Grammarhow

10 Better Ways To Write “In This Essay, I Will…”

“In this essay, I will” is a common way for people to talk about what they will write in their essays. However, it’s often overused, which is why it might be wise to look into a few available alternatives. This article will share the best ones with you.

What Can I Write Instead Of “In This Essay, I Will…”?

There are plenty of other ways to write this phrase. We’ll take you through the following to show you how they’re effective:

  • You will learn about
  • You will find out about
  • I find… really interesting…
  • This essay demonstrates
  • This essay will discuss
  • In this essay, you will learn
  • I will show both sides of the argument
  • This essay will analyze
  • I strongly agree/disagree, and this essay will explore why
  • This paper will explore

better ways to write in this essay i will

The preferred versions do not reference the “essay” at all. Instead, the best options are “you will learn about” and “you will find out about.” These work well because they save time and words in the essay, and they don’t seem like wasted space for the reader.

You Will Learn About

“You will learn about” works well because it shows the reader straight away what they will learn. We do not have to use the phrase “In this essay” or anything similar because they’re already aware that they are reading an essay.

The biggest problem with writing “in this essay” is that it’s a waste of time and words. Anyone reading your essay is typically evaluating it, so they do not need to be reminded what they are reading.

Instead, you should try to impress them with the contents of your essay and the points you want to highlight. The quicker you can explain the basic points you will touch on, the more engaged your examiner will be throughout the written piece.

Here are a few examples that will help you make the most of it:

  • You will learn about my beliefs here, and I will make sure to elaborate on why I think it’s important to change the current rule system.
  • You will learn about how it helps to practice these things before you undertake them.
  • You will learn about what makes elephants such captivating creatures, and I’ll be sure to convince you by the end.

You Will Find Out About

“You will find out about” works in much the same way. We still do not mention the “essay.” It helps us show what we will be demonstrating. It only needs to be a sentence or two, but it’s a great way to explore our main idea without any other unnecessary bits.

Check out some of these examples to see how it works:

  • You will find out about what makes them tick and how you can decide whether they’re right for you and your lifestyle.
  • You will find out about many things from this piece, and I’ll make sure that your mind will be blown by the end of it.
  • You will find out about the inhabitants of this fine city, as I will demonstrate going forward.

I Find… Really Interesting…

“I find… really interesting…” is a two-part phrase. We typically include the subject of the essay after “find” and then go on to explain why we find that subject “really interesting.” It’s a great way to avoid using “essay” in the introduction for no reason.

We can use this phrase with great success in many cases. It helps us to evaluate the overall tone and message behind our essay before we’ve even begun. Many readers and examiners look forward to reading essays set up in this way.

You can see how it works in the following examples:

  • I find the people’s beliefs really interesting because they do not back down from them even when challenged.
  • I find the current state of things really interesting because they’re nowhere near as glamorous as they would have been five decades ago.
  • I find the things we talk about really interesting, and I will explain to you what it takes to become the best teacher you can be.

This Essay Demonstrates

“This essay demonstrates” is a good phrase to start an essay if you want to include the phrase. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with starting essays with a phrase like this; it mostly depends on personal choice and writing style.

Some examiners do not like reading things starting with “in this essay” or “this essay does this.” In those cases, you might be better suited to try to remove it. It’s also good practice to get you used to start your essays in more exciting ways.

However, if you like the style of including “this essay” and similar phrases, there are no reasons why you shouldn’t be able to do that!

  • This essay demonstrates my vital opinion on the matter and what we can do about it.
  • This essay demonstrates everything you need to know about how to fix the issue.
  • This essay demonstrates why it is crucial that we start making strides to fix the current global situation.

This Essay Will Discuss

“This essay will discuss” is another way to share the overall point of your essay. The sooner we can convey the overall meaning, the more interested the reader will be. It helps them to know what they are reading about before they begin.

Here are a few examples to show you how it works:

  • This essay will discuss all of the most important things you need to consider.
  • This essay will discuss what it takes to make it in today’s climate.
  • This essay will discuss the importance of making sure you care for your family no matter what.

In This Essay, You Will Learn

“In this essay, you will learn” helps to show a bit more confidence in your writing skills. If you say “you will learn,” it sounds like an order, which is a great way to show that you are confident enough to explain things correctly. It’s the mark of a strong and capable writer.

Check out some examples of how it might work:

  • In this essay, you will learn a lot about what needs to be done to correct the path you’re going down.
  • In this essay, you will learn all the psychological benefits of doing physical exercise daily.
  • In this essay, you will learn how to manage your stress much better.

I Will Show Both Sides Of The Argument

“I will show both sides of the argument” helps you to evaluate the question of the essay. This works because it does not outright state you are writing an “essay” (saving time). It also shows that you want to cover both sides to remain unbiased as best you can.

Here are some examples of how it works:

  • I will show both sides of the argument before the end of this paper.
  • I will make sure to show both sides of the argument and try to convince you to agree with my view.
  • I will show both sides of the argument and come to an ultimate decision by the end.

This Essay Will Analyze

“This essay will analyze” is another great way to start an essay with the words “essay” and “will.” It helps to sound confident when using phrases like this, and it goes over the things that the essay is likely to cover.

Some examples will help you to understand it better:

  • This essay will analyze the effects on children of being surrounded by troublesome youths.
  • This essay will analyze the findings from my previous experiment.
  • This essay will analyze common social interactions and why they exist.

I Strongly Agree/Disagree, And This Essay Will Explore Why

This phrase works well to either agree or disagree with the question. Most essays ask a question that you are supposed to ponder. Starting an essay with your direct opinion is a good way to engage the reader early on.

The sooner you can keep the reader engaged, the better off you’ll be. It’ll make your writing sound much more professional and should score you higher marks in the long run.

Check out these examples for more help:

  • I strongly agree with this question, and this essay will explore my reasons why.
  • I strongly disagree with the quote above, and this essay will explore why.
  • I strongly agree with this, and this essay will explore why I think that this is the best move for everyone.

This Paper Will Explore

“This paper will explore” is the last alternative we want to cover. It’s possible to replace “essay” in all cases with “paper,” and many readers prefer to see this because it does not sound as wasteful or as obvious.

The idea behind both “this essay” and “this paper” is the same. However, it’s up to you which one you think looks best on the page.

Here are some examples:

  • This paper will explore the benefits of outreach for smaller companies.
  • This paper will explore how to keep member retention much higher than in previous calendar years.
  • This paper will explore the effects of mental illnesses.

martin lassen dam grammarhow

Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here .

  • “Strongly Recommend” vs. “Highly Recommend” (Difference Explained)
  • 10 Other Ways to Say “I Am” in an Essay
  • 11 Other Idioms for “Two Sides of the Same Coin”
  • 11 Other Ways To Say “I Think” And “I Believe” In An Essay

10 Other Ways to Say “In This Essay, I Will” (With Examples)

In academic writing , there is a tendency to overuse common phrases like “In this essay, I will.” While this phrase clearly outlines what the essay will cover, using it repeatedly can make your writing boring and repetitive.

In this article, I aim to provide readers with 10 effective synonyms for “In this essay, I will” to add variety to their essays and papers. Using different languages keeps the reader engaged and demonstrates a more advanced writing style.

This post aims to expand your options when introducing the topics covered in an essay. You can craft a strong opening that draws readers in by avoiding overused phrases and incorporating more creative language.

Whether writing for school, work, or your blog, having alternate ways to say “In this essay, I will” will improve the flow of your writing. The examples provided will help you replace the standard phrase in your work.

I hope you find these tips useful for taking your essay introductions to the next level.

Is It Wrong to Say “In This Essay, I Will”?

It is wrong to overuse the phrase “In this essay, I will” in academic writing. Though this phrase clearly outlines the topics that will be covered, relying on it too heavily can make your writing repetitive and boring for the reader.

Here are a few reasons why it’s best to avoid overusing “In this essay, I will”:

  • It’s formulaic and overused. This phrase has become a tired cliché in essays, so finding alternatives makes your writing come across as more original and sophisticated.
  • It can make your introduction seem mechanical. Leading with “In this essay, I will” repeatedly makes the opening sound detached rather than engaging the reader’s interest from the start.
  • It’s a missed opportunity for more creative language. Varying your introduction keeps readers attentive and demonstrates a more skilled writing style.
  • It hinders smooth transitions between ideas. Overusing this repetitive phrase prevents your essay from flowing logically from one point to the next.
  • It’s redundant. Usually, the topics covered are outlined elsewhere like in the title or abstract, so repeatedly stating “In this essay, I will” is unnecessary.

While “In this essay, I will” can be useful when used sparingly, relying on this phrase too much results in monotonous writing . Keeping introductions lively and avoiding repetition makes a paper more appealing to read. With some thought and creativity, there are many engaging ways to smoothly introduce the key points in an academic essay.

What to Say Instead of “In This Essay, I Will”

  • The purpose of this essay is to
  • This essay aims to
  • In the following pages, I intend to
  • The goal of this piece is to
  • Throughout this essay, I plan to
  • In this document, my objective is to
  • The focus of this composition will be to
  • Throughout this paper, I intend to
  • The ambition of this work is to
  • Within this text, I aspire to

1. The purpose of this essay is to…

This directly states the intended goal of your essay and informs the reader of its primary aim.

Example: The purpose of this essay is to ignite a national conversation about the alarming decline of bee populations and its potential consequences for our food security.

2. This essay aims to…

Similar to the first option, it suggests a more focused exploration of the chosen topic.

Example: This essay aims to delve into the psychological motivations behind historical figures often labeled as “villains,” uncovering the complexities that shaped their actions.

3. In the following pages, I intend to…

This creates a sense of anticipation and informs the reader about the specific areas you’ll be covering.

Example: In the following pages, I intend to dissect the intricate power dynamics within Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” unveiling the societal norms and hidden agendas that fuel the characters’ interactions.

4. The goal of this piece is to…

Similar to “aims to,” but emphasizes the desired outcome you hope to achieve with your essay.

Example: The goal of this piece is to empower individuals to recognize and combat microaggressions in their daily lives, fostering a more inclusive and respectful society.

5. Throughout this essay, I plan to…

Highlights the journey of exploration your essay will take, suggesting a more dynamic reading experience.

Example: Throughout this essay, I plan to embark on a literary safari through the captivating world of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” unraveling its magical realism and timeless themes.

6. In this document, my objective is to…

Emphasizes a clear and objective approach to the topic, suitable for informative essays.

Example: In this document, my objective is to provide a balanced overview of the pros and cons of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), equipping readers with the information needed to form their own informed opinions.

7. The focus of this composition will be to…

Narrows down the specific aspect of the topic you’ll be concentrating on.

Example: The focus of this composition will be to analyze the stylistic innovations and recurring themes within the poetry of Sylvia Plath, exploring her unique contribution to the confessionalist movement.

8. Throughout this paper, I intend to…

Similar to “focus,” but emphasizes your intent and guiding principle throughout the essay.

Example: Throughout this paper, I intend to critically examine the portrayal of mental illness in mainstream media, challenging harmful stereotypes and advocating for accurate representation .

9. The ambition of this work is to…

Conveys a strong and aspirational goal for your essay, highlighting its potential impact.

Example: The ambition of this work is to reimagine the future of education, promoting personalized learning experiences that ignite students’ curiosity and foster lifelong adaptability.

10. Within this text, I aspire to…

Expresses a personal desire to achieve something meaningful with your essay, adding a touch of emotional engagement.

Example: Within this text, I aspire to illuminate the hidden beauty and resilience of overlooked communities, fostering empathy and inspiring action for positive change.

In summary, using more varied language to introduce the topics covered adds creativity and enhances the flow of an essay. The alternatives provided in this article, such as “The purpose of this essay is to” or “Throughout this paper, I intend to,” demonstrate more lively ways to articulate what the essay will examine.

Avoiding repetition and employing these different options will make an essay introduction stand out while still effectively framing the forthcoming discussion. With some thoughtful language choices and succinct presentation , writers can craft dynamic essay openings without overly relying on the dull, ubiquitous phrase “In this essay, I will.”

Related Posts:

The Write Practice

Essay Writing Tips: 10 Steps to Writing a Great Essay (And Have Fun Doing It!)

by Joe Bunting | 118 comments

Start Your Story TODAY! We’re teaching a new LIVE workshop this week to help you start your next book. Learn more and sign up here.

Do you dread essay writing? Are you looking for some essay tips that will help you write an amazing essay—and have fun doing it?

essay tips

Lots of students, young and old, dread essay writing. It's a daunting assignment, one that takes research, time, and concentration.

It's also an assignment that you can break up into simple steps that make writing an essay manageable and, yes, even enjoyable.

These ten essay tips completely changed my writing process—and I hope that they can do the same for you.

Essay Writing Can Be Fun

Honestly, throughout most of high school and college, I was a mediocre essay writer.

Every once in a while, I would write a really good essay, but mostly I skated by with B's and A-minuses.

I know personally how boring writing an essay can be, and also, how hard it can be to write a good one.

However, toward the end of my time as a student, I made a breakthrough. I figured out how to not only write a great essay, I learned how to have fun while doing it . 

And since then, I've become a professional writer and have written more than a dozen books. I'm not saying that these essay writing tips are going to magically turn you into a writer, but at least they can help you enjoy the process more.

I'm excited to share these ten essay writing tips with you today! But first, we need to talk about why writing an essay is so hard.

Why Writing an Essay Is So Hard

When it comes to essay writing, a lot of students find a reason to put it off. And when they tackle it, they find it difficult to string sentences together that sound like a decent stance on the assigned subject.

Here are a few reasons why essay writing is hard:

  • You'd rather be scrolling through Facebook
  • You're trying to write something your teacher or professor will like
  • You're trying to get an A instead of writing something that's actually good
  • You want to do the least amount of work possible

The biggest reason writing an essay is so hard is because we mostly focus on those external  rewards like getting a passing grade, winning our teacher's approval, or just avoiding accusations of plagiarism.

The problem is that when you focus on external approval it not only makes writing much less fun, it also makes it significantly harder.

Because when you focus on external approval, you shut down your subconscious, and the subconscious is the source of your creativity.

The subconscious is the source of your creativity.

What this means practically is that when you're trying to write that perfect, A-plus-worthy sentence, you're turning off most of your best resources and writing skills.

So stop. Stop trying to write a good essay (or even a “good-enough” essay). Instead, write an interesting  essay, write an essay you think is fascinating. And when you're finished, go back and edit it until it's “good” according to your teacher's standards.

Yes, you need to follow the guidelines in your assignment. If your teacher tells you to write a five-paragraph essay, then write a five-paragraph essay! If your teacher asks for a specific type of essay, like an analysis, argument, or research essay, then make sure you write that type of essay!

However, within those guidelines, find room to express something that is uniquely you .

I can't guarantee you'll get a higher grade (although, you almost certainly will), but I can absolutely promise you'll have a lot more fun writing.

The Step-by-Step Process to Writing a Great Essay: Your 10 Essay Writing Tips

Ready to get writing? You can read my ten best tips for having fun while writing an essay that earns you the top grade, or check out this presentation designed by our friends at Canva Presentations .

1. Remember your essay is just a story.

Every story is about conflict and change, and the truth is that essays are about conflict and change, too! The difference is that in an essay, the conflict is between different ideas , and the change is in the way we should perceive those ideas.

That means that the best essays are about surprise: “You probably think it's one way, but in reality, you should think of it this other way.” See tip #3 for more on this.

How do you know what story you're telling? The prompt should tell you.

Any list of essay prompts includes various topics and tasks associated with them. Within those topics are characters (historical, fictional, or topical) faced with difficult choices. Your job is to work with those choices, usually by analyzing them, arguing about them, researching them, or describing them in detail.

2. Before you start writing, ask yourself, “How can I have the most fun writing this?”

It's normal to feel unmotivated when writing an academic essay. I'm a writer, and honestly, I feel unmotivated to write all the time. But I have a super-ninja, judo-mind trick I like to use to help motivate myself.

Here's the secret trick: One of the interesting things about your subconscious is that it will answer any question you ask yourself. So whenever you feel unmotivated to write your essay, ask yourself the following question:

“How much fun can I have writing this?”

Your subconscious will immediately start thinking of strategies to make the writing process more fun.

The best time to have your fun is the first draft. Since you're just brainstorming within the topic, and exploring the possible ways of approaching it, the first draft is the perfect place to get creative and even a little scandalous. Here are some wild suggestions to make your next essay a load of fun:

  • Research the most surprising or outrageous fact about the topic and use it as your hook.
  • Use a thesaurus to research the topic's key words. Get crazy with your vocabulary as you write, working in each key word synonym as much as possible.
  • Play devil's advocate and take the opposing or immoral side of the issue. See where the discussion takes you as you write.

3. As you research, ask yourself, “What surprises me about this subject?”

The temptation, when you're writing an essay, is to write what you think your teacher or professor wants to read.

Don't do this .

Instead, ask yourself, “What do I find interesting about this subject? What surprises me?”

If you can't think of anything that surprises you, anything you find interesting, then you're not searching well enough, because history, science, and literature are all brimming   over with surprises. When you look at how great ideas actually happen, the story is always, “We used  to think the world was this way. We found out we were completely wrong, and that the world is actually quite different from what we thought.”

These pieces of surprising information often make for the best topic sentences as well. Use them to outline your essay and build your body paragraphs off of each unique fact or idea. These will function as excellent hooks for your reader as you transition from one topic to the next.

(By the way, what sources should you use for research? Check out tip #10 below.)

4. Overwhelmed? Write five original sentences.

The standard three-point essay is really made up of just five original sentences surrounded by supporting paragraphs that back up those five sentences. If you're feeling overwhelmed, just write five sentences covering your most basic main points.

Here's what they might look like for this article:

  • Introductory Paragraph:  While most students consider writing an essay a boring task, with the right mindset, it can actually be an enjoyable experience.
  • Body #1: Most students think writing an essay is tedious because they focus on external rewards.
  • Body #2: Students should instead focus on internal fulfillment when writing an essay.
  • Body #3: Not only will focusing on internal fulfillment allow students to have more fun, it will also result in better essays.
  • Conclusion: Writing an essay doesn't have to be simply a way to earn a good grade. Instead, it can be a means of finding fulfillment.

After you write your five sentences, it's easy to fill in the paragraphs for each one.

Now, you give it a shot!

5. Be “source heavy.”

In college, I discovered a trick that helped me go from a B-average student to an A-student, but before I explain how it works, let me warn you. This technique is powerful , but it might not work for all teachers or professors. Use with caution.

As I was writing a paper for a literature class, I realized that the articles and books I was reading said what I was trying to say much better than I ever could. So what did I do? I quoted them liberally throughout my paper. When I wasn't quoting, I re-phrased what they said in my own words, giving proper credit, of course. I found that not only did this formula create a well-written essay, it took about half the time to write.

It's good to keep in mind that using anyone else's words, even when morphed into your own phrasing, requires citation. While the definition of plagiarism is shifting with the rise of online collaboration and cooperative learning environments, always  err on the side of excessive citation to be safe.

When I used this technique, my professors sometimes mentioned that my papers were very “source” heavy. However, at the same time, they always gave me A's.

To keep yourself safe, I recommend using a 60/40 approach with your body paragraphs: Make sure 60% of the words are your own analysis and argumentation, while 40% can be quoted (or text you paraphrase) from your sources.

Like the five sentence trick, this technique makes the writing process simpler. Instead of putting the main focus on writing well, it instead forces you to research  well, which some students find easier.

6. Write the body first, the introduction second, and the conclusion last.

Introductions are often the hardest part to write because you're trying to summarize your entire essay before you've even written it yet. Instead, try writing your introduction last, giving yourself the body of the paper to figure out the main point of your essay.

This is especially important with an essay topic you are not personally interested in. I definitely recommend this in classes you either don't excel in or care much for. Take plenty of time to draft and revise your body paragraphs before  attempting to craft a meaningful introductory paragraph.

Otherwise your opening may sound awkward, wooden, and bland.

7. Most essays answer the question, “What?” Good essays answer the “Why?” The best essays answer the “How?”

If you get stuck trying to make your argument, or you're struggling to reach the required word count, try focusing on the question, “How?”

For example:

  • How did J.D. Salinger convey the theme of inauthenticity in  The Catcher In the Rye ?
  • How did Napoleon restore stability in France after the French Revolution?
  • How does the research prove girls really do rule and boys really do drool?

If you focus on how, you'll always have enough to write about.

8. Don't be afraid to jump around.

Essay writing can be a dance. You don't have to stay in one place and write from beginning to end.

For the same reasons listed in point #6, give yourself the freedom to write as if you're circling around your topic rather than making a single, straightforward argument. Then, when you edit and proofread, you can make sure everything lines up correctly.

In fact, now is the perfect time to mention that proofreading your essay isn't just about spelling and commas.

It's about making sure your analysis or argument flows smoothly from one idea to another. (Okay, technically this comprises editing, but most students writing a high school or college essay don't take the time to complete every step of the writing process. Let's be honest.)

So as you clean up your mechanics and sentence structure, make sure your ideas flow smoothly, logically, and naturally from one to the next as you finish proofreading.

9. Here are some words and phrases you don't want to use.

  • You  (You'll notice I use a lot of you's, which is great for a blog post. However, in an academic essay, it's better to omit the second-person.)
  • To Be verbs (is, are, was, were, am)

Don't have time to edit? Here's a lightning-quick editing technique .

A note about “I”: Some teachers say you shouldn't use “I” statements in your writing, but the truth is that professional, academic papers often use phrases like “I believe” and “in my opinion,” especially in their introductions.

10. It's okay to use Wikipedia, if…

Wikipedia is one of the top five websites in the world for a reason: it can be a great tool for research. However, most teachers and professors don't consider Wikipedia a valid source for use in essays.

Don't totally discount it, though! Here are two ways you can use Wikipedia in your essay writing:

  • Background research. If you don't know enough about your topic, Wikipedia can be a great resource to quickly learn everything you need to know to get started.
  • Find sources . Check the reference section of Wikipedia's articles on your topic. While you may not be able to cite Wikipedia itself, you can often find those original sources and cite them . You can locate the links to primary and secondary sources at the bottom of any Wikipedia page under the headings “Further Reading” and “References.”

You Can Enjoy Essay Writing

The thing I regret most about high school and college is that I treated it like something I had  to do rather than something I wanted  to do.

The truth is, education is an opportunity many people in the world don't have access to.

It's a gift, not just something that makes your life more difficult. I don't want you to make the mistake of just “getting by” through school, waiting desperately for summer breaks and, eventually, graduation.

How would your life be better if you actively enjoyed writing an essay? What would school look like if you wanted to suck it dry of all the gifts it has to give you?

All I'm saying is, don't miss out!

Looking for More Essay Writing Tips?

Looking for more essay tips to strengthen your essay writing? Try some of these resources:

  • 7 Tips on Writing an Effective Essay
  • Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

How about you? Do you have any tips for writing an essay?  Let us know in the  comments .

Need more grammar help?  My favorite tool that helps find grammar problems and even generates reports to help improve my writing is ProWritingAid . Works with Word, Scrivener, Google Docs, and web browsers. Also, be sure to use my coupon code to get 20 percent off: WritePractice20

Coupon Code:WritePractice20 »

Ready to try out these ten essay tips to make your essay assignment fun? Spend fifteen minutes using tip #4 and write five original sentences that could be turned into an essay.

When you're finished, share your five sentences in the comments section. And don't forget to give feedback to your fellow writers!

[wp_ad_camp_2]

' src=

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

9 Types of Stories

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll also get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

Popular Resources

Best Resources for Writers Book Writing Tips & Guides Creativity & Inspiration Tips Writing Prompts Grammar & Vocab Resources Best Book Writing Software ProWritingAid Review Writing Teacher Resources Publisher Rocket Review Scrivener Review Gifts for Writers

Books By Our Writers

Rumor – Kingston City Nephilim

You've got it! Just us where to send your guide.

Enter your email to get our free 10-step guide to becoming a writer.

You've got it! Just us where to send your book.

Enter your first name and email to get our free book, 14 Prompts.

Want to Get Published?

Enter your email to get our free interactive checklist to writing and publishing a book.

How to Write a Short Essay, With Examples

Parker Yamasaki

Writing clearly and concisely is one of the best skills you can take from school into professional settings. A great way to practice this kind of writing is with short essays. A short essay is any essay that has a word count of fewer than 1,000 words. While getting assigned a short essay might seem preferable to a ten-page paper, writing short poses its own special challenges. Here, we’ll show you how to write a convincing short essay in five simple steps.

Give your writing extra polish Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly

What is a short essay?

A short essay is any type of essay condensed to its most important elements. There is no universal answer to what a short essay length is, but teachers generally assign short essays in the 250- to 750-word range, and occasionally up to 1,000 words.

Just because the essays are short doesn’t mean the subjects must be simple. One of the greatest challenges of short essays is distilling complex topics into a few telling words. Some examples of short essay topics are:

  • The advantages and disadvantages of social media
  • The pros and cons of online learning
  • The influence of music on human emotions
  • The role of artificial intelligence in modern life
  • The ways that climate change affects daily life

Why write short essays?

Short essays have a number of advantages, including effective communication, critical thinking, and professional communication.

Effective communication: In the short essay, you don’t have the space to wander. Practicing short essays will help you learn how to articulate your message clearly and quickly.

Critical thinking: Writing a short essay demands the ability to think critically and identify key points that support the central thesis. Short essays will help you hone your ability to find the most relevant points and shed irrelevant information.

Professional communication: Whether it’s writing a persuasive email, a project proposal, or a succinct report, the ability to convey information effectively in a brief format is a valuable skill in the professional world.

Developing writing skills: As with all writing practice, short essays provide an excellent platform for you to refine your writing skills, such as grammar, sentence structure , vocabulary, and coherence. The more you practice crafting short essays, the more your overall writing proficiency improves.

How to write a short essay

The tactics you use for longer essays apply to short essays as well. For more in-depth guides on specific types of essays, you can read our posts on persuasive , personal , expository , compare-and-contrast , and argumentative essays. Regardless of the essay type, following these five steps will make writing your short essay much easier.

Don’t be afraid of learning too much about a subject when you have a small word count. The better you understand your subject, the easier it will be to write clearly about it.

2 Generate ideas

Jot down key points, arguments, or examples that you want to include in your essay. Don’t get too wrapped up in the details during this step. Just try to get down all of the big ideas that you want to get across. Your major argument or theme will likely emerge as you contemplate.

Outlines are especially helpful for short essays because you don’t have any room for excess information. Creating an outline will help you stay on topic when it comes time to write.

You have to actually write the essay. Once you’ve done your research, developed your big ideas, and outlined your essay, the writing will come more easily.

Naturally, our favorite part of the process is the editing . The hard part (writing) is done. Now you can go back through and make sure all of your word choices make sense, your grammar is checked, and you have cleaned up any unessential or irrelevant information.

Short essay examples

Why small dogs are better than big dogs (209 words).

Small dogs are beloved companions to many, and their unique qualities make them a perfect fit for some pet owners. In this essay, we explore why a small dog might be the right choice for you.

Firstly, the compact size of small dogs makes them ideal for people living in apartments or homes with limited space. As long as you can get your furry friend to fresh air (and grass) a couple of times per day, you don’t have to worry about having a big yard.

Secondly, small dogs require less food, which can be advantageous for those on a budget.

Small dogs are also easier to handle and control. Walks and outdoor activities become less physically demanding, making them a preferable choice for children, the elderly, or those with limited strength.

If you travel a lot for work or family, small dogs are much easier to bring along than their larger counterparts. Some travel companies make dog carriers that tuck neatly under a bus or plane seat.

In conclusion, small dogs offer a multitude of benefits, from their limited space requirements and economic advantages to their ease of handling and portability. These charming qualities undoubtedly make small dogs a cherished choice for pet owners seeking a new companion.

Why big dogs are better than small dogs (191 words)

Big dogs, with their impressive presence and gentle souls, have captured the hearts of countless pet owners. In this essay, we explore why big dogs are better pets than their smaller counterparts.

Firstly, big dogs exude an aura of protectiveness and security. Their size alone can act as a deterrent to potential intruders, making them excellent guard dogs for families and properties. Their mere presence provides reassurance and safety.

Secondly, big dogs tend to have more energy and strength, making them suitable partners for various outdoor activities and adventures. Hiking, jogging, or simply playing fetch becomes an enjoyable experience, fostering an active and healthy lifestyle for both pet and owner.

Lastly, big dogs often have a gentle and patient demeanor, especially when interacting with children and other pets. Their calm nature can bring a peaceful or grounding presence to otherwise chaotic homes.

In conclusion, big dogs possess a captivating blend of commanding protectiveness, physical capacity, and gentle disposition. These qualities make them exceptional companions, providing both security and emotional fulfillment. Big dogs are a great choice for potential pet owners looking for an animal with majestic appeal and a loving heart.

Short essay FAQs

A short essay is any essay that is shorter than 1,000 words. Teachers often assign short essays to teach students how to write clearly, coherently, and concisely.

When do you write a short essay?

Short essays help students practice effective communication, critical thinking, and persuasive writing. While short essays are often assigned in school, they are also useful in professional settings for things like project proposals or reports.

How do you format a short essay?

Short essays should be formatted according to your teacher’s guidelines or the requirements of your workplace. Check your assignment for the word count and stick to it. Make sure your essay flows logically from one idea to the next by presenting a clear thesis, using strong topic sentences, and providing a concise conclusion.

i'm going to essay

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

  • Knowledge Base
  • How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

  • Start with a question
  • Write your initial answer
  • Develop your answer
  • Refine your thesis statement

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

upload-your-document-ai-proofreader

Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

  • Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
  • Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
  • Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

  • Academic style
  • Vague sentences
  • Style consistency

See an example

i'm going to essay

The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

  • Why you hold this position
  • What they’ll learn from your essay
  • The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

  • In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
  • In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

  • Ad hominem fallacy
  • Post hoc fallacy
  • Appeal to authority fallacy
  • False cause fallacy
  • Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

  • Choosing Essay Topic
  • Write a College Essay
  • Write a Diversity Essay
  • College Essay Format & Structure
  • Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

 (AI) Tools

  • Grammar Checker
  • Paraphrasing Tool
  • Text Summarizer
  • AI Detector
  • Plagiarism Checker
  • Citation Generator

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

  • It gives your writing direction and focus.
  • It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

  • Ask a question about your topic .
  • Write your initial answer.
  • Develop your answer by including reasons.
  • Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2023, August 15). How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/thesis-statement/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples, how to write topic sentences | 4 steps, examples & purpose, academic paragraph structure | step-by-step guide & examples, what is your plagiarism score.

Would you like to explore a topic?

  • LEARNING OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL

Or read some of our popular articles?

Free downloadable english gcse past papers with mark scheme.

  • 19 May 2022

The Best Free Homeschooling Resources UK Parents Need to Start Using Today

  • Joseph McCrossan
  • 18 February 2022

How Will GCSE Grade Boundaries Affect My Child’s Results?

  • Akshat Biyani
  • 13 December 2021

How to Write the Perfect Essay: A Step-By-Step Guide for Students

 alt=

  • June 2, 2022

i'm going to essay

  • What is an essay? 

What makes a good essay?

Typical essay structure, 7 steps to writing a good essay, a step-by-step guide to writing a good essay.

Whether you are gearing up for your GCSE coursework submissions or looking to brush up on your A-level writing skills, we have the perfect essay-writing guide for you. 💯

Staring at a blank page before writing an essay can feel a little daunting . Where do you start? What should your introduction say? And how should you structure your arguments? They are all fair questions and we have the answers! Take the stress out of essay writing with this step-by-step guide – you’ll be typing away in no time. 👩‍💻

student-writing

What is an essay?

Generally speaking, an essay designates a literary work in which the author defends a point of view or a personal conviction, using logical arguments and literary devices in order to inform and convince the reader.

So – although essays can be broadly split into four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive – an essay can simply be described as a focused piece of writing designed to inform or persuade. 🤔

The purpose of an essay is to present a coherent argument in response to a stimulus or question and to persuade the reader that your position is credible, believable and reasonable. 👌

So, a ‘good’ essay relies on a confident writing style – it’s clear, well-substantiated, focussed, explanatory and descriptive . The structure follows a logical progression and above all, the body of the essay clearly correlates to the tile – answering the question where one has been posed. 

But, how do you go about making sure that you tick all these boxes and keep within a specified word count? Read on for the answer as well as an example essay structure to follow and a handy step-by-step guide to writing the perfect essay – hooray. 🙌

Sometimes, it is helpful to think about your essay like it is a well-balanced argument or a speech – it needs to have a logical structure, with all your points coming together to answer the question in a coherent manner. ⚖️

Of course, essays can vary significantly in length but besides that, they all follow a fairly strict pattern or structure made up of three sections. Lean into this predictability because it will keep you on track and help you make your point clearly. Let’s take a look at the typical essay structure:  

#1 Introduction

Start your introduction with the central claim of your essay. Let the reader know exactly what you intend to say with this essay. Communicate what you’re going to argue, and in what order. The final part of your introduction should also say what conclusions you’re going to draw – it sounds counter-intuitive but it’s not – more on that below. 1️⃣

Make your point, evidence it and explain it. This part of the essay – generally made up of three or more paragraphs depending on the length of your essay – is where you present your argument. The first sentence of each paragraph – much like an introduction to an essay – should summarise what your paragraph intends to explain in more detail. 2️⃣

#3 Conclusion

This is where you affirm your argument – remind the reader what you just proved in your essay and how you did it. This section will sound quite similar to your introduction but – having written the essay – you’ll be summarising rather than setting out your stall. 3️⃣

No essay is the same but your approach to writing them can be. As well as some best practice tips, we have gathered our favourite advice from expert essay-writers and compiled the following 7-step guide to writing a good essay every time. 👍

#1 Make sure you understand the question

#2 complete background reading.

#3 Make a detailed plan 

#4 Write your opening sentences 

#5 flesh out your essay in a rough draft, #6 evidence your opinion, #7 final proofread and edit.

Now that you have familiarised yourself with the 7 steps standing between you and the perfect essay, let’s take a closer look at each of those stages so that you can get on with crafting your written arguments with confidence . 

This is the most crucial stage in essay writing – r ead the essay prompt carefully and understand the question. Highlight the keywords – like ‘compare,’ ‘contrast’ ‘discuss,’ ‘explain’ or ‘evaluate’ – and let it sink in before your mind starts racing . There is nothing worse than writing 500 words before realising you have entirely missed the brief . 🧐

Unless you are writing under exam conditions , you will most likely have been working towards this essay for some time, by doing thorough background reading. Re-read relevant chapters and sections, highlight pertinent material and maybe even stray outside the designated reading list, this shows genuine interest and extended knowledge. 📚

#3 Make a detailed plan

Following the handy structure we shared with you above, now is the time to create the ‘skeleton structure’ or essay plan. Working from your essay title, plot out what you want your paragraphs to cover and how that information is going to flow. You don’t need to start writing any full sentences yet but it might be useful to think about the various quotes you plan to use to substantiate each section. 📝

Having mapped out the overall trajectory of your essay, you can start to drill down into the detail. First, write the opening sentence for each of the paragraphs in the body section of your essay. Remember – each paragraph is like a mini-essay – the opening sentence should summarise what the paragraph will then go on to explain in more detail. 🖊️

Next, it's time to write the bulk of your words and flesh out your arguments. Follow the ‘point, evidence, explain’ method. The opening sentences – already written – should introduce your ‘points’, so now you need to ‘evidence’ them with corroborating research and ‘explain’ how the evidence you’ve presented proves the point you’re trying to make. ✍️

With a rough draft in front of you, you can take a moment to read what you have written so far. Are there any sections that require further substantiation? Have you managed to include the most relevant material you originally highlighted in your background reading? Now is the time to make sure you have evidenced all your opinions and claims with the strongest quotes, citations and material. 📗

This is your final chance to re-read your essay and go over it with a fine-toothed comb before pressing ‘submit’. We highly recommend leaving a day or two between finishing your essay and the final proofread if possible – you’ll be amazed at the difference this makes, allowing you to return with a fresh pair of eyes and a more discerning judgment. 🤓

If you are looking for advice and support with your own essay-writing adventures, why not t ry a free trial lesson with GoStudent? Our tutors are experts at boosting academic success and having fun along the way. Get in touch and see how it can work for you today. 🎒

1-May-12-2023-09-09-32-6011-AM

Popular posts

Student studying for a English GCSE past paper

  • By Guy Doza

girl learning at home

  • By Joseph McCrossan
  • In LEARNING TRENDS

gcse exam paper

  • By Akshat Biyani

student taking gcse exam

What are the Hardest GCSEs? Should You Avoid or Embrace Them?

  • By Clarissa Joshua

homeschooling mum and child

4 Surprising Disadvantages of Homeschooling

  • By Andrea Butler

Want to try tutoring? Request a free trial session with a top tutor.

More great reads:.

Benefits of Reading: Positive Impacts for All Ages Everyday

Benefits of Reading: Positive Impacts for All Ages Everyday

  • May 26, 2023

15 of the Best Children's Books That Every Young Person Should Read

15 of the Best Children's Books That Every Young Person Should Read

  • By Sharlene Matharu
  • March 2, 2023

Ultimate School Library Tips and Hacks

Ultimate School Library Tips and Hacks

  • By Natalie Lever
  • March 1, 2023

Book a free trial session

Sign up for your free tutoring lesson..

  • PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
  • EDIT Edit this Article
  • EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
  • Browse Articles
  • Learn Something New
  • Quizzes Hot
  • Happiness Hub
  • This Or That Game
  • Train Your Brain
  • Explore More
  • Support wikiHow
  • About wikiHow
  • Log in / Sign up
  • Education and Communications
  • College University and Postgraduate
  • Academic Writing

How to Introduce New Topics and Transition Effectively in Essays

Last Updated: July 2, 2024 Fact Checked

New Paragraphs

New sections, expert q&a.

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 90,731 times.

Most essays have multiple topics, and switching between them can get tricky. Without strong transitions and introductions to new points, your writing could seem choppy or unfocused. Luckily, making good topic introductions is easy! It just takes some planning, practice, and patience. Once you know the formula, you’ll be introducing new topics like a pro.

