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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 177 college essay examples for 11 schools + expert analysis.

College Admissions , College Essays

The personal statement might just be the hardest part of your college application. Mostly this is because it has the least guidance and is the most open-ended. One way to understand what colleges are looking for when they ask you to write an essay is to check out the essays of students who already got in—college essays that actually worked. After all, they must be among the most successful of this weird literary genre.

In this article, I'll go through general guidelines for what makes great college essays great. I've also compiled an enormous list of 100+ actual sample college essays from 11 different schools. Finally, I'll break down two of these published college essay examples and explain why and how they work. With links to 177 full essays and essay excerpts , this article is a great resource for learning how to craft your own personal college admissions essay!

What Excellent College Essays Have in Common

Even though in many ways these sample college essays are very different from one other, they do share some traits you should try to emulate as you write your own essay.

Visible Signs of Planning

Building out from a narrow, concrete focus. You'll see a similar structure in many of the essays. The author starts with a very detailed story of an event or description of a person or place. After this sense-heavy imagery, the essay expands out to make a broader point about the author, and connects this very memorable experience to the author's present situation, state of mind, newfound understanding, or maturity level.

Knowing how to tell a story. Some of the experiences in these essays are one-of-a-kind. But most deal with the stuff of everyday life. What sets them apart is the way the author approaches the topic: analyzing it for drama and humor, for its moving qualities, for what it says about the author's world, and for how it connects to the author's emotional life.

Stellar Execution

A killer first sentence. You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again: you have to suck the reader in, and the best place to do that is the first sentence. Great first sentences are punchy. They are like cliffhangers, setting up an exciting scene or an unusual situation with an unclear conclusion, in order to make the reader want to know more. Don't take my word for it—check out these 22 first sentences from Stanford applicants and tell me you don't want to read the rest of those essays to find out what happens!

A lively, individual voice. Writing is for readers. In this case, your reader is an admissions officer who has read thousands of essays before yours and will read thousands after. Your goal? Don't bore your reader. Use interesting descriptions, stay away from clichés, include your own offbeat observations—anything that makes this essay sounds like you and not like anyone else.

Technical correctness. No spelling mistakes, no grammar weirdness, no syntax issues, no punctuation snafus—each of these sample college essays has been formatted and proofread perfectly. If this kind of exactness is not your strong suit, you're in luck! All colleges advise applicants to have their essays looked over several times by parents, teachers, mentors, and anyone else who can spot a comma splice. Your essay must be your own work, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting help polishing it.

And if you need more guidance, connect with PrepScholar's expert admissions consultants . These expert writers know exactly what college admissions committees look for in an admissions essay and chan help you craft an essay that boosts your chances of getting into your dream school.

Check out PrepScholar's Essay Editing and Coaching progra m for more details!

Links to Full College Essay Examples

Some colleges publish a selection of their favorite accepted college essays that worked, and I've put together a selection of over 100 of these.

Common App Essay Samples

Please note that some of these college essay examples may be responding to prompts that are no longer in use. The current Common App prompts are as follows:

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. 2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? 3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? 4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you? 5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. 6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

Now, let's get to the good stuff: the list of 177 college essay examples responding to current and past Common App essay prompts. 

Connecticut college.

• 12 Common Application essays from the classes of 2022-2025

Hamilton College

• 7 Common Application essays from the class of 2026
• 7 Common Application essays from the class of 2022
• 7 Common Application essays from the class of 2018
• 8 Common Application essays from the class of 2012
• 8 Common Application essays from the class of 2007

Johns Hopkins

These essays are answers to past prompts from either the Common Application or the Coalition Application (which Johns Hopkins used to accept).

• 1 Common Application or Coalition Application essay from the class of 2026
• 6 Common Application or Coalition Application essays from the class of 2025
• 6 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2024
• 6 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2023
• 7 Common Application of Universal Application essays from the class of 2022
• 5 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2021
• 7 Common Application or Universal Application essays from the class of 2020

Essay Examples Published by Other Websites

• 2 Common Application essays ( 1st essay , 2nd essay ) from applicants admitted to Columbia

Other Sample College Essays

Here is a collection of essays that are college-specific.

Babson College

• 4 essays (and 1 video response) on "Why Babson" from the class of 2020

Emory University

• 5 essay examples ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ) from the class of 2020 along with analysis from Emory admissions staff on why the essays were exceptional
• 5 more recent essay examples ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ) along with analysis from Emory admissions staff on what made these essays stand out

University of Georgia

• 1 “strong essay” sample from 2019
• 1 “strong essay” sample from 2018
• 10 Harvard essays from 2023
• 10 Harvard essays from 2022
• 10 Harvard essays from 2021
• 10 Harvard essays from 2020
• 10 Harvard essays from 2019
• 10 Harvard essays from 2018
• 6 essays from admitted MIT students

Smith College

• 6 "best gift" essays from the class of 2018

Books of College Essays

If you're looking for even more sample college essays, consider purchasing a college essay book. The best of these include dozens of essays that worked and feedback from real admissions officers.

College Essays That Made a Difference —This detailed guide from Princeton Review includes not only successful essays, but also interviews with admissions officers and full student profiles.

50 Successful Harvard Application Essays by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson—A must for anyone aspiring to Harvard .

50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays and 50 Successful Stanford Application Essays by Gen and Kelly Tanabe—For essays from other top schools, check out this venerated series, which is regularly updated with new essays.

Heavenly Essays by Janine W. Robinson—This collection from the popular blogger behind Essay Hell includes a wider range of schools, as well as helpful tips on honing your own essay.

Analyzing Great Common App Essays That Worked

I've picked two essays from the examples collected above to examine in more depth so that you can see exactly what makes a successful college essay work. Full credit for these essays goes to the original authors and the schools that published them.

Example 1: "Breaking Into Cars," by Stephen, Johns Hopkins Class of '19 (Common App Essay, 636 words long)

I had never broken into a car before.

We were in Laredo, having just finished our first day at a Habitat for Humanity work site. The Hotchkiss volunteers had already left, off to enjoy some Texas BBQ, leaving me behind with the college kids to clean up. Not until we were stranded did we realize we were locked out of the van.

Someone picked a coat hanger out of the dumpster, handed it to me, and took a few steps back.

"Can you do that thing with a coat hanger to unlock it?"

"Why me?" I thought.

More out of amusement than optimism, I gave it a try. I slid the hanger into the window's seal like I'd seen on crime shows, and spent a few minutes jiggling the apparatus around the inside of the frame. Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. (I actually succeeded in springing it.) The other was the realization that I'd been in this type of situation before. In fact, I'd been born into this type of situation.

My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos. With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally. My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant. At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed. "The water's on fire! Clear a hole!" he shouted, tossing me in the lake without warning. While I'm still unconvinced about that particular lesson's practicality, my Dad's overarching message is unequivocally true: much of life is unexpected, and you have to deal with the twists and turns.

Living in my family, days rarely unfolded as planned. A bit overlooked, a little pushed around, I learned to roll with reality, negotiate a quick deal, and give the improbable a try. I don't sweat the small stuff, and I definitely don't expect perfect fairness. So what if our dining room table only has six chairs for seven people? Someone learns the importance of punctuality every night.

But more than punctuality and a special affinity for musical chairs, my family life has taught me to thrive in situations over which I have no power. Growing up, I never controlled my older siblings, but I learned how to thwart their attempts to control me. I forged alliances, and realigned them as necessary. Sometimes, I was the poor, defenseless little brother; sometimes I was the omniscient elder. Different things to different people, as the situation demanded. I learned to adapt.

Back then, these techniques were merely reactions undertaken to ensure my survival. But one day this fall, Dr. Hicks, our Head of School, asked me a question that he hoped all seniors would reflect on throughout the year: "How can I participate in a thing I do not govern, in the company of people I did not choose?"

The question caught me off guard, much like the question posed to me in Laredo. Then, I realized I knew the answer. I knew why the coat hanger had been handed to me.

Growing up as the middle child in my family, I was a vital participant in a thing I did not govern, in the company of people I did not choose. It's family. It's society. And often, it's chaos. You participate by letting go of the small stuff, not expecting order and perfection, and facing the unexpected with confidence, optimism, and preparedness. My family experience taught me to face a serendipitous world with confidence.

What Makes This Essay Tick?

It's very helpful to take writing apart in order to see just how it accomplishes its objectives. Stephen's essay is very effective. Let's find out why!

An Opening Line That Draws You In

In just eight words, we get: scene-setting (he is standing next to a car about to break in), the idea of crossing a boundary (he is maybe about to do an illegal thing for the first time), and a cliffhanger (we are thinking: is he going to get caught? Is he headed for a life of crime? Is he about to be scared straight?).

