Berkeley and UCLA grads teamed with university and high school English teachers, will edit, focus and critique that all-important college essay--sometimes called the college application essay or the college entrance essay.

The Race is On . . .

The Essay+ team has years of on-the-job experience in college and high school classrooms teaching the college essay or the personal statement.

While the college essay or the entrance essay is only one component in the application process, nevertheless it is a crucial step in that process for many colleges and universities. Put our experience to work for you. Let the Essay + experts sharpen your writing skills and give you the edge over others who are competing for prized spots in top universities.

The college essay signifies one thing: a passport to the college of your choice. Our professional editors can help you win that stamp of approval by providing you with the know-how and skill to write a dynamic, eye-catching college essay.

Throughout the pages of Essay+, you will find tips and guidance on how to structure a winning essay that will focus the attention of college admission officers and give students the winning edge. We cover the basics of Writing 101. As a further help, students can access our web site and find samples of personal statements written by students from previous years who got into some of the top universities in the country.

Our team, composed of English teachers who are also Berkeley and UCLA grads, will edit, diagnose, correct and proofread student compositions for correct structure, fluency, diction, audience awareness, punctuation, interest, powerful content, parallel structure, main ideas, thesis statements, and supporting evidence.

We encourage students before submitting their compositions to Essay+ to proofread, revise and rewrite. Remember the first draft or the rough draft is like a diamond in the rough that needs further polishing through editing, revising and rewriting to reveal its power.

Keep in mind that an effective personal statement begins with an attention-grabbing opening. Here is a sample of an effective first paragraph of a personal statement.

Berkeley:

"Lumbering along in my midnight blue, beat up '71 Chevy Nova, I rub the sleep from my eyes and prepare for the day ahead. I pull into the 1995 car show known as the Woodbridge High School parking lot. In my quest for a space I pass by a Mercedes, a BMW, and an assortment of other nice cars. My blue beast coughs and wheezes as she traverses the grueling speed bumps, like a whale in a stormy surf. "Aha!" At last I find a place to park next to a red Mazda Miata. As I turn off the ignition, a ferocious backfire startles some freshmen peddling by. I hurry to physics, leaving the car alone in a sea of automotive splendor, its Mondale/Ferraro bumper sticker adding the perfect touch of sentimentality for a bygone era. . . "

|College_Entrance_Essay || Personal_Statement|

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9/11/01