Effective Ways to Introduce New Essay Topics

  • Introduce the topic with a transition word, like “Similarly” or “Likewise.”
  • Use a contrasting transition word for clashing topics, like “However” or “Yet.”
  • Give an overview of the topic you’re discussing after the introductory sentence.

Step 1 Organize a strong...

  • A strong outline includes your overall topic idea, planned thesis statement, essay structure, and the topics and themes you'll be covering in each section.
  • Note on your outline when you're going to be introducing new topics. This helps you plan ahead and anticipate where you'll need transitions.

Jake Adams

  • If you've already started your paper, it never hurts to go back and write an outline anyway. This way, you can keep all your thoughts organized and give your essay more direction.

Step 2 Make a new paragraph for new topics within the same section.

  • For example, you may be writing a large paper about the Civil War, and the current section is about arguments over slavery. You can have one part on Southern arguments defending slavery, then transition to Northern arguments against slavery, since both topics are in the same section.
  • Usually for a shorter paper, up to about 5-7 pages, you won’t need individual section headings. It’s fine to just transition from paragraph to paragraph in these cases.

Step 3 Start a new section if you’re introducing a completely different topic.

  • For example, if your paper is about the Civil War and you’re transitioning from arguments over slavery to the outbreak of the war, then it’s worthwhile to make a whole new section. These topics are related, but distinct and important enough to get their own sections.
  • In another example, you might be writing a compare and contrast essay. It’s helpful to start a new section labeled “Differences” when you move from comparing to contrasting.
  • Individual section headings are common in longer papers, around 15-20 pages or more. For long papers like this, it helps your reader stay focused.

Step 4 Pick complementary transition words for similar topics.

  • Similarly, in the same way, likewise, also, as well, and so too.
  • For example, start a paragraph about slavery and the Civil War with, “In the same way that northern abolitionists were singularly focused on eliminating slavery, the Republican Party was concerned with stopping it from spreading into America's territories.”

Step 5 Use contrasting transition words for topics that clash.

  • In contrast, however, nevertheless, yet, and still.
  • For the Civil War example, arguments defending and criticizing slavery are completely different. To reflect that, you’d use a transition indicating disagreement. You could say “In sharp contrast to southern slave owners, northern abolitionists argued that enslaving a human being was evil in all circumstances.”

Step 1 Place your transition...

  • If you’re showing contrast, you could say, “Yet King Arthur was destined to fail in his quest to find the Holy Grail.” This shows that the previous topic may have been about Arthur starting his quest, but now you’ll explain how he failed to accomplish it.
  • You could also show similarity by saying “Similarly, Abraham Lincoln agreed that slavery was a moral evil.” This indicates that the new topic you’re introducing is related to and supports the previous one.

Step 2 Provide a brief overview of the topic you’re moving on to.

  • You could also follow up on the King Arthur example with “In Arthurian stories, Arthur made numerous journeys to find the Grail, but never actually succeeded.” This tells the reader that the rest of the paragraph will include information on these failures.
  • Using the Abraham Lincoln example, you could follow up your topic sentence with “Throughout his entire life, Lincoln saw the evils of slavery and spoke about stopping the practice.” This indicates that the paragraph will elaborate on this point and provide more details.

Step 3 Add necessary details about the topic in the middle of the paragraph.

  • For the King Arthur example, you can spend 2-4 sentences explaining Arthur's unsuccessful quests for the Grail. This supports your transition statement saying that Arthur failed to find the Grail.
  • Make sure the details you fill in line up with your topic sentence. If your topic sentence said that Abraham Lincoln was anti-slavery, it wouldn’t be consistent to introduce examples of him supporting or praising slavery.

Step 4 Wrap up the paragraph with a firm conclusion sentence.

  • A conclusion for your King Arthur paragraph could be “Hard as Arthur tried, he never found the Holy Grail.”
  • Don’t introduce any new topics in the conclusion sentence. Save that for the topic sentence of the next paragraph if you want to add another topic.
  • If you have a similar paragraph after this one, you can link them by giving a hint of where it's going. For example, you could conclude by saying "Abraham Lincoln's lifelong opposition to slavery naturally set him up for a career fighting the institution." Then make the next paragraph about Lincoln's political career. [12] X Research source

Step 1 Place your transition phrase at the beginning of your topic sentence.

  • You can use transitional language without a ton of detail. For example, “While Odysseus was glad to be home, there was trouble brewing in his kingdom.” This provides a strong transition, hints at the next topic, and gets the reader interested in continuing.

Step 2 Sum up the topic of the previous section.

  • For the Odysseus example, your previous section may have been about the events of The Odyssey . You could sum up the previous topic by saying “He had spent 20 years away from home—10 fighting the Trojan War and 10 on his journey back to Ithaca—and conquered every challenge that came his way.”
  • Don’t spend too much time on this summary. Wrap it up within 2 sentences at most.

Step 3 Provide a concise summary of the topic in this section.

  • You could give a quick introduction of how the suitors in the Odyssey had moved in to Odysseus’ home and would attack him when he arrived. This sets up the challenge and tension for this new topic, and sets the theme for this section of your essay.

Step 4 End the paragraph with a strong conclusion sentence.

  • For the Odysseus example, a strong conclusion would be “Perhaps this was to be Odysseus’ greatest challenge yet.”
  • In a more research-based paper, you can be less literary. For example, “In the end, the Constitutional Convention was a success, but only after the Framers overcame numerous challenges in the process.”

Jake Adams

  • It’s easier to plan your transitions if you outline your essay first. This way, you’ll know where you need to introduce new topics. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • If your professor or teacher mentions that your writing seems choppy, then you probably need to work on introducing new topics a bit more smoothly. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • If you still have trouble making strong transitions, take advantage of your school’s writing center if you have one. The tutors there can be a huge help. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

i'm going to essay

You Might Also Like

Write an Essay

  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/transitions/
  • ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 24 July 2020.
  • ↑ https://www.strose.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Transition-Sentences-Handout-2012B.pdf
  • ↑ https://monroecollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=589208&p=4072926
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/transitions_and_transitional_devices/index.html
  • ↑ https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/301/study-skills/writing/academic-writing/paragraph-flow-connectivity
  • ↑ https://www.delmar.edu/offices/swc/_resources/Composition/topic-sentence-transition-formula.pdf
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/ending-essay-conclusions

About This Article

Jake Adams

  • Send fan mail to authors

Did this article help you?

i'm going to essay

Featured Articles

Protect Yourself from Predators (for Kids)

Trending Articles

Superhero Name Generator

Watch Articles

Wear a Headband

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Info
  • Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

British Council Netherlands

How to write an essay in english, by ielts expert, 29 june 2023 - 16:15.

How to write an essay in English, blog image

Many students say writing is the worst part of their English, but it’s often just a case of confidence. With practice, and the tips in this post, you can gain the confidence you need to maximise your English and really show it off. This post will look at the three stages of writing - planning, writing the text and reading it back.

If you are preparing for an exam, please be aware that for the latest information on exam format you should always go straight to the source –  IELTS website . You can practice  free online IELTS Academic Writing tests  or  General Training Writing tests . You can also practice writing your answer by downloading an  IELTS Writing Answer Sheet .

Planning is an integral part of your writing. You might say “I don’t plan”, but somewhere in your subconscious, you do! By raising your awareness of your own planning process you can improve enormously. As a teacher, I see many students who plan and many who don’t. In general, the students that plan produce much better work, so if you are in the “no plan” camp, you should at least experiment with some of the ideas coming up.

Planning 1: Address the question

If you are writing for a class assignment or an exam, it is crucial that you address the question given. Adequate planning (five minutes is better than nothing) will keep you on track. 

Start by breaking the question down into its parts. There will usually be two or three aspects to the question. You want not only to cover all aspects of the question, but also make it obvious to your teacher or the examiner that you have done so, and the best way to demonstrate this is to give each aspect its own paragraph.

Planning 2: Brainstorm vocabulary as well as ideas

Once you have identified your paragraphs, think about what vocabulary you have at your disposal. Perhaps you would like to write one paragraph from a particular angle, but when you start planning you might find there are holes in your vocabulary and you are better able to write from a different angle. Choose ideas which best overlap with what you can clearly state in English.

Planning 3: Write chunks of language

Even with all the vocabulary in the world, some ideas are complex to express in writing. Causality, speculation and hypothetical scenarios are all abstract concepts which make it more challenging to say exactly what you want, but these are also an opportunity to push your English ability to the max and show your grammatical range. 

Sound out in your head how you will make your arguments, and when you get stuck, try writing this part down in your plan. It might be a whole sentence of just a clause. This will help you decide if you have enough English ability to get across a really impressive idea, or if you need to simplify your thoughts in order to remain clear to the reader.

Writing the text 1: Use your plan!

I have seen many students write logical, competent plans that address the question, only to go off on a random tangent when they start writing! 

Of course, you might change some things as you go along, for example if you have a new idea, but keeping an eye on your plan will prevent you from getting distracted and bring you back to the question you must answer. It will also keep you aware of how you are doing for word count and time.

Writing the text 2: Write your introduction last

You should at least consider this idea. The purpose of an introduction is to tell the reader what they are going to read, so how can you write the introduction when you haven’t written the content yet?

Introductions are fiddly to write on a blank canvas, but much easier when we already have the content written in front of us.

If you are writing on paper, it is still possible to write the introduction last - you just need to leave a few lines for it.

Writing the text 3: Make sure your introduction and conclusion match

Your introduction and conclusion should also match the content of your main body paragraphs. This might seem obvious, but I wish I had a euro for every time I have seen an introduction passionately in favour of something followed by body paragraphs and a conclusion that were passionately against.

This problem can be avoided by writing your conclusion last, as suggested above. It will also be avoided by planning, and thinking a little more deeply how you feel about the question before you start. When I say a little more deeply, I’m talking about a minute or so, not hours.

Writing the text 4: Use linkers

Linkers are often misunderstood as simply a way of showing “formal English” but in fact, we use linkers all the time, even when chatting with friends. We use them in speech and in writing to indicate “I’m going to add to what was just said,”  “I’m going to contradict what was just said,” and generally to help the listener or reader understand where we are going next.

After writing the text

This is another area where many students are very reluctant - you need to read what you wrote! 

Check for spelling errors, missing third person s, capital letters, whatever errors you are prone to make… and if you don’t know what errors you are prone to make, it’s because you aren’t checking your writing, so you need to start today! You can be the expert on your own writing strengths and weaknesses, and this will just make you better and better.

Moreover, you should read back your text because it’s enjoyable to see how skillfully you put your ideas down and how convincing your arguments are. You did it! Well done! Enjoy the moment with some positivity!

  • Why choose IELTS?

Cambridge Dictionary

  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Future: be going to ( I am going to work )

Be going to : form.

We use be going to + the base form of the verb:

I ’m going to take a few exams at the end of the year.
It ’s going to be difficult to get a job during the summer as the tourist industry is suffering from the economic downturn.

Be going to : uses

Be going to is commonly used in informal styles.

We use be going to to talk about future plans and intentions. Usually the decision about the future plans has already been made:

She’ s going to be a professional dancer when she grows up.
I’ m going to look for a new place to live next month.

Predictions

We use be going to to predict something that we think is certain to happen or which we have evidence for now:

It’s going to snow again soon. (The speaker can probably see dark snow clouds.)
Look out! He ’s going to break that glass.

We use be going to when we give commands or state that something is obligatory:

[parent to a child ]

You’ re going to pick up all of those toys right now. This room is a mess!

Gonna (informal contexts)

We use gonna /gənə / instead of going to in informal contexts, especially in speaking and in song lyrics. We write gonna to show how to pronounce it:

Are you gonna try and get stuff sorted as soon as you can then? (Are you going to try and get things organised as soon as you can?)
One day I’m gonna be a star.

Be going to or will ?

Will is often used in a similar way to be going to . Will is used when we are talking about something with absolute certainty. Be going to is used when we want to emphasise our decision or the evidence in the present:

[An ‘A’ road is a main road. A ‘B’ road is a smaller road.]

We are now very late so we ’re going to take the ‘B’ road. (the speaker refers to the present and emphasises the decision)
I know the ‘B’ road will be quicker at this time of day. (the speaker states a fact)

Future: will and shall

{{randomImageQuizHook.quizId}}

Word of the Day

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

a day that you spend somewhere that is not your home or usual place of work

It’s not really my thing (How to say you don’t like something)

It’s not really my thing (How to say you don’t like something)

i'm going to essay

Learn more with +Plus

  • Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
  • Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
  • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
  • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
  • English–Dutch Dutch–English
  • English–French French–English
  • English–German German–English
  • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
  • English–Italian Italian–English
  • English–Japanese Japanese–English
  • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
  • English–Polish Polish–English
  • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
  • English–Spanish Spanish–English
  • English–Swedish Swedish–English
  • Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

To add ${headword} to a word list please sign up or log in.

Add ${headword} to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.

Writing Prompt ~ Going To

Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: What are you going to do today? “Going to” is used for future plans or intentions. It can also be used to predict the future based on evidence. Review how to use going to  here. Then demonstrate your understanding by writing a postcard to a friend or family member from a destination you just reached. Explain what you are going to do this week. Include some predictions based on evidence.

We just arrived in Florida. I am going to unpack our bags after I write this postcard. It is raining now, but I think it’s going to clear up soon. We’re going to go to the beach when the sun comes out. It’s going to be very hot. I’m going to bring an umbrella, a hat, and some sunscreen. We’re going to order a pizza tonight. Your dad doesn’t feel like going out for dinner tonight because we’re going to be eating out a lot this week. I’m going to miss you! See you next week.

PS: When are you going to go on holiday?

Try this writing prompt in your notebook or on your MyEC blog .

You may also like:

  • A Traffic Jam That Lasted Ten Days
  • Writing Prompt ~ Punctuation Practice
  • Writing Prompt ~ Hear Vs. Listen

359 comments

Hello my dear friend, I am glad you are traveling to here, I look forward to your arrival, we can go for a walk, I will look for the best restaurants and interesting places. p.d call when you arrive, good trip!

hi fernanda

I’m on vacation right now.I have many plans!

First, next summer I’m going to travel to the puerto vallarta city.Everybody say that the weather there is wonderful! I’ m going to there one week. When I returned, I’m going to the pool with “sofia” Do you remember her? She always thinks of you. I wish you could come with us next summer.

For the rest of the month we have many plans. We’re going to the cinema. Also we’re going to eat ice cream every evening this year will test all flavors of ice cream! Also, we’re going to the amusement park that opened in the city center.

I would love you to be this summer with me. I miss you.

Hi Kendra We just arrived to Paris and the firt thing I did is write to you. I am very exited about this trip with my mom. We plan to do many activities in the evening, we’re going to a restaurant for dinner and going to for a drink. Tomorrow we’re going to vist a museum and de Eiffel tower. I am very happy about that, and I am going to bring you some souvenirs that you will like.

I send you my regards.

Hello mom, I just got to college, today will be a very long day, because when I finish my classes I will go to work for a few hours, and when I finish work at around 6 in the afternoon I will go to finish a project with some friends, On the weekend me and my friends are going to go to VENADO to swim, we will go by bus and we will stay two days in that place. Next week the holidays start and I am very excited because I am going to visit you and I will stay the two weeks with you. PD: I miss you so much.

Hello mom, I just got to college, today will be a very long day, because when I finish my classes I will go to work for a few hours, and when I finish work at around 6 in the afternoon I will go to finish a project with some friends, I’ll see you at the weekend.

Pd: I miss you so much

I just got to France. I leave the airport and go to my airbnb which is in Paris. I’m going to rest a bit after I writing to you. In the afternoon I’m going to meet a friend and we’re going to visit the Eiffel Tower. This month is going to be cold. I’m going to buy some sweaters and jackets. In the night I’m going to out to dinner with other friends and then we’re going to a bar in Paris. I’m finally going to cross the Moseum Lowvre. That is one of my biggest dreams. Well thi’s my plan for today. Tomorrow I’m going to Notre Dame Cathedral. I wish you were here with me 🙁 I’m going to miss u! See u next month.

Hi Grandma!

I just got to New York. I leave the airport and go to my airbnb which is in Manhattan. I’m going to rest a bit after I writing to you. In the afternoon I’m going to meet a friend and we’re going to visit the Empire State Building. This month is going to be cold. I’m going to buy some sweaters and jackets. In the night I’m going to out to dinner with other friends and then we’re going to a bar in Broocklyn. I’m finally going to cross the Brooklyn Bridge. That is one of my biggest dreams. Well thi’s my plan for today. Tomorrow I’m going to Central Park. I wish you were here with me 🙁 I’m going to miss u! See u next month.

Hi tomas, We just arrived in puerto Vallarta, I am going to unpack our bags after we going to go restaurant of hotel. It is very sunny now and I think it’s going to same weather tomorrow. We are going to beach when we finish to eat. it’s going to be hot. I’m going to put some sunscreen. We are going to order a wine and shrimp tonight. I’m going to miss you, see you next year.

Hi Nicole I just arrived in Tabasco and just started my vacation period. The hotel is a good place has good reviews. First I will go to visit Villa Hermosa, sightseeing in the city. I am going to the park “La Venta” the tourist guide says it is a beautiful place. I will go to the beach and eat delicious food. I have never been to the beach and it is a relaxing place according to the movies. I am going to visit you in Cunduacan the last day of my vacation. We are going to go to a restaurant in the evening. I hope you have a nice start of the week.

Hello Anna, I hope you are well. It’s just Tuesday and I’ve been working like crazy, working at the UASLP film festival is a bit tiring, tomorrow I’m going to pick up some actors at the airport and take them to the hotel. on Thursday I will go to a red carpet with some Mexican actors, directors and writers! I’m so excited. By the end of the week, It will be sunny, I’m going to the park now, see you I love you, bye

This week i’m not going to do much, i think i’m just going to take my classes online and i’m going to walk the dogs, although i’m not going to lie, i’m very excited that i’m going to go to university on Friday and maybe we’ll go for a coffee coming out of the laboratory, i heve thought about going to swimming, i need to excersice!. But well i hope you do well at work this week!.

See you on Sunday!. Love Emily.

I am going to have fun with my colleagues this weekend. We are planning to go to Bali by airplane. It’s such a fun plan that we have made. We have so many destinations, like the beach, restaurant, pool, karaoke, and many more. We are going to meet new friends there. Those are university students from privileged universities in Bali. It will be a pleasure for us to meet them!

IT’S GOOD

Hello rene, I am writing this letter to tell you what I will do in the week … In the mornings I take online class to classes from Monday to Friday. Today I am going to do all my homework on Tuesday I am going to the supermarket to buy fruits. Then I am going to the movies with my family. My family and I are going watch the movie Gozilla vs Kong. Then we are going home. On wednesday we are going to order Tamales in the morning. I’m going to walk the Calzada de Guadalupe in the nigth.

See you in a month darling. I miss you already. Sam

Hi Alma!! It has been 4 days since I arrived in San Luis Potosi. My father went to the central office for me and from there we went home. I was tired from the trip and fell asleep for a while. I woke up and went to see the family. I have had a lot of fun playing with my cousins ​​and I gave them classes to learn how to make dream catchers, but since they are very young I ended up doing everything myself. Even so, we had a great time together and today we will go for a walk to the hill taking advantage of the fact that it is hot and not cold like the past days. It is the best vacation I have had in a long time but I wish you would have come. I miss you friend, I hope to see you soon when we return to class. How about tampico? tell me… Love You Angela

Hi victor, how are you?

Well this week i going to make a travel with some friends to San Luis, we going to saw Godzilla vs King Kong, after of the movie we going to eat burgers and the better of all is that you can go! i am so excited for this travel because for the finish of the day i’ll can see you in person after so many time

I’m waiting for the weekend

See you later brother.

Hi Vanessa! I hope you are fine! We finally arrived in California, I’m sure we’ll have a great week. First We’re going to eat in a restaurant near the beach After that We’re going to visit the Griffith Observatory and take pictures, this view is beautiful. We’re going to swim in the beach, I think the weather it’ll be great. We’re probably going to rent a car and we’re going to Las Vegas, I’ll write you tomorrow.

Hi Gisela, I just arrived in Tampico with my family and we are very excited. First we are going to go to the mall “Altama city center” and we are going to eat before going to the beach to have fun. I plan to buy a souvenir for you, so I’m going to visit certain stores to see what you like. The weather is perfect, I’m going to take advantage of the sun and I’m going to get a little tan. We plan to stay 3 days, so I’m going to visit you very soon.

Ana. PS: Enjoy the weekend.

Dear Marry, I just arrive in New York.

I just arrived in New York. I leave the airport and I’m going to my airbnb which is in Manhattan. I’m going to rest a bit after I writing to you. In the afternoon I’m going to meet a friend and we’re going to visit the Empire State Building. This month is going to be cold. I’m going to buy some sweaters and jackets. In the night I’m going to out to dinner with other friends and then we’re going to a bar in Broocklyn. I’m finally going to cross the Brooklyn Bridge. That is one of my biggest dreams. Well thi’s my plan for today. Tomorrow I’m going to Central Park. I wish you were here with me :( I’m going to miss u! See u next month.

I just got to New York. I leave the airport and go to my airbnb which is in Manhattan. I’m going to rest a bit after I writing to you. In the afternoon I’m going to meet a friend and we’re going to visit the Empire State Building. This month is going to be cold. I’m going to buy some sweaters and jackets. In the night I’m going to out to dinner with other friends and then we’re going to a bar in Broocklyn. I’m finally going to cross the Brooklyn Bridge. That is one of my biggest dreams. Well thi’s my plan for today. Tomorrow I’m going to Central Park. I wish you were here with me :( I’m going to miss u! See u next month.

Hello Gus How are you? We have just arrived in San Luis after going to Queretaro. I have not seen you for a long time, but we are going to go to Rio Verde to see you, and we will go to the crescent to swim, it will be very fun.

See you I love u

I am writing to tell you a little about how everything is going, I feel very happy because I have a lot of work for the next few weeks, I am going to make some decorations and some tattoos, as I had told you about the economic situation that was going through COVID 19 had been complicated and I’m glad to tell you that everything is going better. I’m going to Sofi’s birthday party tonight, I really wish you could come, blessings.

Hi Rosa how are you I have just arrived in Switzerland, and I am very excited arriving I will unpack, and then I will go to eat something at a nearby store, then I will go buy clothes because I do not have cold clothes, and tomorrow I will start work, in the Lowered, I only come with some friends so at night we will go for a walk downtown,

when you come to visit switzerland i wait for you

Hello dear Helen, I am writing you this letter to talk with you about what I have seen in my English classes about going to which is used to talk about general plans. As you know, I am in college and I really like the subject of English only that I failed the last unit. I hope to see you next summer, and play and watch movies. tqm niece goodbye.

Hi stephanie. I just arrived in Monterrey. I’m goin to arrive in 10 oclock ´ it is a day the wather was cloudy but is perfect for playing bascketball. I’m goin to play bascketball. I like play bascket i am going to take the dinner after the match. I will buy a pizza and some beer ,you recommend some restaurant.

i am going to stay in a hotel in the center. see you in this week, bye

Asnakech, says

I am going to work today and after work I am going to shop from Giant. Because it’s close to me, I am going to cook our dinner. But my husband doesn’t feel like going to do Laundry for his dad. There for I am going to do Laundry for my father-in-law. see you tomorrow.

thanks see you

Hi Nilson Friends told me about a tourist site in Antioquia called Jardin this weekend we are going to travel with my wife. The weather has been cold, but I think the weekend will be sunny. The town is small but you have many tourist sites, we are going to visit the path of the herrera, then we are going to enter a tunnel that has bats, from there we are going to walk 20 minutes and we are going to get off on an aerial cable called “La Garrucha “to the city. The next day we are going to visit we are going to go to many restaurants to try typical foods and try the different coffee sweets.

If you want to join us, call me and we meet to go. Regards

To Ian Hi Ian, how are you, I hope really fine, I am in my vacation in Acapulco, the weather in warm but i think son is going to rain, right now i am unpacking my suitcase, after i’m going to eat at the hotel cafeteria, the next saturday, I’m going to swim in the sea and i think the next week i’m going to buy souvenirs, well i hope to see you soon. Your great friend Yael

Hello aldahir Today I am going for a walk through the center, would you like to join me? We could buy some candy. Then I will go to my house to play video games.

I await your response, brother.

Hello, Gloria At 1 in the afternoon going to your house, you know, sit on the couch, play Clash and eat potatoes with maruchan. We can also take photos, which you like very much XD. I’m excited since I want to tell you what happened to me last week

See you in a while. With love, your brother, Aldahir

hi Dayanne. How are you? I just go to japón I will arrive at the arport at 2:00 pm it´s a day cloudy but is perfect to wolk. i´m going to go the un pack our bags after i write the podcast with my friend. we are going to tokio in the tomorrow. i´m realy realy exited. then, we are toing to the japanise restaurant because i need try the ramen. the next day i´m going to go the kiyomizu-dera, then i´m going to stay in a hotel center and i´ll be back.

See you in this week sister! i miss you..

Hi Linney, how are you? I´m going to arrive in Mexico city, i´m going to visit my family and maybe my mom leave me go to the center. I´m arrive at 5:20 pm of monday, maybe you can go for me. we can go to take a ice cream and talk about everything we do this 4 mounthsI really hope see u miss your laught. all the love xxx:)

Hi Isa, I hope you are well. Lately I have been very busy with my jobs and I have not had time to talk to you. Even so, I hope you are having a good time on your trip to Mexico. I heard there are incredible videogames. I miss you too much, I hope we can meet one of these days that is free. Oh right, I haven’t told you, well, I’m thinking of getting into design courses because in my career they ask me a lot, so it would be great to get into one, wouldn’t you like to come with me? You can not tell me later, I hope you are well, I send you a kiss I love you and take care of yourself.

atte: ilse.

Hi Mom! We have just arrived in Mazatlan and the first thing I did is write to you, I am very excited about this trip with my friends, we plan to do many activities. In the evening we´re going to a restaurant for dinner and then go for a drink. Tomorrow we´re gooing to visit museums and the center, I hope to find something nice to take as souvenirs for everyone. On Saturday we´re going to a boat trip to see some beautiful caves and islands. I wish you were here, I love you mom. Someday we will meet you and me together. Take care, see you soon.

Hello Jesus I just arrived in Mexico a few hours ago I think I should go out a little to know the place and I going to Spanish classes so I am very excited going go to swimming lessons which is very good good I say goodbye I hope be fine.

I just arrived from my trip, I am very tired and I really do not think we can play today, but I was thinking about going to eat tomorrow, also to give you some things that I bought for you and your brother, besides, I want to tell you how I am going to go out with a woman who is really beautiful Ps: Tell your cousin that I’m going to his house to deliver what he asked for

Hi mom I’m very happy to write this postcard, i just arrived in Amsterdam and i’m in the airport, i’m going to go to hotel to leave my bags and rest a little, tomorrow i’m going to go to tour te city with my friends, we’re going to visit the canals of Amsterdam and the House of Anna Frank, i’m going to go to shopping. On friday i’m going to visit the flower market and The Van Gogh Museum.

These weeks that i’m going to be without you i’m going to miss you so much, take care, see you soon.

Hi Nhoemi we just arrived in acapulco.i am going to unpack our bags after i write this postcard. it is sunny now. we are going to the beach when in the afternoon. i am going to bring an umbrella, a hat, and some suncreen.we are going to order chinese food tonight. my mother does not feel like going out for dinner tonight because we are go to eating out a lot this week.i am going to miss you! see you next week.

Hi, Sofi! I want to tell you that today I’m going to do all my homework that I needed to do on vacation. I have a lot. I’m also going to de DUI department because I have to do a practice then. Then I’m going to come back home. Hope to see youy soon. XO XO.

Hi Mom. I just got to cancun I will arrive at the airport at 4:00 p.m. I love the day, it is cloudy and I can take to take pictures. I’m going to see my aunt how she laughed at 5:00 p.m. and then I’m going to walk along the beach. I need to reflect See you n a month mom, I love you.

Hi Maria , I just arrive in new york. i am going to arrive in the airport at 7:30 am. It is a day cloudy but is perfect to walk. i am going to go the theater, i like to watch the comedy. i am going to take the dinner after the match. I will buy a pizza and some beer ,you recommend some restaurant.

I Almost arrived at queretaro city, I am going to stay first in a hotel near the main square, Im going to look for a restaurant that my aunts recomemded me, Im going to a night bar to dance with my friends and tomorrow I will gp tp the water park which is one hour from here. we are in touch Ilove you friend. see you:)

Hi Ana justo arrived in New York, i arrived at 5:30 am. I going to unpack my suitcase and ofter going for a walk through the streets of the city, it is a sunny day it is very good to walk and go to some park. I found a friend and i’m going to have dinner with hin after or to visita mi brother. I would like you to be here, i will miss you. See you when the holidays are over.

Hi Ana justo arrived in New York, i arrived at 5:30 al. I going to unpack my suitcase and ofter going for a walk through the streets of the city, it is a sunny day it is ver good to walk and go to some park. I found a friend and i’m going to have dinner with hin after or to visita mi brother. I would like you to be here, i will miss you. See you when the holidays are over.

Hi Ana justo arrived in New York, i arrived at 5:30 al. I going forma a walk through TVE streets of TVE city, it is a sunny day it is ver y good to walk an go to some para. I found a friend and i’m going to hace dinner with hin after por to visita mi brother. I would like you to be here, i will misa you. Ser you when TVE holidays are over.

Hi mom!¿how are you?, I,m fine, in Guanajuato there are many atractions, tomorrow, I am going to visit a new museum, also, I am going to drive to Cerro del Cubilete, it is a mountain with a bigger Cristo is very beautiful, I am not going to sleep tonight because I am going to go a Disco, and I am going to dance all night. I hope you are having fun time too. Good bye mom!.

I arrived in Veracruz this holy week I going to the beaches to swim and I goingto also go for a walk around the city and buy souvenirs I hope you are having fun in this vacation too

ATTE: esmit

hello mom. i write from italia, i going to travel at home the next wekeend. I will carry the memories you asked for. I am very excited to show you all the places I visit.

I will be home soon. I love you and miss you. Rocío.

Hi Alan! We are arrived in Korea, it´s really beautiful. i´m going to one restaurant whit Fernanda right now we think the food it´s goingo to really diferente to Mexican food. Well after eat we going to sleep in a hotel we are really tired and maybe tomorrow we arew gointo to buy a new closed and walk on the super mall. In the afternoon we going to visited different museums or monuments. This contry is really different! i´m goingo to take a some photograph to send you. See you soon, I love you Karina

Hi Aarón,how are you? I hope you are fine. I’m getting to Guanajuato, it’s cloudy so I think it’s going to rain and I love it. This night I’m going to go to a bar with my friends and we will listen some music. Tomorrow I’m going to go to some museums with they, it’s going to be a beautiful day with the rain and company.

I think Karen is going to having a party because she started to buy food and some drinks, may be is for Daniela’s birthday. I’m very happy to be here, I will write to you soon, I love you!

Hi Aarón,hoe are you? I hope you are fine. I’m getting to Guanajuato, it’s cloudy so I think it’s going to rain and I love it. This night I’m going to go to a bar with my friends and we will listen some music. Tomorrow I’m going to go to some museums with they, it’s going to be a beautiful day with the rain and company.

I think Karen is going to having a party because she started to buy food and some drinks, may be is for Daniela’s birthday. I’m very happy to be here, I will write to you soon, I love you!

Hi MOM. I just arrived in Finland. It’s a beautiful place. I’m going to visit the city. I’m going to buy some souvenirs, before I forget it. The weather is too cold. I’m going to put on many clothes. And I think I’m going to take rain boots. At night, I’m going to out to see the northern lights, I’m going to take the camera and I’m going to send you many photos. See you soon, I love you. Lizeth

Hi Tadeo I just got to CD, Mexico. I am going to the hotel Holiday Inn, then I am going go to work at the Agency in Lamborghini, After work I am going go to dinner at restaurant, I am going arrive at the hotel at 11pm. After arriving I going take a bath, and I going call you when I finish bathing. In the next day I going not work because is saturday, I going to stay at the hotel all day Saturday and Sunday.On Monday I going start back to work.

Hi Daniela! How are you? I just arrived to Puebla , I recently arrived at the hotel and I am writing this to you. Tomorrow I am going to eat mole poblano after Im goig to walk in the city and finally i will sleep. On Wednesday I am goig to meet my best friend and he is going to tell me a little about the tourist places and Thursday I will return home. I will take you a gift!!

Hi, Angelica, how are you? I just arrived in Canada and it is beautiful I hope to go in two days to Toronto I will go to all the museums that are possible and I will also eat everything I find and of course I will take you a present, I come with my daughter and she also sends you Greetings. We hope you are ok. With love Paula and Astrid

Hello iris, I am traveling through the Huasteca potosina and I will tell you what I am going to do. I’m going to swim in the cascade of old mines. My sister and I are going to eat fish. I’m going to dance at the party at night. and I’m going to buy new clothes, I hope to see you soon and I will miss you so much. I will buy you a souvenir necklace. Goodbye and greetings

Hi Gusi, I am arriving in Italia. In one week, I will go to Japan, and there I am going to eat a lot of makis. In Italia, I have the desire to eat pizza. Athena is going to buy some clothing, while I am to visit some museums. At the night, we are going to snack in the hotel or in somewhere near. Tomorrow I will send you this letter. See you.

Hi Bertha. I just arrived in España. I’m going to take a taxi to get to my hotel in Madrid and tomorrow i will to walk in the center of madrid and i wiil visit the museum “Soralla”

The next week i will travel to the beach of Malaga.

I am very excited for this trip I hope to see you soon, I love you

Hi cousin I´m going to take the bus from 9 am to Valles. When I arrive I´m going to have lunch. Please tell my mom that I´m going to be in the downtown. After I go to visit you, I´m going to do some things with my brother, I hope we going to dinner at night the whole family. See you on Saturday. Bye xx.

Hi Cris My colleagues and I have just arrived at the Huasteca Potosina. I’m going to take a bath after finishing this postcard because the heat is very hot. Let’s go to the hotel pool to freshen up. I’m going to use the bathing suit you gave me and a sunscreen. We are going to eat fritters and drink some beer. Some colleagues will take advantage of the occasion to have fun in the pool, I’m sure it will get a little crazy. I hope one day we could come together.   I’ll see you on thursday.

PS: I will buy you many gifts.

Hi, good morning, Jessica, I just got to CD, Mexico. I am going to the hotel Holiday Inn, then I am going go to work at the plant in Nissin,After work I am going go to dinner at restaurant, I am going arrive at the hotel at 8pm. I am going arrive at the hotel at 8pm, after arriving I going take a bath, and I going call you when I finish bathing. In the next day I going not work because is saturday, I going to stay at the hotel all day Saturday and Sunday.On Monday I going start back to work.

Hello gilberto how are you I hope you do very well. I’m getting to Cd. Valles the weather, it’s very hot. Today I will go straight to the grandmother’s house to eat a rich barbecue with the whole family later we will go to the river to swim. Tomorrow I will go with my friends to the bridge of God which is a very beautiful river an hour from the city where I can enjoy a boat ride along the river to reach the rock that is known as the bridge of God then we will return to the city to go to eat the richest pizza of the place in Bella Vittoria and walk for a while on the boulevard. I hope you also spend an incredible vacation friend. Take care we’ll see you in two weeks.

Hello Omar. I just arrived at my house for another long weekend. I have a lot of things to do, I still do not start them and I’m tired. First I have to wash all my clothes, and I also brought my blanket and sheets, I think I’ll wash them in the night, they’ll be dry by tomorrow. my brothers are going to rent movies to see later, my mom is going to make popcorn and snacks. My dad is going to make a lot of noise during the movie, so we’ll get a speaker to connect to the TV. tomorrow I must make the whole week’s meal, I will also go shopping. I’m going to make spaghetti and maybe potatoes with cheese. I’m also going to do my homework, you know I always leave it all for Sunday night, but I think I exaggerated this time. I’m going to do too much homework. but hey, wish me luck bye Bye

Hi Tita! I just got to Mexico City. The climate here is a bit strange, since it is a place where it is hot but it is humid at the same time, then it rains, and then the sun comes out, then it is rare. But cais is always cloudy. Today I arrive at 10 a.m. and I settled in the hotel, it is a very nice hotel. Anyway, right now I’m about to go to eat, then it’s time to leave. Hopefully one day we can travel together here. I love you, Tita, see you later. PS: I see you next Saturday.

Hi Anahi. How are you? I just arrive to Huasteca Potosina and we going to visit any places like Edward´s Castle, well this the first day. Next day we goint to Tamul waterfall and we gonna swim in the river. After that we going to visit “Puente de Dios”. The last day we gonna to visit “Sotano de las golondrinas” in Aquismon. I hope to see you soon.

Love, Roberto

Hello Daniel I just got to San Luis Potosi. I’m going to the gym later, I’m going to eat at my house Tomorrow I go to the center of the city, then I will visit my family,

I’ll go play with my cousins ​​and then we’ll go to the park My mom is going to cook lasagna and meat we will be in contact I love you see you

Hi Katy, how are you? I hope that very good. We just got my girlfriend and I to the beach. We are going to unpack our troubles when I finish writing this letter to you. the sun is very strong, but I think it’s going to come down soon. we are going to the beach later, first going to eat something. we are going to buy swimwear and sunscreen. We’re going to order shrimp tonight for dinner. I’m going to extract you a much better friend, but see you next month.

With Love, your best friend

Hi, Iván! I just arrived in Japan with my mom. We are going to unpack our bags in the airport, it was a long trip. Here in Japan is sunny and We are going to go to the Osaka Castle. I’m very excited to go there because is like a dream come true. At night We will stay in a hotel near Osaka and the next day We will get on the shinkansen bullet train to go to the Kyushu main islands. I promise that I will send you some of photos and I will try to buy a souvenir to you. Even though, I will see you here in 3 days. Love, your girlfriend. Ps. I already want to see you here.