Great, Detailed Opening Story

More out of amusement than optimism, I gave it a try. I slid the hanger into the window's seal like I'd seen on crime shows, and spent a few minutes jiggling the apparatus around the inside of the frame.

It's the details that really make this small experience come alive. Notice how whenever he can, Stephen uses a more specific, descriptive word in place of a more generic one. The volunteers aren't going to get food or dinner; they're going for "Texas BBQ." The coat hanger comes from "a dumpster." Stephen doesn't just move the coat hanger—he "jiggles" it.

Details also help us visualize the emotions of the people in the scene. The person who hands Stephen the coat hanger isn't just uncomfortable or nervous; he "takes a few steps back"—a description of movement that conveys feelings. Finally, the detail of actual speech makes the scene pop. Instead of writing that the other guy asked him to unlock the van, Stephen has the guy actually say his own words in a way that sounds like a teenager talking.

Turning a Specific Incident Into a Deeper Insight

Suddenly, two things simultaneously clicked. One was the lock on the door. (I actually succeeded in springing it.) The other was the realization that I'd been in this type of situation before. In fact, I'd been born into this type of situation.

Stephen makes the locked car experience a meaningful illustration of how he has learned to be resourceful and ready for anything, and he also makes this turn from the specific to the broad through an elegant play on the two meanings of the word "click."

Using Concrete Examples When Making Abstract Claims

My upbringing has numbed me to unpredictability and chaos. With a family of seven, my home was loud, messy, and spottily supervised. My siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing—all meant my house was functioning normally.

"Unpredictability and chaos" are very abstract, not easily visualized concepts. They could also mean any number of things—violence, abandonment, poverty, mental instability. By instantly following up with highly finite and unambiguous illustrations like "family of seven" and "siblings arguing, the dog barking, the phone ringing," Stephen grounds the abstraction in something that is easy to picture: a large, noisy family.

Using Small Bits of Humor and Casual Word Choice

My Dad, a retired Navy pilot, was away half the time. When he was home, he had a parenting style something like a drill sergeant. At the age of nine, I learned how to clear burning oil from the surface of water. My Dad considered this a critical life skill—you know, in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed.

Obviously, knowing how to clean burning oil is not high on the list of things every 9-year-old needs to know. To emphasize this, Stephen uses sarcasm by bringing up a situation that is clearly over-the-top: "in case my aircraft carrier should ever get torpedoed."

The humor also feels relaxed. Part of this is because he introduces it with the colloquial phrase "you know," so it sounds like he is talking to us in person. This approach also diffuses the potential discomfort of the reader with his father's strictness—since he is making jokes about it, clearly he is OK. Notice, though, that this doesn't occur very much in the essay. This helps keep the tone meaningful and serious rather than flippant.

An Ending That Stretches the Insight Into the Future

But one day this fall, Dr. Hicks, our Head of School, asked me a question that he hoped all seniors would reflect on throughout the year: "How can I participate in a thing I do not govern, in the company of people I did not choose?"

The ending of the essay reveals that Stephen's life has been one long preparation for the future. He has emerged from chaos and his dad's approach to parenting as a person who can thrive in a world that he can't control.

This connection of past experience to current maturity and self-knowledge is a key element in all successful personal essays. Colleges are very much looking for mature, self-aware applicants. These are the qualities of successful college students, who will be able to navigate the independence college classes require and the responsibility and quasi-adulthood of college life.

What Could This Essay Do Even Better?

Even the best essays aren't perfect, and even the world's greatest writers will tell you that writing is never "finished"—just "due." So what would we tweak in this essay if we could?

Replace some of the clichéd language. Stephen uses handy phrases like "twists and turns" and "don't sweat the small stuff" as a kind of shorthand for explaining his relationship to chaos and unpredictability. But using too many of these ready-made expressions runs the risk of clouding out your own voice and replacing it with something expected and boring.

Use another example from recent life. Stephen's first example (breaking into the van in Laredo) is a great illustration of being resourceful in an unexpected situation. But his essay also emphasizes that he "learned to adapt" by being "different things to different people." It would be great to see how this plays out outside his family, either in the situation in Laredo or another context.

Example 2: By Renner Kwittken, Tufts Class of '23 (Common App Essay, 645 words long)

My first dream job was to be a pickle truck driver. I saw it in my favorite book, Richard Scarry's "Cars and Trucks and Things That Go," and for some reason, I was absolutely obsessed with the idea of driving a giant pickle. Much to the discontent of my younger sister, I insisted that my parents read us that book as many nights as possible so we could find goldbug, a small little golden bug, on every page. I would imagine the wonderful life I would have: being a pig driving a giant pickle truck across the country, chasing and finding goldbug. I then moved on to wanting to be a Lego Master. Then an architect. Then a surgeon.

Then I discovered a real goldbug: gold nanoparticles that can reprogram macrophages to assist in killing tumors, produce clear images of them without sacrificing the subject, and heat them to obliteration.

Suddenly the destination of my pickle was clear.

I quickly became enveloped by the world of nanomedicine; I scoured articles about liposomes, polymeric micelles, dendrimers, targeting ligands, and self-assembling nanoparticles, all conquering cancer in some exotic way. Completely absorbed, I set out to find a mentor to dive even deeper into these topics. After several rejections, I was immensely grateful to receive an invitation to work alongside Dr. Sangeeta Ray at Johns Hopkins.

In the lab, Dr. Ray encouraged a great amount of autonomy to design and implement my own procedures. I chose to attack a problem that affects the entire field of nanomedicine: nanoparticles consistently fail to translate from animal studies into clinical trials. Jumping off recent literature, I set out to see if a pre-dose of a common chemotherapeutic could enhance nanoparticle delivery in aggressive prostate cancer, creating three novel constructs based on three different linear polymers, each using fluorescent dye (although no gold, sorry goldbug!). Though using radioactive isotopes like Gallium and Yttrium would have been incredible, as a 17-year-old, I unfortunately wasn't allowed in the same room as these radioactive materials (even though I took a Geiger counter to a pair of shoes and found them to be slightly dangerous).

I hadn't expected my hypothesis to work, as the research project would have ideally been led across two full years. Yet while there are still many optimizations and revisions to be done, I was thrilled to find -- with completely new nanoparticles that may one day mean future trials will use particles with the initials "RK-1" -- thatcyclophosphamide did indeed increase nanoparticle delivery to the tumor in a statistically significant way.

A secondary, unexpected research project was living alone in Baltimore, a new city to me, surrounded by people much older than I. Even with moving frequently between hotels, AirBnB's, and students' apartments, I strangely reveled in the freedom I had to enjoy my surroundings and form new friendships with graduate school students from the lab. We explored The Inner Harbor at night, attended a concert together one weekend, and even got to watch the Orioles lose (to nobody's surprise). Ironically, it's through these new friendships I discovered something unexpected: what I truly love is sharing research. Whether in a presentation or in a casual conversation, making others interested in science is perhaps more exciting to me than the research itself. This solidified a new pursuit to angle my love for writing towards illuminating science in ways people can understand, adding value to a society that can certainly benefit from more scientific literacy.

It seems fitting that my goals are still transforming: in Scarry's book, there is not just one goldbug, there is one on every page. With each new experience, I'm learning that it isn't the goldbug itself, but rather the act of searching for the goldbugs that will encourage, shape, and refine my ever-evolving passions. Regardless of the goldbug I seek -- I know my pickle truck has just begun its journey.

Renner takes a somewhat different approach than Stephen, but their essay is just as detailed and engaging. Let's go through some of the strengths of this essay.

One Clear Governing Metaphor

This essay is ultimately about two things: Renner’s dreams and future career goals, and Renner’s philosophy on goal-setting and achieving one’s dreams.

But instead of listing off all the amazing things they’ve done to pursue their dream of working in nanomedicine, Renner tells a powerful, unique story instead. To set up the narrative, Renner opens the essay by connecting their experiences with goal-setting and dream-chasing all the way back to a memorable childhood experience:

This lighthearted–but relevant!--story about the moment when Renner first developed a passion for a specific career (“finding the goldbug”) provides an anchor point for the rest of the essay. As Renner pivots to describing their current dreams and goals–working in nanomedicine–the metaphor of “finding the goldbug” is reflected in Renner’s experiments, rejections, and new discoveries.

