. College can be difficult, both personally and academically, and admissions committees want to see that you're equipped to face those challenges. The key to these types of questions is to identify a real problem or failure (not a success in disguise) and show how you adapted and grew from addressing the issue. Common App 2 The lessons we take fromobstacles we encountercan be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced achallenge, setback, or failure.How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? Common App 4 Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. ApplyTexas B Describe a circumstance, obstacle or conflict in your life, and the skills and resources you used to resolve it. Did it change you? If so, how? // Prompt Type 3:Diversity Most colleges arepretty diverse, with students from a wide range of backgrounds. Essay questions about diversity are designed to help admissions committees understand how you interact with people who are different from you. In addressing these prompts,you want to show that you're capable of engaging with new ideas and relating to people who may have different beliefs than you. Common App 3 Reflect on a time when youquestionedor challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? Whatwas the outcome? ApplyTexas A Describe a setting in which you have collaborated or interacted with people whose experiences and/or beliefs differ from yours. Address your initial feelings, and how those feelings were or were not changed by this experience. Prompt Type 4:Your Future Goals This type of prompt asks about what you want to do in the future: sometimes simply what you'd like to study, sometimes longer term career goals. Colleges want to understand what you're interested in and how you plan to work towards your goals. You'll mostly see these prompts if you're applying for a specializedprogram (like pre-med or architecture) or applying as a transfer student. Some schools also ask for supplementary essays along these lines. ApplyTexas C Considering your lifetime goals, discuss how your current and future academic and extracurricular activities might help you achieve your goals. University of California (Transfer Applicants) Please describe how you have prepared for your intended major, including your readiness to succeed in your upper-division courses once you enroll at the university. // Prompt Type 5: Why This School The most common style of supplemental essay is the "Why us?" essay (although a fewschools with their own application use this type of questionas their main prompt). In these essays, you're meant to address the specific reasons you want to go to the school you're applying to. Whatever you do, don't ever recycle these essays for more than one school. Yale University What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? Chapman University There are thousands of universities and colleges. Please share with us why you are choosing to apply to Chapman. Rice University How did you first learn about Rice University and what motivated you to apply? Prompt Type 6:Creative Prompts More selective schools often have supplemental essays with stranger or more unique questions. University of Chicago is notorious for its weird prompts, but it's not the only school that will ask you to think outside the box in addressing its questions. University of Chicago The word floccinaucinihilipilification is the act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant or of having no value. It originated in the mid-18th century from the Latin words "floccus," "naucum," "nihilum," and "pilus"- all words meaningâ€Å"of little use.† Coin your own word using parts from any language you choose, tell us its meaning, and describe the plausible (if only to you) scenarios in which it would be most appropriately used. Tufts University Whether you've built blanket forts or circuit boards, produced community theater or mixed media art installations, tell us: what have you invented, engineered, created, or designed? Or what do you hope to? University of Virginia What’s your favorite word and why? University of Chicago(Phil Roeder/Flickr) // What Makes a Strong Personal Statement? OK, so you're clear on what a college essay is, but you're still not sure how to write a good one. To help you get started, I'm going to explainthe main things admissions officers look for in students' essays:an engaging perspective, genuine moments, and lively writing. I've touched onthese ideas already, buthereI'll go into more depth about how the best essays stand out from the pack. Showing Who You Are A lot of students panic about finding a unique topic, and certainly writing about something unusual like a successful dating app you developed with your friends or your time working as a mall Santacan't hurt you. But what's really important isn't so much what you write about as how you write about it. You need to use your subject to show something deeper about yourself. Look at the prompts above: you'll notice that they almost all ask you what you learned or how the experience affected you. Whatever topic you pick, you must be able to specifically address how or why it matters to you. Say a student, Will, was writing about the mall Santa in response to Common App prompt number 2 (the one about failure): Will was a terrible mall Santa. He was way too skinny to be convincing and the kids would always step on his feet. He could easily write 600 very entertaining words describing this experience, but they wouldn't necessarily add up to an effective college essay. To do that, he'll need to talk about his motivations and his feelings: why he took such a job in the first place and what he did (and didn't) get out of it. Maybe Will took the job because he needed to make some money to go on a school trip and it was the only one he could find. Despite his lack of enthusiasm for screaming children, he kept doing it because he knew if he persevered through the whole holiday season he would have enough money for his trip. Would you rather read "I failed at being a mall Santa" or "Failing as a mall Santa taught me how to persevere no matter what"? Admissions officersdefinitely prefer the latter. Ultimately, the best topics are ones that allow you to explain something surprising about yourself. Honesty Since the main point of the essay is to give schools a sense of who you are, you have to open up enough to let them see your personality.Writing a good college essay means being honest about your feelings and experiences even when they aren't entirely positive. In this context, honesty doesn't mean going on at length about the time you broke into the local pool at night and nearly got arrested, but it does mean acknowledging when something was difficult or upsetting for you. Think about the mall Santa example above. The essay won't work unless the writer genuinely acknowledges that he was a bad Santa and explains why. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Even this little kid is a better Santa than Will was. EloquentWriting As I mentioned above, colleges want to know that you are a strong enough writer to survive in college classes. Can you express your ideas clearly and concisely? Can you employ specific details appropriately and avoidcliches and generalizations? These kinds of skills will serve you well in college (and in life!). Nonetheless, admissions officers recognize that different students have different strengths. They aren’t looking for a poetic magnum opus from someone who wants to be a math major. (Honestly, they aren't expecting a masterwork from anyone, but the basic point stands.) Focus on making sure that your thoughts and personality come through, and don't worry about using fancy vocabulary or complex rhetorical devices. Above all, make sure that you have zero grammar or spelling errors. Typos indicate carelessness, which will hurt your cause with admissions officers. Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: // Top 5 Essay-Writing Tips Now that you have a sense of what colleges are looking for, let's talk about how you can put this new knowledge into practice as you approach your own essay. Below, I've collected my five best tips from years as a college essay counselor. #1: Start Early! No matter how much you want to avoid writing your essay, don’t leaveit until the last minute. One of the most important parts of the essay writing process is editing, and editing takes a lot of time. You want to be able to put your draft in a drawer for a week and come back to it with fresh eyes. You don't want to be stuck with an essay you don't really like because you have to submit your application tomorrow. You need plenty of time to experiment and rewrite, so I would recommend starting your essays at least two months before the application deadline. For most students, that means starting around Halloween, but if you're applying early you'll need to get going closer to Labor Day. Of course, it's even better to get a head start and begin your planning earlier. Many students like to work on their essays over the summer when they have more free time, but you should keep in mind that each year's application isn't usually released until August or September. Essay questions often stay the same from year to year, however. If you are looking to get a jump on writing, you can try to confirm with the school (or the Common App) if the essay questions will be the same as the previous year's. #2: Pick a Topic You’re Genuinely Excited About One of the biggest mistakes students make is trying to write what they think the committee wants to hear. The truth is that there's no "right answer" when it comes to college essays - the best topics aren't limited to specific categories like volunteer experiences or winning a tournament. Instead, they're topics that actually matter to the writer. "OK," you're thinking, "but what does she mean by 'a topic that matters to you'? Because to be perfectly honest, right now what really matters to me is that fall TV starts up this week, and I have a feeling I shouldn't write about that." You're not wrong (although some great essays have been written about television). A great topic isn't just something that you're excited about or that you talk to your friends about; it's something that has had a real, describableeffect on your perspective. This doesn't mean that you should overemphasize how somethingabsolutely changed your life, especially if it really didn't. Instead, try to be as specific and honest as you can about how the experience affected you, what it taught you, or what you got out of it. Let'sgo back to the TV idea. Sure, writing an essay abouthow excited you are for the new season of The Vampire Diariesprobably isn't the quickest way to get yourself into college, but you couldwrite a solidessay (in response to the first type of prompt) about how SpongeBob SquarePants was an integral part of your childhood. However,it's not enough to just explain how much you loved SpongeBob - you must also explain why and how watching the show every day after school affected your life. For example, maybe it was a ritual you shared with your brother, which showed you how even seemingly silly pieces of pop culture can bring people together. Dig beneath the surface to show who you are and how you see the world. When you write about something you don't really care about, your writing will come out cliched and uninteresting, and you'll likely struggle to motivate. When you write about something that is genuinely important to you, on the other hand, you can make even the most ordinary experiences - learning to swim, eating a meal, or watching TV - engaging. As strange as it sounds, SpongeBob could make a great essay topic. #3: Focus onSpecifics But how do you write an interesting essay?Focus. Don't try to tell your entire life story, or even the story of an entire weekend; 500-650 words may seem like a lot, but you'll reach that limit quickly if you try to pack every single thing that has happened to you into your essay. If, on the other hand, you just touch on a wide range of topics, you'll end up with an essay that reads more like a resume. Instead, narrow in on one specific event or idea and talk about it in more depth. The narrower your topic, the better. For example, writing about your role as Mercutio in your school's production ofRomeo and Juliet is too general, but writing about opening night, when everything went wrong, could be a great topic. Whatever your topic, use details to help draw the reader in and express your unique perspective, but keep in mind that you don't have to include every detail of what you did or thought - stick to the important and illustrative ones. #4: Use Your Own Voice College essays aren't academicassignments: you don't need to be super formal. Instead, try to be yourself. The best writing sounds like a more eloquent version of the way you talk. Focus on using clear, simple languagethat effectively explains a point or evokes a feeling. To do so, avoid the urge to use fancy-sounding synonyms when you don't really know what they mean. Contractions are fine; slang, generally, is not. Don't hesitate to write in the first person. A final note: you don’t need to be relentlessly positive. It’s OK to acknowledge that sometimes things don’t go how you want - just show how you grew from that. #5: Be Ruthless Many students want to call it a day after writing a first draft, but editing is a key part ofwriting a truly great essay. To be clear, editing doesn't mean just making a few minor wording tweaks and cleaning up typos; it means reading your essay carefully and objectively and thinking about how you could improve it. Ask yourself questions as you read: is the progression of the essay clear? Do you make a lot of vague, sweeping statements that could be replaced with more interesting specifics? Do your sentences flow together nicely? Do youshow something about yourself beyond the surface level? You will have to delete and rewrite (potentially large) parts of your essay, and no matter how attached you feel to something you wrote, you might have to let it go. If you've ever heard the phrase "Kill your darlings," know that it is 100% applicable to college essay writing. At some point, you might even need to rewrite the whole essay.Even though it's annoying, starting over is sometimes the best way to get an essay that you're really proud of. Ludwig/Flickr What's Next? Make sure to check out our other posts on college essays, including our step-by-step guide to how to write your college essay,our analysis of the Common App Prompts, and our collection of example essays. If you're in need of guidance on other parts of the application process, take a look at our guides to choosing the right college for you, writing about extracurriculars, and requesting teacher recommendations. Last but not least, if you're planning on taking the SAT one last time, check out our ultimate guide to studying for the SAT and make sure you're as prepared as possible. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: