Product Description
This fourteen program DVD series is now available online! This series focuses on the administrative and clinical skills that medical assistant learners will need in the workplace. Learners will seek to utilize this and Delmar Cengage Learning’s Critical Thinking for Medical Assistants DVD series to ensure that they are covering the “procedural/show me” and the “critical thinking/analytical” approach to working as a medical assistant in the medical office…. More >>

Skills and Procedures for Medical Assistants: Program 9: Administering Non-Parenteral Drugs, Prescription Writing and Inventory, with Closed Captioning

JUST GET STARTED

Writing a winning essay is not all that difficult, but it does take time. Like anything, getting started is the toughest part. As in Toastmasters speeches, you’re “Breaking the Ice,” by introducing yourself to your audience. In this case your audience is readers not listeners so you will have to be even more creative. You won’t have the advantage of eye contact, expressions and gestures. So you must make yourself stand out on paper!

THE 7 C’s

Based on experience conducting Scholarship Workshops for graduating high school students, I developed a model to help participants focus on the essentials of the essay process. There are 7 C’s to remember and practice in your essay preparation and development. These are: Conformance, Competence, Completeness, Clarity, Construction, Content, and Convincing. Your essay, in order to stand out from the others will need to include these:

1) CONFORMANCE – Of course you want your essay to reflect your individuality, but you must abide by the rules. This means precisely following the requirements and guidelines provided on the application form. Typical requirements include: minimum and/or maximum number of words, format, font size, margins, double or single spacing, etc.

2) COMPETENCE – You must demonstrate you’re capable of doing college level work. Your essay will provide the reviewers with evidence of your writing ability, creativity, and thought processes. It will be substantial evidence of your ability to perform at an acceptable or superior level.

3) CLARITY – Thoughts, premises, ideas, positions, and so forth, must be clearly expressed. Ambiguity or confusion must not be demonstrated. Rather, it is clear thinking, and logic which will be rewarded. Be sure to say exactly what you mean, and make certain it will be understood.

4) CONSTRUCTION – The essay should observe all conventions of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. One simple mistake may disqualify you, or at least cast suspicion on your abilities. Be sure to proofread, revise, and correct your essay before submitting it. “Spell check” will not catch grammar errors, incorrect terminology, or even some spelling errors. So use it, but don’t rely on it. After your thorough proofreading, ask trusted friends, family or colleagues help you identify and correct errors.

5) CONTENT – Essays should follow the standard protocol of: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. Remember, the body is only supportive or explanatory. Extraneous facts, opinions or positions have no place in your final product. Your content should be substantive.

6) COMPLETENESS – Be certain to include everything of critical importance. Aside from completeness of facts and information make certain that you have not missed key elements that will assist the reader in following your “story.” Again, have trusted friends, family or colleagues critically review your writing and make recommendations.

7) CONVINCING – Your paper should be convincing. It should reflect you; your goals passions and uniqueness. You will need an “angle” something that will grab the reader’s attention, and make them interested in finding out more. One important consideration is to develop a great introduction, and a great closing. Your essay will stand out from the pack and gain favorable consideration if you are able to accomplish this.

The memorable introduction and closing are a must. Sometimes it’s difficult to express your passion, excitement or other strong emotion on paper. Remember, your essay is akin to painting a picture – a picture that will capture the observer’s attention, interest, and emotions and convince him of your sincerity.

WRITE YOUR ESSAY

Now get started. And, make it exceptional. You deserve that scholarship or entrance to that college. And now you have the tools to make it happen.

Thought there is no guaranteed way to write a breathtaking piece, below, I am enumerating a few tips that will prove valuable when you write college admission essays:

1. Solve the problem: Whatever your topic, look for the underlying question, problem or issue and present a solution.
2. Invent a prose: Forget all about what you ever read about good writing. Chances are your evaluator knows it. Go with your own style, get inventive with words.
3. Feel the words: Every competition has many winners but for each one of them, winning means a different feeling, a different high. Choose your topic carefully so you can share your experience in your own words, with your personal feelings. A whole new perspective to even a mundane happening is appreciated by the admissions officers.
4. Put the Thesaurus away: Life is beautiful when it is simple. Throw the idea that big words are beautiful out of your head and use simple language. If you can weave an image around your experiences, if you can illustrate your thoughts as vibrantly as Van Gogh used colors, your essay will certainly appeal to the basic senses of the evaluator.
5. Introduce smartly: Typically 2-3 minutes are all Admissions officers spend on an essay. Hence you would do well to make a great first impression. Spin a yarn in the introduction which induces curiosity in the reader to read the entire essay. Don’t try to write a summary of your essay in the introduction- you would not want the officer to skip reading your entire essay!
6. Conclude convincingly: Consider your conclusion as a logical flow to the introduction. Avoid a summary of your essay- that is the admissions officer’s job. If you can present your subject matter as one with universal appeal, you have a winner at hand.
7. Change for the better: Revise your essay after writing it down. Not once, but as many times as possible. Ask a few experts, if possible. Change sentences, use more simple words, and bring out the points that seemed trivial initially but now demand more importance. Make separate sheets for each of these changes and then compare all your essays for one final piece of brilliance that evokes intense emotions.

College admissions essays are typically used to measure a person’s outlook, his way of thinking and probable point of view in times of crucial judgments. These 500 words are more decisive than many arguments you may have had or will have in your life. A judicious selection of words will take you a long way ahead in your career. 500 words.

I am Manish Pahuja, running a successful SEO services firm in New Delhi, India. As a writer, I remember my days when I desperately wanted admission to a good college but was turned down due to my abysmal writing. This prodded me to learn the art of writing- and share it with future successes.