Though Renner tells multiple stories about their quest to “find the goldbug,” or, in other words, pursue their passion, each story is connected by a unifying theme; namely, that as we search and grow over time, our goals will transform…and that’s okay! By the end of the essay, Renner uses the metaphor of “finding the goldbug” to reiterate the relevance of the opening story:

While the earlier parts of the essay convey Renner’s core message by showing, the final, concluding paragraph sums up Renner’s insights by telling. By briefly and clearly stating the relevance of the goldbug metaphor to their own philosophy on goals and dreams, Renner demonstrates their creativity, insight, and eagerness to grow and evolve as the journey continues into college.

An Engaging, Individual Voice

This essay uses many techniques that make Renner sound genuine and make the reader feel like we already know them.

Technique #1: humor. Notice Renner's gentle and relaxed humor that lightly mocks their younger self's grand ambitions (this is different from the more sarcastic kind of humor used by Stephen in the first essay—you could never mistake one writer for the other).

My first dream job was to be a pickle truck driver.

I would imagine the wonderful life I would have: being a pig driving a giant pickle truck across the country, chasing and finding goldbug. I then moved on to wanting to be a Lego Master. Then an architect. Then a surgeon.

Renner gives a great example of how to use humor to your advantage in college essays. You don’t want to come off as too self-deprecating or sarcastic, but telling a lightheartedly humorous story about your younger self that also showcases how you’ve grown and changed over time can set the right tone for your entire essay.

Technique #2: intentional, eye-catching structure. The second technique is the way Renner uses a unique structure to bolster the tone and themes of their essay . The structure of your essay can have a major impact on how your ideas come across…so it’s important to give it just as much thought as the content of your essay!

For instance, Renner does a great job of using one-line paragraphs to create dramatic emphasis and to make clear transitions from one phase of the story to the next:

Suddenly the destination of my pickle car was clear.

Not only does the one-liner above signal that Renner is moving into a new phase of the narrative (their nanoparticle research experiences), it also tells the reader that this is a big moment in Renner’s story. It’s clear that Renner made a major discovery that changed the course of their goal pursuit and dream-chasing. Through structure, Renner conveys excitement and entices the reader to keep pushing forward to the next part of the story.

Technique #3: playing with syntax. The third technique is to use sentences of varying length, syntax, and structure. Most of the essay's written in standard English and uses grammatically correct sentences. However, at key moments, Renner emphasizes that the reader needs to sit up and pay attention by switching to short, colloquial, differently punctuated, and sometimes fragmented sentences.

Even with moving frequently between hotels, AirBnB's, and students' apartments, I strangely reveled in the freedom I had to enjoy my surroundings and form new friendships with graduate school students from the lab. We explored The Inner Harbor at night, attended a concert together one weekend, and even got to watch the Orioles lose (to nobody's surprise). Ironically, it's through these new friendships I discovered something unexpected: what I truly love is sharing research.

In the examples above, Renner switches adeptly between long, flowing sentences and quippy, telegraphic ones. At the same time, Renner uses these different sentence lengths intentionally. As they describe their experiences in new places, they use longer sentences to immerse the reader in the sights, smells, and sounds of those experiences. And when it’s time to get a big, key idea across, Renner switches to a short, punchy sentence to stop the reader in their tracks.

The varying syntax and sentence lengths pull the reader into the narrative and set up crucial “aha” moments when it’s most important…which is a surefire way to make any college essay stand out.

Renner's essay is very strong, but there are still a few little things that could be improved.

Connecting the research experiences to the theme of “finding the goldbug.”  The essay begins and ends with Renner’s connection to the idea of “finding the goldbug.” And while this metaphor is deftly tied into the essay’s intro and conclusion, it isn’t entirely clear what Renner’s big findings were during the research experiences that are described in the middle of the essay. It would be great to add a sentence or two stating what Renner’s big takeaways (or “goldbugs”) were from these experiences, which add more cohesion to the essay as a whole.

Give more details about discovering the world of nanomedicine. It makes sense that Renner wants to get into the details of their big research experiences as quickly as possible. After all, these are the details that show Renner’s dedication to nanomedicine! But a smoother transition from the opening pickle car/goldbug story to Renner’s “real goldbug” of nanoparticles would help the reader understand why nanoparticles became Renner’s goldbug. Finding out why Renner is so motivated to study nanomedicine–and perhaps what put them on to this field of study–would help readers fully understand why Renner chose this path in the first place.

4 Essential Tips for Writing Your Own Essay

How can you use this discussion to better your own college essay? Here are some suggestions for ways to use this resource effectively.

#1: Get Help From the Experts

Getting your college applications together takes a lot of work and can be pretty intimidatin g. Essays are even more important than ever now that admissions processes are changing and schools are going test-optional and removing diversity standards thanks to new Supreme Court rulings .  If you want certified expert help that really makes a difference, get started with  PrepScholar’s Essay Editing and Coaching program. Our program can help you put together an incredible essay from idea to completion so that your application stands out from the crowd. We've helped students get into the best colleges in the United States, including Harvard, Stanford, and Yale.  If you're ready to take the next step and boost your odds of getting into your dream school, connect with our experts today .

#2: Read Other Essays to Get Ideas for Your Own

As you go through the essays we've compiled for you above, ask yourself the following questions:

• Can you explain to yourself (or someone else!) why the opening sentence works well?
• Look for the essay's detailed personal anecdote. What senses is the author describing? Can you easily picture the scene in your mind's eye?
• Find the place where this anecdote bridges into a larger insight about the author. How does the essay connect the two? How does the anecdote work as an example of the author's characteristic, trait, or skill?
• Check out the essay's tone. If it's funny, can you find the places where the humor comes from? If it's sad and moving, can you find the imagery and description of feelings that make you moved? If it's serious, can you see how word choice adds to this tone?

Make a note whenever you find an essay or part of an essay that you think was particularly well-written, and think about what you like about it . Is it funny? Does it help you really get to know the writer? Does it show what makes the writer unique? Once you have your list, keep it next to you while writing your essay to remind yourself to try and use those same techniques in your own essay.

#3: Find Your "A-Ha!" Moment

All of these essays rely on connecting with the reader through a heartfelt, highly descriptive scene from the author's life. It can either be very dramatic (did you survive a plane crash?) or it can be completely mundane (did you finally beat your dad at Scrabble?). Either way, it should be personal and revealing about you, your personality, and the way you are now that you are entering the adult world.

Check out essays by authors like John Jeremiah Sullivan , Leslie Jamison , Hanif Abdurraqib , and Esmé Weijun Wang to get more examples of how to craft a compelling personal narrative.

#4: Start Early, Revise Often

Let me level with you: the best writing isn't writing at all. It's rewriting. And in order to have time to rewrite, you have to start way before the application deadline. My advice is to write your first draft at least two months before your applications are due.

Let it sit for a few days untouched. Then come back to it with fresh eyes and think critically about what you've written. What's extra? What's missing? What is in the wrong place? What doesn't make sense? Don't be afraid to take it apart and rearrange sections. Do this several times over, and your essay will be much better for it!

For more editing tips, check out a style guide like Dreyer's English or Eats, Shoots & Leaves .

What's Next?

Still not sure which colleges you want to apply to? Our experts will show you how to make a college list that will help you choose a college that's right for you.

Interested in learning more about college essays? Check out our detailed breakdown of exactly how personal statements work in an application , some suggestions on what to avoid when writing your essay , and our guide to writing about your extracurricular activities .

Working on the rest of your application? Read what admissions officers wish applicants knew before applying .

The recommendations in this post are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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Introduction

• Academic essays
• Thesis statement
• Question analysis

Sample essay

• Introduction paragraphs
• Beginner paragraphs
• Perfecting Paragraphs
• Academic paragraphs
• Conclusion paragraphs
• Academic writing style
• Using headings
• Using evidence
• Supporting evidence
• Citing authors
• Quoting authors
• Paraphrasing authors
• Summarising authors
• Tables & figures
• Synthesising evidence
• About academic reading
• Identify your purpose for reading
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Sometimes a good example of what you are trying to achieve is worth a 1000 words of advice! When you are asked to write an essay, try to find some samples (models) of similar writing and learn to observe the craft of the writer. You can use the samples as a basis for working out how to write in the correct style.

About sample essays

Most books on essay writing will supply you with a number of model essays—collect some of these as they are great teachers! No matter what the topic is, you will see similarities between your writing tasks and these model essays. This is because many features of writing are common across subject areas. In some subjects (e.g. Law, Economics, Psychology and others), it is very useful to find subject -specific essay models as you can use these to work out the ‘peculiarities’ of writing for that subject area.

Read an academic essay

The following five paragraph essay has paragraph labels to show the parts of an academic essay. (Note: This essay does not contain authentic references and has been written specifically to use for this teaching task.)

