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Write Out Loud: Use the Story To College Method, Write Great Application Essays, and Get into Your Top Choice College 1st edition by Barash, Carol (2013) Paperback
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First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 28, 2014
This book is for everyone! I highly recommend this book if you want to improve your writing.
IS WRITING A 21ST CENTURY REQUIREMENT?
My favorite part of publishing travels stories on We Said Go Travel is getting to cybermeet people from all over our planet. I love stories about honeymooning in Murree, Pakistan or a first solo travel in South East Asia, when an author tells about a place they love or that transformed them I am always interested.
Often people ask me how to write better. My recommendation is to read Write Out Loud, a book designed to help high school students write their essays for college. As Carol Barash states, “When you master your stories, you master your life. And when you change your stories, you change your life.” Her simple steps to improve your writing by sharing “the three D’s: details, dialogue, and description” will help you. In the 21st century, everyone has to tell their own story and be their own best marketer. “’No matter your age, it is now required that you can share stories that reveal your character, and what the world looks like from your perspective.” Participating in any profession or social media network necessitates you to tell your tale and in an engaging manner.
I completely agree with Barash that “When you put yourself and your experience into an issue, you instantly raise the stakes and people need to take you seriously. They may not agree with you, but they are likely to respect your passion, commitment, and willingness to be vulnerable in the service of others.” Once you find a way to tell your stories you may be surprised at the doors that open for you. Practicing makes it easier.
There are “massive open online courses (MOOCs) and other online training programs. There are core competencies in many fields that you can now study—for free or nearly free—from the top professors at the top universities. Take a look at everything that is offered on Coursera and Udacity.” You can create your own free blog or publish on someone else’s but everyone has a story to share.
Wondering what you need to do? Using the Moments Method, you will learn to focus on key issues: “Does the essay explore specific events, or does it remain general? Does the essay draw the reader in right from the start? Does the essay leave the reader with a feeling that maybe he or she has met you before or wants to meet you in person and learn more about you?” After working on the exercises, I am certain you will be a better writer.
“Neuroscience research shows that when people listen to a story there are three immediate responses: their brains trigger memories of similar stories; they feel empathy; and they have a desire to take action.” I hope you will consider sharing a story of transformation with our growing global community; we cannot wait to learn more about you. Remember, “stick to the actions, dialogue, and details to show your reader what you realized, thought, or felt.” Some of the best tales about what happened nearby or in your own backyard. “Reveal the depth of your character, your intellectual curiosity, the impact you had on your local community, and the impact the community has had on you.”
This article first appeared at http://www.wesaidgotravel.com/writing...
About this review: Lisa Niver Rajna is co-author of Traveling in Sin, co-founder of We Said Go Travel and currently reading the 500 entries for the Travel Writing Contest.
IS WRITING A 21ST CENTURY REQUIREMENT?
My favorite part of publishing travels stories on We Said Go Travel is getting to cybermeet people from all over our planet. I love stories about honeymooning in Murree, Pakistan or a first solo travel in South East Asia, when an author tells about a place they love or that transformed them I am always interested.
Often people ask me how to write better. My recommendation is to read Write Out Loud, a book designed to help high school students write their essays for college. As Carol Barash states, “When you master your stories, you master your life. And when you change your stories, you change your life.” Her simple steps to improve your writing by sharing “the three D’s: details, dialogue, and description” will help you. In the 21st century, everyone has to tell their own story and be their own best marketer. “’No matter your age, it is now required that you can share stories that reveal your character, and what the world looks like from your perspective.” Participating in any profession or social media network necessitates you to tell your tale and in an engaging manner.
I completely agree with Barash that “When you put yourself and your experience into an issue, you instantly raise the stakes and people need to take you seriously. They may not agree with you, but they are likely to respect your passion, commitment, and willingness to be vulnerable in the service of others.” Once you find a way to tell your stories you may be surprised at the doors that open for you. Practicing makes it easier.
There are “massive open online courses (MOOCs) and other online training programs. There are core competencies in many fields that you can now study—for free or nearly free—from the top professors at the top universities. Take a look at everything that is offered on Coursera and Udacity.” You can create your own free blog or publish on someone else’s but everyone has a story to share.
Wondering what you need to do? Using the Moments Method, you will learn to focus on key issues: “Does the essay explore specific events, or does it remain general? Does the essay draw the reader in right from the start? Does the essay leave the reader with a feeling that maybe he or she has met you before or wants to meet you in person and learn more about you?” After working on the exercises, I am certain you will be a better writer.
“Neuroscience research shows that when people listen to a story there are three immediate responses: their brains trigger memories of similar stories; they feel empathy; and they have a desire to take action.” I hope you will consider sharing a story of transformation with our growing global community; we cannot wait to learn more about you. Remember, “stick to the actions, dialogue, and details to show your reader what you realized, thought, or felt.” Some of the best tales about what happened nearby or in your own backyard. “Reveal the depth of your character, your intellectual curiosity, the impact you had on your local community, and the impact the community has had on you.”
