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  • Blog > Applications

How To Write an Essay That Gets Noticed And Approved

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Empowerly

  • May 11, 2025

Do you want to make your college admission essay stand out? If so, this is not just your dream. Instead, nearly every student aiming to land in their desired institute wishes to write a compelling essay. But unfortunately, not all of them succeed in achieving that. But the good news is that you can manage to make your essay distinct by learning some effective practices. 

Yes, you heard that right. With the right strategies in your hands, you can ensure that you write what matters the most. However, the question is, what exactly are those techniques? Well, don’t worry: we have specifically created this detailed guide in this regard. In this post, we will walk you through some effective practices to help you make your essay worth appreciating and approving. So, let’s get started. 

Take Time To Outline Your Essay

A unique essay is always organized and tells your story in a flow. It takes the admission officers from one point to the next with a smooth transition, helping them connect your statements. So, if you wish your essay doesn’t look scattered like most ones, always create a proper outline before writing. 

Another thing you can do to stand out is try a unique structure that is not common. Whatever structure you go with, list some key points for each section and add small notes to support them. This way, it becomes easier to remember what and where to write. When everything is organized, your information feels more appealing. 

Hook Readers With A Strong Intro

Remember, the intro of your essay defines its overall engagement. Many students take generic starts with the aim of surprising the reader in the middle. That’s not a good practice at all. You must ensure that your beginning is compelling enough to indicate that you are different from all other applicants. 

For this purpose, you can ask a question, share a quick story or moment, say something bold, or simply state an attractive quote. But remember, whatever you write first sets the foundation of your entire essay. That’s why, begin with a hook you can build your story around naturally. 

Don’t Just Write About Your Achievements

Writing about just your wins is a common tactic used by other students. You need to do something different to get noticed and easily approved. One such idea is discussing challenges you faced in your previous academic career. Remember, the admission committee goes through your application thoroughly, including grades and achievements.

However, they don’t know what challenges you faced. So, instead of just focusing on your wins, mention the difficulties in your previous journey. By doing so, you actually present a true picture of yourself in front of them. As a result, it becomes easier for them to make the right decision. 

Be Transparent To The Committee

Remember, falsification and fabrication are highly prohibited in college essays. You are expected to tell real things, not the made-up ones. Admission teams are nowadays smart enough to identify what’s genuine and what’s just to impress. They receive many applications with falsified essays. So, your honesty can really make a difference. 

Whether it’s your story, grades, achievements, failures, or anything else, be honest with what you tell. Don’t try to sound perfect, as it’s a direct indication that you are telling a lie. Instead, be who you really are and only write true statements. 

Paint The Picture With The Right Words

Another thing that can make your essay unique from others is your storytelling ability. The better you paint the picture with words, the higher the effectiveness of your statements. That’s why, instead of telling the reader what happened, try your best to show them the scenario with your words. 

Use details like emotions, colors, sounds, and even small actions. These small details make your story engaging as well as effective. For example, rather than saying, “I faced many challenges,” use the exact words that highlight your problem and give a deeper view into your situation. 

Write Your Essay As You Talk

Do you know why many essays get rejected during evaluation? Well, one of the common reasons is lack of human touch or appeal. Many students blindly rely on AI writing tools. This makes their essays feel robotic. So unlike other applicants whose content sounds extremely formal, try to be natural. The more your writing flows like real talk, the more the interesting it becomes. 

This makes admission officers stay engaged throughout their reading experience. When they find you converse in a genuine tone, they are more likely to perceive the hard work you put into creating a customized essay. That’s why you should use simple words and familiar terms and keep sentences short and clear. This approach can give you an edge over others, especially those who make their essay sound like a textbook. 

Avoid Repeating Things Over And Over

Saying the same thing repeatedly doesn’t make it stronger. But unfortunately, many students think it works. Well, that’s not the case at all. Instead of strengthening your point, repetition makes your essay boring. Also, it indicates that you don’t have something unique to write about in your admission application. 

So, don’t state an idea once you have covered it, not even twice. Along with that, also avoid redundancy in words. Whatever you write should count as a unique contribution to your essay. When every sentence gives something new in a proper flow, the admission team enjoys reading it and considers such applicants due to their creativity.

Check Your Essay For Grammar

No matter how original or compelling your essay is, grammatical mistakes can lead to immediate rejection. Even minor language errors can give evaluators a valid reason to dismiss your application. But why let minor flaws undermine your hard work when you can fix them beforehand? All it takes is careful attention to each sentence to spot and correct potential language issues.

If you don’t want to engage in manual grammar-checking hassles, try a free AI grammar checker for quick and stress-free editing. An advanced AI grammar checker saves your time and effort. Also, it reduces the chances of human errors in your essay. So, as you finish writing, pass your work through an automated grammar corrector and get a flawless essay within seconds. 

Have Someone Review Your Essay

Another helpful practice to make your essay effective is to get a second set of eyes on your essay. Why? Because you might have made some mistakes in your essay unintentionally. So when you show your work to someone else, you can know about those parts and fix them in a timely manner. Therefore, ask a trusted person to read your essay. For this purpose, you might get help from your teachers, parents, friends, or seniors. 

Once a few reliable persons review your essay, figure out what their common opinions are. Then, make necessary fixes to make the weak parts stronger and worth noticing. And if you can afford, prefer getting help from online essay writing service providers. Expert advice can really make a difference in your essay. 

To Sum Up

We hope that this guide has really proved beneficial for you to learn how to stand out with a unique essay. After going through this article, you might have understood that writing a winning essay doesn’t need you to sound fancy, overly formal, or add big statements. Instead, what really gets your admission approved is your honesty, the way you present your story, your transparency, and extensive proofreading. 

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