When you finish this activity, you will have a list of strong topics to choose from and some practice in writing about at least one of them.
What we are inviting you to make:
Here’s how to get started:
- Log in or Sign up for an account on NowComment (It’s free, and it takes 30 seconds.)
- The directions below will show you how to upload a document on NowComment. You will want to upload a document to make a list of possible topics for your College Admissions Essay.
- Once you have 10+ topics on your list, you will go to the whole document and click the AI icon, then select the Getting Started Simulatorto see the questions a writer might ask while in the early stages of composing for three of the topics from your list.
- Invitepeers and other users on NowComment to help you select a strong topic by leaving comments.
- Choose something from your list and write about it the way the Getting Started Simulatordid.
Read and Comment on Demystifying the College Admission Essay Genre by Jessica Singer Early and Meredith DeCosta
Read and comment on paragraphs 71 – 103
- Choosing a Strong Topic
- Pre-Writing
- What We Learned
How to do this yourself, step-by-step:
A. Make a list of topics–something like this one: Ten Topics for a College Admissions Essay
- Log in to NowComment .
- Click the Upload tab in the blue menu at the top of most pages on NowComment.
- Select “Text I’ll Write Now.”
- Insert a numbered list.
- Make a list of possible topics with as many details as possible. Keep the Common App essay prompts in mind.
- Title this document something like “Your Name’s 10 Topics for a College Admissions Essay”
- Then hit the buttons at the bottom and on the next two screens: Upload, Save and Continue, and Continue. (This will keep this document private for now. You can decide who to share it with in the next step and later.)
B. Invite People to Comment
- Invite people and groups to see and comment on and ask you questions about your topics. Click the Invite tab in the upper-left corner, then invite people by listing email addresses yourself or selecting People or Groups from your Address Book.
C. Choose the AI Thinking Partner , Getting Started Simulator to respond to your list of topics
- In the right plane, choose General Document Comments, then click the AI icon.
- Under AI as Simulationselect the Getting Started Simulatoras your AI Thinking Partner. Ask a Question, then add A note about the reader (optional), and hit the Continue button.
- Read your results, then slow down a bit and consider hitting the Resubmitbutton (which you can do repeatedly) until you have something helpful, honest, and harmless to work with. (Note that you can change your question, or not, for each resubmission.) See yourself as a co-author with AI. Edit the results to add your thoughts to what AI gives you, then hit the Start Conversation button. Consider replying to this comment immediately or at a later point with further thoughts of your own or with another AI Thinking Partner .
D. Write about one of your topics. Get started!
- This AI Thinking Partne r asks you to use the examples given to get the idea of how to write (or pre-write) about one of your topics. Do this by adding to your document on the left side.
Reflecting on the Habits of Mind
When you finish all 12 steps of this activity, add another comment to the whole document where you reflect on how you used these five Habits of Mind to complete this work. How is your work evidence of your ability to use these Habits of Mind?