Dos and Don't of College Essay and Cover Letter Writing

Dos and Don't of College Essay and Cover Letter Writing

What you need to know to write a successful essay or cover letter.

Dos of Cover Letter Writing

• Research the company and describe how their mission aligns with your own approach or professional interests

• Provide a simple and concise theme with your knowledge of the company/organization (only one sentence)

• Explain why you are passionate about the industry or company 

• Include relevant work experience, education, skills, and abilities to support your purpose for your interest in the company and position

• Address to a named individual and their title

• Project confidence and enthusiasm

• Minimize “I” statements, monotonous sentence structure, or excessive redundancy

Open Ended

Why do you think researching and understanding the mission and philosophy of a company is important to include in a cover letter? (Answer using complete sentences)

Don'ts of Cover Letter Writing:

• Be negative or desperate (avoid using words such as: please, hope, honored etc.)

• Mention your lack of skill or experience

• Include false claims or exaggeration of your skill or abilities (do not act like you know more than you do because the employer will find out via an interview or reference checks)

• Send written material with typos or poorly constructed sentence structure, grammar and/or syntax

Don'ts of Cover Letter Writing Continued

• Indicate how you would benefit from, learn, grow, or use the position as a stepping stone or temporary position for your other goals

• Using only your education and personal interest as the purpose for pursuing the position. It is important to translate transferable skills from previous positions that would apply to the current position you are seeking.

Multiple Choice

True or False: In a cover letter you should explain what you will learn from this position so that you can pursue a different job.

• True

• False

Dos of College Essay Writing

• Start the essay writing process early enough to spend ample time brainstorming, free-writing, drafting and perfecting.

• Be honest: sincerity counts for a lot in an essay that aims to say something about your personality and values.

• Respond to the actual prompt question.

• Use your essay for reflection, showcasing humor, talking about your passions — anything that isn’t already reflected on your activity sheet.

Dos of College Essay Writing Continued:

• Use vivid imagery so that you can create pictures in the reader's mind

• Write about something that personally affects you.

• Have a begin, middle, and end.

• Write multiple drafts

Multiple Choice

All of the following are things you should do when writing a college essay except....

• List all your high school achievements

• Be honest

• Make the essay personal and allow the reader to enter your world.

• Be very vivid with your language so that the reader can see mental pictures of what you are describing.

Don'ts of College Essay Writing

• Don't plagiarize (be original because your ideas are better anyway)

• Don't exceed page limits.

• Don't rely on spell check.

• Don't use cliches or overused idioms (this goes back to being original)

• Don't write a 5 paragraph essay.

Don'ts of College Essay Writing Continued:

• Don't try to knock someone out with the first sentence (this is not an English essay where you need a hook)

• Don't list all your accomplishments.

• DON'T STRESS OUT!

Multiple Choice

True or False: The word limits are only a suggestion. It is ok to write less than 250 words or more than 650 words.

• True

• False