Body paragraph 1

Body paragraph 2

Using assignment essays for assessment supports student learning better than the traditional examination system. It is considered that course-work assignment essays can lessen the extreme stress experienced by some students over ‘sudden-death’ end of semester examinations:

If we insist that all students write about everything they have learned in their study courses at the same time and in the same place (e.g. in examinations), we are not giving all of our students equal opportunities. Some students are not daunted by the exam experience while others suffer ‘exam nerves’ and perform at the lowest level of their capabilities. (Wonderland University, 2006, p. 4)

Additionally, Jones et al. (2004, pp. 36-37) propose that assignment essays can be used to assess student learning mid-course and so provide them with helpful feedback before they are subjected to the exam experience. Exams only provide students with a mark rather than specific feedback on their progress. Therefore, setting assignment essays for a substantial part of student assessment is a much fairer approach than one-off examination testing.

Body paragraph 3

Bloggs, J. (2003).  Linking teaching, learning and succeeding in higher education . London: Bookworld.

Jinx, J.M. (2004). Student essay writing.  Journal of Research in University Education, 9 (2), 114-125.

Jones, J., Smith, P.L., Brown, K., Zong J., Thompson, K., & Fung, P.A. (2004).  Helpline: Essays and the university student . Tokyo: Courtyard Printers.

Sankey, J.M., & Liger, T.U. (2003).  Learning to write essays  [CD-ROM]. Sydney: Wonderland University.

Taylor, G. (1989).  The student’s writing guide for the arts and social sciences . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wonderland University. (2006).  Attributes of a university graduate . doi:10.1098/063-112

Yang, S., & Baker, O.E. (2005).  Essay writing and the tertiary student . Melbourne: Diamond Press.

Zapper, Y. (2006). Learning essay writing. In F.T. Fax & Y. Phoney (Eds.),  Learning Experiences at University  (pp. 55-70). Calcutta: Academic Scholar Press.

Analyse an academic essay

Most students really appreciate seeing a finished product. If you are to really benefit from model essays, you need to learn how to read the ‘techniques of the writer’. The following exercise helps you to get started with developing your ‘read the writer’ skills.

1. The introduction paragraph

2. Body paragraph 1

3. Body paragraph 2

4. Body paragraph 3

5. The conclusion paragraph

6. The reference list

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Essay and dissertation writing skills

Planning your essay

Writing your introduction

Structuring your essay

• Writing essays in science subjects
• Brief video guides to support essay planning and writing
• Writing extended essays and dissertations
• Planning your dissertation writing time

Structuring your dissertation

• Top tips for writing longer pieces of work

Advice on planning and writing essays and dissertations

University essays differ from school essays in that they are less concerned with what you know and more concerned with how you construct an argument to answer the question. This means that the starting point for writing a strong essay is to first unpick the question and to then use this to plan your essay before you start putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard).

A really good starting point for you are these short, downloadable Tips for Successful Essay Writing and Answering the Question resources. Both resources will help you to plan your essay, as well as giving you guidance on how to distinguish between different sorts of essay questions. 

You may find it helpful to watch this seven-minute video on six tips for essay writing which outlines how to interpret essay questions, as well as giving advice on planning and structuring your writing:

Different disciplines will have different expectations for essay structure and you should always refer to your Faculty or Department student handbook or course Canvas site for more specific guidance.

However, broadly speaking, all essays share the following features:

Essays need an introduction to establish and focus the parameters of the discussion that will follow. You may find it helpful to divide the introduction into areas to demonstrate your breadth and engagement with the essay question. You might define specific terms in the introduction to show your engagement with the essay question; for example, ‘This is a large topic which has been variously discussed by many scientists and commentators. The principle tension is between the views of X and Y who define the main issues as…’ Breadth might be demonstrated by showing the range of viewpoints from which the essay question could be considered; for example, ‘A variety of factors including economic, social and political, influence A and B. This essay will focus on the social and economic aspects, with particular emphasis on…..’

Watch this two-minute video to learn more about how to plan and structure an introduction:

The main body of the essay should elaborate on the issues raised in the introduction and develop an argument(s) that answers the question. It should consist of a number of self-contained paragraphs each of which makes a specific point and provides some form of evidence to support the argument being made. Remember that a clear argument requires that each paragraph explicitly relates back to the essay question or the developing argument.

• Conclusion: An essay should end with a conclusion that reiterates the argument in light of the evidence you have provided; you shouldn’t use the conclusion to introduce new information.
• References: You need to include references to the materials you’ve used to write your essay. These might be in the form of footnotes, in-text citations, or a bibliography at the end. Different systems exist for citing references and different disciplines will use various approaches to citation. Ask your tutor which method(s) you should be using for your essay and also consult your Department or Faculty webpages for specific guidance in your discipline. 

Essay writing in science subjects

If you are writing an essay for a science subject you may need to consider additional areas, such as how to present data or diagrams. This five-minute video gives you some advice on how to approach your reading list, planning which information to include in your answer and how to write for your scientific audience – the video is available here:

A PDF providing further guidance on writing science essays for tutorials is available to download.

Short videos to support your essay writing skills

There are many other resources at Oxford that can help support your essay writing skills and if you are short on time, the Oxford Study Skills Centre has produced a number of short (2-minute) videos covering different aspects of essay writing, including:

• Approaching different types of essay questions  
• Structuring your essay  
• Writing an introduction  
• Making use of evidence in your essay writing  
• Writing your conclusion

Extended essays and dissertations

Longer pieces of writing like extended essays and dissertations may seem like quite a challenge from your regular essay writing. The important point is to start with a plan and to focus on what the question is asking. A PDF providing further guidance on planning Humanities and Social Science dissertations is available to download.

Planning your time effectively

Try not to leave the writing until close to your deadline, instead start as soon as you have some ideas to put down onto paper. Your early drafts may never end up in the final work, but the work of committing your ideas to paper helps to formulate not only your ideas, but the method of structuring your writing to read well and conclude firmly.

Although many students and tutors will say that the introduction is often written last, it is a good idea to begin to think about what will go into it early on. For example, the first draft of your introduction should set out your argument, the information you have, and your methods, and it should give a structure to the chapters and sections you will write. Your introduction will probably change as time goes on but it will stand as a guide to your entire extended essay or dissertation and it will help you to keep focused.

The structure of  extended essays or dissertations will vary depending on the question and discipline, but may include some or all of the following:

• The background information to - and context for - your research. This often takes the form of a literature review.
• Explanation of the focus of your work.
• Explanation of the value of this work to scholarship on the topic.
• List of the aims and objectives of the work and also the issues which will not be covered because they are outside its scope.

The main body of your extended essay or dissertation will probably include your methodology, the results of research, and your argument(s) based on your findings.

The conclusion is to summarise the value your research has added to the topic, and any further lines of research you would undertake given more time or resources. 

Tips on writing longer pieces of work

Approaching each chapter of a dissertation as a shorter essay can make the task of writing a dissertation seem less overwhelming. Each chapter will have an introduction, a main body where the argument is developed and substantiated with evidence, and a conclusion to tie things together. Unlike in a regular essay, chapter conclusions may also introduce the chapter that will follow, indicating how the chapters are connected to one another and how the argument will develop through your dissertation.

For further guidance, watch this two-minute video on writing longer pieces of work . 

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Essay – examples & model answers | B2 First (FCE)

FCE Essay Examples:  Topic (Environment) 

Example exam task:, example answer (grade: 3), example answer:.

I think that my country has problems with pollution to the environment like all other countries. This problem is normal for Russia. We have big problems with transport because there are too much cars in our country. And because of that we have problems with atmospeer, air in my city and in all Russia is really dirty and sometimes I can’t make a sigh because it smells around me and of course around that cars on the road. I’ve heard about tradition of one country. They don’t go anywhere by car one day a month or a year, they just use bycicle or their feet. I think it could be very good if we had a tradition like that.

So, what about the rivers and the seas? Yeah, there are some really good and clean rivers and seas where you can go, but there are not many of them. Once I saw the river OB in my city, it was about two years ago but I stil remember that in some places it was not blue, it was green or purple I didn’t really understand because it had different colours.

I don’t know what should we do. Maybe we should just open our eyes and look what we did. But Russian people don’t care about the world around them many people care only about themselves an that’s all.

So, the best idea is look around and try to do something good for our planet and for us and our children.

FCE, CAE, CPE

Practice, write & improve, examiners comments & grade:, example answer (grade: 3-4).

To begin with pollution and damage to the environment is the most serious and difficult problem for countries of all over the world. Scientists of different countries predict a global ecocatastrophe if people won’t change their attitude to our planet.

