Three Writing Techniques that Will Save Your Essay

by , Dec 5, 2009

The best way to learn how to write well is to read good writing. By reading the right books and articlesthat is, material composed by excellent writersyou'll begin to internalize the writing techniques that they use and begin to use them yourself.

I recently reread Tom Brokaw's tribute to The Greatest Generation and found his writing techniques to speak particularly well to applicants writing personal statements.

Follow Brokaw's stellar example and your essays will be transformed from lusterless drab to words that dance live across the page. Here are a few writing techniques that he uses most effectively:

1. Entice your reader by using vivid details.

The best way to describe an experience is to SHOW your readers the specifics of the experience. Move away from broad, sweeping statements that don't really say anything, to specific, detailed sentences about what you truly experienced. For example, instead of saying the WW2 soldiers came from diverse backgrounds, Brokaw writes:

They left their ranches in Sully County, South Dakota, their jobs on the main street of Americus, Georgia, they gave up their place on the assembly lines in Detroit and in the ranks of Wall Street, they quit school or went from cap and gown directly into uniform.

2. Emphasize magnitude with numbers.

You've got two ways to get your point across: The combat unit was highly decorated. Or Brokaw's

The 442 Regimental Combat Unit would become the most heavily decorated single combat unit of its size in US Army History. 8 Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations and 18,143 individual decorations including one Medal of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 560 Silver Stars and 28 Oak Leaf Clusters in lieu of a second Silver Star, 4,000 Bronze Stars and 1,200 Oak leaf Clusters representing a second Bronze Star, and at least 9,486 Purple Hearts.

Which was has more impact? Which is more compelling? Keep this in mind when you write about your own experiences. "I've traveled all over the world" has less impact than "In the last three years I've traveled to 16 different countries, 118 different cities, and swam in six different oceans."

3. Paint a picture of your experience involving all the senses.

You don't want your readers to simply KNOW what you experienced; you want them to feel like they were there with you. Pay attention to how Brokaw describes the conditions for an American POW in Germany:

It was the beginning of the long, cruel fight to survive, days of watching other inmates getting shot as they tried to escape, the same meals of watery cabbage or turnip soup, the cold nights with only a thin blanket for cover.

It makes my stomach churn and my body shiver just to read that. Do the same with your essays.

Follow these tips from a pro and your essay will read like that of a pro!