I just arrived in Guadalajara. I am going to unpack my bags after I write this postcard. I’m going to go to Puerto Vallarta beach,I’m going to bring a hat, my swimsuit,and some sunscreen. My boyfriend and I going to play football in the beach, after that we going to order a pizza in the hotel. I’m going to miss you! See you next week.

Love Cinthia.

PS: When are you going to go this holidays?

Hi jesus! I just arrive in cancun. I am going to unpack my bags after, i write this card. I am going to swim an the beach and i am going to party at night. Cancun in beautiful, I really like to beach, I am going to enjoy my vacation, my brothers could not come with me to Cancun, it,s a shame that they could not come.

P.S.: I hope you are well and greetings from the beach

Hi Gladis! We just arrive in Mazatlan. I am going to know the hotel. It s a sunny day, tomorrow going to the visit the beach. Later we goig to out to dinner to a typical food restaurant, my sister is a bit tired, so she will sleep a Little. On Sunday we have a water activity I am going to take many photos to show you. see you soon, kisses.

Hi mommy! I’m arriving in San Luis Potosí, the trip was somewhat tired, a lady was coming talking to my side but I fell asleep. I will go to school tomorrow morning, I have a full day, first I go to the school at 7pm and I end up with electricity at 7, but the week is going fast and I will soon see you again on Friday. I love you and I send you kisses.

Hello dad: i just arrived in tokio japan,the city is beautiful,i am going to unpack the suitcase after i am going to eat noodles and sushi. i am going to travel to the city of akihabara because i like te technology,i am going to travel in subway because in tokio is very fast.i am going to miss you i love you see you next month

Hi brother I am traveling course at Columbia with my friend, the plane was very comfortable, when arrive at the airport i am going to ask eat, after i am going to buy a shopping and help my friend a look a department i am going to have dinner with my best friend i am visiting a museum in the night at the next day for the morning the theater i am going to watch to the movies his name angry birds, I am going to buy food for the weekend, but fixing the car also give a wash, i am going to visit the grandfather the next Saturday and study for the meeting Love Silvia

We just arrived in Cancun and it is more beautiful than in photos, in a few minutes we are going to arrive at the hotel that we booked, we are so excited for this trip that we were expecting, I tell you that we have many plans to make this week, in an hour we are going to eat to a restaurant that has a beautiful view of the sea and in the evening we are going to dancing with some friends to a club that is in the center of the city, very early tomorrow we are going to a park called Xcaret which is the most beautiful in Cancun , we are going to take many photos to send you, we are going to also go swimming and going to the zoo and in the last days we are going to the city center to buy clothes and souvenirs that we are going to take to you and the others.

Greetings to all, see you soon.

We love you very much: Crystal and Esmeralda.

hi cintya i just arrived in united states. i am going to buy clothes for my family and me. i am going to visit the museums and popular places. i am going to eat in diferrents restaurants because i love the exotic foof. i will buy tennis for my dad becuase he like the tennis. i will call you in this days okey? i am going to miss you. see you on vacations it is over.

Hi Vanesa I just arrived in San Luis Potosi. I am going to sleep after I am write this postcard. Then, I am going to eat a hamburguer whit my cousin Lupita. In the afternoon I and my cousin are going to go to San Luis Potosi center and we are going to buy clothes, then we are going to eat mexican food. At nigth I am going to go to dance and I am going to dance whit my friend because she loves dance. I am going to miss you! See you next weekend. Love my friend. Pd. Do exrcises.

Hi Vanesa. I just arrived in San Luis. I am going to sleep after. I write this postcard. Then, I am going to eat a hamburguer whit my cousin lupita. In the afternoon I an my cousin are going to go San Luis Potosi center and we are going to buy clothes, then we are going to eat mexican food. At nigth I am going to go to dance and I am going to dance whit my friend because she loves dance. I am going to miss you! See you to next weekend.

Hi Fanny! I just arrived in Guadalajara. I´m going to unpack my clothes and after that i´m going to walk around the city. I´m going to go to the stadium of chivas because the chivas play in this day. I´m going to eat the local food i have heard that is very delicious. I´m going to miss you! See you when the vacations it’s over.

Love Misa <3

Hi Lizeth I just arrived in monterrey. I am going to go the house after, I am going to eat chicken and patotes. tomorrow I am going to go the cerro de la silla, I am going to visit my family after, we are going to dance. I am going to play videogames with my brother and cousing it is very funny. My grandmother is going to cook gorditas and tamales it is very delicious, well I leave you. I love you. Pd. Eat friuts and vegetables

Hi brother! I’m arrive to airport of Cancun. I’m think going to search a hotel near the beach, but I do not think find, because there are a lot of reservations in high season. First i going to take a bus to get to Playa del Carmen, later i going to swim in the sea and i going to dine at a luxury hotel . Here i going to stay for 3 days and later going to take a ferry to go to Cozumel and i stay for two nigths. To finish I’m going to Xcaret for three more days. Here i going to go archaeological zones whit a friend. And we walk into caves. I need you Bro! I hope you accompany me next travel. See you next monday.

PS. I wait you in the airport. Love you

Dear Evan Hansen We’ve been way too out of touch.Things have been crazy, and it sucks that we don’t talk that much… My family an me arrived in Ireland.I’m going to unpack my camera after I write this postcard, i’m going to promise send you a photograph if I can climb the mountains. In Ireland always it’s raining but I think it’s wonderful. My mom and me are going to go to National Museum tomorrow. It’s going to be very cold that’s why I’m going to use the scarf that you give me. My father doesn’t feel like going out for dinner and my sister probably are going to order a pizza. There is nothing relevant to say. Wait for the picture. See you in another letter. Sincerely AM.

Hi Yesenia,

We just arrived in Queretaro. I’m going to get into the pool after writing this postcard. It’s going to be very hot so I’m going to put on my green hat and a sunscreen. My parents are unpacking and when they finish they will also go swimming. After swimming we will eat at the cross market, I hope they sell pozole. My father does not feel like going out to dinner tonight because we are going to eat a lot this afternoon. I’m going to miss you! See you next week.

I love you friend!

Hi Luis How are you?, I hope it´s ok. I just arrived in Zacatecas. Im going to hotel to leave my bags, later Im going to look for something to eat, Im here to visit many tourist places. Im going ti visit: Mina del Eden, later im going to vistit the Basilica, i want to see the works of art Im going to take many pictures of historic places. Im going to buy souvenirs for the family and one for you. See you on one week in S.L.P Good bye

Hello consuelo! How are you? I just arrived in Vallarta. It is very hot, I am going to go to eat seafood tomorrow, I have been told that they are delicious in this area, then I am going to walk on the beach and take some sun. At night I am going to go to a bar with my friend Arizahi. On Friday we are going to go shopping, I would like to buy some clothes. Anyway, I want to do many things. Pd. I am going to bring you a souvenir.

Hi bro how are you?? I just arrived in Cancun. I am going to my hotel,the name of my hotel is Paradisus and is very big and beautiful, tomorrow i am going to go to Xcaret with my friends Jesus and Michel, i am very very excited because xcaret is the most popular park in the world and is very big and beautiful but is very expensive and after xcaret i am going to go to the most popular club in cancun cocobongo and in this place i am going drink alcohol and dancing with a beautiful and internacional girls,and next i am going to go to visit my best friend Brian.

SEE YOU BRO I LOVE ATTE: OMAR

Dear sister. I was very pleased to receive your letter. I’m glad you’re okay. I’m on vacation right now.I have many plans!

First, next week I’m going to travel to the Canary Islands.Everybody say that the weather there is wonderful! I’ m going to there one week. When I returned, I’m going to the pool with “Lucia” Do you remember her? She always thinks of you. I wish you could come with us next summer.

In late August some friends and I are going to a party at a friends house.The house has a huge pool! So say goodbye to the holidays.

With love Oscar

Hi Liz! i Just Arrive in Japan. i’m going to eat some delicious japanese food, after i going to visit interesting place, i hope learn many thing of here. i’m going to go shopping, i will go to many clothes shop. i’m going to take many pictures of all tha things, i going to walk for the city and i’m going to meet friends in this country. i’m going to come back in one week. See you leter!! Bye.

Hello karla, I just traveled to Los Cabos, I’m going to arrive in Los Cabos at 7:00 am the city is very beautiful, I go to my apartment to sleep and I meet some celebrities because the building is exclusive, tomorrow I go to the beach to swim with white sharks and meet the whales, I go to the disco, I’m going to meet with foreign boys. See you in 1 week.

Hi Daniel! How are you?, i’m fine. I just arrived from Mexico D.F, I visited my sister that lives there. It was fun, we are visited Frida Kahlo’s house and eating in a viggan restaurant. The next week happened very fast and I had to go back. Well, I have plans for this weekend, I going to visit to my cousin to her house, the next saturday, I going to go eat chenese food to the “Barrio Chino” at 5:00 pm whit my friends and the sunday I going to the park whith my family at 12:00 pm. And you, what are you going to do the next weekend? See you later! I love you, bye.

Hi Mimi, I just got to San Luis. I’m going to unpack suitcases after writing this postcard. It’s raining now, but I think it’s going to clear up soon, I’m going to go home as soon as I get to the terminal. We’re going to the museums,shopping mall and center of the city.

See you on Friday, I love you.

Hello Juan jose : I am going to visit San Luis potosi on Friday, I would like us to know the city together. We’re going to the famous Restaurant Cielo tinto. I’m going to go his house this friday at 8:00am. We’re going to the museums,shopping mall,famous street. At night we’re going to see a movie in the Cinepolis. I’m happy!! See you soon

with love Mariana <3

Hi Mom! I just arrived in Guanajuato. I’m going to go look for food. It is very sunny now, but soon the sun will come down and I am going to go for a walk and get to know the historic center a bit. Next week I am going to go a museum that is near the hotel where I am staying and then I am going to go lunch with my friend Karen to a new Italian restaurant. I’m going to miss you! See you in a month.

I arrived to Guanajuato. I love this city. I’m going to go go the hotel to leave my bags. The weather is good, it Is a sunny day. I’m going to visit the mummy museum in the afternoon and then I’m going to go to eat at restaurant. Tomorrow I’m going to buy a map of the city to go to the all mines for know the minerals and before I’m going to walk for the city and take photos. Finally I’m going to buy souvenirs and typical candies.

I miss you so much best friend. See you next friday. Love, Mayte.

PS. What are you going to do the next weekend?

From : Jamie Tovar Hi, mom. How are you? I arrived to San Miguel de Allende , I like so mucho this place , my friend and me have an itinerary, first we going to climb the mountain of peñasco I need to wear a comfortable clouts !!! after we going to eat ice cream of mole or tacos , I know is so rarely but in this place you can buy a rarely things , my friend tell me that we going to a famous restaurant and we will eat a lot food  I will be so fat !!! I don’t worry when I will stay on home I will go to the gym  I’m tired for the school . thank you for let me come with my friend, I feel so good!

Hi Dad, I arrived in Brazil 15 minutes ago. I am with my best friends and we are going to stay here a week for our vacations. The weather is sunny now, and i think it is going to be hot all the week. I am going to go to the pool party later, after it me and my friends are going to order a hamburger in the hotel. I dont know what we are doing tomorrow, but i am going to call you and i going to tell you. See you next week dad.

How are you brother? I just want to tell you that I’m going to go to Italy in 6 hours and airport in 1 hour, so I’m going to wait outside for you to give me a ride, I’m impatient to see the vencia channels, the first thing I’m going to do is go up a gondola and I’m going to eat a pizza next to the leaning tower of pisa. So call me as soon as you can. see you soon

Hi Michel: I just arrived in San Luis Potosí. I`m going to unpack my bags after I write this letter. It is cloudy I think that it is going to rain, but I`m going to clean my room and take a shower. Tomorrow I`m going to go to the center if the sun comes and I`m going to buy food and other neccesary things and This Friday I`m going to eat with my family and We going to go to Cinema for my birthday. I`m going to miss you! See you next month. PS: What are you going to do this vacations? With Care Daniela

Hi mom, i just arrived in Jalisco, is a beatiful place.I am very excited to know this place. I´m going to take a taxi and then I´m going stay at the Hotel, i hope it´s cozy. I´m going to change my clothes because it is very hot here. i´m going to have lunch in the hotel restaurant and i´m going to go the “Plaza el Mariachi” and i´m going to buy memories por you. bye. I miss you

Hi Josue, I just arrive in San Antonio. i am going to arrive in the hous of my friend at 10:30 am. It is a day cold but is perfect to drink. i am going to go the basketball, i like to watch the Spurs vs Golden State. i am going to take the dinner after the match. I will buy a pizza and some beer.. see you in new year

Hi Amanda, I am very excited because the holiday’s are coming, my family and I will take go to the Huasteca. I will pack a lot of summer clothes, I will wear bathing suits, I will wear aún glasses, I will wear su Block for my sin since it will be very sunny, I will wear a hat or a cap. The first thing that my family and I will do is visit Xilitla all Day, then we will stay at hotel and after that we will go to dinner somenthing. The next Day we will go to visit the sótano de las golondrinas and after that we will visit the waterfalls. We will spend the rest of the days in the waterfalls. I will to miss you. Bye Amanda.

Hi Nayeli! I just arrive to Boom, Belgium .I´m going to go to the hotel, after that I´m going to take a shower and I´m goin to search for a restaurant,then I´m going to return to the hotel and I´m goint to sleep. the next day I´m going to go to the tomorrowland…I´m going to dance a lot…I´m going to have a lot of fun.

with love…jessi

Hi Paola, We just arrived in mexico. I am going to unpack our bags. It is raining now, but i think it´s going to the park when the sun comes out. We are going to eat a tacos. My friend doesn´t feel like going to be eating out a lot this week. I am going to miss you! See you next week

Hi Ary! I just arrived in London. I’m going sleep after i’m going to unpack the suitcase after. Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to go on a city tour and i’m going to drink a delicious coffee. It’s a beautiful place and the weather is very good.Tonight, I’m going to visit a friend later we are going to some restaurant to have dinner. I’m going to be here for a couple of weeks, maybe five and i’m going to take lot of pictures at downtown. See you soon,ily.

Hi Gaby I’m good, jus arrived in L.A. I’m going to go to house of my aunt Mario. Tomorrow I’m going to visit the center of city and eat something, then my mom is going out with my aunt so I’m going to watch some movie with mu cousin. see you as soon Iget back.

Hello Elsa I just got to Orlando, Florida this place is amazing. I’m going to settle in at the hotel and then I’ll go for food. I’m a little scared, my English is not so good yet, I hope that’s not a problem. I’m also going to buy the park tickets it will be fun. How sad you could not come, but I’m going to take many pictures to be able to send them. Everyone here we miss you so much we hope you get better soon. I will keep telling you everything we do. I send you a kiss.

Hi Mom! We just arrived to Real de 14. I am going to camping a week so I´m going to arm the tent with my friends. After I´m going to write a this postcard while I listen music. The weather are so hot today so I think that I´m going to buy a frappé in Real Bucks. My plans for this week are that my friends and me going to turistic places of Real de 14. Today we are going to go to the Mines, tomorrow we are going to the climb hills and rides horses. The next day we are going to visit the museaum. And we are going to eat at the local restaurants too. I´m so excited!. I have to go right now because my firends wants to go to the kiosko so.. See you next week!. I love you! Bye PS. Tell me what you will do in your week. Hannia

Hi mom! I’am going to swimming after the class. The weather is nice to do it. I’m going to do homework with my friend Ezequiel in the library. The task is about archeology I’m going to I’m going to walk my dog ​​”brownie” to the park on Thursday. See you later mom.

hello Adrián as you just arrived at my house I going to for tacos and later I’ll go to sleep tomorrow morning I going to the university from 8 to 2 in the afternoon I’m going to visit the museum I have to do a homework I did not remember tomorrow I’ll go to work in the night with my brother in law I think I’m going to have a very heavy day

Hi Carlos! How are you? I hope you’re fine! I Just arrived in Monterrey. I came to Monterrey because my sister lives here. I’m not sure but I guess she said that we’re going to go to the Santa Lucía Riverwalk and after that we’re going to eat something like pizza or makis because it’s my favorite food. We’re also going to visit the fundidora Park because we’re going to go to Sesame Street and of course we’re going to meet my hole Family there. I think the trip is going to be awesome. See you next weekend,take care Byeee!

Hi mom, I just arrived in charcas. My grandmother went to the bus station for me. The day is cloudy and cold. I think I’m going to go stadium the next day, hoping the weather improves.

i am going to take the dinner after the match. I will buy a pizza and some beer ,you recommend some restaurant.

i am going to stay in house of my grandmother tonight and for the morning i will help my grandmother in the activities in the house. see you in this week mom, i love. bye

Hi,Ximena! How are you? we are fine. My sister and I just arrived in Real de Catorce, the magical town is very beautiful. We are going to visit San Francisco de Asis in the church, I´m going to pray a few minites for my family and friends. the next thing we are going to do is going to go at the best restaurant. Iam going to ride a horse and then we are going to sightseeing for the town. In the afternoon we are going to return at home and we are going to bring many gifts and sweets typical for all. See you tomorrow.

Hello Sebastian! I just arrived at the Huasteca Potosina, I am very tired were 7 hours on the way from the city of San Luis. Tomorrow I will visit our family and we will go horseback riding to the ranch. We will also go to the Tamul waterfall. we will swim and dive in the tampaon river. later we will go by bicycle to the mountain to know the beautiful nature of the Huasteca potosina.

I would have liked you to come with me! Until the next week cousin!

I just arrived in Guanajuato, the city is beautiful, I’m going to unpack this week and I’m going to accommodate all the things in the department. The first I goint to at the best restaurant the city and then I goint to sightseeing for the city. In the night I goint to cinema with my Friends I´m goint to miss you! See you next week

Hi Wendy, I just wanted to let you know that I arrived in Tampico, the trip was a bit slow, but everything was fine. I just arrived, so I’m going to eat at a nearby restaurant, then I’m going to buy some books and at night I’m going to visit my uncles. I’m going to stay here for three days, the weather is perfect, so tomorrow I’m going to go swimming with my friends to the beach, I’m going to take sunscreen because I have no doubt that the sun is going to be very hot. and the next day I’m going to go shopping in the mall, I would like to buy clothes and a toy for my dog. That’s all I’ve planned to do here. I hope to get home, I’m going to take you a gift for Christmas and to your cat.

I hope to see you soon, take care of yourself. July love PS: we should travel together one day.

Hi, Angie. how are you? I feel very well. tomorrow I will arrive in Guanajuato to celebrate Noche Buena with my uncles. We will visit some churches and then we will ask for an inn in the neighboring houses. in the night we will light fires and candles to wait for the arrival of the gifts. I hope you spend a happy Christmas and give me something :v

Hi Isabela, how are you? I am fine. I arrived in Korea , Seoul. I am excited because it is my frist time in Korea. I am going to vistit hot springs. After sofia and I going to try busan. I am going to see the stars in to night. Mario , Carlos , Katia and Clara are going to know a Namsan tower. I don’t go see it , I love a tokyo tower. i’m going to travel a Kyoto next week because I need buy memories for the family. See you netx month. Bye brother

Hi, Mom! Just an hour ago to the city of Monterrey. It was a long trip. Right now I’m going to look for the extended Suites Hotel, I’m recommended by a friend. Tomorrow I go to visit the Paseo Santa Lucia and also the Plaza Paseo La Fe. I’m going to visit my aunt and uncles on Tuesday. Maybe I’ll go with my cousins to see a game of the Monterrey team even though my favorite team is America. For Tuesday buy a ticket to a play called “Night of the Devil ” will be near the hotel I’ll stay and go alone. On Thursday I go back to Plaza founders but now I will rent a bike and roll all afternoon. Friday I return to Matehuala, to celebrate your birthday mom.

See you, Aldo.

PD: Wait for your gift.

PD 2: I Love you mom!

Hi sean, I´m going to visit Denver on chrismas vacation, I will arrive on december 12th, my friends and I are pretending to make a reservation in two diferents hotel the first three night are arriving to Hotel Denver, Glenwood Springs and the next three night we will be staying at THE CRAWFORD HOTEL.

It’s a trip of friends from the university, really the intention of the trips is to go ice skating and skiing

And the following days, I will celebrate Christmas Day with my family that will meet me at my uncles’ house in Colorado Springs and my friends will celebrate Christmas with us.

see you later,sister :v

Hi Mom, I arrived in Paris 1 hour ago. I am with my friends and we are going to stay here a month for our vacations. The weather is cloudy now, and i think it is going to rain all the week. I am going to go to the beach later, after it me and my friends are going to order a pizza in the hotel. I dont know what we are doing tomorrow, but i am going to call you and i going to tell you. See you next month mom.Love you.

Hi!Laura I just arrived in Toluca. I´m going to buy cheese, Its rarely but i was told was delicious, after i´m going to walk around the city, I´m going to go the book fair, that is coming soon. And the afternoon i´m going to go have dinner some typical food. Well see you soon, take care!

Your friend Diana :)

Hi mom I’m arrive to Zacatecas City. My partners and I are going to go hotel to rest a little. Tomorrow we are going to wake up very early, because we are going to visit the mine. In the afternoon we are going to return to hotel, because it is going to rain. Some days we are going to visit diferent museums and the buffa hill. I think it will be a good week.

PS: Do you want a souvenir? I Love Mom

Hi Mom, I arrived in Ibiza 30 minutes ago. I am with my friends and we are going to stay here a week for our vacations. The weather is sunny now, and i think it is going to be hot all the week. I am going to go to the beach later, after it me and my friends are going to order a pizza in the hotel. I dont know what we are doing tomorrow, but i am going to call you and i going to tell you. See you next week mom.

Hi Mom, I arrived in Cancun 30 minutes ago. I am with my friends and we are going to stay here a week for our vacations. The weather is sunny now, and i think it is going to be hot all the week. I am going to go to the beach later, after it me and my friends are going to order a pizza in the hotel. I dont know what we are doing tomorrow, but i am going to call you and i going to tell you. See you next week mom.

Hi Gaby how are you? Im so tired I’m in Monterrey’ airport, I’m going to arrived to Chicago at 8:00 am. First, after of send you a meessage I’m going to unpack my bag and eat something because i’m so ungry, then my mom is going out with my aunt so I’m goint to watch some movie with my cousins. There’s so beautiful but is so cold too. When I finish my dinner I promise I will call you. See u.

Hi Daniel. How are you?

I´m Alex your friend remember me?

I´m going to travel with my girlfriend. We going to go Mexico city are very excited.

The monday we are going to go the Chapultepec park and We will visiting the “Angél de la Independencia”.

The tuesday we are going to visit the musuem in center town and we will going to the party

The wendsday we are going to visit girlfriend family and we will going to Six Flags.

The thursday We are going to back home.

Greetings and take care brother!!!

Hello lucero! I hope you are well. I just arrived in Zacatecas, tomorrow morning, I’m going to have coffee with a friend, later we’ll go to a plaza, the next day we’ll go shopping, I hope to find nice clothes, in the afternoon i´m going to a luxurious restaurant , I´m going to know several parts of the city that I find interesting. I will take you a memory of my trip

Hello Sister We just got here from Matamoros. I’m going to get our dogs out after writing this letter. It’s getting cold now, but I think it’s going to be removed soon. Let’s go to the square when the sun comes up. It’s going to be a lot ” hot ” I’m going to bring lemon snow. We’re going to order a pizza this afternoon but do not tell our father please. See you at night

Dear Danny. I love you and I’m going to tell you about the place I visited. I went to a museum, I was going to take a picture, but they didn’t let me do it. I think we can go there someday and we are going to a cada after that, and we are going to the movies on the next day. Yours, Erick.

Hello Soni how are you doing?

I am writing to tell you that at this moment I am in 5th semester of nursing school, I am close to finishing college. I’m going to wait for this December vacation to meet and talk and I miss you.

and you will see that I am going to collect money to be able to go shopping and enjoy those holidays.

It starts to get cold in San Luis but soon it will go lower the temperature as the winter progresses.

I am going to have fun during my stay in your state of residence and it will be fun.

P.S. take care of yourself and soon we will see each other.

Atte: Estefania Tovar

Hello Andrea I just arrived in Cancun. I’m at the hotel and I have a beautiful view of the sea, I love it! In 1 hour we going to go to eat some delicious shrimp. At night we going to go to a club to dance with my friends. Tomorrow morning we going to visit “Chichen-Itza” everyone says that this is the best! So I’m very excited. The next morning we going to visit “Isla Mujeres”, they say that the sand is white and I going to take opportunity to take pictures. I am very excited and I want to see you to tell you personally. See you soon friend! Kisses

Mi plans are…. I am going to unpack our bags after I write this postcard.Iam going to play the guitar the next weekend, I am going to watch movie the next month, I am going to buy two dress for my birthday because I want see me beautiful in this day. Iam going to visit my cousin in Monterrey, i am going to visit the park “Fundidora” with they.

Hi Angel!How are you? I arrived in Venice 5 minutes ago. I´m going to tell you what am I going to do this week, I have a lot of plans. First i am going to go sightseeing with my friends, to meet all we can about the city. After that we are going to St. Mark’s Square that is the most famous from Venice. Then we are going to have dinner i am going to order Pasta e fagioli. Tomorrow we are going to go to Burano, it´s an islan where every house is colorful, you have to see them. Next day we are going to go to the Correr museum what is the most important museum in the city, there are all about the city´s history. And the other days we don´t know what more to do yet, but i am going to tell you next postcard. love, Esme :) Wish you were here!

Hi Jesus! I just arrived at puerto vallarta! It is really beautiful to go swimming in the hotel pool and then I will walk to the beach, in the night I going to to a dance clubwith my friends! Take care see you soon. Love you!

Hi mother! I am talking to you from Monterrey, i am so excited to see you again. I am going to cook a bolognese spaghetti when you get home and i am going to prepare your favorite dessert. My mother is going to take the car to repair it because it doesn’t work and she wants to pick up you.

There is going to be a concert tomorrow, my siblings and i want to go but i have an exam, and they have a lot homework. However, we are going to stay home daylong. I am going to take care my nephews on weekend and my mother is going to go to church. Well, i am going to write you later, i have to study for my exam. See you mom!

hi mama I’m arriving at navasota tx, my dad still does not come for me to the central but I come very tired, the first thing I will come to the house is to eat and sleep for a while to go tomorrow to buy everything necessary, the fastest possible. tomorrow I’m going to mark you at 10:00 a.m. so you can tell me everything you need to buy, we’ll talk later, I love you a lot, my father is marking me

Hi Daisy i just arrived in Pris, Francia, it was a long trip. this week i am going to walk through the streets and learn more about this place. for the afternoon i am going to go on a date with some friends, also we are going to go to the eiffel tower. then i am going to do some outdoor activities and finally i am going to buy some gifts and memories for you. i miss you with love jessica

I’m coming to Monterrey. I am very excited, tomorrow I´m going to visit the Fundidora park, I´m going to take many pictures, and I´m going to get on the zip line. Then I´m going to walk along the Santa Lucia promenade, I think it will be amazing. I’m going to visit my friends, and then we are going to eat hamburgers at Muncher House, they’re delicious. At night we are going to dance and sing at The City Club, we will have an amazing time. Next Friday I´m going to travel to Santiago, where I can visit the “Cola de Caballo” waterfall. I’m going to swim for a long time, I’m going to relax and enjoy this experience. On Friday I´m travel back to San Luis, and on Monday I´m going go to the university.

I send you regards.

Hi Mom! I just arrived in Dallas, my dad was already waiting for me at the bus station, he told me that we will go to dinner at the Golden Corral restaurant after leaving my bags in the apartment. I’ll send you a picture of our meals! Tomorrow I plan to go jogging in the morning in the nearby park and have breakfast. I’ll wait for my dad to arrive and then I’ll tell him to come with me to the mall to buy me some clothes and some tennis. On Sunday we will visit the Cathedral of the Virgin of Guadalupe in the center of the city, and my father told me that during the week he expects to arrive early from his work to visit my uncle in Garland. On Sunday I will also go with my dad to buy food for the whole week to the super. As we go around doing more things, I’ll tell you how it goes! I love you mom!

Hello Angie I am going to play foot-ball on sataurday if you want to come, we are going to travell to Mexico if we win, so you are invited too. I think I am going to pass all of my exams with a 10. Mi friends and I are going to go to eat wings. See you. Pablo

I just arrived in Paris, France. It’s beautiful here! I’m going to get to my hotel while I write this. Tomorrow, first I´m going to visit the Eiffel Tower, then I’m going to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. The next day, I´m going to visit the bridge of padlocks and then I´m going to the Louvre Museum. This week will be fantastic! I promise to write you soon. I miss you.

Love, Nessa.

Hi Arturo I just arrived in Guanajuato, it’s beautiful here, I’m going to get to my hotel while I write this. It is cold, but I think it´s going to be warmer tomorrow, remember everything you recommended me so this week I´m going to do many things while I am here, first I´m going to visit your university, then I´m going to eat at the market near the university, and I’m going to visit some museums. the next day I´m going to visit the alley of the kiss, although I’m going to go alone hahaha. I’m going to see the mummies too and i´m going to walk the streets and take some pictures. I hope to see you soon

Love, Montse

Hi mom and dad! We just arrived to Madrid, Spain. We are going to unpack the suitcase and probably we are going to sleep because here it´s night. Tomorrow we are going to take a walk around the city my friends Jonah and Corbyn want going to visit some art museums. I bought a camera so I´m going to take lots of pictures. After that we are going to buy clothes and going to return to the hotel. I´m going to take a shower and finally we have tickets for a festival and we are going to see our favorite band sing. I’m going to miss you! See you next weekend. Love,Erick.

Hi cousin In the valleys it’s raining very hard, I’m writing to tell you that I miss you so much, I have many things to do this week, I have practices when I leave university. tell me ami that I miss her so much and I’ll be visiting soon

Hi Isela! I just arrived arrived in Oaxaca. I’m going to rest in the hotel for a few hours and after tha I’m going to wlak around the village. I’m goint to know The Catedral of Oaxaca and I’m going to have breakfast at some trdicional restaurant. More later I’m going to visit my friend, she live here. I’m going to miss you. I love you. See you when the vacaction it’s over .

¡Hello Mom! In this week I will be of visit in Monterrey, to seeing a game of my favorite team “Tigres”, maybe i’m going to visit my cousins. Also I will go to raise myself to the mechanical games in “Bosque Mágico”, I see you next week when already return to the house.

Hi Mom! I just got to vallarta a few minutes ago. I feel very tired but I’m on my way to the hotel. After that I’m going to the spa, you know something about life in life. Hopefully we are in “el malecom”, I take many photos. I go to plaza galleries and buy some things. And, maybe I’ll take some photos to urge and I’ll be with my friends here, I’ll send you all my photos. You’re the best. XOXO, Bye

¡Hello Maricruz! This week I am visiting your city; I was going to visit the pyramids on Tuesday at 5:00 AM. I bought the tickets yesterday. I am very excited to know where you were born. I am going to eat at the restaurant “la posada”. I am going to buy those beautiful bracelets that you like so much, I would like you to be here. I am going to take my flight in the afternoon; But first I’ll go see your mother.

I miss you so much. with love ROCIO

Hi mom. I hope you are very well. Krissia and I have just arrived at our new house. It was hard to get here, but we did it. I’m going to eat pasta with meat today, and at night I’m going to bake pancakes. Tomorrow early I will go to run and when I arrive I will take a shower. Krissia will go to school and later I will pick her up; After that, I’m going home. I hope to find you there.

I love you.

Attentively; Daniela

Hi, Dad I just got to Acapulco with the guys. I’m going to say hello to my cousins after unpacking. It’s going to be a nice day to wear a new dress. Later I’ll go to the beach with all the cousins but before I go shopping with my cousin Valeria to buy a bathing suit as we forget. In the evening I’ll go to dinner with the family. I would like to talk to my guys about your plans to visit but let it be surprise I’m going to miss you, I’ll take good care of you I promise, see you next month.

Hi Alondra! I just arrived to the new city. Im going to take a shower because the airport is far from the hotel and i walk from there. However,after unpacking im going to buy a new clothes because is going to be cold here. Tomorrow I’m going to have dinner with my cousins and the next I’m going to visit the museum with them,i think is gonna be full because the new exhibition of Tim Burton. Im going to tell you everything that happens to me in this trip, see you soon.

Love Leonardo

Hi bro! I just arrived in the new city. Im going to take a shower because the airport is far from the hotel and i walk from there. However,after unpacking im going to buy a mew clothes because is to cold here. Im going to tell you everything that happens to me in this trip, see you soon.

Hi Mary! I arrived to Zacatecas; the people here are amazing, very friendly. I’m going to visit the cathedral and will take some photos. Maybe I will buy souvenirs for you and your family; I saw some necklaces of your favorites. After I’m going to Cerro de la Bufa, some friends say me about this place is beautiful. At night I’m going to Mina El Eden, I will drink some beers to have a good time. I want see you, I promise to visit you after this adventure. With love, Alexis.

Hi mother! I am talking from San Luis Potosí, i am so excited to see you again. I am going to cook a cake when you get home and i am going to prepare your favorite soup. My mother is going to take the car to repair it because it doesn´t work and she wants to pick up you.

Hi Maggie! I arrived to Canada last week and I had a new apartament, now Im going to unpacket my clothes and my objets haha. Next monday, I’m going to visit the cinema of the city for the first time, then, I’m going to eat a delicious salad, after that i’m going to walk around the city. I’m going to miss you!

Love u, David Gallegos!

Hi mom! We just arrived to Berlín, Germany. We are going to unpack the suitcase and probably we are going to sleep because here it’s night. Tomorrow we are going to walk around the city and We would like to visit the Berlin Wall. After that, we are going to eat out, we want some “Mett and Bratkartoffeln” and, obviously, drink beer. Finally, in our last day, we are going to visit the olympic stadium, in there was the olympic games and a world cup of soccer.

There are our plans, mom. Eduardo and I, send you a big hug and a lot of kisses. We miss you!

Hi mom! I just arrive in NY a few minutes ago. I feel so tired but I`m on my way to the hotel. After that I`m going to the spa you know some massanges legthen life. I wish we can meet in “Blue Hill” and will go to the stadium and watch the game. I`m going to the 5th Avenue and buy some things. And, maybe i`ll take some pictures for insta hahaha. XOXO, Bye

Hi Ricardo I just arrived in Guanajuato, the city is beautiful, I’m going to unpack this week and I’m going to accommodate all the things in the department. The first thing I plan to visit is the university and underground tunnels I will visit them in two weeks when I manage to fix everything here

with love Karen

Hi mom! I just arrived in San Luis Potosí. I’m going to the Registro Agrario for your documents. I’m going to eat something after having your documents. After that I’m going to my departament and do homework. I’m going to miss you. See you in a month.

All the love, Marisol

I just want you to know that I just arrived in Guadalajara. I’m going to unpack my suitcase after writing. Today the day is very beautiful, it is a bit hot. I will go to the center for a while, to know a little more, apparently later it will be hotter the day, so I’m going to put on a hat and a lot of sunscreen. I would like to visit many places and discover more here, and capture beautiful places in my mind. In the night I’ll go dancing, maybe I’ll find someone I like. I will miss you! See you next week. I love you!

Hi Mom. I just got to the house of the valleys. After writing this postcard, I’m going to unpack my suitcase. My uncles are not there, so I’ll prepare something to eat and watch TV a little. I will take the dog for a walk with my cousin when he arrives from school, we will spend some time in the park so that the dog plays well, while we talk about our weekend. I love you so much mom I’ll miss you

Acabo de llegar a México. Voy a ver a Melissa después de escribir este mensaje. El dia esta hermoso. Esta soleado ahora, por eso iremos a un lago a un rato. Va a hacer mucho calor por eso, por una pizza y unas aguas heladas. Vamos al teatro con mis primas. Melissa no quiere ir a la fiesta en Puebla por que iremos a el cine. ¡Te quiero papi!

PD: ¡Ojalá estuvieras aquí!

good day billy i came to the university’s library right now. I am going to study all afternoon. I am going to borrow a book about history and i’m going to read it tonight. In some hours i’m going to take a break for lunch, and i like to chat with you about “that”. my history teacher is going to help me to find a good bibliography, but before i’m going to finish my online activity for my english homework, bye.

Dear Italia: Hi my friend! how are you? I arrived to Mazatlan, I am very excited for this travel I planed activities for a week for example I am going to walk in a “pulmonia”, I am going dance whith the band because the band is the music more popular in the Mazatlan and I really like it, and other activity planned I am going meet new persons, because the people in Mazatlan are really friendly and fun, on the other hand I am going swim all day in the sea, the sea is really beautiful, and I am going walk to the seashore, well is all, I hope you are well and I send you a hug, see you soon.

Hi mom: I just got to Mazatlan. I’m going to unpack my suitcase after writing this postcard. It is very sunny and hot the day. I’ll go to the beach for a while. It’s going to be very hot. I’m going to a hat and a sunscreen, I really do not want to burn because I’m in a bathing suit. I would like to see the atarceder and capture in my mind such a beautiful moment. In the night I’ll go out to dance, maybe I’ll find someone I like. I will miss you! See you next week. I love you!

Hi Juan! I just arrived in Guanajuato. I am going to unpack my bags after I write this card. The weather is cold now, but I think it’s going to clear up soon. I going to the “Callejon del beso” when the sun comes out. I’m going to bring a hat and sunglasses. I going to order boneless tonight. My brother doesn’t feel like going out for dinner tonight because we’re going to be out a lot this week. I’m going to miss you! See you next weekend. Love, Karla.

Hello Julián!

I’ve just arrived to Tampico, i came with paty and her dad. We going to be here this weekend. We´re going to visit playa miramar and the malecon. On sunday we’re going to laguna del carpintero but they says that place doesn’t have nothing interesting, just a lot of crocodiles and delinquents. At night we’re goint to have dinner, we don’t know where yet, but it going to be some fast because we are tired, we traveled about 5 hours

Hello Jessica! how are you? I have arrived to Guadalajara. Is a beautiful city. Tomorrow I’m going to the cinema with Karen. On saturday I’m going to visit my cousin Andres, we are going to restaurant. Now it’s rainy and I’m going to prepare a tea. I’m very happy! I’am going to miss you. See you with the vacation it’s over.