First of all a huge damage to the environment brings a transport. People can’t imagine their living without cars, buses, trains, ships and planes. But it’s an open secret that one of disadvantage of these accustomed things is harmful exhaust. Needless to say that use of environment friendly engines helps us to save atmosphere from pollution.

In addition to this our rivers and seas are in not less danger situation. It’s a fact of common knowledge that numerous factories and plants pour off their waste to ponds. Obviously that cleaning manufacturing water helps to avoid extinction of ocean residents.

Apart from this I’m inclined to believe that every person can and must contribute to solving this important problem. Doing a little steps for protection our environment every day we will be able to save our Earth. And it’s a task of each of us.

Model Answer (Grade: 5)

DEVELOPMENT VS ENVIRONMENT

If we surf the web looking for pollution and environmental catastrophes, we will find out that every country in the world suffers them. This is a natural consequence of the struggle between development and environment.

If a country decided to live isolated from the rest of the world, living on what it can naturally grow and produce, it surely wouldn’t be highly polluted. But we all want exotic food and technological items from all over the world, so we have to pay the price.

Investing on electrical transport would benefit the environment a lot. Even more if this electricity came from a natural source of energy like wind, rivers and solar boards. It’s difficult to achieve this because petrol companies will fight against these actions.

We also have to take care of our rivers and seas. We all have heard about factories throwing highly toxic substances to rivers, without minimizing their poisoning effects. A really strict law should be applied to fine these factories and make them change their policy.

But what about ourselves? We also can do a lot! If, when possible, we bought larger packs of food, we would be producing less rubbish. And this is only an example!

FCE Essay Examples: Topic (Fashion) 

In today’s world, the fashion industry has a strong importance in people’s lives. The fashion industry say to the society what to wear and creates new types of clothes all the time.

Some people claim that the fashion industry has a bad effect on people’s lives, they say that the fashion industry creates clothes that the society has to wear. Furthermore, the clothes’ price is extremely high and people, who can’t afford it, should not be in the society.

In the other hand, the fashion industry guide the people to be in a good appearance, because, nowadays, the appearance of the person is more important than the person itself.

In my opinion, the fashion industry doesn’t has a bad influence on people’s lives. It’s something which was created to help people what to wear.

Example Answer (Grade: 4)

Fashion industry is very a discussed subject nowadays: they create and design new clothes everyday in order to satisfy some people needs.

There are many people who claim that the fashion industry is important and good for society. According to them, this industry design beautiful clothes and thanks to that every person can wear shirts, trousers or any acessory which is on today’s fashion.

On the other hand, the fashion industry in some people opinion, controls the market of clothes and because of that they can’t wear what they want to. In addition, the industry can increase the price of clothes, forcing people who don’t want to be “oldfashioned” to buy and pay a large amount of money to keep “beautiful”.

In my opinion, we can’t let the fashion industry decide what we must or musn’t wear. We shouldn’t judge people for its appearance,because that is not important. We must wear whatever we like, want and feel confortable with.

The society we live today is characterised by technology in constant development, fast speed processes, information travelling and getting to people at a blink of an eye and a complex web of social networking. In this context, the fashion industry is becoming increasingly important and having a more and more paramount role in our lives.

On one hand, the fashion industry is undeniably a source of profit and income. It hires millions of people all over the world and generates millions of dollars every year. Furthermore, such profitable business is also believed to be able to spread and make known the culture of a people, encouraging and enhancing a better understanding of each other.

Nevertheless, for those who are neither impressed nor motivated by numbers and figures, the fashion industry is seen as one which segregates people, isolating those who not fit their laws and commands. It is stated that people place too much importance on appearance and the material, world, sadly true, and the fashion industry just spurs on such situation. Moreover, not only are the costs of fashion item unrealistically high, it is thought to be a money better spent on more pressing issues, such as poverty and hunger.

I do believe that the fashion industry, as it is today, has a harmful effect, because it values a minority of people in detriment to the majority. However, it has such a wide reach that, it put into a good use, it can save lives.

FCE Essay Examples: Topic (Languages) 

“There are more reasons to learn a foreign language than to pass a test”

Everything around us revolves around language(s), it is the most important thing in our lives. Society would just not function without it. They are It is our future and I would personaly love to learn as many as I possibly can.

Not everything in life is done because it is necessary. Learning a new language can be a lot of fun. Many people only do it as a hoby, or their knowledge is something that brings them pride and pleasure.

Secondly, we have people who do it simply to challenge themselves. Truly I believe that having a great outcome that stems from your hard work and dedication to learn something new is a wonderful way to challenge prove your ability to yourself and others. Then there is travelling. It is very important to be able to understand and have a conversation with someone abroad, unless you would like to get lost or worse.

To conclude, I think that learning a new language is an amazing thing no matter why you do it. It is always better to do things out of enjoyment, but even if you do it for a test, that knowledge will always be useful.

Learning a a foreign languages is very important nowadays. English, in particular, is essential because it allows is spoken all over the world. That’s the reason why we start studying it from the age of six years old. Going abroad and being able to speak to native people is very satisfying and that’s why I want to improve my knowledge about foreign languages.

I decided to take this exam to know how high my level of English is, but also because I need this certification to go abroad next summer. I really want to come back to Cornwall, an amazing region in the South-West of England. I’ve been there twice with my family, but now I want to go alone. Only being there to England I can really improve my English comprehension and speaking skills.

Fortunately I can will have some English lessons which taught in English at university and I can’t wait for it because it will be an interesting challenge for me. Studying foreign languages is essential to live and to travel. It isn’t simple and I surely have to challenge myself everyday, but the result is so satisfying that we I can’t do without it.

FCE Essay Example: Topic (History) 

A very common topic that is being discussed nowadays is wether schools should teach subjects that some may consider useless later in life. A clear example is history, since it is quite difficult to learn and does not help us in day-to-day activities.

However, many people do not realize the importance of it or that it affects our lives today. For example, our political system would not be this way if it weren’t for the Ancient Greeks, numerous politicians and wars who helped shape democracy and our constitution. Yet it is still thought that it’s useless.

In addition, it is very important that we never forget about our past since we must know where we were standing years ago. Moreover, there are some things, such as World War II, that we have to remember to prevent them from happening again. We should also know where we we were standing a century ago: our origins, our identity. The more you learn about your ethnicity, the better.

All in all, I think that it is extremely important to learn about one’s own country’s history. Anyone who gets the chance to do this should not waste it, since they are very fortunate to have this opportunity

Would you pass B2 First (FCE)?

Episode 185

Formal essay models, structure and style unit 8.

Apr 03, 2019

Feel confident moving from inventive writing into the capstone of our Structure and Style™ program: Formal Essay Models. In this podcast Andrew takes you through the process of Unit 8 and demonstrates the value in learning the five-paragraph model.

Referenced Materials:

• Teaching Writing: Structure and Style
• Dr. James B. Webster

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IELTS Sample Essays

Here you will find IELTS Sample Essays for a variety of common topics that appear in the writing exam.

The model answers all have tips and strategies for how you may approach the question and comments on the sample answer.

You can also view sample essays with band scores on this page. 

Looking at IELTS essay topics with answers is a great way to help you to prepare for the test. 

These IELTS sample essays have been categorised in a way that makes it easy for you to see how certain essay question types require you to provide certain responses to ensure the question is fully answered. 

Specifically these are:

• Agree / Disagree
• Discuss Two Opinions
• Problems and Solutions
• Advantages and Disadvantages
• Other Types

Agree / Disagree Type Questions

In these types of question you are given one opinion and you then have to state the extent to which you agree or disagree with that opinion:

• Advertising
• Alternative Medicine
• Spending on the Arts
• Human Cloning
• Social Interaction & the Internet
• Airline Tax
• Free University Education
• Scientific Research
• Banning Smoking
• Employing Older People
• Vegetarianism
• Paying Taxes  
• Examinations or Formal Assessment 
• Multinational Organisations and Culture
• Internet vs Newspapers
• Technology Development  
• Dying of Languages
• Animal Extinction
• Truth in Relationships
• Role of Schools
• Return of Historical Artefacts

Discuss Two Opinions Type Questions

In this essay question type you are given two opinions, and you have to discuss both of these and then give your own view:

• University Education
• Reducing Crime
• Animal Rights
• Child Development
• Diet & Health
• Donating Money to Charity
• Closing Zoos   
• Becoming Independent  
• Formal and Informal Education  
• Influence of Scientists and Politicians
• Sources for Stories
• Searching for Extraterrestrial Life

Cause Type Questions

There are a variety of 'cause type' essay questions. In these you first have to give the reasons why something has happened, in other words the causes, but then discuss a different aspect of it, such as the effects, solutions or the extent to whether it is a positive or negative development:

