The best essays are those that have a purpose. They are more than random thoughts written on paper or trying to fill a paper with words in order to obtain the required number for an arbitrary word count. Whether writers are allowed to choose their own theme, or have strict guidelines, the best essays cover one of three areas.

The best essays are those that have a purpose. They are more than random thoughts written on paper or trying to fill a paper with words in order to obtain the required number for an arbitrary word count. Whether writers are allowed to choose their own theme, or have strict guidelines, the best essays cover one of three areas.

1. Instruct or teach the reader about something

2. Give the reader something to enjoy

3. Persuade or move the reader

The best papers touch on one or more of these objectives, and follow some simple ideas. Bad college essays do not meet these objectives. The document may have structure, excellent spelling, and proper use of grammar, but if there is no purpose the document does not reach the goal.

Teach or advise the reader

Admission papers, scientific papers and scholarships papers are often designed to help the reader learn something. Admission papers often teach the reader about the author. Academic papers often have assigned topics and scholarship papers can be the same way. Your reader may already know what you tell them, but if you write as if they don't, you'll have a great paper.

Give the reader something to enjoy

It may be an admission document that explains your unique qualities or a theoretical paper on a topic, leave the reader with something they liked about what you wrote. When writing academic papers or scholarly essays, it is particularly important for the reader to enjoy your paper. You can do this by writing on topics that institutions value, explicitly follow instructions, and coincide with the values specified in the document. In the essay, write so that the reader appreciate the object on which you write. You can do this by making appropriate investigations and providing good detail in the descriptions.

Motivate or persuade the reader

Another important purpose in many of the best college essays is to move or persuade the reader to do or feel something. If they are supposed to feel an emotion, you can use descriptive language to draw the feelings out of your reader. If the purpose is more to persuade, think of your paper as a 'call to action' that will be so powerful it will get your readers off the couch to follow your cause.

Follow the directions

Nothing irritates a teacher or admissions counselor more than to read an essay, only to find that the basic instructions were not followed. The best college essays follow the instructions perfectly. Many admissions officers do not even consider applicants that do not follow the instructions. You can do this by showing that you have done all the reading, citing the appropriate resources, and be sure the product followed the directions.

Do not displease the reader

Great! You have a finished product! Now, make sure that your paper does not do any of the following things which are sure to turn off the reader and either hurt your grade or your admissions chances.

1. Unsupported claims - using words like, "always," "never," "every," etc. is a sure way to make your paper more dramatic than it needs to be.

2. Tone - don't talk down to the reader

3. Distractions - avoid using a lot of unnecessary punctuation marks like exclamation marks, emoticons and special characters.

4. Wordy - do not write exceptionally long sentences or paragraphs, as it will be difficult for the reader to dissect what you are saying.