great college essay opening lines

And to get your college admissions essay off to the right start, begin with a captivating opening line. Want examples? Here are samples from winning college essays courtesy of Stanford...

Check out these outstanding college essay examples. Learn how to write your personal statement and supplemental essays for college applications.

Here are some tips and examples to help you create an effective opening line for your college essays: 1. Start with a vivid image or description: Paint a vivid picture in the reader's mind using sensory language and intriguing details.

A great beginning exercise is to make an outline with the essay prompts, whether these are the Common Application essay choices or the prompts found on the college’s admissions page. Try to answer each essay prompt with three essay topics.

Consider the following opening statement. Example hook. I’ve never been good at breathing. This opener is unexpected, even bizarre—what could this student be getting at? How can you be bad at breathing? The student goes on to describe her experience with asthma and how it has affected her life.

It can be hard to write an engaging, authentic opener. But without an interesting hook, you risk getting lost in a vast sea of applications. To this end, we’ve put together some techniques about how to start a college essay to make your DTDT moment a little smoother and a little less stressful.

A good introduction paragraph is an essential part of any academic essay. It sets up your argument and tells the reader what to expect. The main goals of an introduction are to: Catch your reader’s attention. Give background on your topic. Present your thesis statement —the central point of your essay.

By crafting the perfect first line, you will not only hook them into your essay, but this will also ensure that you can reel them in! How to Start Your College Essay. Getting started is hard. The task can be made harder if you feel pressure to write that first, great line before you’ve even got a good topic.

We'll cover what makes a great personal statement introduction and how the first part of your essay should be structured. We'll also look at several great examples of essay beginnings and explain why they work, how they work, and what you can learn from them.

Therefore, start your essay with an opening sentence or paragraph that immediately seizes the imagination. This might be a bold statement, a thoughtful quote, a question you pose, or a descriptive scene.