-
Writing Tools for the College Essay
- Write Your Way into the School of Your Dreams
- Length: 8 hrs
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Writing Tools for the College Essay
Pre-order for $21.55
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Most high school students never have received any instruction in how to write a personal essay. Yet at a time when getting admitted to their dream college is more competitive than ever, the admissions essay may turn out to be the single most important thing they will ever write. The stakes are high.
In Writing Tools for the College Essay, veteran journalist and writing coach Roy Peter Clark shows how any student can showcase their unique achievements, intellect, and attributes to stand out from the crowd.
Packed with nearly two dozen remarkable essay examples and 100 digestible essay writing tips that students can carry with them throughout their careers, this is the essential guide every high school student, parent, and teacher needs.
Listeners will learn:
How to select your writing prompt
The key elements of a compelling story
How to master the art of the riveting detail
What it means to write with an authentic voice
How to “grab readers by the throat”
The power of reading one’s work aloud
The rules of honest writing (including whether to use AI tools)
Tips for revising (and re-revising) your masterpiece
and much more
Related to this topic
-
The Boyfriend
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Victoria Connolly, Adam Blanford
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,021
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 993
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 993
Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She’s seen it all: men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers. But finally, she hits the jackpot. Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect. He's charming, handsome, and works as a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney is swept off her feet. Then the brutal murder of a young woman—the latest in a string of deaths across the coast—confounds police. The primary suspect? A mystery man who dates his victims before he kills them.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The story whole thing is agonizing to listen to.
- By G Andrew Smith on 10-01-24
By: Freida McFadden
-
Here One Moment
- By: Liane Moriarty
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee, Geraldine Hakewill
- Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,858
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,783
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,783
The plane is jam-packed. Every seat is taken. So of course the flight is delayed! Flight attendant Allegra Patel likes her job—she’s generally happy with her life, even if she can’t figure out why she hooks up with a man she barely speaks to—but today is her twenty-eighth birthday. She can think of plenty of things she’d rather be doing than placating a bunch of grumpy passengers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful
- By Feviegirl on 09-18-24
By: Liane Moriarty
-
Atomic Habits
- An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
- By: James Clear
- Narrated by: James Clear
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 137,962
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 112,891
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 111,837
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving - every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
start here, if you are looking to achieve in life
- By NL on 10-22-18
By: James Clear
-
Revenge of the Tipping Point
- Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 226
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 223
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 223
Why is Miami… Miami? What does the heartbreaking fate of the cheetah tell us about the way we raise our children? Why do Ivy League schools care so much about sports? What is the Magic Third, and what does it mean for racial harmony? In this provocative new work, Malcolm Gladwell returns to the subject of social epidemics and tipping points, this time with the aim of explaining the dark side of contagious phenomena. Through a series of gripping stories, Gladwell traces the rise of a new and troubling form of social engineering
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Intriguing stories & insightful analysis
- By Lucy A. Pithecus on 10-02-24
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
From Here to the Great Unknown
- A Memoir
- By: Lisa Marie Presley, Riley Keough
- Narrated by: Riley Keough, Julia Roberts
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 631
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 619
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 619
In 2022, Lisa Marie Presley asked her daughter to help finally finish her long-gestating memoir. A month later, Lisa Marie was dead, and the world would never know her story in her own words, never know the passionate, joyful, caring, and complicated woman that Riley loved and now grieved. Riley got the tapes that her mother had recorded for the book, lay in her bed, and listened as Lisa Marie told story after story about smashing golf carts together in the yards of Graceland, about the unconditional love she felt from her father, about being upstairs, just the two of them.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Raw emotions
- By Kindle Customer on 10-08-24
By: Lisa Marie Presley, and others
-
All the Colors of the Dark
- By: Chris Whitaker
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,201
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,031
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,031
1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book of 2024
- By Jmo930 on 07-04-24
By: Chris Whitaker
-
The Boyfriend
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Victoria Connolly, Adam Blanford
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,021
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 993
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 993
Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She’s seen it all: men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers. But finally, she hits the jackpot. Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect. He's charming, handsome, and works as a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney is swept off her feet. Then the brutal murder of a young woman—the latest in a string of deaths across the coast—confounds police. The primary suspect? A mystery man who dates his victims before he kills them.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
The story whole thing is agonizing to listen to.