Hello Daniel. I just got to Vallarta. I’m going to unpack my bag after writing this postcard. It’s raining now, but I think it’s going to clear up soon. I’ll go to the beach when the sun comes up. It’s going to be very hot. I’m going to bring an umbrella, a hat and a sunscreen. I’m going to order a pizza tonight. My son does not feel like going out to dinner tonight because we are going to eat a lot this week. I will miss you! See you next week. Love your princess PS: I miss you.

Hi Mom I just arrived with a standard to Dallas. I’m going to put our things in the room and then I’m going to eat with my cousins. It’s very sunny. I’ll put on sunscreen and I’ll carry an umbrella so I do not get burned. with norm we are going to visit some friends at night and maybe we are going to dance but only for a while because I am tired and I already want to sleep. tomorrow from very early I will do different activities and I want to have energy. I’ll write you soon ok Take care of yourself and say hello to my dad PS: I’m going to buy a souvenir from here

Dear sister:

I have arrived to Munich, it’s a beautiful city according all the places I’ve seen from the car. Tomorrow I am going to take a breakfast with the girl I’m in love, I hope to take her Marienplatz at the night. The day after tomorrow I’m gonna go out with all my friends to the bar, we are goning to celebrate my birthday. On wednesday I’m going to go to a job interview, I really want to stay in this city at least for one year. I miss you and I miss my mom too, give her all my love. I promisse I’ll call you later.

A big hug, Rubén.

Hi Mom: Today I am coming to Venice, this week I hope to go for a walk in the streets, my friends say it is a romantic city and I will love it. On Wednesday of this week I will go to the best restaurant in the city, I will send you photos and I hope to find some nice memories to take it.

I love you and I miss everyone, greetings. Emily.

Hi Erika, how are you; I pray you stay ok. I still staying in Italy, It´s a wonderfull country. I only want to tell you i´m going to the Pisa tower tomorrow and after that i will go to the colisium.

I´m going to miss you a lot of! I will be waiting to see you soon.

Love you: Lalo

I have just arrived in Valles, I feel very well, I will have pizza and milk and then I will sleep because the trip was tired. Tomorrow I will go to practice I hope it goes very well it will be my first day and I am nervous but I will save energies to give the best of me.

Soon we will see you mommy

I love your daughter Ariana

Hi mom! We just arrived in Querétaro. I am going to have breakfast after i write this postcard. It’s very hot in here. In a while we´re going to go to a vineyard, after we´re going to go to a Peña de Bernal. I’m going to take lots of potos and buy some things for you. See you in December!

I miss you!

Hello Claudia, I just arrived in Argentina. I will arrive at the airport at 7:30 a.m. It’s a cloudy day but it’s perfect for walking. I’m going to soccer, I like to see Boca Juniors. I’m going to have dinner after the game. I’ll buy a pizza and a little beer, they recommended a restaurant.

PS: I’m going to stay in a hotel in the center. see you.

Hi, sister We just arrived in Durango. I’m going to unpack our bags after taking a bath. The sky is cloudy, but I think it will clear up soon. Let’s go for a walk when the sun comes up. It looks like it’s going to make it a lot hot I’m going to buy a sunscreen. I’ll miss you, I’ll see you next month

Hi son, I hope you find yourself well.

I’m coming to Mexico City, the weather is very nice. in the afternoon I will go out with my colleagues from the university to visit some very important companies, then we will go for a while to a very nice part that is close to the hotel. Then we will return to the hotel to rest and thus have a lot of energy to go shopping tomorrow. Your mother loves you very much.

Hi Mom. We have just come to San Luis Potosi. I’m going to unpack the suitcase and the food that you gave me. It is cool now, but it is not seen that go to rain (I hope). I’m going to start to begin to do my homework at once, it’s going to be a long night and prepare a little coffee to endure. The boys and I are going to order a pizza because we arrived with very hungry. This week is going to be very heavy, I’m going to have tests on monday and wednesday and Tuesday and Thursday I’m going to have to go to the laboratory and deliver tasks. I’m gonna miss you! I see you on Friday without fail. Loves your son Cristian.

Hi Dany i,m in Roma. Today im going to travel around the country, firstable i want to meet the Trevi´s fountain im going to take some snaps for send you after i´ll eat some pizza in a good restaurant and drink a wine cupe, only one because i don´t wanna get drunk, ok maybe two. I miss you with love Montse.

Dany, hello, how are you? I just got to Spain, I thought I should send you a picture of where I am. Tomorrow I going to visit Malaga, and I hope to bring you a memory, in two days I going to Barcelona, where I will be for three days. then I going to dinner at some typical restaurants. When I’m going to Paris, I’ll send other postcards. that are well I love you cousin.

Hi Oscar, how are you? I just arrived to Mexico City, i´m going to buy a ticket for the hell and heaven metal fest and i´m going to eat a big torta at the Salon Corona, but first i´m going to take a shower at the hotel that you recommended me. Tomorrow i´m going to go early at the supermarket for a new camera for record everything of the show, i wish you could be here for enjoy the concert we need plan the trip for the next year, you can not lose this, i´m going to buy the tshirt you asked me. See you the next week

Hello Nallely I just arrive to Arizona. I+m going to check in to the hotel and rest from the journey later. I love here. it´s very sunny and wrm. i write this e-mail to check on you, because I want to see you, while i´m here in tpwn. i´m goingo to wear the dress you bought me last chritsmas and hope we´re going to have a good time when we meet. Please text me so we can meet and going to have some fun. Creetings Paty P.S. You´re going to love m new look.

I have just arrived in Mexico with the whole family, we are going to spend the first night in Mexico City, they say that this place is very beautiful, that there are many taco stands, and find some mariachi; tomorrow we are going to go to chapultepec, I am very excited about this trip !! I’m going to miss you a lot, take care of yourself, see you, have a nice vacations!!

H Karina, I just arrived in Alameda, California, the travel was very tired but tomorrow we will travel to Las Vegas, we are going to stay at the Great Cesar’s Palace, we are going to go to see the shows in the city center, then we will eat a big buffet around the city, as we are older than age both, we are going to go to a casino to bet a little, my uncle is known by a great local singer and we are going to meet other celebrities like Maroon 5, I come back in two weeks, I will miss them. Love you! PS: I hope they are well and I promise to bring back memories

Hello Oscar

We just got a hot eye and I’m going to take a bath after writing this postcard. Now it’s very cold and I’m going to prepare coffee for all of us. My family and I are going to go to the pool of this beautiful farm when it is sunny and we are also going to order a pizza. Tonight we are going to dinner to a retaurant the other families are not going to go with us.Tomorrow I’m going to go buy souvenirs. See you next week. I’m going to miss you.

PD: Thanks for your friendship.

Hi karina, I just arrived in Toluca, the travel was very tired, but I am going to unpacks my bags and relax a moment in the hotel after I wrrite this postcard. The hotel is very nice, it has acconditionated air, very good because the people say that it will be too hot these days. I´m going to eat something light and so I am going to return to the hotel and I am goint to go to bed early because tomorrow I am going to compete very early. The race will be too difficult because the other runners are very fast. After to the race I will be too tired, so I am not going to go to hang out all the day, but maybe the next day I am going to go to the downtown for meet the city. It´s will be funny.

I miss you, I would wish you are here.

Se you soon.

Hello uriel , I just arrive in Madrid. i am going to arrive in the airport at 5:00 am. It is a day sunny is perfect to walk and take photos. i am going to go the soccer, i like to watch the soccer club Real Madrid. i am going to take the dinner after the match. I will buy a paella and some beer, you me recommend some restaurant? .

i am going to stay in a hotel in the center. see you in this week, bye beware

Hi Mom I just arrived in Canada, the first thing I going to do is unpack my suitcase, decorate my room, and then I going to go for a walk to get to know the neighborhood, tomorrow morning I going to the university to register, in the afternoon I going to meet the city and visit my friends and at night I hope to party

I love you mom, I’ll call you soon

Hi Erika I´m going to go Florida. I will arrive to airport at 8 a.m. the day is sunny perfect to go to the park and go to swim. Also, we can go to the mall and go shopping and chat a little bit about our lives.My family and I are going to the zoo but I would like you to come over with us. I would like to see you soon. kisses and hugs. Daniela

Hi Aunt My family and I just arrived at the beach and we are on our way to the hotel, this will be a great week, today we will just have dinner and sleep, the other days we will go to the beach to swim, the hotel at night has shows and for the day activities at sea, we will take photos with family for the memories before retirning home I love very much aunt Kisses and hugs, see you in a week Sincerely, Adriana

Hello Nivardo, We just arrived at Queretaro. I’m going to go see my sister-in-law after unpacking. It is with very good weather, but I think it’s going to rain soon. We will go to the center when the sun comes out of the university. It will be very fun. I’ll buy you a hat and clothes for summer. We’re going to order a pizza for dinner. Your mom and I are going to be anxious all week until you arrive. I will miss you! See you next week.

Ana loves you

Hello Carina, I just arrived in France. I will arrive at the airport at 9:40 a.m. It’s a sunny day and it’s perfect to visit the Eifell tower I’m going to a fine restaurant that’s out there if you want to join me in the afternoon. I’m going to visit the galleries afterwards and I’ll be walking at night to the center to see all the lights that are in Paris.

I’m staying at the hotel Le Regent Montmatre. see you in this week I love you friend.

Darling Licy

Hi, Yesterday I saw a very interesting film and it has continuation, so today I’ll see the second part, after I do my laboratory practice. tomorrow I’ll go buy a gift to thank a friend for her time. and then I’ll go visit a friend. At night they invited me to dinner, so I’ll go out to dinner with some friends to a restaurant that I love. Well, goodbye. I hope you find yourself fantastic. With love Mariana C.J.

Hi Irlanda, I just arrived in Toluca, the travel was very tired, but I am going to unpacks my bags and relax a moment in the hotel after I wrrite this postcard. The hotel is very nice, it has acconditionated air, very good because the people say that it will be too hot these days. I´m going to eat something light and so I am going to return to the hotel and I am goint to go to bed early because tomorrow I am going to compete very early. The race will be too difficult because the other runners are very fast. After to the race I will be too tired, so I am not going to go to hang out all the day, but maybe the next day I am going to go to the downtown for meet the city. It´s will be funny.

we just arrived in Quintana Roo, we are going to go hotel after had ate, it is cold for luck, i have chaqueta, we are going to visit the city, i am going yo buy much souvenirs for theirs, we going to go beach and after to the hotel, for bathe and we going to go the dance a disco, we love them and soon we will return home, while they enjoy the days that we are not and do interesting things, while here we will get bored, we will miss them !!! See you next week

love parents

Hello monse, how are you? I hope you are well. I just arrived in Tamasopo. This place is amazing, here are many tourist attractions. Today I’m going to go with a cousin to have breakfast and then we go to swim to the waterfalls. I miss you so much, when I get back, we’re going to eat okay? Anyway, I’m going to unpack. Take care!

Hello friend, how have you been ?, I really want to go to the first film of the Avengers in 4Dx, the next week, I am angry that we will go together, with our respective girlfriends, thanks for the idea of ​​attending together, It will have to be interesting. I hope the day arrives.

See you. Israel Pantoja.

Hi Montse We just arrived in Altamira. I’m going to go to the beach Miramar after let’s go have dinner with my mom and my aunt to the tacos. I’m going to do the homework to have the whole week free and be able to go downtown. good at what you will come I going to walk all the, I hope to find a nice park. I’m going to unpack our bags after writing this postcard. I hope they let you come here

Your cousin wants you

Hi Dani, I just arrived in Cancún.I´m going to beach with my boyfriend and my mom after I write this postcard.At the night we´re going to a restaurant for dinner and then we´re going to “Coco Bongo” to dance Tomorrow, We´re going to “Isla Mujeres”. And i love Cancun it´s amazing. I´m going to miss you! See you when the vacation it´s over.

Love Andrea

Hi Abi! I just arrived in Los Angeles California. I´m going to take a taxi to go to my aunt´s house. After send you this message i´mgoing to unpack my bag and eat something good here. Los Angeles so beautiful but is so hot too. When i finish my dinner, promise i will call you. See you , my tiny sister.

Love, Fernando.

Hello mom, how are you?i just arrive in canada, its very cold. I am going to go New denver. I am very happy, its snowy. Tomorrow i am going to go skiing, at night i am going to camping in some cabins and the next day i am going to go hunting bears. see you later. bye

We arrived in Cancun 2 hours ago, and they just delivered the keys to our rooms, now I write you and after finishing the text, unpacking my bags to change and go to eat since everything is included and the banquets then I think we are going to eat very good, and then to the beach, the safest thing is that in the night I go out with my friends to a bar to meet and have a good time. I think it’s going to rain later and tomorrow we will go to the malecom I think the weather will be hotter tomorrow My parents are so happy they say that in the night We go to diner fish in a elegant restaurant. I’m fine mom and I behave well.

When are you going to go on holiday?

See you next week

PD: Take care and we are in contact

Hello mom I`m arriving to Mty and im going to stay with my aunt during three days and then I’m going to visit my grandfather. We have plans for today, we are going to the cinema and then we are eating tacos. I really miss you.

With love , Hazel.

We arrived in Cancun 2 hours ago, and they just delivered the keys to our rooms, now I write you and after finishing the text, unpack my bags to change and go to eat since everything is included and banquets then I think we will eat very well, and then to the beach, the safest thing is that in the night I go out with my friends to a bar to meet and have some fun. I’m fine mom and I behave well.

PD: Care a lot and we are in contact

I just arrived to Puerto Vallarta. It is so hot and sunny, I’m in a beautiful hotel, it have a big swimming pool, later I’m going to swim. My parents are so happy they say that in the night We going to diner fish in a elegant restaurant. Tomorrow We going take a tour in the cea and I’m going swim with dolphins.we going to back at home on friday night and I hope see you on saturday!

Kiss and love Abril :)

Dear :Angelica.

We are arrived in Cancun. I am going to stay one week here so i know absolutely all. I am going to walk in the beach. Maybe tomorrow going to visit xcaret because i saw some picture and i think is very very beautiful. i hope can visit this place because all week i like be in the beach because you know i love the beach. So i hope see soon. best wishes.Ary

I just arrived in Barcelona. It’s 4 a.m. in Mexico and 11 a.m. here! It’s crazy! It’s a sunny and beautiful day. Now I’m going to the hotel to take a bath and then walk around the city. First, I’m going to visit Temple of Sagrada Familia, Temple of Sagrado Corazón and Arch of Triumph. After that I’m going to eat some for dinner and then I’m going to sleep. Tomorrow I’m going to go to the Camp Nou Stadium to watch the soccer game of Barcelona because I’m really fan and you know that.

I wish you were here with me because I really miss you but,I promise to send you many pictures! See you next month.

Love, your favorite sister.

PS: Don’t forget me.

Hi Pablo! How are you? I’m very good. We just arrived in Miami beach. I am going to buy some things to go to the beach in these days. It is cold now, but we think it going to be hot . We’re going to go to the supermarket when we need some things to the foods. It’s going to be very hot. I’m going to buy clothes to fresh me. We’re going to order burgers this afternoon. Tomorrow we going to swim at the pool because we like swim very much.

I’m going to miss you! See you next week. Bye Pablo.

DEAR YESENIA. Hello sister , i send you this letter waiting a asnwer about “how are you”, but i want tell you other things too!! In the last letter, i wrote something about a possible trip, well i did and it was amazing, i traveled to colombia because of carnival in Cartagena de Indias of this city, you know that i have a friend in Colombia so i visit him and stay at his home.

im going to other places in this country and I fell in love with the beaches, Colombia is a paradise, no matter the problems of the country, the people are very friendly. the best food of this place is the Paisa tray that has a mixture of flavors with ground meat, pork rinds, avocado, sauce, egg, beans, rice, a small arepa, and frequently, 2 or 3 types of sausages. Today I’m going to the Archipelago of San Andrés to know the landscapes that captivate between mangrove forests, palm trees, coral reefs and sea grasslands that surround white sand beaches, considered among the most beautiful in America.

I am destitute of you and take care of the family until soon.

love, yesenia

Hello monsse, I just arrived in London. I will come to know the city after writing you this letter. the weather is very sunny and so I look out the window probably rain in the night. I will go out to a bar and have dinner with some friends and maybe we will have a party tomorrow, I also want to visit the tower of London that says it looks beautiful at night, maybe visit some of its most beautiful views. I’ll miss you all week, I wish you were here.

with love, anahi. i miss you.

Hi Gerardo , I just arrive in Canada. I am going to arrive in the airport at 7:30 am. It is a cloduy day but is perfect to walk.

I am going to visit the mall, i would like to buy some clothes for the week.

I am going to take the dinner after visiting the mall. I will buy a salad and some juice ,you recommend some restaurant.

I am going to stay in a hotel in the center. see you in this week.

Hi Mauricio, I just arrive in Mexico, the travel was very long, I’m tired, right now I’m Going to take a bath, I’m Just wanted to tell you about how beautiful Mexico is before, i’m very exciting for tomorrow, I will going to Coldplay Concert at Foro Sol, anyway, I’ll going to buy you something , like a souvenir , I hope you like it, I really miss you right now! See you in one week. Bye.

Hi David how are you ?, I hope that well, friend an apology for not being able to go to see these days, I was not around the city, and at this moment I’m coming to the city, it seems if I happen to see you on saturday In the morning, we can go to breakfast, since at this moment I am going to see my parents. Today I go to see my family, we will go to eat and then watch soccer, that’s why I have a busy day, I hope and it does not bother you.

Also, this week I will have a lot of work, and that is why the only day I have free is Saturday.

So, on Saturday we see each other, I say goodbye, since I’m going to have a coffee and then take a bath.

Hello Sister We are coming to Acapulco. We are going to unpack and then we are going to eat. My dad wants us to visit the creek tomorrow. It is very hot here on the beach. Today in the afternoon we will go to the beach. I will not swim, but I will go with my brothers to take care of their things. I’ll miss you a lot. I hope you come back soon from Merida. love you sister

How are you? yesterday I arrived in Guadalajara. Today I’m going to unpack my suitcases after I breakfast. It is a very sunny day so I’m going to wear comfortable clothes and sunscreen. Tomorrow I’m going to visit The wax museum, I’m happy because it seems that it is not going to rain.

I lost my cell phone so I’m going to ask for a phone loaned to the hotel to call you, I’m going to miss you!

See you soon sister, I love you.

How are you? yesterday I arrived in Guadalajara. Today I’m going to unpack my suitcases after I breakfast. It is a very sunny day so I’m going to wear comfortable clothes and sunscreen. Tomorrow I’m going to visit The wax museum, I’m happy because it seems that it is not going to rain.

I lost my cell phone so I promise that as soon as I can I will call you. You will arrive by me to the bus terminal on Friday at 8:00 p.m.

I know that someday we will meet together this beautiful place.

Bye sister, I love you…

Hi Mom We arrived in Monterrey. The city is beautiful but it’s very hot now. I going to unpack my bags afther I going to know the city. We are going to eat cabrito at a the restaurant, after we are going to buy food foll all week.When I finish I promise I will call you. I’m going to miss you!

With love Lisset <3

Hello Pau, i just arrived in Canada. I am I´m going to take a taxi to go to my aunt´s house after I write this postcard. It is sunday, and I think i’m going to walk in the dowton. After maybe i’m going to go to the zoo. Tomorrow at 6:00am i’m goingo to hospital to visit my cousin. Rigth now i’m going to buy something for her. On Thursday i’m going to airport for come back with you. I miss you so much.

Hi Mom! I hope you are fine. I just arrive in New York. IT’S AMAZING! We are going to dinner in the restaurant hotel. This hotel is so big and the personal is so friendly. Tomorrow morning we are going to attend the Bronx to a softball team exhibition game of that place. Then, we are going to play versus St. Louis Cardinals and versus Tampa Bay Rays. If we win, we are going to go Washington the next week. Wish us good luck! After dinner, the team and i are going to shop at the mall and sleep early. I miss you so much! Love you.

Hi Ana! i just arrived to Barcelona. I’m going to unpack in the room and after that i’m going to walk arround the city. I’m going to go to Barcelona football stadium, after that I’m going to the Barceloneta area, is one of the most popular districts of Barcelona with a great charisma in the streets. I hope to know good places to eat and walk all the streets that can from Barcelona. I’m going to tell continue about the places that i’m visiting.

Dear Mum and Dad. Paty and I are having a great time here, in Hidalgo. My sister and I are aenjoying a lot the travel. Here is cold and cloudy, so today we just going to stay at the hotel. We going to go to the museum tomorrow and then we going to eat something near of there. Als, the saturday we going to visit a place named Tecozautla, I´m sure that it will very funny. All this week we going to eat tipical dishes, so we are so exited. We going to miss you. See you later. I love you.

Hello, Professor Aurelio.

I wanted to tell you that I’m going to Queretaro. I’ll arrive on Thursday afternoon, I’m going to buy tickets for the JAVIER SOLIS concert, which will be presented at the ARENA QUERETARO. After the concert, I will take a train to the LA ROUNDADA vineyards, and when I return to San Luis I will bring a bottle of wine that I bought. see you later, I hope to see you soon.

With affection Carlos Rivera.

hi ivone we just arrived in acapulco. I am going to unpack dur bags after I write the postal. This weather is very good, it is very hot but in the afternoon we will go to the beach. We will buy some cervesas and some pizzas in the afternoon and we will go swimming or fishing on the beach in the afternoon. At night we will go to a bar and you will go to drink all night. Early tomorrow we will go to buy souvenirs and some clothes to the malecon. I love you friend. Pd: come and have fun

Hello Jocelyn

I am writing from Peru, I have just arrived and I am very well, going to visit several places in this country, I going to the mountains of famous colors here in Peru, I going to Machu Picchu tomorrow, I have everything ready and I am very excited, I will take many pictures and I will take you a present gift.

I love you friend. See you <3

Hi Nataly! My family and me recently arrived to the beach this afternoon going to the seashore to enjoy this beautiful landscape,tomorrow going to take a breakfast in the restartaurante of the hotel and goingt to explorer the beauty of cancun, next day going to retorn for san luis potosi and take a taxi to the airport to return to san luis potosi our nice home with love Daniela!

I just go to Monterrey. I’m going to unpack when i finish writing. Outside it’s sunny maybe go out see the mall orr the museum. I’m also going to buy some food for dinner. Later I will go to a club with my friends, before The course starts.

Love you brother!

pd. Can you buy me some books that you occupied PLEASE!?

Hi mom, my brothers and I have arrived with the grandparents. I’m going to help you unpack your bags as soon as we have dinner. tomorrow we going to go very early to the beach to take a walk in the sand and to help the grandfather in his restaurant. We are going to the beach to daily fishing my brothers know that we are going to eat a lot this holiday so they do not want to stop going to the gym. We are going to miss you a lot I love you mom

hi joce,i just arrived in Dallas. I am going to eat after I write this postcard. It is raining now, but I think it’s going to clear up soon. We’re going to go to the mall but the wather is really bad. I’m going to bring an umbrella, and hat, . We’re going to walk in the downtown . tomorrow i will go to the cowboys’s stadium to see a play. I’m going to miss you! See you next week.

love your sister

Hi mom! We are coming to Guanajuato, we will go to dinner at a restaurant in the city. tomorrow we will go to breakfast at the buffet and we will go to visit the museums, the weather forecast says it will be sunny in the morning and in the afternoon and evening it will be cloudy, we will be wearing a sweater and umbrella. the day after tomorrow we will go to the alley of the kiss and to the center to buy.

I promise to take you something. :) Kisses!

Hello Mom! we are going to Guanajuato, we will go to dinner at a restaurant in the city and tomorrow we will go to breakfast at the buffet and then we will go to the museum, the weather forecast says it will be sunny in the morning and cloudy in the afternoon and evening, so we will wear a sweater and umbrella. The next morning we will go to the alley of the kiss and go shopping.

I promise to buy you something ..! Kisses :)

Hi Fernanda! I just arrived in Kansas. I´m going to take a taxi to go to my aunt´s house. After send you this message i´mgoing to unpack my bag and eat something good here. Kansas so beautiful but is so hot too. When i finish my dinner, promise i will call you. See you , my tiny sister.

Love, Daniela.

Dear friend Ana how are you? I just arrived at San Luis Potosi, I go to the historic center and know its museums, I also go to eat with my family to the restaurants that are located there. Tomorrow I will go for a walk to the park by bicycle. see you soon

Hi paty, how are you? I just arrived in Cancun. I am going to breakfast at a restaurant that is here at the hotel, then I will go to rest a bit because the trip was a bit heavy. After that I will go to the pool and later to a walk on the beach. See you in a week, wish me luck. Bye.

Hello! Mom, how are you? I just arrived at Mazatlan, it’s very hot, I’m really melting, I’m in this moment in the hotel unpack to go to the beach with my friends, after that we’ll go to dinner at the restaurant they did not recommend it much, this day We plan to rest but the following days we will be partying and enjoying the vacations. I miss them so much I wish they had accompanied me. I promise that the next vacasiones we will come. I love you, mom, give Shelby a kiss

Hi Aldo! I just come back to San Luis Potosi. I’m goingo to visit you tomorrow because I think it is going to rain this afternoon. I am going to clean my closet and save other thinks. Almost the vacations ends so I am going to do my homework but dont worry we are going to go at the mall this weekend. I can’t wait to see you, I miss you so much!

HELLO Said, I just arrived from Monterrey, I’m going to unpack my things and then I’m going to walk through the foundry park and see what’s around the city.

I will miss you!

See you soon when the holidays end

I LOVE YOU ..

I just arrived at Mazatlan, I’m going to unpack our bags after writing this postcard. It’s very sunny the day. Go to the beach when the sun goes down a bit. It will be very decadent. I will bring an umbrella, a hat and sunscreen. I will eat delicious seafood, and at night I will enjoy a show on the beach. I hope you someday come. See you as soon as I get back.

I’m going to miss you so much!

Hi Jeniffer,

my friends and me just arrived in Puerto Vallarta, and I am so excited because we’re going to the beach and we’re going to take a ride on a parachute pulled by a boat, later we´re going to eat to the Pipinos’s restaurant, the Marisol’s mom says it is a great place to eat seafood, that the food is very delicious. And the weather is very nice, it’s really hot now, therefore I going to wait at sunset to walk on the sand and enjoy the seaview. The girls and me staying in the beautiful Sandra’s house, I think we’re going to have a pijamada tonight.

Love U, and I can’t wait to send you photos.

Hello berenice My family and I have just arrived in Mazatlan, I’m going to unpack our bags after taking a shower. Mazatlan at this time is very sunny, but I think it will soon rain because it is predicted in the news. tomorrow we will go to the beach when the day is sunny. My family and I are going to dine out tonight. I hope you are very well see you in 15 days, take care.

hi araceli I just arrived in Ixtapa, I hope to unpack my things quickly so I can visit you. and to be able to go out for a walk, I hope you are in good health since we have not seen each other for a long time .. I hope to go to the beach for a while … to be able to enjoy the sun

well I say goodbye araceli have an excellent day bye

Hi Carlos!!! I have arrived in New York, the flight was a torture! I’m going to eat with my cousin. I just wanted to write to you before. I heard they have some delicious desserts at Magnolia Bakery, near Penn Station, it’s cold now, so I’ll go buy a nice coat, and then I’ll go skating in Central Park, but it’s very cold, the good thing I like, When we get home i going order Italian food and sleep early, because tomorrow will be a long day. I miss you! I hope to see you next month.

Your best friend Day PS You already know what to do!

Hi Sister! After the long trip, I arrived to Mazatlan. They say that there are hardly any bad climates here, but today especially it is a little cloudy but according to the forecast it going to disappear soon. I’ll going to the beach as soon as the sun comes up. It’s going to be very hot, so they recommend that you wear a blocker so you do not get burned. Later I going to walking on the beach, since I love exploring new places. At night I going to with some friends to dinner and from there I going to a party. I plan to stay a few days here and know many places. I am very happy, when I see you I plan to show you all the photos of the trip. I love you

Hi Elena. I´m very happy, I´m in Mazatlan. I´m going to buy a bikini and a umbrella, here is very hot. In the night going to dance the nigth club with my sister and her boyfriend. My brother in law tomorrow going to ask for hand the my sister. I´m so excited. The day after tomorrow, we´re going to travel in a cruise, but before we´re going to buy a camera, we´re want going to so take pictures. I´m going to miss you. See you next week.

Hi Karen, on Saturday I go on a trip to U.S. to vicitar to my family. I will take my children with me. we are going to go to with my cousins and friends. As soon as I arrive, I send you a message, you im going to miss, that you is very well. see you next Monday.

Hi Brother, how are you? I hope you are doing very well. I’m getting to cd. medero the weather, it’s very good. today at noon I will be going to the beach sayulita in case you dare to leave the university. tomorrow I will be going with my friends to the lagoon of the carpenter to enjoy a pass in boat and we will pass to see the animals that are there at last we will take a walk in the center in the tourist trolebus, then we will go to the hotel to rest and return the following day to valleys, that you are well take care we see you soon.

Hi, Sandra!

Vania and I arrived in Korea with safety. The travel was tired and so boring but we could rest in the hotel. Now we are ready to enjoy this adventure! First, we are going to get subway cards because this way we are going to can move by the city. Then we are going to visit the Han River, the SM Enterteiment building (to stalking our favourites idols) and we going to visit all posible restaurants. Of course, the most important thing is that we are going to meet with Lee and Nam; Do you remember them? The lovely girls that were exchange students last year.

Basically those are our plans to the week that we are going to spend in Korea. Few things to do but enough to us.

I am going to miss you so much! And I know that Vania is going to miss you, too (really, girls, you two must stop with your fight).

Sarangheyo! (Korean Word basic, ha.)

Hi Ildefonso, how are you? Today in the morning I arrive in Spain, in Madrid, and after unpacking my bags I sent you this postcard. I will visit several tourist places in the city and some museums, such as the “Museo del Prado”, and enjoy Spanish cuisine.

¡See you later Ildefonso! See you next week when I return to tell you about my trip. Derian Quiroz

Hi Luis: I just arrived in Russia. I’m going to go with my friends to the stadium at opening of the world cup. We´re going to buy tickets, your cousin forgot to buy them. I’m going to buy another jacket, it´s very cold. I wish you were here, we are going to lead a T-shirt, we miss you. See you in a month. PD: Maybe we´ll meet sooner, depends on the Mexican national team jaja.

Hello Aaron

We just got a hot eye and I’m going to take a bath after writing this postcard. Now it’s very cold and I’m going to prepare coffee for all of us. My family and I are going to go to the pool of this beautiful farm when it is sunny and we are also going to order a pizza. Tonight we are going to dinner to a retaurant the other families are not going to go with us.Tomorrow I’m going to go buy souvenirs. See you next week. I’m going to miss you.

Hi Gustavo! I just arrived in Cartagena! The fly was good, but it was little long. Now I´m going to go to the hotel to sleep, I’m so tired. The wheater is great here! It is very sunny and little hot. Tomorrow I´m going to the beach and in the night I´m going to have dinner toa restaurant in the “Plaza de Santo Domingo” people say that is very delicious and is a beutiful place

I´m going to buy a lot of souvenirs for you, and I´m going to take pictures of every place that im visit

I miss you, I hope see you later

Hi Gustavo! I just arrived in Cartagena! he fly was good, but it was little long. Now im going to go to the hotel to sleep, i’m so tired. T Tomorrow I´m going to the beach, the wheater is great here! It is very sunny and little hot. In the night I´m going to have dinner in a restaurant in the “Plaza de Santo Domingo” people say that is very delicious and is a beutiful place

I muss you, i hope see you later

Hi Xavier! I just got to Houston. I’m going to eat after writing this message. It’s snowing now. I’ll go shopping. I’ll bring you a coat. I’m going to order japonsea food now, my boyfriend does not feel like going out tonight. I’ll miss you a lot, I’ll see you next month.

I love you best friend

PS: When are you going on vacation?

Hello Jesus, how are you? I’m fine. I arrived in Tokyo, Japan. I’m excited because it’s my first time in Tokyo. I’m going to visit the hot springs. After sofia and I will try tokoyaki. I’m going to see Fireworks in Shibuya at night. I need to look at a beautiful yukata. Mario, Carlos, Katia and Clara are going to see a Tokyo tower. I’m not going to see it, I do not like a Tokyo tower. I’m going to travel to Kyoto next week because I need to buy souvenirs for the family. See you netx month. Bye brother

Hi Fernanda! I just arrived in Los Angeles California. I´m going to take a taxi to go to my aunt´s house. After send you this message i´mgoing to unpack my bag and eat something good here. Los Angeles so beautiful but is so hot too. When i finish my dinner, promise i will call you. See you , my tiny sister.

Hi Karla, I just arrived in Brazil. I’m going to unpack the suitcase and after that i’m going to walk arround the city. I’m going to go to the rio when the sun goes down. I’m going to have dinner at some restaurant. I’m going to miss you! See you when the vacations it’s over.

Hi brother I just arrived in Monterrey. I’m going to take a taxi to go to my aunt’s house. When I arrive I will unpack my suitcase, then tell my cousin Cinthya that we go downtown to buy some food. I’m going to stay the weekend, to watch the game of monterrey vs america. I’m going to take the bus back Monday morning. bye.

Hi sister, how are you? I’m so tired I’m in Paris’ airport right now, I’m going to arrive to Germany at 8:00 am. After send you this meessage I’m going to unpack my bag and eat something good here, then mom is going out with the dad of Pierre so I’m goint to watch a French movie. There’s so beautiful but is so cold too. When I finish my dinner I promise I will call you. See u soon. Ly. Alberto Mendoza Carballo.

hi mom I currently live in San Luis Potosi. I’m going to wait for December vacations and I’ll visit you to Mexico City along with my brother. Here the climate is calm although a little cold, soon it will arrive and I will go to the downtown trade to buy fruit to make me a rich punch. At school I’m not doing very well, but I’m going to go to the library to study a lot to improve my groin and that the teacher does not disappoint me. see you soon

Hi Mom, I just got to Guadalajara, Jalisco. I’m going to the hotel, but there’s a lot of rain here. I’m tired so I better sleep and tomorrow I will eat tacos and take bus in the center with my friends and cousins. Next Saturday I’m going to go to Tequila, Jalisco to visit my friend karla, I’m very happy. would you like me to buy you something

I love you mom.

i just arrive in Los Angeles.i´m going to unpack my bags after write this postcard. Today is a wonderful day, i´m going to visit at my uncles, after that i´m going to eat in a chinesse restaurant with my cousins.it´s going to be very hot. we are goint to long beach and eat a ice cream.i´m goint to the universal studios with my aunt and going to enjoy all the atracctions.i´m goint to miss you! see you next week.

Hi Mom, I just got to Guadalajara, Jalisco. I’m going to the hotel, but there’s a lot of rain here. I’m tired so I better sleep and tomorrow I will eat and take many photos in the center with my boyfriend and friends. Next Saturday I’m going to go to Tequila, Jalisco to visit my friend Daniela, I’m very excited. would you like me to buy you something

I love you mama. With love Mery

HI MY DEAR FRIEND EDWARD!!

I AM CURRENTLY IN QUERETARO I´M GOING TO WAIT FOR THE NOVEMBER I´M GOING TO VISIT TO CIUDAD VALLES. I´M GOING TO GO THE SUPERMARKET AND STARBUCKS TO HAVE A COFFE.

SEE YOU , I LOVE YOU EDWARD. :)

Hi Juan I just arrived in Queretaro this morning. I’m going to take a walk around the city, then in the night I’m going to the park. Tomorrow I’m going to visit some friends I’m so excited, the city is so beatiful and the people are very friendly. I promise to send you some photos and a souvenir.

hi, Mom how are you?I hope you are well. I just arrived chiapas. I am going to arrived in the airport at 6:30 am. I am going to visit my friends. we are going to cascadas agua azul. I love you

Hi Stephany! I am currently living in San Luis Potosí. I’m going to wait for the November holiday and I’m going to visit you up to Ciudad Valles.

The weather is calm here, soon the winter will come and I’m going to go to the supermarket to buy clothes for the cold.

At school I’m not doing very well but I’m going to go to the library to study a lot to improve.

I hope to see you soon Stephany, see you later!

Hi, I just finished unpacking and get installed in my new bedroom. Bogotá is beautiful and warm, all the colors here looks brighter, someway; The city is so beauty that I forgot my sadness to leave you… Well, I stopped a minute to write you, but in a hour or so I´m going to meet my new roommate: her name is Ana. We are going to walk around the city, and she´ss gonna show me my new university. I´m so excited! Now I have to take a shower, to get dressed… and stop missing you in this horrible way. When I see you again, I will hug you like never before. Until then, with love,

Hi Kassadra, I just arrived in Houston, my mom is going to pick me up at the airport after i call her. it is very hot right now so we are going to buy some summer clothes and also i am going to bring a sunscreen. We are going to go out for dinner tomorrow because it´s my father´s birthday after the dinner we are going to go to the movies. I´m going to give him a watch for his birthday, i hope he likes it.

See you soon Kassandra¡ I´m going to miss you.

Hi Maria, I just arrived in Canada. I am going to unpack my bags after I write this postcard. It is snowing now and I think it’s going to last all day. I’m going to ski tomorrow with some friends. I am going to order a hamburger tonight. I’m going to watch a horror movie at the hotel. I’m going to miss you! See you next month.

Hi Mom, We just got to Dubai. we stayed at the Burj Al Arab, it is very nice but very expensive, we will go for caviar dinner and shopping tomorrow, greetings to all. I will miss you! See you next week.

