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| Introduction | |
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| How to Use This Book | |
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| Foolish Assumptions | |
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| How This Book Is Organized | |
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| Icons Used in This Book | |
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| Where to Go from Here | |
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| Putting Yourself on Paper | |
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| Becoming More Than a Statistic: What the Essay Does for You | |
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| Painting a Portrait of You, the Applicant | |
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| Understanding Your Audience: The Admissions Officers | |
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| Timing Is Everything | |
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| Writing Admission Essays While Having a Life | |
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| Concentrating on Process, Not Product | |
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| Keeping Perspective | |
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| Exploring the Subject of the Essay--Yourself | |
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| Mining Your Life | |
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| Collecting the Stories of Your Life | |
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| Getting Personal with Impersonal Questions | |
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| Identifying Themes in Your Autobiography | |
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| But Enough about Me: Overcoming the Taboo against Bragging | |
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| Writing for the Tired, the Poor (The Admissions Office) | |
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| Meeting Your Readers: The Admissions Committee | |
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| Keeping Their Attention When Yours Is the 9000th Essay They've Read Today | |
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| Avoiding Writing Traits Guaranteed to Annoy the Admissions Committee | |
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| Writing What They Do Want to Read | |
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| Keeping It Legal | |
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| Buying an Essay on the Internet and Other Things to Avoid | |
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| Finding the Right Sort of Help | |
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| Dealing with Parental Interference Assistance | |
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| Noting a Few Words about Plagiarism | |
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| Locating Help When You're On Your Own | |
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| Getting Your Head Ready for Writing | |
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| Writing as Process, Not Product | |
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| Writing with Process, Not Product, in Mind | |
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| Separating Your Inner Creator and Editor | |
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| Pre-Writing: The First Steps | |
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| Drafting: Not Just for the Army Anymore | |
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| Taking the Final Steps | |
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| Storming Your Brain: Idea Gathering Techniques | |
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| You Can't Build a Castle Until You Dump the Blocks | |
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| Matching Personality and Technique | |
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| Gathering Ideas: The Techniques | |
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| Reacting to a Specific Question | |
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| Building a Structure to Support Your Ideas | |
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| Structuring Your Meaning | |
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| Meeting the Major Players in the Structure Game | |
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| Structuring the Career Essay | |
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| Putting It All In Order: Creating an Outline | |
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| Outlining: The Logical Choice | |
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| Putting Your Thoughts in Order | |
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| Checking for Gaps | |
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| Staying Flexible | |
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| Taking the Final, Pre-Write Check | |
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| Writing the Rough Draft | |
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| Showing, Not Telling Your Story | |
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| Getting Down to Specifics | |
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| Using All Your Senses | |
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| Choosing the Best Details and Ignoring the Rest | |
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| Selecting Strong Verbs and Nouns | |
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| A Little Metaphor Won't Kill You | |
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| Constructing Good Paragraphs | |
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| Punctuating Your Points with Paragraphs | |
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| Creating a Strong Topic Sentence | |
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| Placing Topic Sentences and Details | |
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| Setting Up a Transition | |
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| Leading with Your Best Shot | |
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| Taking the Right First Step: What the Lead Does for Your Essay | |
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| Capturing the Reader's Attention | |
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| Setting the Right Tone | |
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| Orienting the Reader | |
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| Avoiding Common Pitfalls | |
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| Going Out with a Bang: The Conclusion | |
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| Repeating Yourself and Other Non-Answers to the Conclusion Question | |
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| Concluding the Essay with Class | |
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| Overcoming Writer's Block | |
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| Understanding Your Block | |
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| Confronting Your Application Anxieties | |
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| Leaping Over Writing-Related Blocks | |
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| I'd Like to Finish before Retirement Age: The Final Draft | |
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| Making a List and Checking It Twice: Grammar and Spelling | |
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| Getting the Grammar Right the Second Time Around | |
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| Spelling It [Rihgt] Right | |
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| Deciding When to Break the Rules | |
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| Smoothing the Rough Edges: Polishing the Essay | |
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| Picking the Best Words | |
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| Creating Stylish Sentences | |
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| Saying It Once and Only Once | |
