For many rising seniors, the onset of summer marks the beginning of college application season. Even if the final list of colleges isn’t yet complete, with the stress of Junior year in the rear-view mirror, summer is a great time to get a start on your college essays. Where to begin? For your 650-word personal statement, The Common Application offers 7 prompts to choose from, one of which is “share an essay on any topic of your choice.” Such an open-ended assignment can leave students adrift, lost in a sea of options without any clear course to steer.

Students often put a great deal of thought and care into their college essays… as you should. Your personal statement is your opportunity to contextualize so many data points in your application and to turn yourself from a file into a person in the eyes of admissions officers. Equally important, your personal statement gives you a chance to thoughtfully examine your own values and goals: an exercise we would all do well to take part in from time to time.

So how do you begin this daunting task? Take it from the greats. In A Moveabale Feast, Hemingway said, “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” Such simple advice is truly the key to overcoming writer’s block and getting something started. From there, it may get easier, or it may feel all wrong, which is why it’s worth going through the exercise for several of the prompts.

Following this step-by-step guide will get you into your writing process and give you a framework for building a great college essay.

A step-by-step guide to writing a draft essay:

1. Go through The Common Application personal statement essay prompts and throw away one or two that just don’t speak to you. There, see? You’ve already made progress. That wasn’t so hard!
2. For each of the remaining prompts, spend 3-5 minutes brainstorming whatever comes to mind. Use a different sheet of paper for each topic, and scribble down thoughts as soon as they come to mind. The goal here is not to write in coherent sentences but rather to get your creative juices flowing and your ideas and memories out of your head and onto paper.
3. Now, take those 5 or 6 pieces of paper and, one at a time, sort through your thoughts and from whatever sticks out at you, write the truest sentence that you can. Remember that this is as much about getting the feeling right as the facts. Though he is primarily known as a fiction writer, Hemingway often blurred the lines between story and personal memoir in order to help his reader understand and experience an emotion.
4. Once you have your six sentences, pick 2 or 3 that you like best and give some thought to how they could grow into a larger expression of who you are or how you felt at a given time. These are the seeds of two or three great college essays.
5. Now choose one of your sentences to work on expanding. Consider what it can say about you, remembering that the best essays are not arrogant, and they don’t need to explain why you’re a great person or a great student. They need to humanize you and speak honestly. At this point, if you like, set the project aside for the day.
6. When you return to your topic, proceed to write as if each sentence matters. Ask yourself as you write each sentence whether it is steering you toward a clear picture. Stick to your topic—A college essay is too short to wander.
7. Once you have a few paragraphs, step back and ask yourself how the essay feels. If you’re being truly honest, it may feel a little uncomfortable. To share ourselves candidly is to allow for judgement, which is scary.
8. If you feel good about your draft, share it with someone you trust as an editor. If not, go back to another one of your true sentences from step 3 and begin another essay on another topic, and see where it leads you.
9. Don’t rush the process. If it takes you two weeks to have a successful writing session that leads to a draft you want to carry forward, that’s ok! That’s why you’ve started early.

If you have any questions about writing college essays or need general writing assistance, please contact Scott Moser via email at scott@mosereducational.com.