PS: I will take many memories

xoxo. valeria

August 18, 2017

Hello Mom, I just arrived at the airport of Venice, now I’m going to address the Hotel Cavanis, it’s very spacious and with good service. The weather is a bit cold but it’s great to drink some typical beers from here. I will go to the cathedral of San Marcos and then I will go to the Bridge of Sighs. I’ll be back in a few days.

pd: I will take many photos. I love you mom you Elena

Hi Mom, I Arrived in alemania in the monday, Im goin to the job in te BMW, my job its very intersting I going Have a new Car in my bussines, and im going to practic the fuutball in te park nacional, im goingo to visit the Aanas Frank House, and im Going eat new food, i’m Going to miss you very much but ill be back in december

Love Alexis

Hi Reyna! How are you? I just arrived in Vallarta. It is very hot, I am going to go to eat seafood tomorrow with my friends, then I am going to walk on the beach and take some sun with my pet. At night I am going to go to a discoteque with my friend Johna. On Friday we are going to go shopping, I would like to buy some clothes and shoes. Love, Sam. Pd. Miss u best.

Hi Mom, I Arrived in alemania in the monday, Im goin to the job in te BMW, my job its very intersting I going Have a new Car in my bussines, and im going to practic the fuutball in te park nacional, im goingo to visit the Aanas Frank House, and im Going eat new food, i’m Going to miss you very much but ill be back in december

Hi Mom, i justs arrives in Cancun. I am going to unpack our bags after a trip around the city. When I returned to the hotel, we are going to go to the beach because it is very hot. We are going to eat at a very popular restaurant in the city.

I’m going to miss you! see you when the vacations it’s over.

Hi Adrian! i just arrive to Puebla. i am going to take a shower because in the travel was so hot, after I am go out some restaurant to have dinner, here very cold but I think tomorrow it going to more sunny.

I hope see you soon

Hi mom, i just arrived in San Antonio. I am going to the hotel but, there is a lot of traffic here. I am tired so, Tomorrow i am going to eat and take a lot of pictures at downtown. The next saturday i am going to go San Marcos to go shooping with my boyfriend, i am very excited. would you like me to buy you something?

see you later, i love you mom.

with love Iris

Hi Mom I just arrived in London England along with my brother, we arrived very tired, tomorrow we are going to go to see the tourist centers is cidudad, later that same day we are goint to eat at a restaurant where they say they make a very good pizza you are going have venosir one day, we will spend a few days here and then we will go to other touristic cities and tonight we are going to rest all night

we love you

Hi!! natalia. How are you? I hope you are fine. Well I just arrive in Dubai, the city is beautiful. I’m tire for the trip. I’m going to stay in the most luxury hotel in Dubai i don´t remember their name. Tomorrow I’m going to visit diferents places for exaple the Mezquita and maybe I´m going to take my lunch. Afternoon I¿m going to jump from te parachute on the palm, I’m going to try take many photos for you. Anf finaly I´m going to take a dinner nex to the fountain and see the ligth show. I love you and miss you 🙁

Hi jocelyn We just got to Tokyo. I will unpack our bags after writing this postcard. It’s raining now, but I think it’s going to go away in a few hours. We’ll go to the shops when the sun comes up. It will be very cool the day. I’ll bring an umbrella, a hat, in case it rains. Let’s get a pizza tonight. My girlfriend does not feel like going out to dinner tonight because we’re going to eat a lot this week. I will miss you! See you next week.

I finally arrived to Montreal. im going to unpack my bags at night. its cold now, but they say at night its worse. im going to buy food after i finish writing this letter to you. im going to use my boots, two coats, and the scarf and cap you gave me. tonight im going to go to Notre-Dame chapel and tomorrow im going to go to the old port of the city. i need to decide where i will go the rest of the week. im going to miss you a lot! see you next week. i love you PD: dont forget to watch the phone, im going to call you every night.

HI MY DEAR FRIEND:

I just arrived in Florence. I am going to stay in a beautiful hotel. In the week i going to eat a restaurant that has delicious meal. They recommended it to me. Also i go to go the museum of Dante Alligheri. I want to meet him. And everyday at the night i go to see the stars to remember you.

Ps: I miss you. I wish you would have come with me.

See you soon :3

Hello David! How are you? I just arrived in Vallarta. It is very hot, I am going to go to eat seafood tomorrow, I have been told that they are delicious in this area, then I am going to walk on the beach and take some sun. At night I am going to go to a bar with my friend Arlene. On Friday we are going to go shopping, I would like to buy some clothes. Anyway, I want to do many things. Love, Citlalit. Pd. I am going to bring you a souvenir.

Hi baby! I just arrived in Spain, i´m goingo to unpack the suitcase and after that i´m going to walk around bar jose alfredo. I´m going to go to the muralla de ávila when, the sun goes down. I´m going to the have dinner at some spain restaurant. I´m going to the hotel! i miss you! see you the next week!

love your boyfriend.

hi arturo, I just arrive in guadalajara. I am goingo to arrive in airport at 8 pm. Today is a good night! I am going to eat for the center park in the night. I am going to walk in the city . I am going to miss you! see you later!

Love Jorge.

Hi Mayra I have just arrived in Guadalajara, after writing, my sisters will take me to breakfast in the center, and in the afternoon we will tour the city. It seems like a very sunny day. We’re going to go to the stadium in the evening.Leaving the stadium going to go to dinner tacos. To go to sleep later. On the day of tomorrow we going to spend all day in Tlaquepaque. But I’ll tell you day by day what we are doing in this week that will be very long and a lot of walking.

Love Angel I going to miss you! See you next week.

Hi Arturo, I just arrived in yucatan. I am going to take a rest, the travel was tired after I am going to go out a some restaurant to have dinner, the next day I am going to visit the pyramids, here it is cold I think tomorrow it going to more sunny.

I am going to see you the next week

Hi David! I just arrive to Guanajuato, I’m going to take a shower because in the travel was so hot. After me and my family going to see to the mommies. We going to take a delicious lunch how tortas or fast food we don’t know We are really excited because we going to stay all the week I hope see you soon

Hi arturo, I just arrived in yucatan, I am going to rest a little bit, the travel was tired after, I am going to go out some restaurant to have dinner, here is very cold but I think tomorrow it going to more sunny,

I see you the next week

Hi Mimi! how are you? i hope you are fine. i just arrived in Mazatlan, it’s beautiful!! i’m going to go to the beach after i write this cart. it’s very sunny now, its going to very hot. tomorrow i’m going to visit diferents places for example the faro, and i’m going to have a dinner at some seafood restaurant. i’m going to miss you!! love Diana

Hi yessi, how are you? We just arrived in guadalajara. I am going to have breakfast after I write this postcard. It is cold now, but I think it’s going to warm soon. We’re going to go to the wax museum, tomorrow going to go hospicio cabañas, it’s very nice. It’s going to be very cold, I’m going to bring a coat, a scarf, and hat. We’re going to dinner in restaurant tonight. I’m going to miss you! See you next week.

My mother and father send you greetings

PS: Love you sister

Hello Isaac, We just got to Rioverde. I’m going to buy some beers after writing this postcard. It’s sunny now and you crave more beers. Let’s go to the crescent later. It’s going to be very hot. I’m going to bring meat to roast and more beer. Let’s get a bottle of whiskey tonight. See you next week.

I JUST GOT TO GUADALAJARA. I WILL REST AFTER WRITING THIS POSTCARD. SATISFIED IT’S MAKING IT VERY COLD AS IT IS 6 AM, BUT I BELIEVE THAT LATER THE SUN IS BURNING AND WILL MAKE HEAT. I’M GOING TO GO TO THE MUSEUMS. I WILL VISIT ZAPOPAN. AT THE TIME YOU WAKE BREAKFAST IN THE BUFFET OF THE HOTEL. I WILL STRANGE YOU, I WANT YOU TO STAY WITH ME. SEE YOU NEXT MONTH.

PS. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF A LOT, KISSES.

Hi sean, I´m going to visit New York on chrismas vacation, I will arrive on december 18th, my friends and I are pretending to make a reservation in two diferents hotel the first three night are arriving to Ritz-Carlton Central Park and the next three night we will be staying at Mandarin Oriental. Surely when you read this you ask yourself, why are you staying at these hotels? the answer is that we won a prize because our final project was a success. I have read about these hotels and they are extremely luxurious, I think there will be many relaxation activities in these places. And the following days, I will celebrate Christmas Day with my family that will meet me at my uncles’ house in mineapolis. I hope we can see and show me a little about your city.

Hi sean, I´m goint tom visit New York on chrismas vacation, I will arrive on december 18th, my friends and I are pretending to make a reservation in two diferents hotel the first three night are arriving to Ritz-Carlton Central Park and the next three night we will be staying at Mandarin Oriental. Surely when you read this you ask yourself, why are you staying at these hotels? the answer is that we won a prize because our final project was a success. I have read about these hotels and they are extremely luxurious, I think there will be many relaxation activities in these places. And the following days, I will celebrate Christmas Day with my family that will meet me at my uncles’ house in mineapolis. I hope we can see and show me a little about your city.

hi vicente, i just arrived in shangai, i’m going to arrive at 5:00 am, i’m very very boring for the travel but tomorrow i’m going to know the city after i going to shooping and walk arround the city. but first we will go take a shower and going to restaurant because we aren’t eat. so see you i going to write next saturday because the internet is very bad bye.

I just got to Mexico City. I’m going to unpack after writing this postcard. It’s raining now, I hope it stops raining soon. Tomorrow we will go to the volcano Nevado de Toluca. It’s going to be very cold so I’m going to put on a jacket, a hat and a scarf. Finishing unpacking I’m going to go down to the hotel restaurant for dinner, I’m very excited about this new adventure. I’ll send you many photos tomorrow. I miss you!

Hi Victor, I juts arrived to Mexico, I´m going to my hotel later I think I´m going to have luch with my friends at Mexican Restaurant Talk later, see you next week

Hello Omar I just arrived in Mexico. It’s sunny now but I think it’s going to rain. Let’s going to go to the mall with the cousins. I am going to buy shirts, taxes and keyrings for the family, then we will go to have Mexican food and finally I will go for medicines. I’m going to miss you! Love Paola

Hello I just arrived in Mexico. It’s sunny now but I think it’s going to rain. Let’s going to go to the mall with the cousins. I am going to buy shirts, taxes and keyrings for the family, then we will go to have Mexican food and finally I will go for medicines. I’m going to miss you! Love Paola

Hi Mom! I just arrived to Mexico. Tomorrow I will go to Inbursa Aquarium, I heard really good comments about that place. On Friday I will visit “Frida’s Kaloh house” and then on Saturday I will go to Six Flags to spend and have fun all the day there….I will miss you! See you soon 😘

Hi Mom! I just arrived in Mexico. Tomorrow I will go to the Inbursa Aquarium, I have heard good comments from that place. On Friday I will visit the “Frida Khalo’s house” and the Satuday I will go to Six Flags. I’m going to miss you! See you when the vacations it’s over.

Hi Daniel, how are you? Today i have arrived to the Monterrey city, it´s an amazing city, where there are a lot of architecture. Also it´s a very quiet city, whatever, I have plans for this week but tonight I’m going to go to fundidora park, I hope and you will take a time for go with us. Tomorrow we are going to go to apodaca´s comercial center, after that we are going to go to drink some beers and the Friday morning I’m going to go to the estadio universitario to see play my favorite squad. So this are my plans for these week, I hope and you could go.

Take care bro, see you.

Hi sergio, I am a little tired, I just arrived in Baja California, it is a fantastic place,there are beautiful beaches and many shops, the weather is also nice but I think it rains all week, because it is very cloudy. I’m going to settle in a hotel temporarily and I’m going to look for an apartment, I’ll be back soon, now I’m going to unpack my things, blessings, see you soon.

Hi Ceci, I just arrived in Korea. I´m going to unpack the suitcase and after that i´m going to walk around the city. I´m going to go to Han´s river when the sun goes down. I´m going to have a dinner at some korean restaurant, i wanna eat rammyun and drink some soju. I´m going to miss you! I hope that you can come soon.

Love Melissa ♥

Hello mom!, how are you? I hope you are well. I just arrived in huasteca. This place is amazing, here are many tourist attractions and many places for swim! but the hotel it’s very expensive but i have money for the month. Today I’m going to go with a cousin to have breakfast and then we go to swim to the waterfalls. I miss you so much, when I get back, we’re going to eat okay? Anyway, I’m going to unpack.

Hi mom we’re having a fantastic time here in Colombia The weather is sunny and we’re spending our days on the exploring the local area.The food is so delicious and the people there are very friendly.I promise I’m going to call you this night.

I´m miss you,Wish you were here, love you!

Hi Miley! I just arrived in Corea. It’s warm. I’m going to eat fresly made kimchi and sleep, in the morning I’m going to go to hangang park to see nice gyus and the afternoon I’m going to the palace Gyeonbokgung, I’m going to shopping to Myeong-Dong. I’m going dinner manduguk, tomorrow I’m going take a picture myself in hanbok and the rest of the week I’m going to go museums.

take care see you!!!

Hi dad, we came to Hawaii. We’re going to eat, finishing packing our bags. This is very nice today, but I think it will rain later. We will go later to walk, by the mountains. We are also going to rent a Jeep to walk, I promised Pedro that I will buy a camera. Let’s have some rich tacos for dinner. We will bring you next year, so that you may know, After this, nox we go to Cancun to know more the beach,

I love you dad

Hi sharla! I’ve just arrived to Berlin and I’m very excited I’m going to visit the Musumsinsel and going to the berliner dom. In My first weekend here in Berlin I’m going to eat a lot of German chocolate cake and candys. I’m going to take poctures and try to know new people also I’m going to buy a lot of souvenirs for everyone I Hope you doing well in México, see you soon.” Love Denisse

Hi Father! I am talking from San Luis Potosí, i am so excited to see you again. I am going to cook a cake when you get home and i am going to prepare your favorite soup. My mother is going to take the car to repair it because it doesn´t work and she wants to pick up you.

There is going to be a concert tomorrow, my siblings and i want to go but i have an exam, and they have a lot homework. However, we are going to stay home daylong. I am going to take care my nephews on weekend and my mother is going to go to church. Well, i am going to write you later, i have to study for my exam. See you Dad!

Hi Angel, I´m going to travel Cancun, i´m arrived to Cancun at 10:00am , I´m going to the beach, I´m going to swim ,I´m going to the malencon, I´m going to see boys handsome. I´m going to visit my bestfriend, i miss you

Hi Hector,I just traveled for CANCUN,I’m going to arrived to CANCUN at 9:00 pm the city is very beautiful, i’m going to the hotel for sleeping,tomorrow i’m going to the beach to swim whit dolphins ,i’m going to the disco, i’m going to the watch girls in the beach . see you when the vacation it’s over

Hi Mariana,I just traveled Miami, I´m going arrived to Miami at 10:00 pm , the city is beautiful,I´m going to hotel for sleeping,tomorrow i´m going to the beach to swim with dolphins,I´m going to the disco ,I´m going to watch the movie in the beach,I´m going i miss you bestfriend! See you when the vacations it´s over.

I just arrive in Houston. i am going to arrive in the airport at 8:00 am. It is a day cloudy but is perfect to walk.

I am going to go the football soccer, i like to watch the Dynamo FC.

I am going to take the dinner after the match. I will buy a pizza and some beer ,you recommend some restaurant.

I am going to stay in a hotel in the center. see you in this week,

Nice to meet you! bye.

Hi Itzel I just arrived in Amsterdam this morning. I´m going to take a walk around the city, then in the night I´m going to the theater. Tomorrow I´m going to visit some museums I´m so excited, the city is so beatiful and the people is very friendly. I promise send you some photos and a souvenir. love, Annel

Hi Mario, I just arrived in Tepito. I am going to unpack and after that I am going to take a shower. Tomorrow is my work’s presentation and I am very nervious, but I know everithing it’s ok. I am going to check my presentation and I am going to practice a lot, because is very important to me. Whish me luck. I’m going to miss you this weekend. Love Caro.

Hi everyone, family! The trip was a little long, but I finally arrived in London. It’s a beautiful place and the weather is very good. The first thing I will do is take a bath and then I will find a good place to eat. Tonight, I’m going to visit a friend at his house to talk about our experiences at the university. Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to go on a city tour and I’m going to drink a delicious coffe. I’m going to be here for a couple of weeks, maybe three.

Hi roy, how are you?, I`m very tired I’m in sidney’s Airport , but I finally arrived . It’s a beautiful place and the people are friendly and very smiling . I’m going to walk in the Street and I think go to the swim in the beach.

tomorrow I have others plans , I’m going meet culture of the city because is very exciting. It’s very sunny right now and hot , I’m going to ice cream in the center maybe two really is very hot. I think Later I going to the buy a gift for you. I love my friend, see you in two weeks.

Hi Marijo, I arrived this night to Mexico, I´m going to travel thid city, and i´m going to meet new people. I,m going to many theaters and i,m going to taste new food. I,m going to writing you everyday. Love, Ximena

Hello miguel, how are you? I hope you are well. I just arrived in soledad for the situation. This place is very ugly but it,s big. Today I’m going to go with a friend and play xbox. I miss you so much my friend. I hope I can see you soon and we can go out for a drink, see you later.

Hi momy I just arrived in Brazil at 8:00 am. Its a sun day, its perfect for shopping. I’m a going to the beach and the mall. I’m going to the visite yunuel. I’m going to have dinner with him, at the fabulous restautant in front of the christo redentor.

I will send you a message soon, love you mom!

Hi mom, we just arrived from puerto vallarta. I’m going to unpack. It’s a very hot day but it’s going to rain later I’ll buy an umbrella so I will not get wet. Later we will eat good fried chicken. I hope to see you soon. We have to go on vacation The whole family together. Good bye. P.D oh what to save for the trip!!!

Hi Carlos, I just arrived in germany. I am going to arrive in the airport at 2:00 p.m. It is a sunny day perfect to walk. i am going to watch the soccer game at 5:00 p.m and after I am going to take a dinner in the most popular restaurant. See you when the vacations it is over bro.

Bye Carlos.

Hi mom!, We just arrived in Querétaro. I am going to have breakfast after i write this postcard. It’s very hot in here. In a while we´re going to go to a vineyard, after we´re going to go to a Peña de Bernal. I’m going to take lots of potos and buy some things for you. See you in December! I love you!

Hi Elizabeth! How are you? I hope you are fine. I just arrive in Medellin, the city is beautiful. I’m tire for the trip. Tomorrow I’m going to visit the Botanical Garden and I´m going to go shopping. Day after tomorrow I’m going to visit the Museum of Modern Art, I’m going to try take many photos for you. And finaly I´m going to have dinner and try typical dishes of the region. I love you

Hi Jesus, how are you? I am fine. I arrived in Tokyo , Japan. I am excited because it is my frist time in tokyo. I am going to vistit hot springs. After sofia and I going to try tokoyaki. I am going to see Fireworks in Shibuya to night . I need look a beautiful yukata. Mario , Carlos , Katia and Clara are going to know a tokyo tower. I don’t go see it , Idon’t like a tokyo tower.i going to travel a Kyoto next week because I need buy memories for the family. See you netx month. Bye brother

hello daisy I’m oscar I just arrived from europe after visiting the cradle of the iberian peninsula Spain, tomorrow I’m going to go to school to take class like every day, then I’m going to go out with my partner and invite him something to ask him let’s get married, I’m anxious for that day to come

I’ll see you tomorrow, friend

ps: you’re my best friend and I’m going to frequent you, I promise

Hi Stefany! How are you? I hope you are well. I just arrived in Russia. I am going to eat after writing this letter. It is very cold now, but i can handle it to go eat. I am going to go Kazán when it stops cold. I am going to have to buy a scarf in case it snows. I am going to dinner with some friends tonight. Well, I’ll keep seding you letters, see you next year when I get back.

With Love Mitch <3

Hi Marcelo W!, I just arrived in Madrid. I’m going to shopping and after tahat i’m going to walk arround the city. I’m going to go to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium when i finish my dinner. I’m going to meet a futball players of Madrid!. See you in 3 months.

Hi Marco!I, I just arrived in Madrid. I’m going to shopping and after tahat i’m going to walk arround the city. I’m going to go to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium when i finish my dinner. I’m going to meet a futball players of Madrid!. See you in 3 months.

Hi Ulises, how are you? I hope you are doing very well. I’m getting to cd. medero the weather, it’s very good. today at noon I will be going to the beach miramar in case you dare to leave the university. tomorrow I will be going with my friends to the lagoon of the carpenter to enjoy a pass in boat and we will pass to see the animals that are there at last we will take a walk in the center in the tourist trolebus, then we will go to the hotel to rest and return the following day to valleys, that you are well take care we see you son.

Hello Jacqueline, how are you? I hope you are well. I just arrived in Tamasopo. This place is amazing, here are many tourist attractions. Today I’m going to go with a cousin to have breakfast and then we go to swim to the waterfalls. I miss you so much, when I get back, we’re going to eat okay? Anyway, I’m going to unpack. Take care!

Hi montse i went to amsterdam, the place is just amazing, it has a beautiful weather, the view it’s just increible, i am going to go to visit where they film the fault in our stars, and then i’m going to visit some other places, and at the end of the day i’m going to eat dinner at the hotel whith myself and my soul . I miss you, i’ll see you next month take care and get me a boyfriend as soon as you can, because i got my heart broken that’s why i went to travel

Hi ale! I just arrived in yucatán. I´m going to take a shower and after that I´m going to look some place to have a traditional lunch. I´m going to go to the chichén-itzá phyramids and maybe I´m goingo to have dinner with my family. I´m going to miss you, see you the next week, love you!

Hello mom,I just arrived in Spain. I am going to go to house my friend Roberto and after I am going to go to the stadium Santiago Bernabeu, I am going to watch the soccer game for the Real Madrid. Tomorrow Roberto and me are going to walk for the city and in the afternoon we are going to eat the famous saucer. I’m going to miss you! See you monday.

Hi Omar,I just arrived in Paris. I am going to unpack my bags after I write this postcard. It is cloudy now, but I think it’s going to clear up soon. I going to go to the eiffel tower. Tomorrow I’m going to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral and after maybe go to the lexembourg gardens.Before returning to home I’m going to visit to view the picasso museum and i will go to eat the famous onions soup or as they say here Soupe a L’Oignon.

See you yhe next week bye.

PS:I hope don’t forget buy a memory for you.

Hi Jose just arrived in Mexico Tomorrow I will go to the National Auditorium to the metal concert, on Wednesday I will visit the Basilica of Guadalupe and the other days I will go shopping. That you want me to take you?. regards

Hi mom, I just arrived in Paris, i arrived at 7:30 am. I’m going to unpack the suitcase and after tahat i’m going to walk arround the city it is a day cloudy is very good for walk. i am going to take the dinner after the match. I will buy a pizza and some beer ,you recommend some restaurant. Know that I am going to miss them. See you when the vacations it’s over.

Hi Diana, how are you? Im so tired I’m in Dallas’ airport, I’m going to arrived to Miami at 8:00 am. First, after of send you a meessage I’m going to unpack my bag and eat something, then my mom is going out with my aunt so I’m goint to watch some movie with my cousind. There’s so beautiful but is so hot too. When I finish my dinner I promise I will call you. See u soon. Ly. Daniel Rivera

Hello friend I’m going to travel to Colombia to visit it, visit its wonders, I’ll eat typical food, I’ll swim in its beautiful lakes and rivers, but I’ll also live the night life of this beautiful place. I hope you someday come. See you as soon as I get back.

Hi Paula. I just arrived in Zacatecas. I’m going to take my backpack and I’m going to go out of the airport. I’m going to take a taxi to the house of my parents. I’m going to take a bath and I’m going to eat a snack. So I’m going to call Tereaa and we are going to go to Galerias in Zacatecas. I’m going to miss you so much! :(

Love Gerardo

Hi!! Oscar. How are you? I hope you are fine. Well I just arrive in Dubai, the city is beautiful. I’m tire for the trip. I’m going to stay in the most luxury hotel in Dubai i don´t remember their name. Tomorrow I’m going to visit diferents places for exaple the Mezquita and maybe I´m going to take my lunch. Afternoon I¿m going to jump from te parachute on the palm, I’m going to try take many photos for you. Anf finaly I´m going to take a dinner nex to the fountain and see the ligth show. I love you and miss you :( See you later. :v

Hi Karla what about everything? I just arrived in London, I’m very taired,I’m going to arrive in the airport at 11:30 am. It is a day cloudy but is perfect to walk. Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to go on a city tour and I’m going to drink a delicious tea (a typical drink of london). I’m going to be here for a couple of weeks, maybe three.

i am going to stay in a hotel in the center. see you in this month, bye

Hi Diana, how are you? Im so tired I’m in Dallas’ airport, I’m going to arrived to Miami at 8:00 am. First, after of send you a meessage I’m going to unpack my bag and eat something, then my mom is going out with my aunt so I’m goint to watch some movie with my cousind. There’s so beautiful but is so hot too. When I finish my dinner I promise I will call you. See u soon. Ly. Mayra Portugal

Hi everyone, family! The trip was a little long, but I finally arrived in Buenos Aires. It’s a beautiful place and the weather is very good. The first thing I will do is take a bath and then I will find a good place to eat. Tonight, I’m going to visit a friend at his house to talk about our experiences at the university. Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to go on a city tour and I’m going to drink a delicious “mate” (a typical drink of Argentina). I’m going to be here for a couple of weeks, maybe three. Know that I am going to miss them.

With love, Paula! <3

Hi chuy. We just arrived in chicago. Im going to go to the beach after i write this postcard. it is very sunny now, its going to very hot we are going to go to the beach with my cousins and friends im going to miss you see you next monday

Hi Carlos , I just arrive in Houston. i am going to arrive in the airport at 7:30 am. It is a day cloudy but is perfect to walk. i am going to go the football americano, i like to watch the Texans. i am going to take the dinner after the match. I will buy a pizza and some beer ,you recommend some restaurant.

Hi Martha! I just arrived in Paris. I’m going to unpack the suitcase and after that i’m going to walk around the city. I’m going to go to the Eiffel Tower in the afternoon and I’m going to have dinner at some french restaurant. I’m going to miss you! See you when the vacations it’s over.

Love Lulu:)

Leave a comment

Email * (not published)

PrepScholar

Choose Your Test

  • Search Blogs By Category
  • College Admissions
  • AP and IB Exams
  • GPA and Coursework

How to Write a Perfect "Why This College?" Essay

author image

College Essays

body-mit-cc0-pixabay

Did you think you were all done pouring out your blood, sweat, and tears in written form for your personal statement , only to be faced with the "why this college?" supplemental essay? This question might seem simple but is in fact a crucial and potentially tricky part of many college applications. What exactly is the "why us?" essay trying to understand about you? And how do you answer this question without falling into its many pitfalls or making any rookie mistakes?

In this article, I'll explain why colleges want you to be able to explain why you are applying. I'll also discuss how to generate and brainstorm topics for this question and how to make yourself sound sincere and committed. Finally, we'll go over some "why this school?" essay do s and don't s.

Worried about college applications?   Our world-class admissions counselors can help. We've guided thousands of students to get into their top choice schools with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies.

This article is pretty detailed, so here's a brief overview of what we'll be covering:

Why Do Colleges Want You to Write a "Why Us?" Essay?

Two types of "why this college" essay prompts, step 1: research the school, step 2: brainstorm potential essay topics, step 3: nail the execution, example of a great "why this college" essay.

College admissions officers have to read an incredible amount of student work to put together a winning class, so trust me when I say that everything they ask you to write is meaningful and important .

The purpose of the "why us?" essay goes two ways. On one hand, seeing how you answer this question gives admissions officers a sense of whether you know and value their school .

On the other hand, having to verbalize why you are applying gives you the chance to think about what you want to get out of your college experience  and whether your target schools fit your goals and aspirations.

What Colleges Get Out Of Reading Your "Why This College?" Essay

Colleges want to check three things when they read this essay.

First, they want to see that you have a sense of what makes this college different and special.

  • Do you know something about the school's mission, history, or values?
  • Have you thought about the school's specific approach to learning?
  • Are you comfortable with the school's traditions and the overall feel of student life here?

Second, they want proof that you will be a good fit for the school.

  • Where do your interests lie? Do they correspond to this school's strengths?
  • Is there something about you that meshes well with some aspect of the school?
  • How will you contribute to college life? How will you make your mark on campus?

And third, they want to see that this school will, in turn, be a good fit for you.

  • What do you want to get out of college? Will this college be able to provide that? Will this school contribute to your future success?
  • What will you take advantage of on campus (e.g., academic programs, volunteer or travel opportunities, internships, or student organizations)?
  • Will you succeed academically? Does this school provide the right rigor and pace for your ideal learning environment?

What You Get Out Of Writing Your "Why This College?" Essay

Throughout this process of articulating your answers to the questions above, you will also benefit in a couple of key ways:

It Lets You Build Excitement about the School

Finding specific programs and opportunities at schools you are already happy about will give you a grounded sense of direction for when you start school . At the same time, by describing what is great about schools that are low on your list, you'll likely boost your enthusiasm for these colleges and keep yourself from feeling that they're nothing more than lackluster fallbacks.

It Helps You Ensure That You're Making the Right Choice

Writing the "why us?" essay can act as a moment of clarity. It's possible that you won't be able to come up with any reasons for applying to a particular school. If further research fails to reveal any appealing characteristics that fit with your goals and interests, this school is likely not for you.

body_graduation-4.jpg

At the end of your four years, you want to feel like this, so take your "Why This College?" essay to heart.

Want to write the perfect college application essay?   We can help.   Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will help you craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay to proudly submit to colleges.   Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

The "why this college?" essay is best thought of as a back-and-forth between you and the college . This means that your essay will really be answering two separate, albeit related, questions:

  • "Why us?": This is where you explain what makes the school special in your eyes, what attracted you to it, and what you think you'll get out of your experience there.
  • "Why you?": This is the part where you talk about why you'll fit in at the school; what qualities, skills, talents, or abilities you'll contribute to student life; and how your future will be impacted by the school and its opportunities.

Colleges usually use one of these approaches to frame this essay , meaning that your essay will lean heavier toward whichever question is favored in the prompt. For example, if the prompt is all about "why us?" you'll want to put your main focus on praising the school. If the prompt instead is mostly configured as "why you?" you'll want to dwell at length on your fit and potential.

It's good to remember that these two prompts are simply two sides of the same coin. Your reasons for wanting to apply to a particular school can be made to fit either of these questions.

For instance, say you really want the chance to learn from the world-famous Professor X. A "why us?" essay might dwell on how amazing an opportunity studying with him would be for you, and how he anchors the Telepathy department.

Meanwhile, a "why you?" essay would point out that your own academic telepathy credentials and future career goals make you an ideal student to learn from Professor X, a renowned master of the field.

Next up, I'll show you some real-life examples of what these two different approaches to the same prompt look like.

body_professor_office

Clarifying why you want to study with a particular professor in a specific department can demonstrate to college admissions staff that you've done your research on the school.

"Why Us?" Prompts

  • Why [this college]?
  • Why are you interested in [this college]?
  • Why is [this college] a good choice for you?
  • What do you like best about [this college]?
  • Why do you want to attend [this college]?

Below are some examples of actual "why us?" college essay prompts:

  • Colorado College : "Describe how your personal experiences with a particular community make you a student who would benefit from Colorado College’s Block Plan."
  • Tufts University : " I am applying to Tufts because… "
  • Tulane University : "Describe why you are interested in joining the Tulane community. Consider your experiences, talents, and values to illustrate what you would contribute to the Tulane community if admitted." (via the Common App )
  • University of Michigan : "Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests?"
  • Wellesley College : " When choosing a college, you are choosing an intellectual community and a place where you believe that you can live, learn, and flourish. We know that there are more than 100 reasons to choose Wellesley, but it's a good place to start. Visit the Wellesley 100 and select two items that attract, inspire, or celebrate what you would bring to our community. Have fun! Use this opportunity to reflect personally on what items appeal to you most and why. "

body_woman_laptop_coffee-1

In a "why us?" essay, focus on the specific aspects of the school that appeal to you and how you will flourish because of those offerings.

"Why You?" Prompts

  • Why are you a good match or fit for us?
  • What are your interests, and how will you pursue them at [this college]?
  • What do you want to study, and how will that correspond to our program?
  • What or how will you contribute?
  • Why you at [this college]?
  • Why are you applying to [this college]?

Here are some examples of the "why you?" version of the college essay:

  • Babson College : " A defining element of the Babson experience is learning and thriving in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives and interests. Please share something about your background, lived experiences, or viewpoint(s) that speaks to how you will contribute to and learn from Babson's collaborative community. "
  • Bowdoin College : "Generations of students have found connection and meaning in Bowdoin's 'The Offer of the College.' ... Which line from the Offer resonates most with you? Optional: The Offer represents Bowdoin's values. Please reflect on the line you selected and how it has meaning to you." (via the Common App )

feature_essaywriting

In a "why you?" essay, focus on how your values, interests, and motivations align with the school's offerings and how you'll contribute to campus life.

No matter how the prompt is worded, this essay is a give-and-take of what you and the college have to offer each other. Your job is to quickly zoom in on your main points and use both precision and detail to sound sincere, excited, and authentic.

How do you effectively explain the benefits you see this particular school providing for you and the contributions you will bring to the table as a student there? And how can you do this best using the small amount of space that you have (usually just one to two paragraphs)?

In this section, we'll go through the process of writing the "Why This College?" essay, step-by-step. First, I'll talk about the prep work you'll need to do. Next, we'll go through how to brainstorm good topics (and touch on what topics to avoid). I'll give you some tips on transforming your ideas and research into an actual essay. Finally, I'll take apart an actual "why us?" essay to show you why and how it works.

Before you can write about a school, you'll need to know specific things that make it stand out and appeal to you and your interests . So where do you look for these? And how do you find the details that will speak to you? Here are some ways you can learn more about a school.

In-Person Campus Visits

If you're going on college tours , you've got the perfect opportunity to gather information about the school. Bring a notepad and write down the following:

  • Your tour guide's name
  • One to two funny, surprising, or enthusiastic things your guide said about the school
  • Any unusual features of the campus, such as buildings, sculptures, layout, history, or traditions

Try to also connect with students or faculty while you're there. If you visit a class, note which class it is and who teaches it. See whether you can briefly chat with a student (e.g., in the class you visit, around campus, or in a dining hall), and ask what they like most about the school or what has been most surprising about being there.

Don't forget to write down the answer! Trust me, you'll forget it otherwise—especially if you do this on multiple college visits.

Virtual Campus Visits

If you can't visit a campus in person, the next best thing is an online tour , either from the school's own website or from other websites, such as YOUniversityTV , CampusTours , or YouTube (search "[School Name] + tour").

You can also connect with students without visiting the campus in person . Some admissions websites list contact information for currently enrolled students you can email to ask one or two questions about what their experience of the school has been like.

Or if you know what department, sport, or activity you're interested in, you can ask the admissions office to put you in touch with a student who is involved with that particular interest.

body_onlinelearning

If you can't visit a campus in person, request a video chat with admissions staff, a current student, or a faculty member to get a better sense of specific topics you might write about in your essay.

Alumni Interview

If you have an interview , ask your interviewer questions about their experience at the school and about what going to that school has done for them since graduation. As always, take notes!

College Fairs

If you have a chance to go to a college fair where your ideal college has representatives, don't just attend and pick up a brochure. Instead, e ngage the representatives in conversation, and ask them about what they think makes the school unique .  Jot down notes on any interesting details they tell you.

The College's Own Materials

Colleges publish lots and lots of different admissions materials—and all of these will be useful for your research. Here are some suggestions for what you can use. (You should be able to find all of the following resources online.)

Brochures and Course Catalogs

Read the mission statement of the school; does its educational philosophy align with yours? You should also read through its catalogs. Are there any programs, classes, departments, or activities that seem tailor-made for you in some way?

Pro Tip: These interesting features you find should be unusual in some way or different from what other schools offer. For example, being fascinated with the English department isn't going to cut it unless you can discuss its unusual focus, its world-renowned professors, or the different way it structures the major that appeals to you specifically.

Alumni Magazine

Are any professors highlighted? Does their research speak to you or connect with a project you did in high school or for an extracurricular?

Sometimes alumni magazines will highlight a college's new focus or new expansion. Does the construction of a new engineering school relate to your intended major? There might also be some columns or letters written by alumni who talk about what going to this particular school has meant to them. What stands out about their experiences?

School or Campus Newspaper

Students write about the hot issues of the day, which means that the articles will be about the best and worst things on campus . It'll also give you insight into student life, opportunities that are available to students, activities you can do off campus, and so on.

The College's Social Media

Your ideal school is most likely on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, and other social media. Follow the school to see what it's posting about.  Are there any exciting new campus developments? Professors in the news? Interesting events, clubs, or activities?

body_socialmedia.jpg

The Internet

Wikipedia is a great resource for learning basic details about a college's history, traditions, and values. I also recommend looking for forums on College Confidential that specifically deal with the school you're researching.

Another option is to search on Google for interesting phrases, such as "What students really think about [School Name]" or "[School Name] student forum." This will help you get detailed points of view, comments about specific programs or courses, and insight into real student life.

So what should you do now that you've completed a bunch of research? Answer: use it to develop connection points between you and your dream school. These connections will be the skeleton of your "why this college?" essay.

Find the Gems in Your Research

You have on hand all kinds of information, from your own personal experiences on campus and your conversations with people affiliated with your ideal school to what you've learned from campus publications and tidbits gleaned from the web.

Now, it's time to sift through all of your notes to find the three to five things that really speak to you. Link what you've learned about the school to how you can plug into this school's life, approach, and environment. That way, no matter whether your school's prompt is more heavily focused on the "why us?" or "why you?" part of the give-and-take, you'll have an entry point into the essay.

But what should these three to five things be? What should you keep in mind when you're looking for the gem that will become your topic?

Here are some words of wisdom from Calvin Wise , director of recruitment and former associate director of admissions at Johns Hopkins University (emphasis mine):

" Focus on what makes us unique and why that interests you. Do your research, and articulate a multidimensional connection to the specific college or university. We do not want broad statements (the brick pathways and historic buildings are beautiful) or a rehash of the information on our website (College X offers a strong liberal arts curriculum). All institutions have similarities. We want you to talk about our differences. "

body_gems.jpg

Time to find that diamond, amethyst, opal, tourmaline, or amber in the rough.

