Counselor Resources

Which of these best describes you?

1. “I plan to have my students take a College Essay Guy workshop, then work through the Tool on their own.”

   Great. The Tool is designed to take students step-by-step through the writing process, from brainstorming to outlining to writing to revising to refining. 

2. Next level: “I’d like to become more familiar with the Tool so I can become faster at a) diagnosing essay issues, and b) pointing students to particular Tool modules that will help them solve those issues.”

   Click here for A Guide to Giving Feedback Using the Tool.

What are some good brainstorming exercises?

• Narrative (Challenges-Based) here

• Montage (Not Challenges-Based) here

• Still need more? here

How do students decide on a topic? / Are there things to be wary of with topics?

• Narrative here

• Montage here

What if a topic is kind of cliche?

College Essay Guy's Quick Guide to Cliche Topics

Do students need to outline?

• Yes. here

How do students outline their essays?

• Narrative starts here

• Montage:

  • I Love/I Know

  • Essence Objects/Stuff in My Room

  • Skill/Superpower

  • Career

  • Identity

  • Home

  • Extracurricular Activity

How does an outline turn into a draft?

• Narrative → here

• Montage → here

Narrative:

• How do students build a stronger beginning for the Narrative essay? → here

• What if their challenges aren't all that compelling? → here

• How do students better communicate what they did about their challenges? → here

• How do students improve the "What I Learned" part of their narrative / make it more insightful? → here

Montage:

• How do students build a stronger beginning for their Montage essay? → here

• What if a student’s topic/thematic thread is unclear? → here

• What if a student’s examples aren't that strong? → here

• How do students strengthen the values part of their montage paragraphs? → here

• How do students build better insights in their montage essays? → here

Both:

• How can a student make X in their essay better?

  • Transitions → here

  • Ending → here

How to Polish / Improve Grammar? → here

How do I make sure the student’s essay is doing its job? And what is its job, anyway?

• Take The Great College Essay Test → here

• Polishing and Grammar → here

Where can I find great example essays? → here

Where can I find resources for other parts of the college application process? → here

For a few more thoughts on giving feedback in person, click here.

Our resources are always free to share with your students. But if you’d like to use our content in your curricula, please learn how to attribute materials to College Essay Guy at this link here.

Have a question or comment? Check out our FAQ page, or email Help@collegeessayguy.com