Causes & Effects:

• Child Obesity
• Skin Whitening Creams
• Family Size
• Having Children Later in Life
• Time Away from Family

Causes and Solutions:

• Youth Crime
• Global Warming
• Paying Attention in Class
• International Travel & Prejudice 
• Museums & Historical Places
• Disappearance of Traditions
• Communication Between Generations

Causes, Pros & Cons:

• Family Closeness
• Living Alone
• Rural to Urban Migration

Problems & Solutions Type Questions

In these type of questions, instead of discussing the causes of a problem, you need to discuss the problems related to a particular issue in society, and then suggest what can be to solve these problems:

• Overpopulation
• Competing for Jobs  
• Professionals Immigrating

Advantage & Disadvantages Type Questions

In these type of questions you are asked to discuss the positive and negative sides of a particular topic. You will usually be asked this in the context of giving an opinion ( e.g. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? Is it a positive or negative development? ): 

• Traffic Problems
• Food Additives
• Computer Games
• Age Discrimination at Work  
• Children using Tablets and Computers  
• Cell Phones, Internet, & Communication  
• Working from Home 
• Eating Locally grown  Produce  
• Oil and Gas Essay  
• Peer Pressure on Young People
• Online Fraud
• Decreasing House Sizes

'Hybrid' Types of Essay Question

There are sometimes questions that don't fit easily into a particular category as above. I've called these 'hybrid', as they are of mixed character, are composed of different elements from other types of essay, or are perhaps just worded differently. 

• Protecting Old Buildings
• Animal Testing
• Fear of Crime
• Communication Technology
• Influence of Children's Friends  

Sample Essays with Band Scores

You can also view some sample essays that have been written by candidates practising for the test and have band scores and comments by an experienced ex-IELTS Examiner based on the IELTS marking criteria. 

• IELTS Band 8 Essay Samples
• IELTS Band 7 Essay Samples
• IELTS Band 6 Essay Samples
• IELTS Band 5 Essay Samples
• IELTS Band 4 Essay Samples

Student Sample Essays

For more IELTS essay topics with answers you can also view essays that have been written by students. Some have feedback from other students or IELTS teachers:

• Student Model Essays  (with comments by other students)
• Student Model Essays (with comments by IELTS buddy)

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IELTS Model Essay 2020

A band score 9 model essay for IELTS writing task 2. The essay question below was reported in the IELTS test in February 2020.

IELTS Essay Question 2020

Some people think that mobile phones are harmful for children, while others disagree. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.

IELTS Essay Model Answer 2020

Note: The essay below is longer than most of you will aim for. It’s fine for a band 9 candidate. For others, try to aim for between 270 and 290 words. Aim for accuracy and quality rather than length.

People hold different views as to whether mobile phones are detrimental to children or not. In my opinion, this depends very much on how the phones are used and how that use is supervised as to whether they are harmful for children or not.

On the one hand, some people think children can be harmed by using mobile phones mainly because the games and apps found on phones, which are mostly not educational, can easily become addictive. This results in children engaging less in healthy physical activities and spending less time on homework, both of which can have dire consequences in the long run. Furthermore, using mobile phones exposes children to unmonitored social media platforms where predators might be lurking in wait by taking advantage of the anonymity offered online.

On the other hand, mobile phones can actually protect children by allowing parents to track their geographical location and contact them immediately if necessary. Never before have parents been able to know the exact whereabouts of their child minute by minute. In addition, the instant communication provides essential security for children in times of crisis. Lastly, mobile phones do allow access to educational apps specifically created for children which, if used wisely, can further their education.

Finally, I believe that if parents monitor how the smart phone is being used by their child, it can be beneficial for a child’s development. By blocking certain social media sites, parents can be sure their child is safe whilst being online. Moreover, by setting time limits on how long their child can use the phone means that it will not interfere with a child’s educational development and will avoid any form of addiction.

In conclusion, children are only at risk when using a mobile phone if they are not being supervised and are not given strict guidelines to follow which are set by their parents.

Comments: This essay presents a clear opinion which is fully explained. Both sides have been clearly discussed. Ideas are extended and supporting points relevant. Ideas are organised logical and a good range of linking words have been used. Grammar is both complex and accurate. Vocabulary is topic related and less common items are used.

See more model essays and lessons , click here: Writing Task 2 Answers, Lessons & Tips.

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he Liz, I have a question, shouldn’t an introduction be like hook + definitions, history + thesis ? please answer my question as soon as you can because I’m really confused and my test is in about a week.

This is all explained in this free video lesson: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-how-to-write-an-introduction/ . Don’t confuse an academic essay with an IELTS essay – they are not the same. There are specific requirements for IELTS which do not follow a typical uni essay. Also see all my free lessons and tips for writing task 2: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2/

Hi Liz, I’m going to try the Ielts test. I have to achieve a score between 5-6,5. Can I write over 160 words in writing task 1? Thanks a lot!!

You should write over 160 words. The word count usually falls between 170 and 190 words. Try to avoid going over 200 in task 1.

Hello Liz, I want to purchase your e-book but I’m late. Is there any way to get it now?

Thank’s

MY online store is always open: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Hi Liz! Thanks for sharing all the necessary tips needed. I really appreciate. Pls if I may ask, how do I get your advance training?

You can find it in my online store: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Hi Liz! Thank you for this model answer! I believe that in the third paragraph there is a typo with the word “while”. …”parents can be sure their child is safe while being online”

You can use while or whilst in that sentence. Both are fine to use. While is more commonly used.

Is it not necessary to write an example in body paragraphs? My teacher said thay i have to include an example or evidence in body paragraphs. Can you please clarify my doubt

Examples are used when relevant. Also examples do not need to start with “for example” or “for instances” – there are many ways to illustrate a point as I have done in my body paragraphs.

Thank you somuch for your reply Liz. This article really helps me a lot.. Once again thank you for your great job..

Thanks Liz for your great ideas and initiatives which show us the right track of IELTS.

Hi Liz. Grateful for your tips and actual work. Gonna appear in ielts acedemic next month, this site is marvelous. Love and respect from Pakistan.

Dear Madam, Love and respect from Bangladesh. Your website is highly followed by IELTS taker here. May Almighty makes you do more help to us.

Greetings Bangladesh 🙂

Today is my exam and I have studied only by seeing your website and videos… Thanks a tonne for being so informative.

Lots of love from Dubai

Good luck! Keep your eye on the clock for reading and writing – manage your time appropriately 🙂

You are absolutely a legend. Thank you

You’re welcome 🙂

Thank you very much for this model! I want to ask if two body paragraphs will be sufficient for a band 8 response? This is considering that all other criteria are met and ideas are clearly expressed and developed. Any guidance is much appreciated.

As long as you have either two or three body paragraphs, you’ll be fine. More than that or less will negatively affect your score.

Hello Liz, I call you the professor of professsors without doubt as your videos are just too exceptional. Please I need clarification in where you said ” As long as you have either two or three body paragraphs that one will be fine; and you concluded that more than that or less will negatively affect one’s score. Does this apply to both writing tasks? If yes, does that mean that in both task 1 and 2 one’s paragraph should not exceed two or three paragraphs? What about if one has more facts to render in the course of writing?

Don’t mix task 1 and task 2. Task 2 is an essay and task 1 is a report. They are very different pieces of writing. In a short report (task 1), paragraphs do not need to be balanced in terms of length, there should never be repetition of information (ie no concluding summary of points previously made) and the method of writing is quite formulaic. For task 2, the body paragraphs must be equal length (all main points equally and sufficiently developed). The conclusion in task 2 will repeat the main points as a summary. Task 2 will have either two or three body paragraphs. If you have only one, you are penalised for not dividing information into paragraphs. If you have more than three body paragraphs, you won’t be able to sufficiently develop them for a high score. You don’t get a higher score because you had four main points – but you do get a higher score for developing two or three main points well. In task 1, you might have three or four paragraphs – it depends on the information you have been given. See all my model answers on the main pages of this site to see the variations.

Can’t even thank you enough for all these tips and actual work…you are awesome.Thank you.

I only wish I met you earlier. My test is tomorrow….

Good luck!!

Hi Liz, Great essay. It deserved a 9.0! I am preparing for my IELTS next week (the computer-based test) and I fell in love with your website. It is extremely organized and detail-oriented. Well done!

I do have a doubt, though, about the way the time is divided between Task 1 and Task 2 and I did not manage to find any comments on that.

Could you, please, help me out on this one? By the time we are shown the Writing section (Task 1), which is recommended for us to spend up to 20 min on it, can we also see the Task 2 essay topic (40 min)? I mean, could we choose to start writing the Task 2 before, if we wanted to?