Check Your Gems for Color and Clarity

When I say "check your gems," I mean make sure that each of the three to five things you've found is something your ideal school has that other schools don't have.

This something should be seen from your own perspective. The point isn't to generically praise the school but instead to go into detail about why it's so great for you that they have this thing.

This something you find should be meaningful to the school and specific to you. For example, if you focus on academics (e.g., courses, instructors, opportunities, or educational philosophy), find a way to link them either to your previous work or to your future aspirations.

This something should not be shallow and nonspecific. Want to live in a city? Every city has more than one college in it. Find a way to explain why this specific college in this specific city calls to you. Like pretty architecture? Many schools are beautiful, so dwell on why this particular place feels unlike any other. Like good weather, beach, skiing, or some other geographical attribute? There are many schools located near these places, and they know that people enjoy sunbathing. Either build a deeper connection or skip these as reasons.

Convert Your Gems into Essay Topics

Every "why this college?" essay is going to answer both the "why us?" and the "why you?" parts of the back-and-forth equation. But depending on which way your target school has worded its prompt, you'll lean more heavily on that part . This is why I'm going to split this brainstorming into two parts—to go with the "why us?" and "why you?" types of questions.

Of course, since they are both sides of the same coin, you can always easily flip each of these ideas around to have it work well for the other type of prompt . For example, a "why us?" essay might talk about how interesting the XYZ interdisciplinary project is and how it fits well with your senior project.

By contrast, a "why you?" essay would take the same idea but flip it to say that you've learned through your senior project how you deeply value an interdisciplinary approach to academics, making you a great fit for this school and its commitment to such work, as evidenced by project XYZ.

feature-group-students-study-cc0

Describing how project XYZ demonstrates your investment in a particular course of study that then happens to align with a specific program at the university is an effective approach to the "why you?" essay.

Possible "Why Us?" Topics

  • How a particular program of study, internship requirement, or volunteer connection will help further your specific career goals .
  • The school's interesting approach to your future major (if you know what that will be) or a major that combines several disciplines that appeal to you and fit with your current academic work and interests.
  • How the school handles financial aid and the infrastructure setup for low-income students and what that means for you in terms of opening doors.
  • A story about how you became interested in the school (if you learned about it in an interesting way). For example, did the institution host a high school contest you took part in? Did you attend an art exhibit or stage performance there that you enjoyed and that your own artistic work aligns with?
  • How you overcame an initial disinterest in the school (be sure to minimize this first negative impression). Did you do more research? Interact with someone on campus? Learn about the school's commitment to the community? Learn about interesting research being done there?
  • A positive interaction you had with current students, faculty, or staff, as long as this is more than just, "Everyone I met was really nice."
  • An experience you had while on a campus tour. Was there a super-passionate tour guide? Any information that surprised you? Did something happen to transform your idea about the school or campus life (in a good way)?
  • Interesting interdisciplinary work going on at the university and how that connects with your academic interests, career goals, or previous high school work.
  • The history of the school —but only if it's meaningful to you in some way. Has the school always been committed to fostering minority, first-generation, or immigrant students? Was it founded by someone you admire? Did it take an unpopular (but, to you, morally correct) stance at some crucial moment in history?
  • An amazing professor you can't wait to learn from. Is there a chemistry professor whose current research meshes with a science fair project you did? A professor who's a renowned scholar on your favorite literary or artistic period or genre? A professor whose book on economics finally made you understand the most recent financial crisis?
  • A class that sounds fascinating , especially if it's in a field you want to major in.
  • A facility or piece of equipment you can't wait to work in or with  and that doesn't exist in many other places. Is there a specialty library with rare medieval manuscripts? Is there an observatory?
  • A required curriculum that appeals to you because it provides a solid grounding in the classics, shakes up the traditional canon, connects all the students on campus in one intellectual project, or is taught in a unique way.

body-lab-experiment-science-cc0

If the school can boast a cutting-edge laboratory where you dream of conducting research, that would be a strong focus for a "Why Us?" essay.

Possible "Why You?" Topics

  • Do you want to continue a project you worked on in high school? Talk about how or where in the current course, club, and program offerings this work would fit in. Why will you be a good addition to the team?
  • Have you always been involved in a community service project that's already being done on campus? Write about integrating life on campus with events in the surrounding community.
  • Do you plan to keep performing in the arts, playing music, working on the newspaper, or engaging in something else you were seriously committed to in high school? Discuss how excited you are to join that existing organization.
  • Are you the perfect person to take advantage of an internship program (e.g., because you have already worked in this field, were exposed to it through your parents, or have completed academic work that gives you some experience with it)?
  • Are you the ideal candidate for a study abroad opportunity (e.g., because you can speak the language of the country, it's a place where you've worked or studied before, or your career goals are international in some respect)?
  • Are you a stand-out match for an undergraduate research project (e.g., because you'll major in this field, you've always wanted to work with this professor, or you want to pursue research as a career option)?
  • Is there something you were deeply involved with that doesn't currently exist on campus? Offer to start a club for it. And I mean a club; you aren't going to magically create a new academic department or even a new academic course, so don't try offering that. If you do write about this, make double (and even triple) sure that the school doesn't already have a club, course, or program for this interest.
  • What are some of the programs or activities you plan to get involved with on campus , and what unique qualities will you bring to them?
  • Make this a mini version of a personal statement you never wrote.  Use this essay as another chance to show a few more of the skills, talents, or passions that don't appear in your actual college essay. What's the runner-up interest that you didn't write about? What opportunity, program, or offering at the school lines up with it?

body_mobile.jpg

One way to impress admissions staff in a "Why You?" essay is to discuss your fascination with a particular topic in a specific discipline, such as kinetic sculpture, and how you want to pursue that passion (e.g., as a studio art major).

Possible Topics for a College That's Not Your First Choice

  • If you're writing about a school you're not completely psyched about, one way to sidestep the issue is to focus on what getting this degree will do for you in the future . How do you see yourself changing existing systems, helping others, or otherwise succeeding?
  • Alternatively, discuss what the school values academically, socially, environmentally, or philosophically and how this connects with what you also care about . Does it have a vegan, organic, and cruelty-free cafeteria? A relationship with a local farm or garden? De-emphasized fraternity involvement? Strong commitment to environmental issues? Lots of opportunities to contribute to the community surrounding the school? Active inclusion and a sense of belonging for various underrepresented groups?
  • Try to find at least one or two features you're excited about for each of the schools on your list. If you can't think of a single reason why this would be a good place for you to go, maybe you shouldn't be applying there!

Topics to Avoid in Your Essay

  • Don't write about general characteristics, such as a school's location (or the weather in that location), reputation, or student body size. For example, anyone applying to the Webb Institute , which has just about 100 students , should by all means talk about having a preference for tiny, close-knit communities. By contrast, schools in sunny climates know that people enjoy good weather, but if you can't connect the outdoors with the college itself, think of something else to say.
  • Don't talk about your sports fandom. Saying, "I can see myself in crimson and white/blue and orange/[some color] and [some other color]" is both overused and not a persuasive reason for wanting to go to a particular college. After all, you could cheer for a team without going to the school! Unless you're an athlete, you're an aspiring mascot performer, or you have a truly one-of-a-kind story to tell about your link to the team, opt for a different track.
  • Don't copy descriptions from the college's website to tell admissions officers how great their institution is. They don't want to hear praise; they want to hear how you connect with their school. So if something on the college brochure speaks to you, explain why this specific detail matters to you and how your past experiences, academic work, extracurricular interests, or hobbies relate to that detail.
  • Don't use college rankings as a reason you want to go to a school. Of course prestige matters, but schools that are ranked right next to each other on the list are at about the same level of prestige. What makes you choose one over the other?
  • If you decide to write about a future major, don't just talk about what you want to study and why . Make sure that you also explain why you want to study this thing at this particular school . What do they do differently from other colleges?
  • Don't wax poetic about the school's pretty campus. "From the moment I stepped on your campus, I knew it was the place for me" is another cliché—and another way to say basically nothing about why you actually want to go to this particular school. Lots of schools are pretty, and many are pretty in the exact same way.

body_campus-3.jpg

Pop quiz: This pretty gothic building is on what college campus? Yes, that's right—it could be anywhere.

Want to build the best possible college application?   We can help.   PrepScholar Admissions combines world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've guided thousands of students to get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit and are driven to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in:

When you've put together the ideas that will make up your answer to the "why us?" question, it's time to build them into a memorable essay. Here are some tips for doing that successfully:

  • Jump right in. The essay is short, so there's no need for an introduction or conclusion. Spend the first paragraph delving into your best one or two reasons for applying. Then, use the second paragraph to go into slightly less detail about reasons 2 (or 3) through 5.
  • To thine own self be true. Write in your own voice, and be sincere about what you're saying. Believe me—the reader can tell when you mean it and when you're just blathering!
  • Details, details, details. Show the school that you've done your research. Are there any classes, professors, clubs, or activities you're excited about at the school? Be specific (e.g., "I'm fascinated by the work Dr. Jenny Johnson has done with interactive sound installations").
  • If you plan on attending if admitted, say so. Colleges care about the numbers of acceptances deeply, so it might help to know you're a sure thing. But don't write this if you don't mean it!
  • Don't cut and paste the same essay for every school. At least once, you'll most likely forget to change the school name or some other telling detail. You also don't want to have too much vague, cookie-cutter reasoning, or else you'll start to sound bland and forgettable.

For more tips, check out our step-by-step essay-writing advice .

body_cookiecutter.jpg

Avoid cookie-cutter responses to "why this college?" essay prompts. Instead, provide an essay that's personalized to that particular institution.

At this point, it'll be helpful to take a look at a "why us?" essay that works and figure out what the author did to create a meaningful answer to this challenging question.

Here is a "Why Tufts?" essay from James Gregoire '19 for Tufts University :

It was on my official visit with the cross country team that I realized Tufts was the perfect school for me. Our topics of conversation ranged from Asian geography to efficient movement patterns, and everyone spoke enthusiastically about what they were involved in on campus. I really related with the guys I met, and I think they represent the passion that Tufts' students have. I can pursue my dream of being a successful entrepreneur by joining the Tufts Entrepreneurs Society, pursuing an Entrepreneurial Leadership minor, and taking part in an up-and-coming computer science program.

Here are some of the main reasons this essay is so effective:

  • Interaction with current students. James writes about hanging out with the cross-country team and sounds excited about meeting them.
  • "I'm a great fit." He uses the conversation with the cross-country team members to talk about his own good fit here ("I really related with the guys I met").
  • Why the school is special. James also uses the conversation as a way to show that he enjoys the variety of opportunities Tufts offers (their fun conversation covers Asian geography, movement patterns, and other things they "were involved with on campus").
  • Taking advantage of this specialness. James doesn't just list things Tufts offers but also explains which of them are of specific value to him. He's interested in being an entrepreneur, so the Tufts Entrepreneurs Society and the Entrepreneurial Leadership courses appeal to him.
  • Awareness of what the school is up to. Finally, James shows that he's aware of the latest Tufts developments when he mentions the new computer science program.

The Bottom Line: Writing a Great "Why This College?" Essay

  • Proof that you understand what makes this college different and special
  • Evidence that you'll be a good fit at this school
  • Evidence that this college will, in turn, be a good fit for you

The prompt may be phrased in one of two ways: "Why us?" or "Why you?" But these are sides of the same coin and will be addressed in your essay regardless of the prompt style.

Writing the perfect "why this school?" essay requires you to first research the specific qualities and characteristics of this school that appeal to you. You can find this information by doing any or all of the following:

  • Visiting campuses in person or virtually to interact with current students and faculty
  • Posing questions to your college interviewer or to representatives at college fairs
  • Reading the college's own materials , such as its brochures, official website, alumni magazine, campus newspaper, and social media
  • Looking at other websites that talk about the school

To find a topic to write about for your essay, find the three to five things that really speak to you about the school , and then link each of them to yourself, your interests, your goals, or your strengths.

Avoid using clichés that could be true for any school, such as architecture, geography, weather, or sports fandom. Instead, focus on the details that differentiate your intended school from all the others .

What's Next?

Are you also working on your personal statement? If you're using the Common App, check out our complete breakdown of the Common App prompts and learn how to pick the best prompt for you .

If you're applying to a University of California school, we've got an in-depth article on how to write effective UC personal statements .

And if you're submitting ApplyTexas applications, read our helpful guide on how to approach the many different ApplyTexas essay prompts .

Struggling with the college application process as a whole? Our expert guides teach you how to ask for recommendations , how to write about extracurriculars , and how to research colleges .

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?   We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

Trending Now

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

ACT vs. SAT: Which Test Should You Take?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Get Your Free

PrepScholar

Find Your Target SAT Score

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect SAT Score, by an Expert Full Scorer

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading and Writing

How to Improve Your Low SAT Score

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading and Writing

Find Your Target ACT Score

Complete Official Free ACT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer

Get a 36 on ACT English

Get a 36 on ACT Math

Get a 36 on ACT Reading

Get a 36 on ACT Science

How to Improve Your Low ACT Score

Get a 24 on ACT English

Get a 24 on ACT Math

Get a 24 on ACT Reading

Get a 24 on ACT Science

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Follow us on Facebook (icon)

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

How to indicate that a word / acronym X will refer to Y in academic writing

How would I indicate, for example, that I am going to use "toms" to mean "tomatoes". Something like:

Tomatoes (toms) are red. This is false as some toms are green. I like toms.
  • single-word-requests

jsj's user avatar

I have often seen it in brackets, as in your example, with quotation marks and a capital:

Tomatoes ("Toms") are red. This is false, as some Toms are green. I like Toms.

I suppose the capital is not always necessary if the thing referred to isn't a name or a proper noun; however, it is easier to spot that this thing is special later if you use a capital throughout.

In legal texts, they use hereafter or hereinafter :

Tomatoes, hereafter called "Toms", are red. This is false, as some Toms are green. I like Toms.

But this is not recommended in academic writing. You could simply use in this paper and explain what you're going to do:

Tomatoes, which will be referred to as "Toms" in this paper, are red. This is false, as some Toms are green. I like Toms. Tomatoes, which we will refer to as "Toms" in this paper, are red. This is false, as some Toms are green. I like Toms.

Community's user avatar

  • What about "Tomatoes (hereinafter referred to as 'Toms') are red."? –  Erik Humphrey Commented Oct 12, 2016 at 17:25
  • 1 @ErikHumphrey: Sounds good to me! The only thing is that the word herinafter is widely considered very formal outside legal text; I don't think I've ever seen it in an academic article. –  Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Commented Oct 12, 2016 at 17:28
  • @ErikHumphrey, I use hereafter "Toms" –  Pacerier Commented Feb 24, 2018 at 17:53
  • @Cerberus, Re "not recommended.."; Why not? –  Pacerier Commented Feb 24, 2018 at 17:53
  • @Pacerier: Well, I would say it is a bit too formal for (non-legal) academic writing? Maybe I can be proved wrong here. –  Cerberus - Reinstate Monica Commented Feb 26, 2018 at 2:41

Your Answer

Sign up or log in, post as a guest.

Required, but never shown

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy .

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged single-word-requests or ask your own question .

  • Featured on Meta
  • Bringing clarity to status tag usage on meta sites
  • We've made changes to our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy - July 2024
  • Announcing a change to the data-dump process

Hot Network Questions

  • Are quantum states like the W, Bell, GHZ, and Dicke state actually used in quantum computing research?
  • Why an Out Parameter can be left unassigned in .NET 6 but not .NET 8 (CS0177)?
  • Reusing own code at work without losing licence
  • My visit is for two weeks but my host bought insurance for two months is it okay
  • Parody of Fables About Authenticity
  • If inflation/cost of living is such a complex difficult problem, then why has the price of drugs been absoultly perfectly stable my whole life?
  • What to do when 2 light switches are too far apart for the light switch cover plate?
  • How do you say "head tilt“ in Chinese?
  • What would be non-slang equivalent of "copium"?
  • I'm trying to remember a novel about an asteroid threatening to destroy the earth. I remember seeing the phrase "SHIVA IS COMING" on the cover
  • Walk or Drive to school?
  • Can a 2-sphere be squashed flat?
  • What is the cross reference of OT to Mtt 24:37-38?
  • A very interesting food chain
  • Centering tikz graphic in OpTeX
  • Story where character has "boomerdisc"
  • How much payload could the Falcon 9 send to geostationary orbit?
  • What happens when a helicopter loses the engine and autorotation is not initiated?
  • Equations for dual cubic curves
  • "TSA regulations state that travellers are allowed one personal item and one carry on"?
  • Which programming language/environment pioneered row-major array order?
  • DATEDIFF Rounding
  • Inrush current limiter circuit with MOSFET
  • Why was this lighting fixture smoking? What do I do about it?

i'm going to essay

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Duke University

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

i'm going to essay

12 Effective “Why This College?” Essay Examples

What’s covered.

  • Essay 1: UPenn Nursing
  • Essay 2: UPenn
  • Essay 3: UW Madison
  • Essay 4: Northwestern
  • Essay 5: NYU
  • Essay 6: NYU
  • Essay 7: Boston University
  • Essay 8: Boston University
  • Essay 9: Tufts
  • Essay 10: Tufts
  • Essay 11: Georgia Tech
  • Essay 12: Georgia Tech

Where to Get Your Essays Edited

The “ Why This College?” essay is one of the most common supplemental prompts. These school-specific essays help colleges understand if you’re a good fit for them, and if they’re a good fit for you.

In this post, we’ll share 12 “Why This College?” essay examples from real students and explain what they did well, and what could be improved. Read these examples to understand how to write a strong supplemental essay that improves your chances of acceptance.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized.

Essay Example #1: UPenn Nursing

Prompt: How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania? Please answer this question given the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying (650 words).

Sister Simone Roach, a theorist of nursing ethics, said, “caring is the human mode of being.” I have long been inspired by Sister Roach’s Five C’s of Caring: commitment, conscience, competence, compassion, and confidence. Penn both embraces and fosters these values through a rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum and unmatched access to service and volunteer opportunities.

COMMITMENT. Reading through the activities that Penn Quakers devote their time to (in addition to academics!) felt like drinking from a firehose in the best possible way. As a prospective nursing student with interests outside of my major, I value this level of flexibility. I plan to leverage Penn’s liberal arts curriculum to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges LGBT people face, especially regarding healthcare access. Through courses like “Interactional Processes with LGBT Individuals” and volunteering at the Mazzoni Center for outreach, I hope to learn how to better support the Penn LGBT community as well as my family and friends, including my cousin, who came out as trans last year.

CONSCIENCE. As one of the first people in my family to attend a four-year university, I wanted a school that promoted a sense of moral responsibility among its students. At Penn, professors challenge their students to question and recreate their own set of morals by sparking thought- provoking, open-minded discussions. I can imagine myself advocating for universal healthcare in courses such as “Health Care Reform & Future of American Health System” and debating its merits with my peers. Studying in an environment where students confidently voice their opinions – conservative or liberal – will push me to question and strengthen my value system.

COMPETENCE. Two aspects that drew my attention to Penn’s BSN program were its high-quality research opportunities and hands-on nursing projects. Through its Office of Nursing Research, Penn connects students to faculty members who share similar research interests. As I volunteered at a nursing home in high school, I hope to work with Dr. Carthon to improve the quality of care for senior citizens. Seniors, especially minorities, face serious barriers to healthcare that I want to resolve. Additionally, Penn’s unique use of simulations to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world application impressed me. Using computerized manikins that mimic human responses, classes in Penn’s nursing program allow students to apply their emergency medical skills in a mass casualty simulation and monitor their actions afterward through a video system. Participating in this activity will help me identify my strengths and areas for improvement regarding crisis management and medical care in a controlled yet realistic setting. Research opportunities and simulations will develop my skills even before I interact with patients.

COMPASSION. I value giving back through community service, and I have a particular interest in Penn’s Community Champions and Nursing Students For Sexual & Reproductive Health (NSRH). As a four-year volunteer health educator, I hope to continue this work as a Community Champions member. I am excited to collaborate with medical students to teach fourth and fifth graders in the city about cardiology or lead a chair dance class for the elders at the LIFE Center. Furthermore, as a feminist who firmly believes in women’s abortion rights, I’d like to join NSRH in order to advocate for women’s health on campus. At Penn, I can work with like-minded people to make a meaningful difference.

CONFIDENCE. All of the Quakers that I have met possess one defining trait: confidence. Each student summarized their experiences at Penn as challenging but fulfilling. Although I expect my coursework to push me, from my conversations with current Quakers I know it will help me to be far more effective in my career.

The Five C’s of Caring are important heuristics for nursing, but they also provide insight into how I want to approach my time in college. I am eager to engage with these principles both as a nurse and as a Penn Quaker, and I can’t wait to start.

What the Essay Did Well

This essay has many positive aspects, but the most impressive one is the structure. Utilizing the Five C’s of Caring to discuss Penn’s offerings was a genius way of tying in this student’s passion for nursing while also making their essay exciting and easy to read. Beginning each paragraph with the respective adjective helped focus the paragraph and allowed the student to demonstrate how they exemplify each quality without explicitly stating it. The student wasn’t afraid to think outside the box and add creativity to their essay structure, which really paid off.

Another positive is how specific and specialized the Penn resources and opportunities the student mentions are. This essay did not fall into the trap of name-dropping professors or programs. In every paragraph, there was a connection to something the student wants to do at Penn to further themselves in the respective characteristic they were describing.

Not only did this student mention a resource at Penn—whether it was a professor, a class, or a club—in every paragraph, but they elaborated on what that resource was and how it would help them achieve their goal of becoming a nurse. The what and how is what sets this essay apart from other supplements that just name-drop resources for the sake of it. The amount of detail this essay went into about some of these resources makes it clear to the admissions officers reading the essay that this student has seriously looked into Penn and has a strong desire to come to campus and use these resources.

What Could Be Improved

One thing this essay could do to make it stronger is improve the first paragraph. The student does a good job of setting up Sister Roach and the Five C’s, but they don’t mention anything about their desire to study or pursue nursing. The first paragraph mentions both Sister Roach and Penn, but left out the student. This could be fixed by simply adding something along the lines of “I can’t wait to embody these values as a nursing student at Penn” to the paragraph.

Essay Example #2: UPenn

Prompt: Considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected, how will you explore your academic and intellectual interests at the University of Pennsylvania?  For students applying to the coordinated dual-degree and specialized programs, please answer these questions in regard to your single-degree school choice; your interest in the coordinated dual-degree or specialized program may be addressed through the program-specific essay. (300-450 words)

I always loved watching the worms when it rained. I used to put my little raincoat on, sit on the doorsteps, and watch them move toward the puddles. My younger brother, forever intent on destroying the world around him, would try to stomp on the worms, and I would run after him screaming. In my imagination, the brain looked like a pile of squiggly worms. However, my neuroscience curiosity has since grown beyond a worm’s habits.

For example, my mother thought that I was insane when I wanted to watch American Murder: The Family Next Door . To her immense relief, I was interested in the psychology of the criminal rather than the crime itself. Although neuroscience is my primary interest, I also hope to learn more about the intersection between law and medicine at the UPenn College of Arts and Sciences. I’ve been able to explore this topic through various projects at school such as presentations on juvenile crime and the death penalty.

At the University of Pennsylvania, I look forward to taking classes like Forensic Neuroscience (BIBB 050) as well as Neuroscience and Society (PSYC 247) both of which directly combine my two interests. Hopefully, the Take Your Professor to Dinner program resumes as I would make sure to talk to Dr. Daniel Langleben about his research on forensic functional brain imaging over a meal of Philly cheesesteaks.

I also hope to participate in the Race, Science, and Society Program where I can discover how race biases and neuroscience go hand-in-hand and contribute to the fight against racism. The Beyond Arrests: Re-Thinking Systematic-Oppression Group immediately caught my attention while looking at Penn’s opportunities to engage in relevant dialogue. My fascination with the criminal system began with reading Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment , and Penn will both fuel that curiosity as well as introduce new questions about the world of justice reform.

As an eight-year Latin scholar and a five-time reader of the Percy Jackson franchise, I would like to take classes in the Penn Classical Studies department where I can learn more about the impact of ancient cultures on society today. Classes such as Greek and Roman Medicine (CLST 271) would intersect my interests in medicine and classical civilizations.

Although I do harbor a deep love for Philly cheesesteaks and enjoyment of running in strange places like the Woodlands Cemetery, the range of programs to support my diverse interests and unmatched opportunities to put learning into action make me confident that the University of Pennsylvania is the best university for me to succeed.

The real strength in the essay lies in the sheer number of details this student is able to include in a short space, without sacrificing style and flow. The first two paragraphs really have nothing to do with Penn, but the inclusion of them makes this response feel like an essay, rather than a list of offerings at Penn. Striking the balance is important, and the anecdote at the beginning ultimately humanizes the writer.

From the three unique courses to the specific professor and his research to the race and criminal justice programs, this student has clearly done their homework on Penn! The key to this essay’s success isn’t just mentioning the offerings at Penn that excite the student, but the context that explains how each opportunity fits into the student’s academic interests.

Adding book titles like Crime and Punishment and Percy Jackson to support their passion for the criminal justice system and classics are extra details that help us learn more about how this student pursues their passions outside of the classroom. Finding little ways to humanize yourself throughout the essay can take it from good to great.

One area of improvement for this essay is the structure. It follows a very traditional “ Why This College? ” framework—start with an anecdote, then discuss classes, and then extracurriculars and programs—that gets old quickly for admissions officers.

A great way to add some spice to the format would be to use a sample schedule for the day. This essay mentions three different classes, two different groups, and a Take Your Professor to Dinner opportunity. Together, that’s the recipe for a full day at UPenn!

There are a few ways to play around with an essay that follows a typical day-in-the-life. Maybe each paragraph starts with a time and explains what they do during that hour. Maybe they narrate walking through campus on their way from one class to the next and what they just learned. However they choose to go about it, adding in a playful spin to the traditional essay structure is one of the best ways to instantly set an essay apart from the crowd. 

Essay Example #3: UW Madison

Prompt: Tell us why you decided to apply to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided, please describe your areas of possible academic interest. (650 words)

Essay – # Day 117

7:30 am… As I open my eyes, I look at the pinboard in front of my bed. Written in red block letters are two of the many goals of my life: “Make life better and more independent for the Visually impaired; Inspire kids to explore the field of STEM, making them the future problem solvers.“

Keeping these goals afresh in mind, I freshen up and prepare for the first class of the day, ​ECE 533 Image Processing. As the professor explains the Applications of Image Processing in Computer Vision, a light bulb sparks in my mind. I can modify the head contraption of PERIPHIS to identify objects in peripheral vision and alert the wearer via an earpiece using Text to Speech (TTS). 

After the class, I see Professor Mohit Gupta at the WISION Lab, where he shares his insights from the Block World Cameras system, which helps to geometrize 3D Man-made environments. We brainstorm ways we can implement this system on PERIPHIS.

Deep in the discussion and intrigued by my curiosity, he asked me where my interest in this niche field sparked during high school, and then I recount the incident from 9th grade: 

“In Hindi – Agar aaj mere paas paise hote to ye din na dekhna padta” (If I had money, I would not have had to see this day.) 

These were the words of Aadiya, a glaucoma patient, who couldn’t help but cry in despair as she injured herself in an accident just because she couldn’t sense the incoming traffic. During my visit to “Baroda Association for Blind (BAB)” for a survey, I saw and experienced firsthand how hard and inaccessible it is for an underprivileged visually impaired to locomote without anyone’s assistance. 

What happened next was my first adventure into the world of Computer Science and Engineering. I dedicated the next four years to find an affordable solution to a pressing problem. It was called PERIPHIS, a smart wearable that helps alert the visually impaired wearer of impending danger while locomoting.

When I finally presented this device to Aadiya, the smile on her face made me realize how big an impact technology can make in one’s life.

11:00 am… As I head to the Engineering Hall to complete my assignments of COMP SCI 570

Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction, I crossways with my roommate from the Chadbourne Residential College, who is also interested in researching applications of Computer Vision in real life. We fix a time to chat later. 

1:20pm… After a quick bite, I head to Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory. I expand my knowledge on different applications of Computer Science to make human life better than I found. I get fascinated when I see a few students building a child-friendly humanoid robot to teach kids the principles of Coding and AI. I hop in and share insights from my experience of being the President at AiGoLearning and kindling interest in STEM for young children. I explain how crucial the UI is when it comes to technology for the young.

5:00pm… To blow off some steam and socialize, I meet up with my fellow countrymen and artists at the Indian Graduate Students’ Association. We discuss and plan the upcoming Diwali Night Music at Shannon Hall. I feel proud to share my national identity while bringing out my musical self by contributing as a Tabla player at the student organization. 

As I close my day, I reflect and think of the most unique resource at UW. It is not the labs, research facilities, classes, but the people, including the professors and students, all aligned to a single goal: “Solving problems to make society a better place.”

10:00pm… I find my way back to my dorm room and write with red block letters on my pinboard: “Meet with at least 1 Badger every day and gain new insight from them.”

This essay is a stellar example. The day in the life formatting is a common way to spice up your “Why This College?” essay, but the way this writer executes it is nearly flawless.

Opening with the vision board makes the student’s college goals clear from the very start, and this was cleverly done since vision boards are naturally one of the first things you see when you wake up.

The student then takes us to specific courses and labs and shares their thoughts on how they could improve their invention, PERIPHIS. The author seamlessly includes background information on PERIPHIS by including this hypothetical conversation with a professor who speaks their native language.

As we go through the day, we can see that this student will not only be involved academically, but also socially. We learn how important their culture is to them and how they plan to share it with the campus community.

This essay does everything a “Why This College?” essay should: it shares the student’s goals and motivations behind them, how the university can support those goals, and how the student will engage with the campus beyond academics.

There’s not much this essay could improve, besides a few formatting and wording issues. The first line of this essay—“ Essay – # Day 117”—is a great attention-grabber, but the placement of the # symbol is confusing and perhaps should’ve been in front of the number.

There are also a couple spots where wording is a bit awkward, such as these lines:

I crossways with my roommate from the Chadbourne Residential College, who is also interested in researching applications of Computer Vision in real life. We fix a time to chat later. 

It should instead say something like “I run into my roommate” and “We schedule a time”. This is likely due to English not being the student’s native language, but could’ve easily been caught by proofreading from a native speaker.

Essay Example #4: Northwestern

Prompt: While other parts of your application give us a sense of who you are, we are also excited to hear more about how you see yourself engaging with the larger Northwestern community.

In 300 words or less, help us understand how you might engage specific resources, opportunities, and/or communities here. We are curious about what these specifics are, as well as how they may enrich your time at Northwestern and beyond.

For as long as I can remember, I have seen my parents, both farmers, struggling to produce food because of the challenges presented by the environment. Joining Northwestern’s community, and majoring in Environmental Engineering, will allow me to understand what are the reasons behind climate change and learn how to stop them and/or prevent them from happening. 

Having witnessed how plant diseases affect crops, I would like to collaborate in the PLANT-Dx project and in its widespread application. I strongly believe that it will be able to help farmers to improve the quality and quantity of their production, and reduce famine around the world. At some point in my education, I want to take advantage of the study-abroad programs Northwestern has to offer and learn about farming practices in a different part of the world. In addition, I want to conduct research on sustainable alternative farming methods that adapt to the new environmental conditions and that can be practiced in countries with fewer resources.

Apart from having access to outstanding professors, rigorous academics, and cutting-edge research resources, I will be able to be part of a close-knit community genuinely curious about others’ activities, truly passionate about what they do, and not afraid to step out of their comfort zone to make of this world a better place. Being part of Engineers for a Sustainable World at Northwestern will allow me to get to know people that share one of my passions in addition to learning and teaching how to apply sustainable practices in daily life.  

I am already looking forward to marching through the Weber Arch.

This essay is extremely cohesive, as it focuses on the student’s agricultural background and desire to study environmental engineering. The student mentions a couple resources specific to Northwestern, such as the PLANT-Dx project and Engineers for a Sustainable World.

Because of the background information the student provided, their motivations for participating in these opportunities is also clear. We can see that Northwestern would be a school that would help them achieve their goals.

There are two main aspects of the essay that could be improved: the writing and its specificity.

To begin with, the intro paragraph is a bit clunky and vague.  The student should have specified the challenges the environment has presented to their parents’ farming with detailed imagery about droughts or torrential rain. The final sentence about climate change is also much too broad, and the student should’ve stated a goal in a smaller niche of environmentalism.

For example, here’s what a rewritten strong intro paragraph might look like:

The drought this year was bad, and the once-flourishing tomato crops on my family’s farm were afflicted with Southern Blight. As my family and our community struggled to put food on the table for the third year in a year, I resolved to major in Environmental Engineering at Northwestern to learn how to preserve our agriculture in the face of climate change.

Another writing error is the typo in the final paragraph, where they write “to make of this world a better place”. It’s important to proofread your essay and have others help you proofread as well!

Finally, while the essay mentions a couple specific Northwestern resources, the other resources they mention are too vague.  The student could’ve improved by mentioning a specific study abroad program and a current research project on sustainable alternative farming methods. Most colleges let you study abroad and conduct research, so you need to explain why Northwestern is the best place for your goals.

Essay Example #5: NYU

Prompt: We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand – Why NYU? (400 words)

“A futuristic way of looking at academics,” the student panelist said during a New York University virtual information session. I reflected on a conversation I had with my grandma; she couldn’t understand how her vegetarian granddaughter could build a career in the food industry. However much I tried convincing her that vegetarianism was the future, as it offers substantial benefits to the environment and can offer health benefits to a growing population with the same environmental resources, she insisted that tofu would never provide the same satiation as meat. She was raised in a community where meat consumption was embedded in the culture, and its production is a large part of the country’s economy. In contrast, I had the privilege of living a few steps from San Francisco, with many restaurants and grocery stores dedicated to plant-based meat alternatives. Trying innovative recipes and products eventually allowed me to develop my own recipes. Upon my move to Nicaragua, where my grandmother is from, I found my food options to be limited, expensive and hard to find. So I developed my own small-scale solutions that did not break the bank and satiated grandma.

An institution that implements forward-thinking is what I need to reach my goals of changing the future of plant-based diets and people’s views on vegetarianism. NYU’s Nutrition and Food Studies program offers multiple disciplines of food studies that I will apply to my aspirations as a vegetarian. I plan to study under Adjunct Faculty Kayleen St. John, whose success in the plant-based industry and her teaching of the ‘Foundations of Plant-Based Nutrition’ in The Vegetarian Times excites me. The variety of classes like Introduction to Food History, Food Photography, and Food Systems: Food & Agriculture will give me an overview of what is available in the food industry to be prepared for all fields. Not to be cliche, but NYU’s proximity to the city is essential for the rapidly changing vegetarian industry. The multiculturalism available in NYC and NYU will allow me to understand the food system and diets of various cultures, religions, and areas. I can explore the extremes of the food industry, from fancy restaurants to public school cafeterias. These juxtapositions, much like the one I experienced after my move to Nicaragua, will allow me to broaden my reach and demonstrate that the vegetarian diet is not something reserved for select groups but a diet attainable to all. 

A core strength of this essay is the fact it takes its time to provide the reader with ample background on why this student is interested in nutrition and food studies and how they have grappled with difficult questions and surrounding this topic in the past. It’s okay to not mention anything about NYU for a whole paragraph if you are using that space to bring depth to your interests and tell the reader the crucial backstory behind pursuing your intended degree.

Another positive aspect is the inclusion of New York City for a purposeful reason. NYU admissions officers read thousands of essays that just talk about living in NYC for the sake of NYC—this is not what they want to hear. In contrast, this essay focuses on the vast and lively food scene in New York that the student considers to be an invaluable asset to her NYU education. This is a time where including New York actually plays to the appeal of NYU, rather than making it seem like the student is simply applying for the city.

Finally, this student clearly demonstrates that they are someone who wants to change the world for the better, but through their personal niche. NYU is looking for people who express this desire to be a changemaker, but oftentimes sweeping statements like “I want to change the world” come across as vague and disingenuous. The essay does mention changing diets and looking to the future, but it is focused within the student’s specific area of interest, making the claim to change the world more determined and authentic.

This essay could be made stronger if there was a bit more personal reflection included. The first paragraph provides a lot of details on the student’s vegetarianism and how it conflicts with her grandmother and her heritage. What it doesn’t include very much of is how the student thinks and feels about her diet being at odds with that of her family. 

Does this student feel they are betraying their heritage by being vegetarian? What emotions do they feel when people criticize vegetarianism? Why did they go vegetarian in the first place? Probing questions like these that get to the emotional core behind the story in the first paragraph would really help to build out this student’s backstory. We want to understand what their emotional responses and reasoning processes look like, so finding ways to include those into an already expositive paragraph would further bolster this essay.

Essay Example #6: NYU

My mother never takes off her Cartier necklace that my father gave her 10 years ago on their anniversary. As a child, I didn’t fully understand this attachment. However, on my 15th birthday, my aunt gifted me a ring, which was uniquely designed and made up of three rings linked together. Wearing it every day and making sure I would never lose it, I didn’t treat it like my easily replaceable childhood necklaces; it was my piece of luxury. This sparked my deep curiosity for the luxury world. The niche strives to provide the finest and most memorable experiences, as equally as my Japanese attention to detail and my French appreciation towards aesthetic beauty. In a constantly shifting environment, I learned that luxury chases timeless excellence.

NYU Stern’s BS in business and a co-concentration in management and marketing will fully immerse me in the business side of luxury fashion that I aim to pursue a future career in. The luxury marketing track, offered only by NYU, will enable me to assemble the most suited classes to reflect my interests. Specifically, NYU Stern’s exciting electives such as The Dynamics of the Fashion Industry seminar and Brand Strategy & Planning will encourage me to develop the skills that I was introduced to and grew keen on when running a virtual sustainable fashion auction.

