When it comes to the SAT’s, practice makes perfect. But how does a teen, who feels uncomfortable about writing, tackle the college essay which must capture the distinguishing essence of his or her life experiences using proper grammar and good syntax? Most teens go to school, go to summer camp and do similar extra-curricular activities. “Help, I’m boring! I never did anything special! I don’t know how to write!” And then the door slams.

Not to worry! I’m not going to tell your teen to exercise daily, breathe deeply, eat balanced meals, drink plenty of water and get some sleep. In my previous life I used to be an English professor and still am a college/graduate school admissions essay writing coach. Here are some strategies for writing that engaging college essay to tip the admission’s scale in your child’s favor and restore some normalcy at home. An added benefit: Your teen will feel confident and even enjoy writing about his or her life experiences.

* Help your teen set up a schedule for the writing process which includes: Brainstorming, writing the first draft, second draft, reading the essay aloud (Hint: If it doesn’t sound right, it isn’t), making changes and proofreading the final draft. Make your teen aware from the start that writing means rewriting and therefore there will be a few drafts. Allow plenty of time. In fact, putting the essay away for a few days and returning to it with fresh eyes makes you a more objective reader, not too attached to what doesn’t work. Last minute writing inhibits creativity because creativity needs a relaxed mind which can focus.
* Show your teen love and respect to bolster self-esteem which gets wobbly during the writing process. Don’t critique unless you have found some genuine elements to praise. Always be specific in your suggestions; no one can deal with, “This isn’t any good,” or “This is too cliche.”
* Make the writing process fun and enlightening. “Wow, your identity is the subject of an essay! Let’s find out who you really are!” Help your teen shed some of the anxiety about writing; brainstorm together. You will be amazed what comes to mind after twenty minutes.
* When you brainstorm with your teen, look for the ordinary and concrete. Delight in simple details, images or concepts to make them sound extraordinary. Anyone can shine with an amazing achievement like a Westinghouse science project in molecular biology or a trip to China; however, to take something completely ordinary and lift it to another level is brilliant. Feel free to use a bit of humor. College Admissions likes to be entertained. Keep in mind that humor is subjective; avoid the extreme.
* Guide your teen to use a specific experience or conversation to reveal his or her essential personality traits. Let the part stand for the whole. Don’t write an autobiography or a resume in paragraph form. Keep the essay focused on one small theme.
* Use concrete words to show, not tell. Using images from the five senses and a bit of dialogue create a tangible, believable picture. Let the admissions reader draw his own conclusion from what is described. Don’t tell the reader what to think.
* Avoid peppering the essay with multi-syllabic SAT words. Although this sounds contradictory because your teen is trying to boost SAT vocabulary, that is primarily for the reading section. When it comes to writing, say it simply and to the point. No abstract language here like: Interesting, unique, beautiful, etc.
* The hardest step is to begin writing the introduction; encourage your teen to begin in the middle (no introduction) and finish the essay with a conclusion. Now for the second draft let your teen take that conclusion and turn it into a terrific introduction.

Helping your teen with the writing process will strengthen your connection. You will learn more about the inner workings of your teen’s mind to help reinforce his or her confidence. Often we don’t really know what we are thinking until we write down our thoughts. We dig deeper when we write to discover buried treasure. This will set the precedent for future writing assignments.

Related posts

• Which Culinary School Is Right For You
• College Essays: How To Ace The Selection Process
• Adult Education Principles – How to Help People Learn and Grow
• Writing an Admissions Essay
• Computer Repair Schools Teach PC Repair

However, while no face to face interaction is found in online degree programs, students are still able to communicate with each other through their computers. A growing number of physical universities, as well as newer online colleges, have begun to offer a select set of academic degree and certificate programs via the Internet at a wide range of levels and in a wide range of disciplines.

While some programs require students to attend some campus classes or orientations, many are delivered completely online. In addition, several universities offer online student support services, such as online advising and registration, counseling, online textbook purchase, student governments and student newspapers. The benefits of online education includes, the ability to earn the same degree as an in class student, study at your own pace, convenience student resource center.

Education

Nevertheless, in higher education especially, the increasing tendency is to create a virtual learning environment which is sometimes combined with a management information system to create a managed learning environment in which all aspects of a course are handled through a consistent user interface standard throughout the institution. E-Learning can also refer to educational web sites such as those offering learning scenarios, worksheets and interactive exercises for children. E-learning services have evolved since computers were first used in education.

The main goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. Accrediting agencies, which are private educational associations of regional or national scope develop evaluation crite. Online learning can be a convenient way of getting your education but its not for everybody. Make sure to find out how much your education is going to cost before enrolling. Most colleges and universities now offer online learning also called distance education.

Request free information about online teaching preparation programs and online education degrees from some of the most respected schools and colleges of education in your country. These highly respected education schools offer accredited education degrees and teaching preparation programs, delivered in a convenient online format. The internet has revolutionized education as we know it and now it is possible to earn a GED, BA, MA and even a PhD virtually without leaving your home and many other degrees are available with online education.

However, the internet has made online education possible in virtually every discipline and for any kind of student. Homework can be handed in electronically and lectures can be watched by downloading video files, online education can replicate the classroom experience and give the student the opportunity to earn a degree while working around job and family responsibilities. Online education is now available for almost every kind of degree.

It has made it possible to find a good school anywhere in the world but some people may need learning institutions close to them because they may want to visit the campus, use the library facilities, get to know other students face to face or take occasional exams which are proctored on campus. However, online education is more characterized by writing than by exams, simply because students who are located all over the world can not take proctored exams.

Learning

E-learning is naturally suited to distance learning and flexible learning, but can also be used in conjunction with face to face teaching, in which case the term blended learning is commonly used. It can also refer to educational web sites such as those offering learning scenarios, worksheets and interactive exercises for children. There is a trend to move toward blended learning services, where computer based activities are integrated with practical or classroom based situations.

This idea is generally seen as being distinct from the use of computers in ways where learning is at least a peripheral element of the experience. Much effort has been put into the technical reuse of electronically based teaching materials and in particular creating or reusing learning objects.

Conclusion

Online education is a way to increase students knowledge in a particular area of study by giving them access to a wide variety of material on the subject. It is rapidly increasing and online doctoral programs have even developed at leading research universities. It is accommodating in this manner, as it permits an individual to work while being enrolled as a full time college student.

Moreover, it is convenient and flexible, allowing you to maintain your professional and personal commitments while pursuing a high quality education. Online education is now available for almost every kind of degree.

Related posts

• Home Schooling – Is It Right For You?
• Online Education For A Nursing Degree
• Holistic Health Colleges – Course of Study
• Five Steps to Select an Online Degree Program
• Become a Graphic Designer

Let’s talk about structuring your college essay for busy readers. When you consider the importance of making a good first impression combined with the tired eyes of the college administrators who must read all the applications that come pouring in you get an idea of why you need to grab the attention of the reader and get your points across quickly and clearly.

With the right structure, your college essay will lead its readers from point to point and at the same time you make it easy for the reader to follow you from point to point as you develop your main theme. Without any structure, the reader can easily become confused by the wandering nature of the essay and may even stop reading it completely due to lack of interest. This cannot be good for you chances of being admitted to the college or university of your choice.

Let’s do a little demonstration from the college administrator’s perspective as he or she reads and essay. Essays that are poorly written and constructed take an inordinate amount of time and energy to read. The word used by the college administrator may be something more along the lines of decipher as he or she will have to decode your rambling writing and figure out what you’re trying to say. An irritated and annoyed college admissions officer is not likely to rate your college essay highly and that doesn’t bode well for the rest of your application either.

College admissions officers are human too. They’re job is to be neutral but considering the volume of college applications and essay they have to process, it’s likely that a poorly written college essay will shift them from neutral to negative and worse than that you’ll lose their goodwill and they’re likely to carry over that negativity when rating your college application as a whole.

For students who prefer to write an essay about a single experience here is a good diagram to follow. Start with an introductory statement followed by a thesis statement. Next comes a preview statement and a topic sentence. Now you’ll develop the topic and transition to the next topic sentence. Repeat this process until you’ve covered all the topics you have to discuss in the college essay. Finally, end with a concluding statement that ties the whole essay together. That’s the type of well-written cohesive essay that impresses college admissions officers.

Related posts

• Holistic Health Colleges – Course of Study
• The Learn and Earn Nursing Degree Model
• Nursing Degrees Online – What You Need To Know
• Important Conditions To Follow In Order To Successfully Get FAFSA Financial Aid
• Are Private Schools Right For Your Kids