Thanks in advance!

When the writing test starts, you will get the full writing test. That means both tasks. It is your choice which one you do first and it is your choice how long you spend on each one. You have one hour to manage as you wish. Glad you are enjoying my site 🙂 See this page for more details about IELTS: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-help-faq/

Thanks Liz for such a valuable model essay . Your website contains amazing tips and info May God bless you😘

Thanks a lot for your insightful teaching.

Ma’am I have problems in writing task 2. Whenever I sat down for practicevi don’t know how to begin with. So I look out for sample essay so that I can write better. But problem is that I first read sample essay and then write it. After some time I don’t know what and how to write further so I again refer to essay frequently. Finally I end up writing essay by consuming more than 40 minutes.

I suggest you get my Advanced Lessons which will help you understand in easy steps how to write a high band score essay.

Thank you kindly for this post. You are such a blessing to all of us. Also, I have purchased your e-book for writing test 2 last weekend and it is more than excellent. Hi everyone out there preparing for academic ielts – this e-book will help you a lot! I highly recommend that you look into it.

Thanks for your message. I’m really pleased you found the e-book useful 🙂

Thank you very much for your excellent videos and clear exercises. I am also a teacher and my students and I have found your lessons and tips really helpful. Once again, thanks a lot.

Thanks. I’m so pleased your students are benefiting from my website 🙂

Thanks a lot.

Thanks Liz, for presenting a write-up with such clarity in the concept of both view/opinion essay. I wanted to ask, is it always necessary to write a ‘conclusion’, after explaining both sides opinion and a separate personal opinion as in the given essay. And second question, does the conclusion need to match the personal opinion?

If you fail to give a conclusion, you will automatically get band 5 for Task Response. It is vital to have a conclusion. See this video lesson: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-2-last-5-mins/

Thank you lovely you are able to get ready for next level

Hi Liz, I want to ask that is it necessary to make 3rd paragraph of opinion or it’s okay to give your opinion in introduction or conclusion part?

Which one is the best in both of them?

Thanking you in advance.

If your opinion does not fully agree with one or the other side, you will need to explain it in a separate body paragraph. If your opinion agrees with one of the sides, you can incorporate it with that side.

Mam, Your guidance has helped thousands of students including me. I wish to get my writing tasks(Academic) assessed by you, but your website does not mention any link for paid/unpaid services. I got 6.5 in writing and wish to improve. Kindly help. Thanks

I don’t offer marking, but I do have Advanced Writing Task 2 lessons which will teach you how to write a high band score essay. You ought to get those. You will soon learn what you are doing wrong. They are at 50% discount for the next few days. Click here: https://elizabethferguson.podia.com/

Got a doubt, please help! The thesis statement seems a tad strong. I say this because you used “in my opinion”; I feel that it’s too early in the essay to give an opinion. I do understand that a thesis should detail what you are going to do in the essay, but is it ok to give your opinion outright. Your thoughts…

Of course you should give your opinion directly. You introduction your opinion in the introduction, explain it in the body paragraphs and then conclude it.

A simple but perfect essay, I’ve learnt a lot from this model essay. Keep it up Liz, we love you dearly.

I’m so glad it has helped. You hit the nail on the head – it’s simple. This means the ideas are easy to understand and the layout is logical and straight forward. This is the sign of a high band score essay. The other aspect is that the language is varied and complex – another sign of a high band score essay.

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Thursday, June 26, 2014

46 good spm english model essays / free essay samples for o-level, ielts, toefl & muet writing, 46 model essay samples for spm english, o-level, ielts, toefl & muet writing,         descriptive essays.

• My Best Friend
• Describe an afternoon at the bus station
• A Horrifying Swim
• A Prominent Malaysian Leader
• A Demonic Gold
• My Favourite TV Programme
• The Night Market

Narrative Essays

• A Horror / Tragic Story
• Finally, A Voice Message
• That is the reward for my patience and hardwork
• A Holiday I Would Never Forget
• Couple Foils Robbery Attempt
• Write a story starting with: “The widow had to work hard to bring up her little son alone...”
• My Most Embarrassing Situation
• A Road Accident
• Autumn on Sugarbush Street
• Of Bombs and Ice-Cream

Argumentative / Persuasive Essays

• Haze: A Danger to Health
• Cell phones - One of Our Greatest Technologies Misused
• Importance of Studying English

Reflective Essays

• Are undergraduates ready for the real world?
• Does School Prepare Us for Life
• What would you do if you had a lot of money

Factual Essays

• Social Networking Website

Directed Writing

• Anti-Smoking Campaign Speech
• Informal Letter
• Informal Letter Sample
• Formal Letter: Letter of Application
• Formal Letter: Letter of Complain
• Complain Report About School Canteen
• Book Report
• Police Report on Accident

48 comments:

Is there any chinese language essay?? can recommend??

lol u retarded?

Why are you so mean? Which part of it is retarded?

Maybe he lack of attention in his life

Dude, there are really chinese essay in spm. What's wrong with you guys

Are you lost mate? This webpage is for english essays, not chinese retard

Cmon he just asking if theres any chinese language essay... nothing wrong with it... sorry i think u are the one who is retarded here... no one r supporting ya...

what is naratif composition

Lol retarded 9 yr olds hating over a single question

WTH????? He is just asking. FGS he is not even asking u man..That question were asked to the admin. Pls just mind your own bussiness..

Senyap ar semua

Ahaha. Retarded indeed.

Ni nk buat rujukan ke gaduh?

Spm around the bout

guys i think,personally that this site helps you a lot in your studies.Amazing essays which are wonderfull

This is a fabulous site , helps me a lot😍

hey there.. im just here looking through the comments

i honestly thought that no one gonna be on this blog in 2021

bunch of pointless people arguing about an idiot

The test score works as a proof of their language proficiency and knowledge. Finding the Best TOEFL Coaching it self is a task because the objective of TOEFL classes is to give you interactive examples of TOEFL test questions.

Good Work for English learnes

This is important to remember while you are browsing IELTS or TOEFL preparation course, if you are planning on applying for citizenship or collage and intend to use your results as an entry requirement.

klau tuk repeat bi spm ngan st ada x ?

After attemting for my IELTS five times I had to get professional help and nothing like enrolling in Insearch I had an amazing support team that helped me clear and achieve my required target.

The MBA is a master's degree in business administration which helps people attain a better understanding of the scientific approach in management.

With such programs it will be more easy for the students to get the good writing ideas and the techniques, looking forward to most important among them.

Transferring to a four year university may actually be a cheaper way to get a high quality education. This article provides tips for students who wish to transfer in.

That's really huge list of sample essays for students those need to write essay and facing difficulties. I am sure that will be very helpful for students studying in various level.

To be honest All the 46 Model essays are uncomparable to the O level English Standard. In fact,writing such a essay in o level english will guarantee a fail

Woah,these essays are actually good for SPM level. Seeing this comment,I wonder how am I going to survive after SPM with my own level of English. HUhu..T-T

totally useful for me

thank you much for the God's sake who had done this blog :) You pretty had aid me much in essays

thanks for the essay samples! I was struggling what I want to write about for my mid term examination.. But not anymore :)

Hey I would like to get in touch with you about publishing one of my articles here? Any way to do that??

Click here for email address to submit your article.

Thank you for sharing. This is a good material for the development of creative thought. I'm writing an essay for more than five years. Sometimes creative crisis comes. In this moment you need to distract yourself with other thoughts. Good luck to all with essay writing.

Oh, thanks! It is very useful information! Right now I have to write an essay. But I haven't decided yet will I write it alone or with the help of this writing service.

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Do you have any doubts on the result of online writing service? Visit us and learn more about our reliable writing service and eliminate all the fears you have. Take professional help and relax!

Any spm 2020 candidates here?. How's your life going?. Mine is cursed

Same and im goin through mid year exams rn...smh

Me, a 12 year old that wants to write longer than the word limit in primary school: wow, this is cool

Malaysia Students Blog is a team blog on Malaysian major examinations, secondary, pre-university & tertiary education, scholarship Malaysia , student resources, students' thoughts and everything relating to students & undergraduates at schools, colleges & universities in Malaysia - Student Education Malaysia Comment Policy: Comments posted at Malaysia Students blog should be on-topic, constructive and add value to the discussion . Comments that are off-topic, one-sentence, abusive or offensive will be removed. Please use proper English with correct spelling and grammar in your comment. For general questions, please post them at SPM Student Malaysia . For enquiries, please email the administrator of this blog: Student at Malaysia-Students dot com.