As someone who has moved around from Paris to Tokyo, to Chicago and now Athens, I thrive in meeting and collaborating with others from diverse backgrounds. The school’s strong global outlook, demonstrated through Stern’s International Business Exchange Program, further sets NYU apart for me, as it is crucial to building essential soft skills. This opportunity allows me to experience new cultural approaches to luxury business which I can bring back with me to New York, and therefore push me to become a well-rounded business student. Similarly, I am excited to take part in the array of student clubs offered, such as the Luxury and Retail Association (LARA), which I learned about after connecting with and talking to current students. Seeing past talks from employers of companies like Conde Nast, I am eager to learn outside of the classroom from future speakers. 

Finding myself in new situations constantly, I always seek new challenges and explorations – to me, it is clear that NYU Stern will push me to create the finest and most unique learning experiences of timeless excellence.

This essay has an amazing introduction paragraph. It doesn’t mention anything about NYU or what this student is planning on studying, which is what makes it so intriguing. The reader doesn’t know where this student is headed after making such a seemingly unrelated statement about jewelry, but we want to find out. 

Not only does this essay immediately capture the reader’s attention, it maintains a succinct and direct tone that helps the reader effortlessly flow from one paragraph to the next. The student chose to include three opportunities at NYU that excite them and fully elaborate on them. This serves as an excellent example of more is less. 

We aren’t bombarded with a laundry list of classes, professors, and clubs the student wants to take. Instead, the student took a focused approach and described why they were excited by each offering they highlighted. Going deeper into a smaller number of opportunities at the college still shows this student did their research, but it allows for their backstory and goals to be discussed in far greater detail.

While this student does a good job of elaborating, they also mention a few key aspects of their personality as throw-away lines, when it would have been great to elaborate further on them. For example, they mention running a virtual sustainable fashion auction (cool!), but don’t provide us with any details on what that actually entails, how they got involved with it, what they enjoyed about it, etc. They also mention moving around a lot in the context of developing a diverse perspective, but they don’t include any emotional insight into what that was like.

Although there are only 400 words available, and you don’t want to spend too much time discussing the past, it would be nice to see just a sentence or two that delves into the details of this student’s background. The fashion auction and moving around clearly had an impact on the student, so we want to know what that was. If they are choosing to include these details, they must be important in the student’s decision to pursue business at NYU, so they shouldn’t be afraid to divulge the emotional significance to the reader.

Essay Example #7: Boston University

Prompt: In no more than 250 words, please tell us why BU is a good fit for you and what specifically has led you to apply for admission.

Boston University’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) attracts me because of its support of interdisciplinary study among its wide array of majors. In fact, the CAS now offers a course that combines biology, chemistry, and neuroscience. As I hope to conduct medical research into brain disorders, I plan to pursue all three areas of study. These cross-disciplinary connections at BU will prepare me to do so.

CAS’s undergraduate research program would allow me to work with a mentor, such as Dr. Alice Cronin-Golomb or Dr. Robert M.G. Reinhart related to their research on neurological disorders. With them, I can advance the work I have already completed related to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). In a summer class at our local university, my partner and I extracted data from fMRI and PET studies and inputted them into a coding program. We then created an indicator map, which we imported into another software program, AFNI, to display significant activity in the brain regions affected by DID. Seeing the representation of our data thrilled me because I knew it could eventually help people who live with DID. I want to experience that feeling again. Successfully analyzing these fMRI and PET studies and learning to code drives me to pursue more research opportunities, and this desire motivates me to study at a university that offers research opportunities to undergraduates. BU’s interdisciplinary approach to psychology and support for independent undergraduate research will optimally prepare me for a career as a neurological researcher.

This student clearly outlines BU-specific resources (the interdisciplinary course and undergrad research program), plus how these resources align with their professional goals (to become a neurological researcher). They do name professors, but since their work clearly relates to the student’s interests, it doesn’t look disingenuous, and shows that the student has done research on their fit with BU. The student also provides background on why they want to pursue research, and shows that they already have experience, which makes their interest in the undergrad research program more concrete.

The only thing missing from this essay is the student’s fit with BU in terms of extracurriculars and social life. “Why This College?” essays should also cover extracurriculars, as colleges are also interested in how you’ll contribute to their community. 

In general, these essays should be academic-leaning (especially if they’re under 250 words), but you should still address some social aspects of the college that appeal to you (we recommend about 70% academics, 30% social, with more or less focus on social aspects depending on the word count). 

Since the student probably already detailed their previous research in their Common App activities section, they could’ve just summarized their research background in one sentence (instead of 78 words, which is 31% of the total word count!), and used that valuable space to talk about a specific social aspect of BU that interests them. 

Essay Example #8: Boston University

Prompt: In no more than 250 words, please tell us why BU is a good fit for you and what specifically has led you to apply for admission. 

I am fascinated by research, though completely uninterested in the disciplines traditionally associated with it, such as STEM fields. I need to find a school that will balance my desire to conduct research with my interest in political science. 

While many schools boast in-depth student research programs for those looking to cure diseases or develop solutions to global warming, few tout their support for humanities research. Additionally, many universities that do allocate funding to social science research typically reserve these monies for graduate students or upperclassmen. BU, with the help of its Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, will allow me to conduct research on the topics that most intrigue me, such as gender disparity in politics, or the relationship between dominant parties in power and the country’s economy and involvement in foreign affairs. Furthermore, I can begin these studies as early as my first year. Not only can I take classes with professors like Sandra McEvoy or Dino Christenson to develop my interests in a classroom setting, but I could also work with one of them to develop new knowledge in the topics that we both enjoy learning about. With this knowledge base and experience conducting studies with top professors in a respected research institution, I will be well-prepared for my future law career. I want to learn in an environment that encourages independent study no matter one’s field of interest or experience, and BU’s support of intellectual curiosity for all of its students makes it a perfect fit for me.

This student knows exactly what they want, and they’re not afraid to state it bluntly. Their intro paragraph is totally honest about their interests (or lack of interest), and we immediately understand one of their main college goals: to conduct political science research.

The student mentions a specific resource, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, as well as an alignment with BU’s value of encouraging independent study in all fields. Showing alignment with a specific value of the university is a great way to take your essay to the next level.

This essay shows us that the student would be a great fit for BU and would take advantage of its research opportunities.

The writer mentions some of their research interests, but doesn’t explain the motivation behind them. We don’t actually learn very much about the student themself, which is a common flaw of “Why This College?” essays. The essay would’ve been stronger if they’d explained why they’re interested in “gender disparity in politics, or the relationship between dominant parties in power and the country’s economy and involvement in foreign affairs.” For example, maybe they feel strongly about abortion rights and are upset about the way men have been legislating women’s rights.

The student also names two professors whose classes they’d like to take and with whom they’d like to do research, but we aren’t told which classes they’re interested in, or which topics they could cover together. You want to avoid “name-dropping” professors without context in your essay. If the student shared the names of specific classes or research topics and why they’re interested in them, that would’ve strengthened their essay.

Essay Example #9: Tufts

Prompt: Why Tufts? (100 words) 

When Deanne, Tufts’ admissions counselor, visited my school, she immediately caught my attention by emphasizing Tufts’ diverse yet unified campus. Tufts’ inclusive definition of diversity goes beyond merely recruiting students from a variety of backgrounds. Tufts seeks to integrate these categories of diversity and pushes its students to learn from one another. One such intersectional program that attracts me is CAFE (Conversation, Action, Faith, and Education). By joining CAFE, a community that promotes interfaith education, I will learn from my peers, become more understanding of other religious backgrounds, and apply this broader understanding to my academic work at Tufts.

It’s hard to write a “Why This College?” essay in 100 words. This essay does a good job sticking to one unique element of Tufts—its intersectionality. Since Tufts also cares about demonstrated interest, it’s great that the student also mentioned speaking with an admissions counselor. 

We unfortunately don’t learn very much about the student from this essay. Why do they care about diversity and interfaith programs? How does this relate to their academic and career goals? While the word count is super short, they could’ve cut these lines and jumped right into the specific resource they’re interested in: Tufts’ inclusive definition of diversity goes beyond merely recruiting students from a variety of backgrounds. Tufts seeks to integrate these categories of diversity and pushes its students to learn from one another.

Here’s an example of a stronger version of this essay:

When a Tufts admissions counselor visited my school, she immediately caught my attention by emphasizing Tufts’ diverse yet unified campus. As a Muslim hoping to go into International Relations, I want to attend a school that not only recruits diverse students, but pushes them to learn from one another. I hope to join intersectional programs such as CAFE (Conversation, Action, Faith, and Education). By joining this community that promotes interfaith education, I will gain the necessary perspective and compassion to become a human rights lawyer in countries with religious conflict, such as my homeland Azerbaijan.

Essay Example #10: Tufts

Prompt: Why Tufts? (100 words)

Someday I hope to conduct medical research in developing countries; Tufts attracts me because of its wide array of majors it offers and support for undergraduate research. To understand the human brain, I hope to study biology, neuroscience, and psychology. In addition to outstanding faculty in each of these areas, Tufts also organizes initiatives including the International Research Program. Through this program, I would work with other students and faculty members on an international project related to brain diseases. This opportunity will give me a taste of my future career and help me narrow the scope of my later studies.

This essay does a better job of sharing the student’s goals with us compared to the previous Tufts essay. We learn that the applicant is interested in medical research in developing countries on brain diseases, and that Tufts has a program to support international research.

The essay still mentions some resources that could apply to many schools, which is not an effective use of the tiny word count. For example, they say: “Tufts attracts me because of its wide array of majors it offers and support for undergraduate research” and they mention the “outstanding faculty” in the fields they plan to study.

They also don’t tell us their motivation behind studying brain diseases abroad, and it feels like there’s a significant story there. Giving some background would’ve further strengthened their essay.

Finally, they mention that they still need to narrow the scope of their studies; while it’s fine to be undecided on your career and majors, you don’t need to spend your precious word count saying that in your essay. They could’ve instead shared a couple potential avenues they’re considering.

Here’s what the student could’ve written instead:

Outcomes for schizophrenia patients are better in developing countries than in developed ones. I hope to research the reasons behind this and improve the treatment options in the US for the cousin I grew up with. In college, I want to study biology, neuroscience, and psychology. Tufts attracts me because of its unique interdisciplinary BS in Cognitive and Brain Science and its International Research Program. Through this program, I could do the research I’ve dreamt of doing with a faculty member and other students, preparing me for my future career as either a researcher or clinician.

Essay Example #11: Georgia Tech

Prompt: Why do you want to study your chosen major specifically at Georgia Tech? (300 words)

Climate change is a human rights issue.  

There the headline was, screaming on my phone screen. I think about those suffering from a lack of clean water. I think about those suffering from a lack of clean air. 

I often think back to that headline – it’s what drives my passion for environmental engineering. As an environmental engineer, I can mitigate air pollution and design water treatment systems that address the water injustices that people face. However, it’s not just about creating a technology that cleans water; it’s about changing people’s lives. New technologies can make a lasting difference in humanitarian issues worldwide; Georgia Tech’s research on creating a toilet that turns human waste into clean water for those in need of improved sanitation aligns perfectly with my interests.   

At Georgia Tech, through the student-led organization, Engineers for a Sustainable World and the InVenture Prize, I can translate the knowledge gained from my classes into a concrete vision. I can design and implement hands-on sustainability projects around Atlanta and invent a water sanitation system for the on-site acquisition of clean water. 

Georgia Tech can also provide me with ample research opportunities, such as the broad area of Healthy Communities in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. I can further pursue my interest in developing solutions to deliver clean water while welcoming new areas of inquiry. An area I would like to explore would be the controlling of dangerous matter in the air to reduce health hazards; reducing the impact of climate change is of utmost importance to me. 

Studying environmental engineering at Georgia Tech would well prepare me to develop solutions to climate-related issues. With the countless opportunities that Georgia Tech has to offer, I know there is nowhere else where I can receive a better environmental engineering education.

What the Essay Did Well l

This essay begins with an attention-grabbing statement that leaves the reader wondering how this will relate to the student’s interest in Georgia Tech. They then transition seamlessly into how climate change and human rights motivate their desire to become an environmental engineer.

The student mentions several resources specific to Georgia Tech that would help them achieve their goals, such as the research on the toilet turning waste into water, Engineers for a Sustainable World, InVenture Prize, and Healthy Communities research. It’s clear that they did their research and have reflected on their fit with the campus community.

They end the essay explicitly stating that Georgia Tech is the best place for them to grow, and the reader is certainly convinced of this by the end.

This essay is quite strong, so there’s not much that the student could’ve improved. That said, there is one sentence that is a bit awkwardly worded: New technologies can make a lasting difference in humanitarian issues worldwide; Georgia Tech’s research on creating a toilet that turns human waste into clean water for those in need of improved sanitation aligns perfectly with my interests.

Instead, the student could’ve written:

New technologies can make a lasting difference in humanitarian issues worldwide; Georgia Tech aligns with this value of mine and is even developing a toilet that turns human waste into clean water for those who need improved sanitation.

Essay Example #12: Georgia Tech

From my first Java project, a somewhat primitive graphing calculator, I realized that CS unlocks a different way of thinking. My brain races at speeds it seldom touches with other subjects. Every part of CS, from conceptualizing a plan to executing a solution, is another piece of a puzzle I’m eager to solve and affords the most opportunities for creative problem-solving and application. 

“Progress and Service,” Georgia Tech’s motto, tells me there’s no better place to explore my curiosity and deepen my CS skills while simultaneously helping make the world a better place, my ultimate goal for a college education. 

In the classroom, I look forward to GT’s threads program, where I can tailor the curriculum to suit my career choice after exposing myself to all technical aspects of CS.

I’ll apply my specialized learning with Tech’s fascinating research opportunities. Professor Pandarinth’s brain-machine interfacing software means a lot to me. My uncle passed away from a freak accident after extensive paralysis because potential treatments were unaffordable. Exploring this revolutionary brain decoding software wouldn’t just involve me in cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology research, I’d be personally driven to ensure its success and accessibility. 

I’m at my best building towards tangible results. I learned this on my robotics team using design skills to create a technically complex robot that tackles anything from shooting balls to hanging on a balance beam. I’m excited to expand my skills on the RoboJackets team, applying my career interests to build ferocious BattleBots and autonomous race robots that compete on the Indy Speedway, two events that sound ridiculously fun. 

Of course, I can’t skip hackathons. These competitions molded my interest in coding so I want to give back to Georgia Tech’s Hack-Community by planning HackGT and the Catalyst Mentorship program as a member of the Hexlabs team. 

The student’s passion for CS shines through this essay. They explain what they love about the subject (the problem-solving aspect) and they share that they hope to make a difference through CS, demonstrating alignment with Tech’s motto of  “progress and service”.

It’s clear that this student has done their research, mentioning specific academic programs, research, and clubs. We can see that they’d be greatly engaged with the campus community.

Finally, this essay is also down-to-earth. The student doesn’t try to use impressive vocabulary or formal language. In fact, they even describe some extracurriculars as “ridiculously fun.” While you shouldn’t get too informal in your essays, this student’s casual tone in this context makes them feel more approachable and more excited about the prospect of going to Georgia Tech.

This essay has a couple sentences that are confusing to read:

Every part of CS, from conceptualizing a plan to executing a solution, is another piece of a puzzle I’m eager to solve and affords the most opportunities for creative problem-solving and application.

This sentence could’ve been broken up and rewritten as:

Every part of CS, from conceptualizing a plan to executing a solution, is another piece of a puzzle I’m eager to solve. For me, the field affords the most opportunities for creative problem-solving and application.

This sentence also uses incorrect grammar—the comma should be replaced with a semicolon:

Exploring this revolutionary brain decoding software wouldn’t just involve me in cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology research, I’d be personally driven to ensure its success and accessibility. 

These details would make the essay more readable.

The organization of the essay could also be reworked. The student mentions Tech’s motto of “progress and service,” but doesn’t follow up until later with an example of how they’d use CS for the greater good. Using CS for social good isn’t ultimately the theme of their essay, so this section would’ve been better placed at the end of the paragraph about AI technology research, or at the very end of the essay. The essay actually ends abruptly, so placing the section at the end might’ve tied it up nicely, if the student could’ve placed more emphasis on how they plan to use CS to improve society.

Do you want feedback on your “Why This College” essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

i'm going to essay

Guide to "Why This School" Essays

The recording will load in a moment., about this livestream.

i'm going to essay

Learn how to write an essay responding to "Why This School" prompts. Hale Jaeger will walk through how to write college-specific essays, covering what admissions officers are looking for in this essay, techniques to research unique info about a school, and the biggest turnoffs in a "Why This School" essay.

He'll also open up the floor for a Q&A session where he'll answer any and all questions about "Why This School" essays.

Video Transcript:

Just a little context about who I am if you haven't been on any of my streams before, I'm currently a super senior at Yale University studying neuroscience. This is my fifth year working with CollegeVine now. And today, I'm going to be walking through writing the why school essay, it's a pretty common essay type that you'll run into as you're preparing your applications. So I want to give a nice thorough walkthrough of what that looks like, and where you might want to take it. But if you have specific questions, please throw those in the chat box. Throughout. I will have a q&a at the end. But I want to try to answer your questions throughout if I can. If it's not going to work out right away, I'll just save it for the Q&A. But I'll try to be checking your questions as we go through.

So without further ado, I just want to show you guys what exactly we're going to be covering today. And so we have a couple of different bullet points here. One, what does a why school question look like? What are colleges looking for in response, how to think about the why school problem, then what you all came here for how to start writing the wise or essay. And I've actually given this presentation a few times, which I say, just so that you guys know that this is being recorded, and it will be entering the archive is pretty much within hours or minutes of me finishing the presentation. So if you missed the beginning, you can always go back. And you can watch it again over and over if you want a home. But this is going to be recorded and available on the CollegeVine website in the future.

So jumping right in starting with what this question looks like, you've probably already seen it probably know what you expect it to look like. But that's why I want to go through a couple different examples. So the first one I have here is really straightforward. What is it about Yale that has led you to apply 125 words or fewer? Short and sweet, right to the point? It says Why do you want to go here and say it in 125 words, not that much. Not really, you know, too difficult to wrap your head around.

The second one here is the University of Michigan prompt and it's a little different. It says describe the unique qualities that attracted to a specific undergraduate college or school including preferred admissions and dual degree programs to which you're applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests? 500 words. So this is different in a couple ways from the Yale prompt. It asks you to select a specific undergraduate college so that might be for you, the College of Letters, sciences, and the arts, may be the College of Engineering, it could be their business school, when you're really focusing in on I mean, University of Michigan as a whole institution, but rather just that one, one college within it. And that includes if there's a special program you're applying for, or if you're trying to do more than one of the colleges, you want to talk about that in specific. In addition, you're focusing in specifically on the curriculum and how the curriculum is going to support your interests. And so you actually have a lot more space as compared to the year one, it's about four times as long. And so you have a lot more space to get into the details of your interest in the University of Michigan and the programs that you're applying to.

Similarly, if you look down at the NYU question, it says "We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college program or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you're interested in these additional areas of study or campuses, we want to understand why NYU? 400 words." So this one, like the Michigan one is asking for a little more from you, they want to know about the specific college, if you want it to be in a specific place. They want to know about that. And they also want to know like your area of study. So you're interested in what you actually want to be doing when you're there. from an academic standpoint. Of course, that doesn't bar you from spending a little time talking about things that are outside of or exogamous from your academics. But that is should definitely be a focus, especially since you have so interspace 400 words for this one.

Then the last example I've pulled here is from Tufts. It says "Which aspects of the Tufts undergraduate experience prompt your applicant. In short, why Tufts? 150 words." This one is very similar to the Yale essay, they just want to know what is making you apply here. And you don't have a lot of room to go into it.

We'll go through some examples of these questions have answers to these questions later on. But first, I just want to sort of summarize what these questions look like. Because we've seen a lot of differences here. There are the straightforward ones like Yale and Tufts just say, "Why do you want to go here?" Then there are the ones that are more like NYU or Michigan that say, "Why do you want to go here? And also why are you choosing this major? Or this campus? Or this department, etc?" So that asks for a slightly more nuanced or detailed answer to the question.

And then there are some others some other types of approaches to this question that colleges might take. That exam might be "Why do you want to go here? And how have you familiarized yourself with the college? What have you done to understand what it's like to be here?" Oh, excuse me. Friday evenings, am I right? They might also ask you about the mission of the school, they might say "This is our mission statement. How does this align with you? How does this reflect who you are?" Then they might ask something similar: "What why is it important to have X religion at the heart of your education?" and that's obviously going to come from a religious school, a Catholic school or a Baptist school, something that actually puts religion at the core of the education. A secular school is not going to ask you why is it important to have a secular education?

And the last one I've given here, as an example is "How will you explore your interests here?" So this is asking you to name some specific resources, and talk about how you're going to take advantage of the opportunities that are available on campus.

Obviously, this list this slide is by no means comprehensive, there are still questions that could take you by surprise that fall into the "Why school?" category, but this is a pretty good way to start thinking about recognizing these prompts.

And so before I move forward I want see, okay, Are you guys having trouble hearing me? Can you put a message in the chat, if you can hear me, I'm getting a little bit of feedback here that says there isn't audio, I just want to make sure that you are all able to hear me? Before I keep going, obviously. And if you can't, I will check in with my team and see what's going on. Okay, I'm seeing a bunch of likes. So I'm going to assume the issue resolved itself. Thank you guys for giving me that sort of validation here. I appreciate I am so sorry about the yawns. By the way, I don't know where they're coming from. But I will do my best to control them. I am excited to be here enthusiastic to be here, I promise.

So moving on you, we're going to talk about what colleges are actually looking for when they ask these types of questions. And so there are three main components here that I want to talk about a passion for attending, the reasons that you want to attend, and whether or not you're a good match. So they want to see that you care about going. They want to understand why you care about going that's probably the most straightforward aspect of it. And then the last one, the sort of secret question here is, why are you and the school a good match for one another. So let's get into a little more detail on this.

The passion about attending is going to come from giving really specific answers showing that you've done your research that you care. You care enough to spend the time on it. So they want to see that you're talking about things that are specific to them. And not just generic could be any college in America, any college in a specific place.

You want to make sure that you are personalizing this essay. And in addition, the familiarity it's kind of same as the other side of the same coin. Have you done your due diligence? Have you made the effort to understand what the school is like and know what's going on there? Then the thinking about the reasons that you're giving, which we'll get into in just a moment. Are they authentic? Are they genuine? Are they just things that come across as superficial? And I'll talk a little more about what that means in a moment. But this is sort of a check to see that you actually do want to attend. And then lastly depth. Are you doing more than just saying look, I did the research here. Some people here are some places here are some opportunities that this campus has? Or are you going into a little more detail? Are you telling us how those opportunities are going to apply to you why they're exciting to you, and not just cool things for a school to have?

To get a little deeper into those reasons that authenticity that I was mentioning? What are your authentic reasons here, your genuine reasons, and they can be academic, or they can be non academic, but they should be authentic, like I said. So some things that do count as authentic reasons that will really resonate with a reader are, you know, having a sense of community, with the people who are on campus, the students, the professor's, etc. Maybe there are specific programs that they have that other places don't have, that are really exciting to you, that you want to take advantage of. And that can be again, academic or non academic. And then that last bullet point is interesting and important, and how are you going to use your education at this school to achieve the goals that you've set for yourself? Now, what are your goals? And how will your education at x school help you achieve them?

In contrast, there are a couple less authentic reasons. ones that don't fly, don't go over so well to an admissions reader. And those are things that are going to be more superficial, like clout or prestige, or your post graduation salary. Colleges really see themselves as more than a stepping stone more than a rung on a ladder, they see themselves as an experience. And, honestly, they are at experience, it's four or more years of your life that you're spending that you're building relationships and growing. And so thinking ahead mean towards the future is fine. But just thinking about it in terms of getting a good job, or getting a job that pays well isn't really going to cut it if they're looking for a reason that is going to resonate with a school and their admissions committee.

And then the last thing I wanted to touch on here is whether you're a good match for the school or not. So it's not enough to just say, these are the good resources that you have. This is what makes you a good school. This is very interesting to all people. It's not about to say I should go to this school because of all these cool achievements I have, you have to really focus on the overlap that you have. With the school, you know why these resources will help you, why you're a good match for the school, not just why it is a good school. And that's a place where a lot of people get tripped up. So think about it, as if you are putting yourself into almost every sentence, if not every sentence, make sure that this essay is really about you as much as it is about the school.

So moving on to how to think about these things and how to conceive of the essay and the question. This is a lot like every other essay that you will write for any school. And that is to help you stand out to help you matter in the eye and make make you really seem really cool in the eyes of the admissions readers. Because they have so many applications to get through. They have so many qualified people, if you just look at statistics, so they want to know what makes you you. And so this should reveal something about you. And it should tell us something about who you are and what you are going to achieve.

So you want to consider yourself going to consider you know who you are and what you want and what you want from your college. And that will really help you guide the direction of this essay. Again, as I just said in the last slides, don't write essays that are just about you, and how good you are, how cool you are. You're trying to convey who you are not what you've done. So you want to write well. You want to show what your key personality traits are. And you want to show where you're going to fit within the community at this school.

Oh, so you're trying to make sure you are giving them the grounds to understand a couple things, whether you fit with the school and that means academics it means social culture, it means the values of the institution. Again, that passion showing if you are willing to do the research that you care abotu. They are also obviously always looking for writing ability. If your essay is riddled with typos, that's not going to go over so well. And it's going to be a pretty easy way to weed something out.

And you also want to demonstrate your interest and the department, the major the program, the college, the school, whatever it is that you're writing this essay about, you want to show that you actually are interested. And then finally, whether you're going to be a positive contributor, once you're on campus are you going to bring something to the school that you know is going to make it a better place is going to help your peers grow. That's what they're really hoping to find out. And so the ways to get that information to know how to talk about this and to get that good research done, are, you know, here, we have lots and lots of resources that you can go through, to try to find answers to your questions to understand what being a student out of school is like.

So some of the resources that I recommend you look through are listed here on the left, and missions websites are, you know, my number one go to, it's a great place to start. It's not shouldn't be where you end, but it should definitely be where you start. Because admissions websites are where they collect a lot of information that they think is going to be important to applicants to prospective students. So it's a good jumping off point to find things that are worth researching more. From there, you'll probably investigate the school website a little bit, I have the departmental websites open so you can see what their academic programs look like. And then a little more detail.

And once you've found a program that you're really interested in, you might check out the course catalogs which are often available online. And that'll help you find specific classes. So you can see exactly how they're supporting each major how they're teaching. And if it's going to be in a style that resonates with how you learn. Also, a campus tour is a usually a pretty good way to do some research on a school to get to know it a little better. It also gives you direct interaction with a college student.

Obviously, most places aren't doing tours right now. But a lot of places do have virtual tours, or some kind of replacement, whether it's on their social media, which is another resource down below. Or if they're doing forums and panels and events that allow you to have that same kind of interaction with current students. Which leads me right to the next one, which is reaching out to current students a lot of the time if you email and admissions office, they'll be able to forward your question to a student who can answer if a student isn't already the one working at the desk, or that emails coming through.

Which leads me to the next point admissions offices, you can talk to the admissions office, don't be afraid to call, send an email, whatever it is to get your questions answered, they might put you on the line with an admissions officer or a student, like I said, that'll help to give you a sense of what that school is like and give you specific answers to the questions that you have.

After that, I recommend checking out some blogs, some social media, often admissions pages will link you over to student blogs, and the official social media accounts. And those can actually keep you astride abreast of what's going on on campus. And that's a really good way to see what's going on what events are happening, how this campus is staying engaged, even, and especially now.

And then the last one that's listed here as an online forum, these I don't necessarily recommend being the your top choice for doing some research, there's very little way to verify where the information is coming from. And so it's not all good. It's not all helpful or truthful. But if you're just looking for something and you can't find it anywhere else, you can feel free to check out those places like college confidential. One thing that isn't on this slide, here are the CollegeVine College fair panels that we did last week. If you missed it last week, we had a whole long series of events that were just panels and fireside chats with current students at schools all over the country of all different kinds. With moderators, just asking questions live to get the answers that people were looking for about the student experience. And we recorded all of those, and we put them back in our archives on our website. So if you're looking for information, really in depth about a certain school, absolutely. Take a look at those. I think they'll be really helpful.

While you're doing all this research, it's not quite enough to just take it all in and just listen or read it. It's going to be important for you to ask note Ask questions and take notes. You know, find the things that are interesting to you. And not just the generic things, write down the specific programs, the environment, what the curriculum looks like, what the course requirements are, so you know what you're getting into that you can keep those thoughts straight. And when you have questions that don't seem to be answered by the websites, feel free to ask them reach out to the admissions office to current students to offer admissions officers, your tour guides, staff, faculty, anybody who's on campus, or has been on campus recently, is going to be more than happy to answer your questions.

One caveat to all this research is that if you do too much of it all at once, schools will start to blend together, you'll get really tired, and you're going to not like the schools that you are tired for as much as the schools that you're fresh for. So if you're feeling fatigued, give yourself a break, take a step away. And just come back to it with fresh eyes. And another time. And something that this research can really help with is writing the why school essay, but it's also important to figure out if you want to go to school at all. And a lot of people don't look at it that way because they think it's just they've come up with a list of schools, and then they just say, I'm going to apply to all these no matter what. But if you're doing the research, and you find that there aren't really things about the school that you would enjoy, then it's totally fine to modify your list based on this kind of research.

You do want to make sure you're maximizing that research, though. And that's why you take notes, ask questions. But you also should go in with, you know, some ideas of the type of information that you are trying to get out of this research. So you want to be thinking, what academic programs and opportunities do they have? Or the things that I'm interested in? Where is this college? Is it close to home? Is it far away? Is it in a big city? Is it in the middle of nowhere? If it is in the city? Is it you know, really integrated with the city? Or does it have its own separate distinct campus? Now? Is it a big school or a small school, people can feel lost in big schools and they can feel trapped in small schools is all about knowing what's right for you.

You'll also want to check out if they have anything that's unique or different, like a new residential system, or some traditions that really stand out. And so that can be something that you latch on to. And then this other thing here that I wrote, what is the college proud of? That's something that what are they advertising, what do they think are their greatest hits their coolest programs and achievements? Because that's the kind of thing that they're excited about, and that they're going to be funneling a lot of energy into. And is it something that, you know, resonates with you, I say resonate a lot for this presentation, because it's honestly, a really important word for what you're looking for that connection that resonating between you and the college and one has to offer.

Some things to avoid when you're doing this research, you can get easy to be sucked in to the statistics of it, the rankings. These are generally not helpful pieces of information, especially for writing the essays, because statistics and rankings don't actually tell you very much about the school and a specific way. Just saying that, Oh, this is the number one school doesn't really mean, it's going to be the right place for you. And in addition, those rankings take into account so many different pieces of information, including how many smoke alarms there are on campus. So you want to make sure that you are finding good specific information that isn't going to change year to year and actually shows us what your relationship to the school would be like.

And as I said before, you want to maximize what the information that you're getting is giving to you, you know, especially the questions that you ask of students. And so you want to think when they give their answers, how does their insight How did their answers reflect upon what's interesting to you? Hmm. So if they have some things that are their favorite aspects of their school or their program, are those things that also excite you, and vice versa, if they have things that they really dislike, are those things that are going to be deal breakers for you? Are they things that you might actually enjoy? So if someone says Yeah, I like this program, I thought it was going to love it. But then it turned out to be really hands on and I prefer theoretical learning. I like to sit in class and just think, but you're somebody who's really hands on and loves to do application based learning and their negatives or your positives.

So it's really about understanding how their information and their attitudes apply to what you're looking for. And that brings us obviously to the last bit of what I wanted to talk about today, which is how to start writing the essays. Now that we know how to think about them, so I'm just going to dive right in, because this is the bulkiest medius part of it. And I want to make sure that we are getting to cover that kind of information. So again, you definitely want to be focusing in on authentic reasons, genuine reasons, reasons that align with you and the school. And so some good examples are, you know, really having a connection to that place. If it's something that you've built over time, for example, a sense of community, if you really vibe with the people on campus, that's important to note, are there any specific programs, academic or non academic, that you really want to take advantage of? And then how are you going to use your education to achieve the goals that you've set for yourself?

Then again, the things to avoid, like prestige and rankings and post graduation salary. I've already talked about why that's not, you know, really an acceptable way to go about it things on the no fly list here. But then, something we haven't yet talked about, are generic reasons and superficial reasons. Generic reasons are things that don't apply to just that college don't apply to that school in specific. So location is a good example of one that people think often that they're writing a very specific essay, because they're writing about how excited they are to be in New York City, or in California, or wherever they're planning to be. In general, there are as you think about it, and there are hundreds of colleges and in around New York City, there are hundreds and thousands of colleges in the country, and their locations are not that different from one another. So it's not actually quite helpful.

Especially think of if you're thinking about a place like Yale, for example, a lot of people say I love that I'm really close to, I'm really in New Haven that's close to New York City, it's close to Boston, I can take the Amtrak either way, if I wanted to, I could take the Amtrak all the way down to Washington, DC. Sure. But that's certainly not special. There are several other colleges in New Haven, there are tons of colleges in Connecticut, and between Boston and New York, there's not a lot about being here that sets apart Yale from other college.

And similarly superficial elements don't really tell you much about what your love for a certain school. So if the buildings are really pretty like they are here, that's great. But what we're more interested in is what you're doing with them what you're doing inside of them, rather than just the aesthetic beauty. So you know, you can want to talk more about the resources than how they look. And that'll be really helpful for you, if you are struggling to think of authentic reasons, definitely avoid how pretty the architecture is, you could talk about the ways the architecture is functional and supports learning but if you only have about 100 or 125 words, you might want to economize on space, talking about a stronger reason.

And then, as I've said a couple times in this presentation already, this essay is about how you and the school match up where you guys Connect, and what ties you together. So going around this little circle here, you know, what are your specific goals? And how will you achieve them using the college's resources? How will you take advantage of the opportunities that they present you? What are you going to do about what you have in front of you? And then what do you personally feel a connection to at this school? You know, why are you tied here? And what makes a college not just a good place to study not even just the best perfect place to study. But why is it perfect for you? What is that connection? And a good rule of thumb for this is are you and the college mentioned in you know, every sentence or every other sentence.

So you'd rather write an essay that says cut x college does this really well. And that is exciting to me because this rather than writing a paragraph about why it's a good school, another paragraph about why you're good, like those resources and why you're a good student, weave it together. It's going to be a lot more effective that way. And so now we're going to go through a couple of Example essays, I'm going to read them aloud. And then I'm going to go into how they take these points and apply them. The first one is that tufts essay that we talked about all the way back at the beginning, which aspects of the tough undergraduate experience, prompt your application, in short, why tops 100 to 100 keywords. Like I said, I'm going to start by reading this response.

So it reads, someday, I hope to conduct medical research in developing countries, I'm attracted to tufts because of the wide array of majors offered and support for undergraduate research. To understand the human brain, I intend on studying biology, neuroscience, and psychology. In addition, in addition to outstanding faculty in each of these areas, Tufts organizes initiatives like the international research program, through this program, I would work with other students and professors on an international project related to brain diseases, this arbitrary, will offer a taste of my future career and help me narrow the scope of my future studies.

So that's a mouthful, but there are actually a lot of really important elements in it. So they start right off with this is my goal, this is the goal I want to achieve. And this is how Tufts is going to help me do that helped me achieve that. I said, I want to do medical research in developing countries. And then they say, top supports that because they have lots of good undergraduate research. They have strong faculty for biology, neuroscience, and psychology, which will help me in my very specific interest in brain studies, and brain disease. And then it goes on to name a specific program, the International Research Program, and how they're going to use it. So they're not just going to do research internationally, they're going to do an international project on brain disease with other students and professors. So they're engaging the community at Tufts. And they're also pursuing an academic intellectual passion through a specific resource.

And then the last sentence here, this opportunity will offer a taste of my future career and help me narrow the scope of my future studies. AI is nice, because it tells us again, where we're going in the future, how we're going to get there, and why it's important that tufts is providing this opportunity. This is a pretty good way to have, you know, a lot of strong ideas, make an appearance and trust 100 150 words. This essay, by the way, is taken directly from the CollegeVine blog. So if you are looking to read it again later, and see what makes it strong, definitely feel free to check out the blog post that this presentation, this livestream is based off of wanting to do another case study, this time of a slightly longer essay on this one is for why Penn, and it's not one we talked about, we didn't see this prompt earlier. So I'm going to read it out loud.

"How did you discover your intellectual and academic interests? And how will you explore them at the University of Pennsylvania? Please respond considering the undergraduate school you have selected." This one gives you 300 to 450 words. So it's very similar to the NYU essay, for example. And it's asking you about your intellectual and academic passions and interests. So that's definitely the central focus. And they want to know how you were going to use your specific undergraduate college, you know, engineering, arts and sciences, Wharton, or nursing to achieve those goals, and exploring those passions. So this person, I only posted an excerpt from their essay, this is not the whole thing. But it's what fits neatly on a slide and it's enough to get the point across so I'm going to read it out loud and talk about why this is a strong response and also maybe a ways in which you could grow and start starts off.

"Sister Simone Roche, a theorist of nursing ethics once said, caring is the human mode of being. I have long been inspired by SR roaches, five C's of caring, commitment, conscience, competence, compassion, and confidence. Pen both embraces and fosters these values through a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum and unmatched access to service and volunteer opportunities. commitment. reading through the activities to which Penn Quakers devote their time in addition to academics felt like drinking water from a firehose in the best possible way. As a prospective nursing student with interests outside of my major, I value this level of flexibility I plan to leverage Penn's liberal arts curriculum to gain an in depth understanding of the challenges faced by the LGBT community, especially regarding health care access. Through courses like inter interactional processes with LGBT individuals and volunteering at the Missouri Center for Research, I have to learn how to better support the Penn LGBT community as well as my family and friends, including my cousin who came out as trans last year."

So this essay takes a pretty interesting approach as this nice little introductory paragraph, where it sets up a value system that they identify with, they say these are my values. And then they say pattern shares these values. And its curriculum, as well as its service and volunteer opportunities are the best ways to demonstrate that. So it says, look, pet and I have the same values, we have the same mission. And this is how Penn goes about it. One thing I generally am not a fan of, in writing essays like this, and in general, is using a quotation, you only have 300 to 450 words here to make your case, you should definitely use your own words and not somebody else's. Find ways to paraphrase or apply this information without directly quoting and losing some of your own voice for somebody else's.

