As we continue our series on the Common App Essay, we’ve already explored what the essay is and how to get started through brainstorming meaningful ideas. In Part One, we introduced the purpose of the Common App Essay and where to begin your application writing. In Part Two, we took a closer look at how to choose the right prompt and understand what admissions officers are really looking for in your response.
Now, in Part Three, we’re moving into the next stage of the process: turning your ideas into a strong draft and refining your writing through editing. This is where many students begin to feel stuck, not because they don’t have good ideas, but because they’re unsure how to shape those ideas into a clear, focused, and compelling essay.
In this post, we’ll walk through how to approach brainstorming and drafting in a structured way, how to move from rough ideas to polished writing, and what the editing process should actually look like. We’ll also share key strategies, common pitfalls to avoid, and tips from our writing coaches to help you strengthen your essay at every stage.
By the end of this post, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how to take your brainstorming ideas and turn them into a well-developed Common App Essay that reflects your voice, experiences, and identity.
The Purpose of Brainstorming and Drafts for Common App Essays
Starting your Common App essay seems scary at first. Thinking about your topic, tone, and personal story can, at times, seem like a big task. So what are the steps you can take to break down the Common App essay?
First, start with brainstorming: start by making a list of all your experiences, awards, life challenges, hobbies, responsibilities, unique experiences, and key parts of your personality. Next, ask yourself what you want to share with your reader. What story best displays the important parts of your personality? Go through your brainstorming list and find the ideas that best describe YOU.
The purpose of brainstorming is to explore ideas and potential topics. Even if the activity or challenge seems small or insignificant, you should still add it to your brainstorming page. It may seem like an insignificant detail to you, but to the reader, it could be a key detail that adds context, explains your personal interests, and adds information about your unique experiences. Try not to hold back ideas or overthink your brainstorming stage. The more ideas you explore for potential topics, the better.
Next, start drafting. The purpose of drafting is to try out different ways of writing. You can create a different draft for a variety of ideas and later choose the one that best explains your identity. Try not to overthink this step! Set a timer for 20 minutes and just start writing what comes to mind about the topic you are focusing on.
Compare drafts and choose the one you like best. Both brainstorming and drafting are important steps for your Common App essay, so it’s always best to start early and give yourself enough time during these stages. From there, you can begin editing.
The purpose of the Common App Essay is to showcase your unique personality through a story, a description of an activity, or in a creative way that best displays your identity. This is why each step of the Common App Essay is crucial. It’s not simply about saying your story, it’s also important HOW you say it.
How to Approach These Questions
Have your writing fit the question, not the other way around! Start by writing your drafts and as your writing forms, ask yourself which question fits what you have written. There is no right or wrong answer here; you can start with a description, a story, a definition, and whatever you find will introduce your ideas best.
Structuring the Common App Essay
The reader only knows what you tell them! It’s crucial to provide context in your writing. Use details such as time, setting, and duration to ensure the reader is up to speed with the information you are providing them. For example, if you are discussing an activity, make sure you include how long you participated, when you started, or what lessons and skills you took away from that experience.
For Common App essays, it’s always best to keep a clean structure. This means starting by including details before jumping into another topic. The tone of your Common App essay should be informal, clear, descriptive and specific. Universities want to hear your unique voice, so don’t shy away from a story/writing structure simply because it seems different. You can always include a creative hook at the start, as long as it’s relevant and flows nicely with the rest of your writing.
Editing Common App Essays
“I already met the word limit and wrote all my ideas down. What is there to edit”?
We edit our work for a number of reasons: to fit into a word count, to make your ideas flow, to work on phrasing and sentence structure, and to clearly express what we want to state. At its core, though, the purpose of editing is to polish.
It might be helpful to have multiple rounds of editing to ensure you express your ideas in the best way they could be said. The editing phase might be the longest stage of your Common App essay because you want to allow yourself to take breaks. Once you finish a round of editing, take a break! Close your laptop and do something you enjoy for a couple of hours. Once you come back to your writing, you might notice something you missed earlier, or you might even have new ideas. This method ensures you approach your writing with a fresh view each time, and you can avoid burnout during your application writing.
During your editing process, you can (and should) ask someone to read over your writing. Ask them what main ideas they take away from what you have written. If their response does not highlight something important you want the reader to acknowledge or understand, you might want to tweak your writing to emphasize certain ideas more clearly.
The editing process might seem like a long process, but at Options Solutions, our writing coaches can help! No matter where you are in your application journey, our consultants and writing coaches can help guide your ideas and writing to display your unique identity. If you need help with your writing, reach out to us, and we can provide individualized assistance.
Dos and Don’ts
Do:
- Do talk about topics that have played a large role in your life
- Do spend time brainstorming the details you would like to include
- Do spend time doing multiple rounds of editing before creating your final draft
- Do read your work out loud to ensure seamless sentence structure and flow
- Do reach out when you need help. At Options, we can provide individualized help no matter where you are in your application process
Don’t:
- Don’t choose a topic that may seem controversial, unless you can describe it in a clear and respectful manner
- Don’t submit an essay simply because it fits a word count, includes the main topics you want to discuss, or because you are tired of the writing process
- Don’t rush your writing process! Common App essays include broad questions; therefore, spend time exploring ideas before jumping into your writing
- Don’t overthink or get rid of any ideas simply because they are not “good enough”
- Don’t assume your reader knows your details. Be as specific as you can about what an activity is and what your responsibilities within the activity were
Final Reminder
The purpose of the Common App Essay is to showcase your unique personality through a story, a description of an activity, or in a creative way that best displays your identity. Make sure you provide the reader with context. Use details such as time, setting, and duration to ensure the reader is up to speed with the information you are providing them.
Once you have edited your draft and you feel happy with the result, try reading your writing out loud a couple of times. This helps with checking writing flow and structure. Also, make sure you take breaks during each step to avoid writing burnout and so that you can approach your writing with a fresh view. And remember, you’re not in this alone! Reach out to us for help with your Common App essay; our coaches are available to meet with students all summer long.
Admissions is a dynamic field and process. This post was written in June of 2026, and the information discussed was accurate at the time of writing, but that information may be different when you are reading this post. Please check each institution’s website for the most recent information.