- By G Andrew Smith on 10-01-24
By: Freida McFadden
-
Here One Moment
- By: Liane Moriarty
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee, Geraldine Hakewill
- Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,858
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,783
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,783
The plane is jam-packed. Every seat is taken. So of course the flight is delayed! Flight attendant Allegra Patel likes her job—she’s generally happy with her life, even if she can’t figure out why she hooks up with a man she barely speaks to—but today is her twenty-eighth birthday. She can think of plenty of things she’d rather be doing than placating a bunch of grumpy passengers.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful
- By Feviegirl on 09-18-24
By: Liane Moriarty
-
Atomic Habits
- An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
- By: James Clear
- Narrated by: James Clear
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 137,962
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 112,891
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 111,837
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving - every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
start here, if you are looking to achieve in life
- By NL on 10-22-18
By: James Clear
-
Revenge of the Tipping Point
- Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering
- By: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 226
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 223
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 223
Why is Miami… Miami? What does the heartbreaking fate of the cheetah tell us about the way we raise our children? Why do Ivy League schools care so much about sports? What is the Magic Third, and what does it mean for racial harmony? In this provocative new work, Malcolm Gladwell returns to the subject of social epidemics and tipping points, this time with the aim of explaining the dark side of contagious phenomena. Through a series of gripping stories, Gladwell traces the rise of a new and troubling form of social engineering
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Intriguing stories & insightful analysis
- By Lucy A. Pithecus on 10-02-24
By: Malcolm Gladwell
-
From Here to the Great Unknown
- A Memoir
- By: Lisa Marie Presley, Riley Keough
- Narrated by: Riley Keough, Julia Roberts
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 631
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 619
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 619
In 2022, Lisa Marie Presley asked her daughter to help finally finish her long-gestating memoir. A month later, Lisa Marie was dead, and the world would never know her story in her own words, never know the passionate, joyful, caring, and complicated woman that Riley loved and now grieved. Riley got the tapes that her mother had recorded for the book, lay in her bed, and listened as Lisa Marie told story after story about smashing golf carts together in the yards of Graceland, about the unconditional love she felt from her father, about being upstairs, just the two of them.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Raw emotions
- By Kindle Customer on 10-08-24
By: Lisa Marie Presley, and others
-
All the Colors of the Dark
- By: Chris Whitaker
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,201
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6,031
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,031
1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book of 2024
- By Jmo930 on 07-04-24
By: Chris Whitaker
-
The Women
- A Novel
- By: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kristin Hannah
- Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 36,574
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 35,094
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 35,097
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great story
- By AJ Frithiof on 02-08-24
By: Kristin Hannah
-
Be Ready When the Luck Happens
- A Memoir
- By: Ina Garten
- Narrated by: Ina Garten
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 391
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 382
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 382
In her long-awaited memoir, Ina Garten—aka the Barefoot Contessa, author of thirteen bestselling cookbooks, beloved Food Network personality, Instagram sensation, and cultural icon—shares her personal story with those hungry for a seat at her table. Here, for the first time, Ina Garten presents an intimate, entertaining, and inspiring account of her remarkable journey. Ina’s gift is to make everything look easy, yet all her accomplishments have been the result of hard work, audacious choices, and exquisite attention to detail.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I love that Ina narrated it.
- By Tricia on 10-06-24
By: Ina Garten
-
The Message
- By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Narrated by: Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 372
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 360
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 360
Ta-Nehisi Coates originally set out to write a book about writing, in the tradition of Orwell’s classic “Politics and the English Language,” but found himself grappling with deeper questions about how our stories—our reporting and imaginative narratives and mythmaking—expose and distort our realities. In the first of the book’s three intertwining essays, Coates, on his first trip to Africa, finds himself in two places at once: in Dakar, a modern city in Senegal, and in a mythic kingdom in his mind.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Coates is our Baldwin, our DuBois, our Douglass
- By Lauren on 10-01-24
By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
-
7 Hours to Die
- By: James Patterson, Duane Swierczynski
- Narrated by: Sarah Paulson, Patina Miller, Mel Rodriguez, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 425
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 395
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 395
Kidnappers grabbed Jenna in broad daylight, right in front of her children and their horrified classmates. Her family was issued an insane ransom demand: $25 million in cash and jewels, payable by the end of the school day, otherwise they’ll never see her again. As Jenna’s mother scrambles to gather the money, detectives Mo Butler and George Ortega follow the trail of the kidnappers, which will lead them through a sordid landscape of jealous lovers, broken dreamers, and twisted schemers. But every second counts, and there’s one thing Jenna Wade doesn’t have: very much time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Intensity
- By The Grammie on 09-18-24
By: James Patterson, and others
-
Counting Miracles
- A Novel
- By: Nicholas Sparks
- Narrated by: Holter Graham, Nicholas Sparks
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 374
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 369
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 369
Tanner Hughes was raised by his grandparents, following in his grandfather’s military footsteps to become an Army Ranger. His whole life has been spent abroad, and he is the proverbial rolling stone: happiest when off on his next adventure, zero desire to settle down. But when his grandmother passes away, her last words to him are find where you belong. She also drops a bombshell, telling him the name of the father he never knew—and where to find him.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good story with terrible narration
- By Ocean Breeze on 09-26-24
By: Nicholas Sparks
-
The God of the Woods
- A Novel
- By: Liz Moore
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,301
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,137
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,136
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It’s good
- By Suzan Ando on 07-28-24
By: Liz Moore