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A Survey of Large Language Models for Graphs

HKUDS/Awesome-LLM4Graph-Papers

Folders and files, repository files navigation, awesome-llm4graph-papers.

A collection of papers and resources about Large Language Models ( LLM ) for Graph Learning ( Graph ).

Graphs are an essential data structure utilized to represent relationships in real-world scenarios. Prior research has established that Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) deliver impressive outcomes in graph-centric tasks, such as link prediction and node classification. Despite these advancements, challenges like data sparsity and limited generalization capabilities continue to persist. Recently, Large Language Models (LLMs) have gained attention in natural language processing. They excel in language comprehension and summarization. Integrating LLMs with graph learning techniques has attracted interest as a way to enhance performance in graph learning tasks.

🤗 We're actively working on this project, and your interest is greatly appreciated! To keep up with the latest developments, please consider hit the STAR and WATCH for updates.

🔥 We are going to give a tutorial on LLM4Graph at TheWebConf (WWW) 2024!

Our survey paper: A Survey of Large Language Models for Graphs is coming.

This repository serves as a collection of recent advancements in employing large language models (LLMs) for modeling graph-structured data. We categorize and summarize the approaches based on four primary paradigms and nine secondary-level categories. The four primary categories include: 1) GNNs as Prefix, 2) LLMs as Prefix, 3) LLMs-Graphs Intergration, and 4) LLMs-Only

• GNNs as Prefix

• LLMs as Prefix

• LLMs-Graphs Intergration

We hope this repository proves valuable to your research or practice in the field of self-supervised learning for recommendation systems. If you find it helpful, please consider citing our work:

• Table of Contents

Related Resources

Node-level tokenization, graph-level, embs. from llms for gnns, labels from llms for gnns, alignment between gnns and llms, fusion training of gnns and llms, llms agent for graphs, tuning-free, tuning-required, contributing, acknowledgements.

• Large language models on graphs: A comprehensive survey [ paper ]
• A Survey of Graph Meets Large Language Model: Progress and Future Directions [ paper ]

🌐 GNNs as Prefix

• (SIGIR'2024) GraphGPT: Graph instruction tuning for large language models [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) HiGPT: Heterogeneous Graph Language Model [ paper ]
• (WWW'2024) GraphTranslator: Aligning Graph Model to Large Language Model for Open-ended Tasks [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) UniGraph: Learning a Cross-Domain Graph Foundation Model From Natural Language [ paper ]
• (NeurIPS'2024) GIMLET:Aunifiedgraph-textmodelforinstruction-based molecule zero-shot learning [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) GraphLLM: Boosting graph reasoning ability of large language model [ paper ]
• (Computers in Biology and Medicine) GIT-Mol: A multi-modal large language model for molecular science with graph, image, and text [ paper ]
• (EMNLP'2023) MolCA: Molecular graph-language modeling with cross- modal projector and uni-modal adapter [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) InstructMol: Multi-modal integration for building a versatile and reliable molecular assistant in drug discovery [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) G-Retriever: Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Textual Graph Understanding and Question Answering [ paper ]
• (AAAI'2024) Graph neural prompting with large language models [ paper ]

🌐 LLMs as Prefix

• (arxiv'2023) Prompt-based node feature extractor for few-shot learning on text-attributed graphs [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) SimTeG: A frustratingly simple approach improves textual graph learning [ paper ]
• (KDD'2023) Graph-aware language model pre-training on a large graph corpus can help multiple graph applications [ paper ]
• (ICLR'2024) One for all: Towards training one graph model for all classification tasks [ paper ]
• (ICLR'2024) Harnessing explanations: Llm-to-lm interpreter for enhanced text-attributed graph representation learning [ paper ]
• (WSDM'2024) LLMRec: Large language models with graph augmentation for recommendation [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) OpenGraph: Towards Open Graph Foundation Models [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) Label-free node classification on graphs with large language models (LLMs) [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) GraphEdit: Large Language Models for Graph Structure Learning [ paper ]
• (WWW'2024) Representation learning with large language models for recommendation [ paper ]

🌐 LLMs-Graphs Intergration

• (arxiv'2022) A molecular multimodal foundation model associating molecule graphs with natural language [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) ConGraT: Self-supervised contrastive pretraining for joint graph and text embeddings [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) Prompt tuning on graph-augmented low-resource text classification [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) GRENADE: Graph-Centric Language Model for Self-Supervised Representation Learning on Text-Attributed Graphs [ paper ]
• (Nature Machine Intelligence'2023) Multi-modal molecule structure–text model for text-based retrieval and editing [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) Pretraining language models with text-attributed heterogeneous graphs [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2022) Learning on large-scale text-attributed graphs via variational inference [ paper ]
• GreaseLM: Graph reasoning enhanced language models for question answering [ paper ]
• Disentangled representation learning with large language models for text-attributed graphs [ paper ]
• Efficient Tuning and Inference for Large Language Models on Textual Graphs [ paper ]
• (WWW'2024) Can GNN be Good Adapter for LLMs? [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2022) Graph Agent: Explicit Reasoning Agent for Graphs [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) Call Me When Necessary: LLMs can Efficiently and Faithfully Reason over Structured Environments [ paper ]
• (ICLR'2024) Reasoning on graphs: Faithful and interpretable large language model reasoning [ paper ]

🌐 LLMs-Only

• (NeurIPS'2024) Can language models solve graph problems in natural language? [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) GPT4Graph: Can large language models understand graph structured data? an empirical evaluation and benchmarking [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) BeyondText:ADeepDiveinto Large Language Models’ Ability on Understanding Graph Data [ paper ]
• (KDD'2024) Exploring the potential of large language models (llms) in learning on graphs [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) Graphtext: Graph reasoning in text space [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) Talk like a graph: Encoding graphs for large language models [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) LLM4DyG:Can Large Language Models Solve Problems on Dynamic Graphs? [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) Which Modality should I use–Text, Motif, or Image?: Understanding Graphs with Large Language Models [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) When Graph Data Meets Multimodal: A New Paradigm for Graph Understanding and Reasoning [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2023) Natural language is all a graph needs [ paper ]
• (NeurIPS'2024) Walklm:A uniform language model fine-tuning framework for attributed graph embedding [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) LLaGA: Large Language and Graph Assistant [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) InstructGraph: Boosting Large Language Models via Graph-centric Instruction Tuning and Preference Alignment [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) ZeroG: Investigating Cross-dataset Zero-shot Transferability in Graphs [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) GraphWiz: An Instruction-Following Language Model for Graph Problems [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) GraphInstruct: Empowering Large Language Models with Graph Understanding and Reasoning Capability [ paper ]
• (arxiv'2024) MuseGraph: Graph-oriented Instruction Tuning of Large Language Models for Generic Graph Mining [ paper ]

If you have come across relevant resources, feel free to submit a pull request.

To add a paper to the survey, please consider providing more detailed information in the PR 😊

The design of our README.md is inspired by Awesome-LLM-KG and Awesome-LLMs-in-Graph-tasks , thanks to their works!

Contributors 2

Help | Advanced Search

Computer Science > Computation and Language

Title: deepseek-v2: a strong, economical, and efficient mixture-of-experts language model.

Abstract: We present DeepSeek-V2, a strong Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) language model characterized by economical training and efficient inference. It comprises 236B total parameters, of which 21B are activated for each token, and supports a context length of 128K tokens. DeepSeek-V2 adopts innovative architectures including Multi-head Latent Attention (MLA) and DeepSeekMoE. MLA guarantees efficient inference through significantly compressing the Key-Value (KV) cache into a latent vector, while DeepSeekMoE enables training strong models at an economical cost through sparse computation. Compared with DeepSeek 67B, DeepSeek-V2 achieves significantly stronger performance, and meanwhile saves 42.5% of training costs, reduces the KV cache by 93.3%, and boosts the maximum generation throughput to 5.76 times. We pretrain DeepSeek-V2 on a high-quality and multi-source corpus consisting of 8.1T tokens, and further perform Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT) and Reinforcement Learning (RL) to fully unlock its potential. Evaluation results show that, even with only 21B activated parameters, DeepSeek-V2 and its chat versions still achieve top-tier performance among open-source models.

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iGCSE 0580/0607 Maths Prep Questions + May/June 2024 QP & MS - Core & Ext

Subject: Mathematics

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

10 May 2024

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This resourceful material contains preparatory questions for the iGCSE 0580/0607 Maths Prep Questions plus the February/March 2024 Examination Questions for 0580 & 0607 & Mark Guides.

These resources are suitable for both Teachers and Students for the May/June 2024 iGCSE/GCSE Series

**Updated: iGCSE 0580/0607 Maths May/June 2024 QP & MS - Core & Ext

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