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| Leaving a Good Impression | |
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| Getting Your Point Across | |
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| Verifying That You've Answered the Question | |
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| Sounding Strong and Mature | |
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| The Top Ten Reasons Why Lists Are a Bad Idea | |
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| Checking the Essay One Last Time | |
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| Final Answers: The Last Word on Format | |
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| Reading the Directions | |
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| Cutting to Fit and Lengthening to Suit: Hitting the Word Count Target | |
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| Dealing with Paper Forms | |
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| Applying Online | |
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| Faxing, Express-Mailing, and Other Panic Options | |
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| Analyzing Questions from Real Applications | |
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| Composing Essays Starring You | |
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| And Then I Took the Oath of Office: Relating a Personal Experience | |
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| Explaining Your A+ in Recess and Other Academic Experiences | |
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| Envisioning the Future: When I Retire at 20, I Will ... | |
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| Daydreaming Your Way into College | |
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| "Desperate" and Other Descriptions | |
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| Describing Significant Strangers and Friends: Essays About Other People | |
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| Defining Others' Influence: You Are Who You Know | |
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| Writing about Friends and Relatives | |
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| Relating Strangers' Lives to Your Own | |
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| Entering the Fictional Universe | |
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| Responding to Essay Questions in the Subject Areas | |
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| We Really Wanted to Teach English: Answering Literature and Writing Questions | |
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| We Stare into Space a Lot: Responding to Philosophy and Science Topics | |
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| We're Paint-Stained but Happy: Expounding on Artistic Topics | |
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| We Love Timelines: Discussing Historical or Current Events | |
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| Getting the Most Out of Short Answers | |
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| Saying a Lot in Little Spaces | |
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| Answering the Most Common Short-Answer Questions | |
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| Lassoing the Mavericks: Responding to Unusual Short-Answer Questions | |
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| The Part of Tens | |
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| Ten Myths About the College Essay | |
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| Writing Style Doesn't Matter | |
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| Finding the Right Topic Is No Big Deal | |
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| Focusing on a Certain Topic Guarantees Admission | |
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| Discussing Any Topic Is Okay | |
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| Following Instructions Isn't Important | |
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| Talking about Ordinary Lives Is a No-no | |
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| Using Scholarly Language Is Impressive | |
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| Writing One Essay Is Enough | |
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| Seeking Help from Lots of People Is a Good Idea | |
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| Formatting Your Essay into the Standard Five Paragraphs Does the Trick | |
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| Ten Great Essays to Inspire You | |
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| "Letter from Birmingham Jail" | |
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| "Of Studies" | |
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| "Mother Tongue" | |
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| "The Search for Marvin Gardens" | |
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| "The Solace of Open Spaces" | |
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| "The Lives of a Cell" | |
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| "Eastern Middle School" | |
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| "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" | |
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| "On Lying in Bed" | |
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| "On Keeping a Notebook" | |
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| Ten Absolute Musts for College Essays | |
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| Keeping It Real | |
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| Answering the Question | |
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| Following Directions | |
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| Being Specific | |
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| Getting Personal | |
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| Expanding the Basics | |
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| Holding Their Interest | |
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| Meeting the Deadline | |
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| Going Easy on the Eyes | |
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| Using Good Grammar | |
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| Personal Inventory | |
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| Family Ties | |
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| Parents | |
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| Siblings | |
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| Grandparents and extended family | |
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| General family questions | |
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| School days | |
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| Strengths | |
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| Weaknesses | |
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| Teachers | |
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| Learning styles | |
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| Group experiences | |
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| General school issues | |
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| Community | |
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| The locals | |
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| Your country | |
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| Global village | |
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| The Future | |
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| Personal | |
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| Professional | |
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| The world | |
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| Identity | |
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| People | |
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| The No-Category Category | |
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| Index | |