This article first appeared at http://www.wesaidgotravel.com/writing...
About this review: Lisa Niver Rajna is co-author of Traveling in Sin, co-founder of We Said Go Travel and currently reading the 500 entries for the Travel Writing Contest.
September 5, 2013
From my book review blog at:
http://kickinbooks.wordpress.com/2013...
Through NetGalley, McGraw-Hill Professional was kind enough to share a copy of this eGalley for the purposes of my reading and reviewing it. Although it was provided to me at no cost, I am under no obligation to give a positive review.
While I typically review books that interest me in order to provide the publisher and author with an honest review from someone who is hopefully within their target market, I’ve yet to run across a review opportunity that was so perfectly timed.
You see, this is a book that helps high school students write the best possible college application essays, and here I sit with my younger son a high school junior with incredible college potential (he wants to go to med school and is more than capable). So not only do I get to review the book, but I get a great opportunity to see if this is something I would like to get in print format for my son.
That answer, by the way, is a resounding yes.
I have always been a proponent of empowering our children, and I’ve been even more adamant about that following the death of my wife two years ago. Since I don’t know when my time will come, my boys have to be as prepared for life as possible.
One of things I really like about this book is Barash expects parents to be almost completely hands-off in the process. Encourage. Offer suggestions when asked, and only when asked. But under no circumstances fix the writing, not even a comma. Once you start doing that, it’s a slippery slope toward the parent being the author instead of the child. And if our children are going to be independent in college, why not start now?
The most important thing is the story must be in your child’s voice. It may have flaws, it may have grammatical or spelling errors, but most of all it must be honest. Since the admission staff at colleges read hundreds if not thousands of these every year, it’s easy for them to spot a stilted essay that is trying to tell them what the author thinks they want to hear.
Scrap that. As a prospective college student, tell them the story you want to tell. Or better yet, the one you have to tell.
The vast majority of the book consists of exercises to assist the student in writing the best possible essay. Make no mistake about it, the book is intended as a companion to the Story To College website, with which Barash is also affiliated, but it does stand on its own. While I didn’t do all the exercises, as I didn’t want to have any pre-conceived notions of what my son might or might not want to write, I did skim through them to see what they were trying to accomplish, and I am impressed.
Bottom line is, if you have a student who has any interest in going to college, this book could be of great benefit to him or her. I will definitely be getting a print copy for my son.
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)
http://kickinbooks.wordpress.com/2013...
Through NetGalley, McGraw-Hill Professional was kind enough to share a copy of this eGalley for the purposes of my reading and reviewing it. Although it was provided to me at no cost, I am under no obligation to give a positive review.
While I typically review books that interest me in order to provide the publisher and author with an honest review from someone who is hopefully within their target market, I’ve yet to run across a review opportunity that was so perfectly timed.
You see, this is a book that helps high school students write the best possible college application essays, and here I sit with my younger son a high school junior with incredible college potential (he wants to go to med school and is more than capable). So not only do I get to review the book, but I get a great opportunity to see if this is something I would like to get in print format for my son.
That answer, by the way, is a resounding yes.
I have always been a proponent of empowering our children, and I’ve been even more adamant about that following the death of my wife two years ago. Since I don’t know when my time will come, my boys have to be as prepared for life as possible.
One of things I really like about this book is Barash expects parents to be almost completely hands-off in the process. Encourage. Offer suggestions when asked, and only when asked. But under no circumstances fix the writing, not even a comma. Once you start doing that, it’s a slippery slope toward the parent being the author instead of the child. And if our children are going to be independent in college, why not start now?
The most important thing is the story must be in your child’s voice. It may have flaws, it may have grammatical or spelling errors, but most of all it must be honest. Since the admission staff at colleges read hundreds if not thousands of these every year, it’s easy for them to spot a stilted essay that is trying to tell them what the author thinks they want to hear.
Scrap that. As a prospective college student, tell them the story you want to tell. Or better yet, the one you have to tell.
The vast majority of the book consists of exercises to assist the student in writing the best possible essay. Make no mistake about it, the book is intended as a companion to the Story To College website, with which Barash is also affiliated, but it does stand on its own. While I didn’t do all the exercises, as I didn’t want to have any pre-conceived notions of what my son might or might not want to write, I did skim through them to see what they were trying to accomplish, and I am impressed.
Bottom line is, if you have a student who has any interest in going to college, this book could be of great benefit to him or her. I will definitely be getting a print copy for my son.
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)
January 3, 2025
This is an amazing guide to simply writing well with a slight focus on writing about yourself in terms of a personal narrative. She gives good methods that explain exactly HOW to show your reader vs. tell your reader about yourself.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews