The College Application Essay Editing Checklist
There are really 4 steps to writing the college essay:
1. Think about how to answer the essay prompt.
3. The editing stage
2. Write the first draft.
4. Polishing your last draft.
Seniors, editing is one of the most important steps, and it’s probably the most difficult. For this reason I am
offering a checklist to help you with the editing stage.
After you have decided what you want to write about to answer the prompt (Stage 1). The first draft (Stage 2)
should be an open flow, almost a free-writing stage. You want to try to get everything down, even if it doesn’t flow.
It’s important to get your thoughts down ... ideas, words, memories and more. Forget about paragraphs, periods,
commas, and grammar! That’s why Stage 3, the edit, is so hard. You have to clean up the mess from Stage 2.
Once you have written your first draft, it’s best to let it ferment for a few days. So give yourself time to write your
application essay; it takes more than one night! Letting your first draft sit for a few days is important to get away
from what you have written before you edit so you can look at what you have written with a more objective and
fresh eye. After a few days, read your first draft out loud or have a parent or friend read it out loud to you.
Editing is not polishing, so many students make this mistake. Polishing is fixing up punctuation, changing usage
errors, dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. The editing stage can be messy.
When editing you need to:
 Re-organize your paragraphs
 Rewrite your paragraphs to develop them more
 Rewrite sentences and whole sections for details
 Rewrite sentences to make them stronger and more varied
 Experiment with word changes
 CUT whole pieces of things that do not lead you directly to answering the essay prompt.
Here is a checklist to help you through the editing process:
Content

Beginning paragraph – it doesn’t have to be a thesis statement but it should capture the reader’s attention.
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Now look at the conclusion – does it pull your ideas together and speak to the essay prompt?
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Does your overall essay show, not tell?
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Are there specific details throughout? There should be no generalities or vagueness.

Is the voice of the essay personal and human? Your sense of humor and your way of relating to friends should
show through.
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Are you using active voice, strong verbs, and interesting phrases?

Is your wording simple and clear rather than studious, plodding and abstract?
Structure

Does each paragraph move forward to your final point?

Are the paragraphs ordered well for effect and to avoid confusion?
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Are there transitions between paragraphs and a smooth flow from one thought to another?

Are your sentences clear and varied?
Once you have completed your own edit, you may then want to have a professional editing service like EssayEdge.com
give it a final polish to perfect the writing piece. Then you will be sure you have done all that you can to submit your best
possible product!