But then, once they've introduced what their topic is going to be, this person takes a really cool tack. And each of the following paragraph starts with one of these five C's of caring. So the first one obviously, is commitment. But then there's another paragraph each for conscious conscience, competence, compassion and confidence, as well as a conclusion. This one again, is on the CollegeVine blog if you want to read the whole thing. But this format is cool, because it stands out, it's definitely a little different. And it also partitions the essay really nicely. It's very easy to read and logical bytes. And so the person who wrote this essay gives some more specifics throughout the body.

So commitment, they talk about how they're planning to use the liberal arts curriculum, in particular, to balance out a lot of different aspects of an education that will help them approach the health care access challenges faced by the LGBT community. So you're saying, this is a specific course i'm going to use showing they've done their research. And they're saying going to save this is how I'm going to use it, I'm going to be volunteering with this pen specific center. And I'm going to be learning how to support these people, this group of people in ways that are meaningful. And then they draw a personal connection at the end of the paragraph by saying that their cousin has recently come out as trans. And that is a big part of the impetus for them to take advantage of all of the different types of education that Penn has to offer.

So moving forward, it sounds a lot like there are lots of different schools asking lots of different questions, and you have to write a brand new essay for every single one. And to a degree that is true. As I said, it definitely needs to still be specific, it needs to be school oriented, tailored for the program to which you're applying. But there are some things that won't change. So the main thing to remember here is that this is an essay about a school and about you so the school part will change. But the U part is probably going to be pretty similar from essay to essay from school to school, you are still interested in pursuing the same departments, the same topics, the same methods. And you still have the same set of values. And you still are looking for a specific college experience and having life goals that are beyond college.

So those things are all constant, that's going to be the core of what your essay is building from. Of course, this doesn't mean you can just write an essay and then swap out landmarks and program names and school names. First of all, it's super dangerous, because you might not change something and then you'll be submitting to Harvard with it. Gail, so written in your essay, and that's going to be a pretty, pretty rough it's not going to reflect well on your passion or your proofreading.

Definitely you do have to write a new essay for each school but you haven't you can also think about these things as good starting points for what you want to talk about because you are presumably the same person throughout the entire public. process. As you saw, we have some short prompts like the yellow one, and some longer ones like Penn, Michigan and my U. And so the short ones, maybe you can cover everything pretty short and sweet, not too difficult, the longer ones you might struggle with a little in terms of filling the space. And I'm not saying that you have to write every single word that they allow you to write. If they say 500 words, you don't have to write 500 words. But if you if they say 500 words, and you submit a 125 word essay, it's going to be pretty obvious why that is.

And that's going to be that you didn't try or didn't adapt an essay from one school to the other, you borrowed something you already had written for elsewhere. And so you definitely want to fill in up to about 90% of the space that you're given. And to do that, you might want to include more details about you or about the school. Really, what you'll see as I continue talking is that they are intertwined as they should be. So if you're looking to focus more on you and yourself, give us more about what your worldview is like, what are your values, what is your perspective on the world around you. Or if you've had specific experiences, like anecdotes that you can share about how you've come to find the goals, or tried to achieve your goals in your past.

And then finally, how you'll be a positive contributor to campus, what are you going to bring, and that's going to make you a special addition to campus. On the other hand, you can talk about the college a little bit more, do they have programs or research that are really exciting for you? Do they have organizations, groups, interest programs, things that are going to be very specific, and to this school and help you to differentiate yourself here. And then finally, how you'll use the resources available to you this should be pretty standard, you can't just name a resource, you have to see what you're going to with it.

So as you can see, even though I artificially split these up into things that are about you and things that are about the school, there's a lot of overlap between the two categories of things you can talk about to extend a long a longer prompt. So to summarize, everything we've talked about, this does bring me to the end of the presentation. There are some really great ideas to focus on when you're trying to write a white school essay. And there are some things to steer clear of. One is that you want to avoid is copy pasting, forgetting to change the details. Like I said, don't apply to Harvard with a Yale essay, it's not gonna fly.

Now, you also want to make sure you are fact checking all your work, don't talk about programs that don't exist. Don't talk about majors that don't exist, or things that used to exist, but no longer, make sure you are getting up to date information to include. And then avoid talking about why the school is great and avoid and not saying anything about you and avoid saying things that are all about how great you are. And I'm not talking about the school at all, you would rather be talking about things that align you with the school that make you a good match. And that also means avoiding generic aspects of the school, don't talk about location, don't talk about how pretty the buildings are, or how good the food is, those aren't gonna be helpful for understanding why the school is the right place for you. And then something I just mentioned was not using the full word count, like I said, you should get within about 90% and 10% on either side is usually my go to if they even allow you to write more than the maximum word out.

So you know, make sure you're using the space provided even if you don't use every single letter that you have.

And the last thing to avoid here is value misalignment. I touched super briefly on this earlier, but basically what I mean by value alignment is understand what the school is like. And right to that. And for example, most schools most higher institutions of learning have a fairly leftward leaning bent politically. And that's not to say there aren't conservative students on campus or conservative organizations or that conservative people are silenced or oppressed in any way. But it is definitely something that might rub our reader the wrong way if you don't talk about it with incredible grace. And so we they want people to have things in common with them. You know, this is an opportunity for you to share something that is a connection between you and a school, rather than something that would divide you or something that you have to overcome.

So definitely make sure you're not saying anything racist or homophobic or bigoted in any way that's not going to work for any school you're applying to. So make sure you're just hitting the values that are going to To endear you to the school, rather than the ones that are estranging. And I always try to end on some positives here things to actually remember and focus on. Use this as an opportunity to tell them more about who you are, what you want out of life, and how the schools education is going to help you achieve those goals. Make sure you're settling in on authentic and personal reasons for wanting to attend. And make sure you are as specific as possible. You should always be writing these with the specific school in mind, not just writing in general template essay that you can copy paste all over the town.

So those are the lessons I want to leave you with. But now I want to move into answering the questions that you have the things that are going on in your mind, I've done a lot of talking. And so it's going to be really, really helpful for you guys to have the interaction with me. And I'll try to get to everything. But if I can't answer your questions, by the time we sort of run out, that's totally where we are. I want to I someone asked what is the blog post that I'm referencing, so let me just take a moment to find it and send you guys the link.

See, let's see.

Here we go. I think this is where I've been before, and want to make sure you guys have access to that. So I'm going to send that to everyone. So you should be able to see the blog post that I'm talking about. And that can be that's one of many, many prompts that we cover on our blog. So if you want to just read about some of the possible responses that you can give and how to approach all different types of essays and school specific ones, I'd definitely give that a look.

But for now, I would love to answer the questions that you have. So please do drop those in the box. Yeah. Okay. So I'm also getting a request for the link for the Save videos for later access. So let me give that to you as well. That's pretty straightforward. If you just go to collegevine.com, slash live streams, there's a button there that shows you the recorded ones, but I'll drop it in the chat as well.

And that should give you access to everything that we've ever recorded, ever done. But you can also just go through our live streams page. And that'll also categorize them. So if you go to our live regular live streams, page collegevine.com slash live streams, you can scroll down and it'll have some playlists recommended for you. So Q&A's with current students, ideas about college essays. There's one just for college admissions as a general topic, there's also one a playlist for pre-meds. And so there are lots and lots of really good presentations by all of these great CollegeVine people. So please, please give those a look if you are interested in hearing more about some of these other things.

What other questions do you have, though, maybe about this essay type about college admissions in general. I want to make sure that we're tackling everything that is going on in your minds. all at the same time. I guess I'll ask you guys a couple questions. I have some polls for you to answer here. So I'll send a couple your way while I am waiting for your questions to roll into me. And it would be really helpful to get some of your feedback. So I have a question here is it common to write about professors. Um, and so this is something that you can definitely touch on. If there's a professor who's doing really incredible work or with whom you have a personal connection, it's totally fine to mention them. But you should also take the opportunity to explain that your job, don't just say I'd love to work with their lab. And this professors approach to something is really interesting. And I'd love to explore that further ask them questions and get involved with some research of my own. And so it might not work so well.

And those shorter essays, those 125 word essays, because just because there's not a lot of room to do something like that, but in the longer ones, you can definitely use that as an opportunity. Don't just list a ton of professors say I want to work with this person, and that person, and this person seems really cool and interesting. But it can be something if you have a genuine interest in the work that that professor is doing. It can be worthwhile to put a little effort into that. And talk more about school values. What are some school values I've seen? Where can we find them? What are value differences among the ivy schools, um, so school values, General ones that most schools will abide by tolerance, diversity, accommodation, encouragement, something that I think has been really special here at Yale is a culture of collaboration, and everybody is working together and trying to build each other up, everyone is driven but not competitive. So it's a very rewarding place to be for that reason.

And I think that sets it apart from some other schools of its caliber, that it is really truly a place where people are building each other up and create and helping each other in an environment that is healthy. And I love that. schools will often have a mission statement or a VAT vision statement. And those will encapture encapsulate some of the values and make an explicit way to make sure that you're not going against them. But mostly, it's fairly straightforward, you just have to put a little thought into am I writing something that is going to go against a school's mission here, for example, if you're planning to apply to a Catholic school, I might not recommend writing about, you know, your views on a woman's right to an abortion. And that's, you know, maybe something just to navigate away from in this particular context, definitely a conversation worth having. But maybe not in the why school essay here? How can we show not tell in these essays?

That's a great question, because it can be somewhat difficult to do it really quickly. If you have any anecdotes to share, about an experience at a school or an experience that has led you to believe the school is the right place for you that can be really meaningful and very show not totally. For example, when I applied to Yale, they asked a similar version of that question. It was a while ago, so it has changed a little. But I wrote about a specific campus tradition, or that I could really imagine myself taking part in and how that connected me to the sense of place that is really distinctive here. So anecdotes are always a good way to see to do a litmus test on whether you're showing not telling.

Should you end your essay with excited to walk by x to walk to x library and go to why building as a yearly, I mean, you absolutely can do something like that, I'm not going to tell you what you should or shouldn't do in such a specific way. But if you have something that's meaningful in that way, go for it. I mean, if I think that there are lots and lots of ways to do it, so I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't send this way. But you can definitely work this kind of information into the essay earlier, you say, you know, I can read envision myself, you know what, I'm excited to go to this library and participate in this activity, as a gala and join a community, you know, that is really passionate about this, you know, so I don't think that's necessarily like a standard way to end this essay. But you can take it in any direction that you see fit.

I'm talking about paraphrasing the school's mission statement and applying it to how you are as a person, you can absolutely do that. I mean, it's something that I probably can't see myself doing is not the way I will approach these kinds of problems or essays. Because of the thing that I mentioned earlier, which is that I don't think you should be spending time using other people's words, I think you should spend as much time thinking about your own thoughts, feelings, ideas, and beliefs. And that'll be the basis of your essay, rather than just what they already have to say.

In addition, I think mission statements, especially for these shorter essays can be kind of narrow, and keep you from talking about the academics, the opportunities on campus, the resources that they have available that you want to take advantage of. And it can get kind of nebulous, while still keeping you away from the specifics that you definitely want to get into. So I would not necessarily recommend paraphrasing the mission statement, and then using that as the framework for your essay. But if it's something that really resonates with you, and is really what drives you're interested in the school, feel free to take that approach. But definitely make sure you're demonstrating that that is like the true passion of yours.

Um, please keep the questions coming. And in the meantime, I'm going to give you another poll to answer just so we can continue to collect a little bit of information on what you guys are getting out of this.

What did I discuss in my why Yale essay, like I said, I talked about a campus tradition that was really exciting for me that I could really see myself doing, and how I could envision myself in various places on campus and what that meant for the sense of community, the sense of place. Those sort of about the magic of the environment here at Yale, that I really loved. And it didn't necessarily talk about any specific programs, or academics, it was a very short essay, obviously. And it really narrowed in on this one tradition, and how it spoke to me. So that was where I took this essay. But for other ones, I wrote a lot about my worldview, like, for example, for my university of michigan prompt, I wrote about the like, just for my overarching perspective on life, and how I would make that manifest at the University of Michigan through the programs that were available.

I don't remember it super well, it was five years ago. Um, but that is the kind of tack I took for those longer form essays. What else do we have? What else are we? What else? Are we thinking people? I want to make sure I'm getting all the questions that you have answered. And the less you give me, the more I have to give to you. I'll miss polls. So I'm just going to keep sending them your way. Thank you for your feedback. Absolutely. But um, please give me some more. Give me some more questions to answer.

You know, I'm always going to pull out my failsafe trick, my foolproof trick for getting you guys to ask questions. And that's telling you guys that I'm about to wrap up. Since it doesn't look like there aren't any other questions to be answered. Every time I say the magic words, wrap up three more questions appear in the box. So I am going to There we go. Here it is. How would you approach a 650 word why college essay.

Again, this sort of goes back to that one slide that I had up previously approaching these longer prompts. You can talk more about your worldview and how you're going to bring that to campus. And how campus manifests that already. You can talk about anecdotes that you've had that are have led to the goals that you're trying to achieve through your college education. You can go into more detail about the opportunities and the research and the organizations, whether they're academic or non academic, anything that they have on campus that you're looking to take advantage of. So you just give it a little more detail should just try to keep yourself from being redundant is my best advice. Because that's the danger. Don't talk about the same thing over and over again.

Because that will get kind of boring. And also you have there if you think about it, there are plenty of reasons to go to a school to go to any given school. You just have to put them together into the essay. So That's what I recommend for those longer essay types.

College asked why major what why area of interest? How to Avoid restating activities, but still communicate a passion. So with this question of why major, I this is not necessarily asking you to restate all your activities. But think about what actually draws you to this. So is it you know, you just love a specific sub subheading of it. So not just biology, but you're interested in genetics, you're interested in genomics, you're interested in these, like very small areas of it?

I'll talk about that. Or is there a particular methodology that you're really interested in?

You know, do you really love working with your hands? And that's why engineering is right for you? Or do you really love connecting different fields? And that's why a philosophy or is for you, you know, so what? What is it exactly that draws you to that major? That's going to be really helpful, or communicating a passion without being redundant?

Can you give specific links for the examples used in a slide show? That should be they should be somewhere and the blog post that I typed that I gave you? If not there, it'll be a similar one. They'll just be in the bottom there.

Why school as a college fine. I googled, um, here it is writing a stellar why this college essay, plus examples? Here we go. This is this is another good link for you guys to follow.

There we go. Oops, did did that go to everybody? Yes. Okay. Great. Um, let's see, what is the most important part of the why essay? The most important part of the why essay is showing that you are a good match for the school that you guys go together, it's not just how good they are, or how good you are, but that you are going to be great together. That is the most important part, of course, doing that authentically. And doing it with specificity. That is, if I had to summarize this entire presentation into like, three seconds, that's exactly what I would say.

Um, would you mind sharing what you wrote about for your Common App essay, so Okay, my Common App essay was a little bit cheesy, and that's okay. That's something that I try to tell everybody. Being cheesy is okay, as long as you avoid being cliche. And so it was a series of four anecdotes, followed by a conclusion paragraph. So it's five paragraphs, and each one told a different story. Each story revolved around a different time that I fell over in my life, once when I was three, once when I was seven. And so I was 13, or 14, and ones when I was 17. So some of them were really light hearted and fun.

Others of them were more mature and serious, especially the last one, where I was trying to show that I had grown. And then in my conclusion, paragraph, I tied the stories together, I said, this is, you know, what I've learned from these experiences, this is who they've made me. And even though I keep falling down, I recognize that that's just a part of growth. And I'm not afraid to fall. I am excited to stand back up and keep growing and in college and beyond.

So that was the general thrust of my essay for the CommonApp. Like I said, a kind of a cheesy topic, you know, very, very straightforward metaphor falling down getting back up. But it was something that allowed me to show a lot about what mattered to me and who I was and what experiences had made me the way I am. So it was very personal in that way.

Yeah, do you read essays if we email them to you? Unfortunately, I cannot do that. That's not a service that CollegeVine offers where you just send me your essays and I read them and give feedback, something we do have, we have two resources that I do want to bring your attention to one is a peer feedback tool, where you can put your essay out there for other applicants to read. And you can read other applicants and give feedback and help each other, which is really cool. And it helps you guys fresh set of eyes on it. And we also do live essay reviews. So they're live streams like this, where we'll go through an essay that we get from you guys, and talk about its strengths, and its ways it can grow. And so you'll see some of those under our live streams page as well, if you take a look at that page, there's a whole folder, a playlist that's just live essay reviews, so you can take a look at that.

Yeah, um, one of the questions you guys have now that we have had some more time together?

Um, what does that look like?

All right, I'm gonna give you my last poll, then. I'm just, you know, question about how many colleges you guys are applying to be really cool to get some feedback on that. And I know that we are, you know, at the tail end here. So there we go. Can you give a sample anecdote, um, I, I could give some anecdotes from my life. But the whole point of an anecdote is that is a personal story that has happened to you that maybe you learn something from or that it really exemplifies your way of thinking.

So for example, one of the anecdotes I wrote about in my Common App essay, one of the times I fell down, was the first time and only time that I went ice skating, I grew up in New Jersey playing of ice skating, playing hockey is just something that my family never did until I was approaching High School. And then I was really embarrassed because all my friends and more importantly, my girlfriend at the time, were avid skaters, my girlfriend's whole family loved hockey. And I had never been on the ice before. And I fell over about a million times. And I was so embarrassed, because you know, when you're 14, you are really insecure about that kind of thing. So I spend a lot of time, you know, trying to look busy, like I was in control, and it was very difficult, and I was really stressed about it.

And I know that that was, you know, just a time that I felt really afraid to fall, and something that I had to learn from. So that's one of the anecdotes I used personally. But they should be really personal to you different. It can be literally about anything that taught you a lesson or exemplified a lesson, for example.

Any other questions before we close out the night? Well, in that case, I want to remind you guys that this is, again, a recorded session, so you can find it again in the future if you wanted to. And there are plenty of live streams going on all the time.

So we have plenty coming up this week. And in next couple weeks, so definitely give us some time to cover some more topics that are interesting to you. But since I'm not seeing to any more questions, I'm going to call it a night on this one. And I hope to see you guys next time. Thank you guys so much for all of your excellent questions and for being really participatory here. We're really excited to be able to help you and we hope that way you can do even better in the future.

i'm going to essay

Undergrad College: Yale University '21

Work Experience: I am a senior at Yale and excited to begin my fifth admissions cycle working with CollegeVine. After four years of working directly with students, I can't wait to engage with the people and the process in new and innovative ways online.

i'm going to essay

Bootcamp Alumni: UX Design at Apple/Google…

i'm going to essay

Get into a Data Role with a 3 month bootcamp

i'm going to essay

New Bootcamp Alumni Story: QA Engineer at Ubisoft (Gaming)

i'm going to essay

Make the Most of Your Summer Break with the NSLC!

Popular recent recordings.

i'm going to essay

From High School to UX Design Bootcamp to Product Designer at Cloud Campaign

i'm going to essay

College + Bootcamp Success Story: Sr Software Engineer at Disney

i'm going to essay

How to Write Your Best College Essay

i'm going to essay

College + Bootcamp Success Stories From Real Alumni

After my brother died, I felt guilty when experiencing joy. I'm learning to let go of that.

  • Annie Sklaver Orenstein is a research lead at YouTube and an author.
  • Her work has appeared in Time, NPR, Fast Company, and more.
  • This is an excerpt from her new book, "Always a Sibling: The Forgotten Mourner's Guide to Grief."

Insider Today

The first time I felt true joy in the months after my brother Ben's death it was followed by a wave of depression that I had never anticipated. I hadn't felt joy, true happiness , in so long that I didn't think those kinds of highs were even possible. Then, when it happened, it was as if I had finally made it to the top of the tower of terror, only to plunge back down again.

There is an aftershock to joy when you can't share it with your person. There is a unique feeling of guilt , that you shouldn't be allowed to feel happy without them, accompanied by that oh-so-friendly reminder that you will never hear the voice of the person whose voice mirrors your own.

How dare I feel joy when my brother is (still) dead? Selfish little sister, brat, heartless — take your pick. I didn't believe I was worthy or deserving of joy, and God help anyone who dared tell me that my brother "would have wanted you to be happy." Oh no. No, no, no. He would have wanted to share my happiness with me in person, not from his seat in the afterlife.

Losing a sibling makes you grieve the moments of joy they can no longer experience

After experiencing the loss of a sibling , it's not just your own joy that can topple into sadness, but the recognition of all the things your sibling will never experience.

Getting married wasn't just hard because Ben wouldn't be there to stand under the chuppah and give a toast berating my husband, but because he never got to have a wedding himself. When my oldest son was born, I wept not only because my son would never meet his uncle but because Ben never got to have kids of his own.

Looking back, I think that even more than the guilt and self-loathing, I resisted joy because it terrified me. It was a reminder of how fleeting everything is. The thing that brought such joy one day could be ripped away the next. If I didn't feel joy, I couldn't feel pain .

Related stories

What a sad way to exist in this world, constantly muting the most beautiful moments out of fear. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, then, when I learned that joy is the most vulnerable emotion — more than shame or fear. Joy is felt so deeply and physically that it brings some people to tears.

To feel anything that deeply is risky, but especially joy. If you don't experience pure joy, then you can't have it ripped from you; if the joy is temporary, then avoiding it means avoiding the fallout. You can't miss something you never had. But here's the truth: a life without the vulnerability of joy may seem easier, but it's empty. It's a vulnerability that helps us build resilience and strength — and those are the things we need most.

Joy is that deep happiness you feel at your core, deep enough to bring someone to tears or change a life. While happiness can be felt as a mood or state of being, joy is acute. It is often triggered suddenly, and it involves connection — to ourselves and to others. It's watching your best friend marry their person, holding your child for the first time, or (in my case) making my kids laugh so hard they snarf.

It's no wonder such a strong emotion rooted in connection could be so triggering. If your sibling is the person you'd turn to, the person on the other end of the connection, then, of course, joy itself becomes a trigger when that connection is severed! In this new world, joy reminds us of what is no longer possible. We can't pick up the phone and call or text them; our arms feel empty with nothing to hold; we may feel empty. Then there's the guilt — AGAIN.

Guilt that you're experiencing joy and they aren't — can't —experiencing it with you. Guilt that you're feeling any positive emotion at all rather than living in the sadness of loss.

It's important to allow still yourself to experience joy amid your grief

"How can I feel joy at a time like this?" may be running through your head. And to that, I say, "A time like what?!" This is it; this is the only time we have. There is no other timeline, no options.

You know what I think? I think "a time like this" is an excuse I used for a long time to avoid being vulnerable ; pretending to be all noble, refusing to feel joy when my brother was gone and more were dying every day wasn't noble. I was just trying to avoid the extreme ends of the emotional spectrum because I didn't want to feel that level of pain ever again, and if giving up joy could help avoid that — then that's what I'd do. I wish I could go back in time, flag down younger Annie, and scream in her face, "Don't shut yourself off to joy! Being happy doesn't mean you're happy about Ben's death, it just means you're allowing yourself to live!" Then I'd cover her in glitter.

I know now, after speaking with so many other surviving siblings, that I'm not the only one who tried to resist joy. In my research, this resistance was most common in the first five years after a sibling's death or as a manifestation of longer-lasting, complicated grief. One sibling, who was only one year out from her sister's death , explained, "I still have this limiting belief that if I let the grief pass through me, I have to let Laurie go too. So I'm fiercely holding on to my grief."

When your arms are so full of grief, when each finger is clinging to it, nails dug in, you can't hold any joy. You can't hold anything else at all. It reminds me of the children's book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins, in which (spoiler alert) the king of the goblins gets his hand stuck in a pickle jar when he refuses to let go of the pickles in his fist. The goblin's hand would continue to be trapped in that jar until he made the decision to let go of the pickles. You see where I'm going with this. Don't cling to your grief so tightly that you can't experience the joy of eating pickles.

Excerpted from " Always a Sibling: The Forgotten Mourner's Guide to Grief " by Annie Sklaver Orenstein. Copyright 2024 Annie Sklaver Orenstein. Published by Hachette Go.

i'm going to essay

  • Main content
  • Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Guest Essay

Boeing’s No Good, Never-Ending Tailspin Might Take NASA With It

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner taking flight into space on a rocket.

By Clive Irving

Mr. Irving is an investigative journalist who has covered aviation and aerospace for more than 30 years.

Fifty-five years ago, when humans first walked on the moon, the Apollo 11 astronauts left Earth through the massive power of the Saturn V rocket. The greatest punch came from the rocket’s first stage, which provided 7.5 million pounds of thrust. The awesome spectacle of that first stage was thanks to the work by engineers at Boeing.

Fast forward to the present day, and here is a new spectacle in space provided by Boeing. It’s not awesome.

Two astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, arrived at the International Space Station on June 6 , expecting to stay for just over a week. Now they won’t be heading back to Earth until February. Their ride was on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, now deemed by NASA to be too risky for the return trip because of a host of troublesome technical glitches.

NASA spin doctors object to headlines declaring that the astronauts are “stranded” or “stuck” in space, pointing out correctly that they are not in jeopardy.

But make no mistake: This is a fiasco. And not just because of the strain it puts on Ms. Williams and Mr. Wilmore and their families. Boeing’s engineering woes extend beyond Starliner; they threaten NASA’s bigger goals of going back to the moon through its Artemis program, for which Boeing has become an essential partner. I was told that a number of retired astronauts are increasingly troubled by Boeing’s performance. This loss in confidence helps put the entire Artemis program into a new state of uncertainty.

Consider the fact that on Aug. 7, Steve Stich, the manager for NASA’s commercial crew program, used the term “multiple failure” to describe the possible concerns he and his team were contemplating about the spacecraft’s propulsion system.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

  • Latest Latest
  • The West The West
  • Sports Sports
  • Opinion Opinion
  • Magazine Magazine

‘I’m going to buy a house in Park City,’ Jelly Roll declares at Salt Lake City concert

Before the concert, jelly roll left a large tip at a kids’ lemonade stand.

i'm going to essay

By Margaret Darby

Utah may soon gain another celebrity resident.

“I’ve decided I’m going to buy a house in Park City,” Grammy-nominated artist Jelly Roll declared at his Salt Lake City concert on Tuesday night.

He followed up on his comment about his real-estate endeavors with an invitation to the Delta Center audience: “So if y’all want to see me and my sexy wife out, feel free to stop by and say hello.”

Jelly Roll kicked off his 54-stop “Beautifully Broken” tour in Salt Lake City, after spending four days at the Maverik Center rehearsing for the tour, he told the audience as he thanked them for selling-out the show.

“I’ve got to take a second to go off script. I could not have asked for a better first night of this tour y’all. I want y’all to know this place is one of the most beautiful places. I’ve been here for four days at the Maverik Center rehearsing and getting ready for this tour, I’ve been all over this place — I’ve been to Park City, I’ve been to Heber, I’ve been to West Valley, I’ve been to Salt Lake City,” Jelly Roll said . “I truly could not have asked for a better way to open this tour. I could not have asked for a better crowd tonight, Salt Lake City.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Delta Center (@deltacenter)

Jelly Roll’s fellow musician, Post Malone, has also gushed about Utah on several occasions.

“I love living here in Cottonwood Heights,” Malone, one of the city’s most famous residents, said in a video clip shared by the city of Cottonwood Heights. “It’s the most amazing place ever, and I have had such a great time over these years, and I love you guys, too.”

“Grey’s Anatomy” star Katherine Heigl says she lives in Utah because it is “the right choice” for her and her family and because she feels “more centered and aware of what’s going on” in her kid’s lives, according to “ Today with Hoda & Jenna .”

“It’s a smaller town, I know who your friends are, I know who you are spending time with, I know what’s up with school,” Heigl added. “It’s just easier to keep my finger on the pulse.”

Jelly Roll stops at Utah lemonade stand

While preparing for his tour-opening concert in Utah, Jelly Roll took a pit stop at a kids’ lemonade stand in West Valley City, Utah.

“So today was an interesting day, my kid and her cousins wanted to do a lemonade stand. And they had a famous singer come and buy some lemonade,” Wendy Gardunio wrote in a Facebook post. “Who would have thought that we would run into Jelly Roll in west valley(?) And for him to be so generous with giving them almost $700.”

Gardunio’s post was accompanied with photos of Jelly Roll and the kids, as well as the large stack of cash he left as a tip.

So today was an interesting day, my kid and her cousins wanted to do a lemonade stand. And they had a famous singer come... Posted by Wendy Gardunio on  Sunday, August 25, 2024

Watch: Jelly Rolls leaves large tip at Utah lemonade stand

Jelly Roll ordered three lemonades and two orange juices from the lemonade stand in West Valley City. He paid the young girl what he owed for the drinks — $2.50 — and then handed her a large wad of cash as a “tip.”

“We were so thirsty, that we wanted to come bless y’all,” Jelly Roll said as he handed out the tip. “We don’t need no change. You keep that tip, OK? You go buy you something really nice, alright, because you worked hard.”

“You have a great day, OK, save some of that money!”

IMAGES

  1. Going To Essay

    i'm going to essay

  2. High school essay. High School Essay Examples. 2022-10-13

    i'm going to essay

  3. Will and Going to Grammar Analysis

    i'm going to essay

  4. I am going to

    i'm going to essay

  5. Why Is It Important To Go To College Essay

    i'm going to essay

  6. ⚡ How to write argumentative essay sample. Short Argumentative Essay

    i'm going to essay

VIDEO

  1. My dream essay 10 lines in English

  2. I’m never going back to using nonstick

  3. "I am going to"

  4. ВРЕМЕНА В АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ: FUTURE SIMPLE + BE GOING TO

  5. Essay Write With Me! // Final Year University Student 🎓🤓

  6. Тренажер 33. GONNA и to be GOING TO

COMMENTS

  1. 10 Better Ways To Write "In This Essay, I Will…"

    This Paper Will Explore. "This paper will explore" is the last alternative we want to cover. It's possible to replace "essay" in all cases with "paper," and many readers prefer to see this because it does not sound as wasteful or as obvious. The idea behind both "this essay" and "this paper" is the same.

  2. 10 Other Ways to Say "In This Essay, I Will" (With Examples)

    Conveys a strong and aspirational goal for your essay, highlighting its potential impact. Example: The ambition of this work is to reimagine the future of education, promoting personalized learning experiences that ignite students' curiosity and foster lifelong adaptability. 10. Within this text, I aspire to….

  3. How to Write a College Essay Step-by-Step

    Step 2: Pick one of the things you wrote down, flip your paper over, and write it at the top of your paper, like this: This is your thread, or a potential thread. Step 3: Underneath what you wrote down, name 5-6 values you could connect to this. These will serve as the beads of your essay.

  4. Essay Writing Tips: 10 Steps to Writing a Great Essay (And Have Fun

    Body #1: Most students think writing an essay is tedious because they focus on external rewards. Body #2: Students should instead focus on internal fulfillment when writing an essay. Body #3: Not only will focusing on internal fulfillment allow students to have more fun, it will also result in better essays.

  5. Essay Writing in English: Techniques and Tips for Crafting ...

    An essay is a written composition that presents and supports a particular idea, argument, or point of view. It's a way to express your thoughts, share information, and persuade others to see things from your perspective. Essays come in various forms, such as argumentative, persuasive, expository, and descriptive, each serving a unique purpose.

  6. The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay

    Come up with a thesis. Create an essay outline. Write the introduction. Write the main body, organized into paragraphs. Write the conclusion. Evaluate the overall organization. Revise the content of each paragraph. Proofread your essay or use a Grammar Checker for language errors. Use a plagiarism checker.

  7. Essay Writing Guide

    Your AI Writing Partner for EveryStage of Essay Writing. Brainstorm and outline with generative AI prompts. Get real-time, strategic writing feedback on tone, clarity, conciseness, and more. Check for plagiarism and generate citations. Review, rewrite, and revise in a few clicks, not a few hours.

  8. Essay Writing: How to Write an Outstanding Essay

    The basic steps for how to write an essay are: Generate ideas and pick a type of essay to write. Outline your essay paragraph by paragraph. Write a rough first draft without worrying about details like word choice or grammar. Edit your rough draft, and revise and fix the details. Review your essay for typos, mistakes, and any other problems.

  9. How to Write a Short Essay, With Examples

    2 Generate ideas. Jot down key points, arguments, or examples that you want to include in your essay. Don't get too wrapped up in the details during this step. Just try to get down all of the big ideas that you want to get across. Your major argument or theme will likely emerge as you contemplate.

  10. Example of a Great Essay

    Example of a Great Essay | Explanations, Tips & Tricks. Published on February 9, 2015 by Shane Bryson . Revised on July 23, 2023 by Shona McCombes. This example guides you through the structure of an essay. It shows how to build an effective introduction, focused paragraphs, clear transitions between ideas, and a strong conclusion.

  11. How to Write a Thesis Statement

    Step 1: Start with a question. You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis, early in the writing process. As soon as you've decided on your essay topic, you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

  12. How to Write the Perfect Essay: A Step-By-Step Guide for Students

    7 steps to writing a good essay. No essay is the same but your approach to writing them can be. As well as some best practice tips, we have gathered our favourite advice from expert essay-writers and compiled the following 7-step guide to writing a good essay every time. 👍. #1 Make sure you understand the question. #2 Complete background ...

  13. How to Introduce New Topics and Transition Effectively in Essays

    Effective Ways to Introduce New Essay Topics. Introduce the topic with a transition word, like "Similarly" or "Likewise.". Use a contrasting transition word for clashing topics, like "However" or "Yet.". Give an overview of the topic you're discussing after the introductory sentence. Method 1.

  14. How to write an essay in English

    Planning 1: Address the question. If you are writing for a class assignment or an exam, it is crucial that you address the question given. Adequate planning (five minutes is better than nothing) will keep you on track. Start by breaking the question down into its parts. There will usually be two or three aspects to the question.

  15. Future: be going to ( I am going to work )

    Future: be going to ( I am going to work ) - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary

  16. PDF The 5-Step Personal Essay Writing Guide: "Future Career"

    STEP 3: Construct Your Story. The heart of your essay will be the stories and details you use to support your main point. Good examples also bring your main point to life and make your essay memorable. Notice how the essay is built up, in the example: Focus of essay: My dream job is to be a crime scene investigator.

  17. Writing Prompt ~ Going To

    i´m going to go the un pack our bags after i write the podcast with my friend. we are going to tokio in the tomorrow. i´m realy realy exited. then, we are toing to the japanise restaurant because i need try the ramen. the next day i´m going to go the kiyomizu-dera, then i´m going to stay in a hotel center and i´ll be back. ...

  18. How to Write a Perfect 'Why This College?' Essay · PrepScholar

    Spend the first paragraph delving into your best one or two reasons for applying. Then, use the second paragraph to go into slightly less detail about reasons 2 (or 3) through 5. To thine own self be true. Write in your own voice, and be sincere about what you're saying.

  19. Why This College Essay Guide + Examples

    The Top Secret Three-Word Trick to Finding Specific Info for Your "Why this College" Essay. Step 2: Organize Your Research. Step 3: Decide on Your Approach: Approach #1: The Basic, Solid "Why this College" Essay That Includes a Bunch of Reasons. Approach #2: The "3-5 Unique Reasons" Strategy. Approach #3: The "One Value" Strategy.

  20. How to indicate that a word / acronym X will refer to Y in academic

    But this is not recommended in academic writing. You could simply use in this paper and explain what you're going to do: Tomatoes, which will be referred to as "Toms" in this paper, are red. This is false, as some Toms are green. I like Toms. Tomatoes, which we will refer to as "Toms" in this paper, are red. This is false, as some Toms are green.

  21. 12 Effective "Why This College?" Essay Examples

    One thing this essay could do to make it stronger is improve the first paragraph. The student does a good job of setting up Sister Roach and the Five C's, but they don't mention anything about their desire to study or pursue nursing. The first paragraph mentions both Sister Roach and Penn, but left out the student.

  22. Guide to "Why This School" Essays

    And so now we're going to go through a couple of Example essays, I'm going to read them aloud. And then I'm going to go into how they take these points and apply them. The first one is that tufts essay that we talked about all the way back at the beginning, which aspects of the tough undergraduate experience, prompt your application, in short ...

  23. Opinion

    Mr. Kuras is a writer and translator who covers German culture and politics. He wrote from Berlin. Since it became clear that the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, will emerge as a ...

  24. After my brother died, I felt guilty when experiencing joy. I'm

    Annie Sklaver Orenstein is a research lead at YouTube and an author. Her work has appeared in Time, NPR, Fast Company, and more. This is an excerpt from her new book, "Always a Sibling: The ...

  25. Opinion

    Boeing's engineering woes extend beyond Starliner — they threaten NASA's bigger goals of going back to the moon through its Artemis program, for which Boeing has become an essential partner.

  26. DeMar DeRozan was DEVASTATED getting traded from Raptors to ...

    Jeff Teague and the Club 520 guys are joined by DeMar DeRozan where DeMar talks about getting traded from the Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs in exc...

  27. 'I'm not too stressed'

    "I think right now I'm not stressing about finding out what my future's going to be. There's a couple of seats still available in Formula 1, and that stuff is still going on, but what I do if I don't land a seat in Formula 1, I'm not too stressed [about it]." ... "I'm looking forward to the second [half], and hopefully many ...

  28. Why Jelly Roll says he will buy a home in Utah

    "I've decided I'm going to buy a house in Park City," Grammy-nominated artist Jelly Roll declared at his Salt Lake City concert on Tuesday night. He followed up on his comment about his real-estate endeavors with an invitation to the Delta Center audience: "So if y'all want to see me and my sexy wife out, feel free to stop by and ...

  29. Decision Points Goes to College: Starting the Admissions Process

    That's where Decision Points comes in. I'm not a certified college adviser. This is obviously not bespoke advice. You can find all of that here.But I grew up in a higher-education family and ...