Preparation Pays Off:

4 Phases of Good Essay Writing

Columbia University’s Writing Program trained me to approach writing as a process that can be broken down into series of concrete steps: brainstorming, outlining, drafting, and revising. Successful writers put equal attention into all four parts of this process!  Putting in the work early sets you up for success, and makes everything easier further down the road. Connections gradually emerge from brainstorming as the essay takes shape. By the time you start writing, you should have the foundation and momentum that makes the task feel achievable. As I like to remind my students, writing is only the third step of the writing process!

PHASE 1 -- BRAINSTORMING Low-pressure brainstorming exercises generate a whole range of ideas. Many won’t make it into your final essay—don’t sweat it!  I can help you start to trace connections among potential ideas as they emerge. The goal is to arrive at a topic that seems like a good fit for you.

PHASE 2 -- OUTLINING Having a sense of the essay’s structure before writing is essential for keeping things organized.  What are the essay’s parts, and how will they fit together? When it comes time to write, you can tackle the essay one part at a time.

PHASE 3 – WRITING IT OUT By this point, writing should feel less intimidating—you’re fleshing out a frame instead of starting from zero. At Columbia, I always had some students who felt pressured to produce what I call “writing voice.” They could explain ideas clearly and directly to me in conversation, but when they started writing they sounded stiff, uncomfortable, overly complicated and vague. I can help students find strategies to capture their your own voice on the page—confident, clear, with dashes of real personality.

PHASE 4 – FINE-TUNING TO THE FINISH By now you’re almost done, but it’s important not to rush this final step!  Thorough revision is crucial to make your essay as polished and effective as possible. Drawing on my experience grading hundreds of Ivy-League undergraduate essays, I help students reread their essays through the eyes of a reader, looking for phrases that feel vague, connections that are unclear, moments that feel flat, dull, and conventional. This is where the real work happens!  It’s often easier to improve what you’ve already written, which is why much of the best writing is really rewriting.