1. College Essay/Resume Lesson Plans
Mrs. Neely
Introduction Lesson:
Overview | What makes a college essay “work”? How can writers reveal themselves through writing? In
this lesson, students explore sample college essays and then consider advice about what separates a great
essay from a mediocre or ineffective one as well as essay-writing tips. Finally, they write essays based on
the piece of advice that resonated with them.
Materials | Copies of sample personal essays, copies of the College Essay Checklist (PDF), computer with
Internet access and projection equipment
1. Warm-Up | Begin by asking: What do you think college admissions officers are looking for when
they read student essays? List responses on the board, and be sure to push the conversation
beyond issues of mechanics and structure to content, voice and style.
2. Then read aloud this first paragraph from a college essay:
During the summer before my junior year of high school, I spent a weekend volunteering with the poor in
post-Katrina Louisiana and realized that I am privileged. Most of what these people had had been ripped out
from under them and life was very different there from my life in suburban Massachusetts. Amazingly,
though, these people still seemed happy. I learned from this experience that money isn’t everything.
3. Ask: Judging just from this paragraph, do you think this essay will meet the expectations we just
listed? Does this paragraph grab you? Are you interested in reading more of this essay? What do
you think this paragraph says about this student?
4. Next, divide students into small groups of “admissions officers,” and give each “committee” a
college essay to evaluate. Resources include Connecticut College’s Essays That Worked
collection and these sample essays published in The Times. In addition, give them
this handout (PDF).
Tell the “admissions committees” to imagine that each of these essay writers has applied for admission to
their college or university. Each group is responsible for using the handout to evaluate the essay and
decide whether to admit this student. They should assume that each student has a similarly strong profile
in terms of grades, test scores, activities and recommendations.
Once students have read and evaluated the essay, reconvene the class. Invite each group to describe their
essay and what they liked or didn’t like about it, and deliver their admissions decision.

2. After each group has shared, ask: How were these essays different from the excerpt with which we
began? In what ways were they more effective? What is cliché? How did these essays avoid that trap? Is
there a way to move the experience detailed in the opening essay beyond cliché? After considering these
essays, what else should we add to our list about what college admissions officials are looking for in
student essays?
Looking at other examples: Suggestions: Homework
Read the entire article with your class or for homework, using the questions below.
Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:
1. Remember that essay we started class with? Why are the options presented in the “fill-in-the-
blank” introduction in the post likely to not interest or impress a college admissions official?
2. Why are more mundane topics often preferable?
3. What other alternatives to the standard college essay fare does this post offer?
4. What are some things to avoid in a college essay?
5. Mr. Marcus quotes Matthew Whelan of Stony Brook University as saying that the best college
essays “help us understand why we want the applicant here.” Thinking of your own experiences,
what are some things that make you attractive to the college(s) of your choice?
Writing Their Own Essay:
Activity | Explain to students that they will now start developing personal essays for their college
application packages, by evaluating and then capitalizing on advice on how to write effective essays.
1. First, project the multimedia feature“Counting Words, Courting College.”
2. The short video from EssayLady.com.
3. Ask: What advice do you take away from this audio slide show about what makes a great college
essay?
4. Ask: What advice here seems most useful? Despite all of this advice, what don’t you know about
writing college essays? What role does the reader play in determining what works and what
doesn’t? How can you account for individual, unknown readers as you write?
Choosing a topic:
1. But first, they have to choose a topic. As one parent contributor to The Choice blog notes, crafting
an essay is really a foray into memoir writing. And while all of the advice they have gathered is
useful, the question of what to write about remains.

3. Timeline of Significant Events
2. To help students begin to discover topics that make for good essay fodder, ask them to create a
timeline of significant events in their lives. Ask them to really think broadly, aiming to get at least
20 items on their list. They should include “major” events like births, deaths, travel, coming of
age rituals, or course, but also the more mundane moments they remember that have marked
their lives in some way — a car ride, a dinner, a chance meeting, etc.
Group Finding Patterns:
3. Then, ask them to talk in pairs or small groups about what patterns, ideas or themes emerge when
they review their timelines. Are there significant people who crop up again and again? What about
an experience that truly changed their perspective on things in an important way? What inspires
strong emotion? What seems clichéd or potentially boring? (Allow students who are gravitating
toward stories that are particularly personal to work independently.)
In their discussions, ask students to narrow possible topics for essays to three they think will help
a college admissions committee “understand why [they] want the applicant.”
As They Select the Their Topic
1. Going further | Students use the topics they generated in class to draft a college essay around the
piece of advice they thought was the most useful.
2. Offer those students who are not satisfied with their topic some or all of the following prompts to
help them generate more ideas: Use the packet of Questions you have supplied. Remember
3. When students are finished drafting their essays, ask them to bring in their drafts for peer review.
Use your favorite method or one of the options presented in our lesson Getting Personal, including
using the College Essay Checklist (PDF).
Standards | This lesson is correlated to McREL’s national standards (it can also be aligned to the
new Common Core State Standards):
Language Arts
1. Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
5. Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
7. Uses general skills and strategies to understand a variety of informational texts
8. Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes
Life Skills: Working With Others
1. Contributes to the overall effort of a group
4. Displays effective interpersonal communication skills
Behavioral Studies
1. Understands that group and cultural influences contribute to human development, identity and behavior
2. Understands various meanings of social group, general implications of group membership and different ways that groups function
3. Understands that interactions among learning, inheritance and physical development affect human behavior
4. Understands conflict, cooperation and interdependence among individuals, groups, and institutions
Arts and Communication
3. Uses critical and creative thinking in various arts and communication settings
4. Understands ways in which the human experience is transmitted and reflected in the arts and communication

4. College Resume Writing: Lesson Plan
Introduction Lesson:
Overview | What information does a College Résumé include? How can students reveal themselves
further in this medium? In this lesson, students explore sample college résumés and begin to brainstorm
the list of possible achievements. Finally, they will create a resume using the word choice lessons.
Materials | Copies of sample resumes, copies of the Format and Translating Skills Handout (PDF),
computer with Internet access and projection equipment
1. Warm-Up | Begin by viewing the Résumé PPT Introduction. Ask students to think about their HS
career? What things are note worthy that a college may look for in an applicant? What do you
have to offer?
2. Activity: Student will complete the Graphic Organizer with their achievements, extracurricular
activities, and honors. Once the students have brainstormed, they may begin to add information in
to the template.
3. Activity: Language: How should students make their experiences match up to their skills? The
activity that shows and gives examples of how to translate their actions into skills.
4. Final Activity: Students will type and peer edit their college essay. Students will place and electric
copy of both the their essay and the resume on edmodo.com to be saved for next year. (incase.)