The college essay can be one of the most difficult things in a student's life that they have ever written. This is because the student's future, at least for the next four years, is riding on them writing the essay that the person who is going to be reading it is expecting. The problem is, they do not know what that person is expecting.

To help you begin the writing process, I am going to tell you the essay prompt most commonly used. This is often the most chosen prompt on the application: Evaluate an achievement, ethical dilemma, experience, or risk that you have taken that has had significance and how it impacted your life.

The pre-writing phase of essay writing is vital in writing. This phase allows you to think through what you are writing. Many find this phase difficult and often have difficulty proceeding to the actual writing phase. Hopefully this article will give you the essay help you need to get started on a great essay.

Do not jump right into answering the essay prompt, rather read it carefully. Reading it three times will allow you to read the words, gain understanding in what it is asking and, finally, to see any subtle meanings that may be there.

When considering the most chosen prompt, we see that they are asking you to evaluate an experience that has impacted you. It does not require the impact to be good or bad and does not say what the experience has to be.

Upon reading the statement again, we should look for understanding of what the prompt is asking. They want to know what the experience was and why it was important. The experience is important to you because of its significance to you, personally. You are not being asked to explain an experience, such as a trip, but you are being asked to explain something that has had a great impact on you. It is important to note that it isn't the experience, but the impact that they want to read about. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you have to have an impressive experience, any experience can have a lasting impact on the person experiencing it.

For the final reading, you will want to see the subtle meanings behind the question. This prompt is trying to find out what makes you, you. When answering this prompt you are telling your reader what you find important and what makes you different from everyone else.

Remember, when admissions sits down with your transcripts and recommendations they see what you are capable of. When they sit down with your essay, they see WHO you are as a human being. Your essay is the only chance you get to show them the human behind the grades.

Do not be afraid to write about something that has had a negative impact on your life, such as a personal failure, or a moment when you were disappointed in yourself. Allow them to see that you can learn a positive lesson in the negative things too.

Most importantly, do not allow your thoughts to be boxed in. Look at the essay prompt creatively and let your imagination flow.