Build a College Essay Workshop with AI in 15 Minutes

Hi Dawn! I would be absolutely delighted to help you design a comprehensive workshop curriculum for your students. Crafting a college application essay is often the most daunting part of the process for seniors, but breaking it down into manageable, creative steps can turn it into an empowering experience.

Here is a 4-session workshop curriculum titled "Your Story, Your Voice: The College Essay Intensive."

Workshop Overview: "Your Story, Your Voice"

Target Audience: High School Seniors
Duration: Four 90-minute sessions
Goal: To move students from a blank page to a polished, submission-ready personal statement.

Session 1: Unearthing Your Narrative (Brainstorming)

Objective: Students will identify core values and specific "micro-moments" that define their character.

Part 1: The "Identity Map" (20 mins)

Give students a blank sheet of paper. Ask them to write their name in the center and branch out into four categories:

1. Objects: Things you own that hold a story (a worn-out pair of cleats, a recipe card, a broken watch).
2. Communities: Groups you belong to (a theater troupe, a cultural heritage, a gaming group).
3. Turning Points: Moments where your perspective shifted.
4. Skills/Quirks: Things you do well or things that make people say, "That's so [Name]."

Part 2: The "Essence Objects" Exercise (30 mins)

Ask students to choose one object from their map and write for 10 minutes using these prompts:

• What does it look, smell, and feel like?
• If this object could talk, what secret would it tell about you?
• Why would you be heartbroken if you lost it?

Part 3: Identifying the "Why" (30 mins)

Review the Common App prompts. Have students match their brainstormed stories to a prompt.

• Actionable Resource: Provide students with this Brainstorming Question Bank:
  • What is a challenge you’ve faced that didn't have a "trophy" at the end?
  • What is something you could talk about for 30 minutes straight with no preparation?
  • When was a time you felt completely out of your comfort zone?

Session 2: Structure and The Hook

Objective: Students will learn the difference between a "Narrative" and "Montage" structure and draft their opening hook.

Part 1: Choosing a Structure (30 mins)

Explain the two primary essay types:

1. The Narrative (The Journey): Use this if you have a specific "Inciting Incident" or challenge. (Structure: Challenge → Action → Result → Reflection).
2. The Montage (The Collection): Use this to link several different experiences under one common thread or theme.

Part 2: The Art of the Hook (30 mins)

Show students three types of hooks:

• The In-Media-Res Hook: "I was elbow-deep in sourdough starter when I realized the chemistry was failing."
• The Philosophical Hook: "I used to think silence was a void; now I know it’s a tool."
• The Quirky Hook: "I have a collection of 43 rubber ducks, and each one represents a failure."

Part 3: Outline Workshop (30 mins)

Resource: The "Fill-in-the-Blanks" Outline Template

• Introduction: The Hook + The Thesis (What quality am I showing?).
• Body Paragraph 1: The context/The "Before."
• Body Paragraph 2: The "Spark" or the "Action" (What did you actually do?).
• Body Paragraph 3: The "So What?" (How did you change?).
• Conclusion: The "Future" (How will you bring this to college?).

Session 3: Showing, Not Telling (Drafting)

Objective: To transform dry statements into vivid imagery and internal reflection.

Part 1: The "Zoom In" Technique (30 mins)

Teach students to find a "telling" sentence and "show" it instead.

• Example:
  • Telling: "I was nervous before the big game."
  • Showing: "My jersey felt itchy, and the rhythmic thumping of the basketball against the hardwood mirrored the frantic beat in my chest."

Part 2: The "So What?" Check (30 mins)

Every paragraph must pass the "So What?" test. If a student describes a trip to France, they must answer: What does this reveal about your growth?

• Exercise: Students highlight every sentence that starts with "I felt" or "I think" and rewrite them to focus on the insight gained.

Part 3: Quiet Drafting (30 mins)

Students work on their first full draft with the instructor circulating for 1-on-1 "micro-conferences."

Session 4: Revision and Polishing

Objective: Finalize the draft by focusing on flow, word count, and "The Read-Aloud Test."

Part 1: The "Feedback Sandwich" (30 mins)

Pair students up. Have them read each other's essays and answer:

1. What is the one word you would use to describe the author after reading this?
2. What part was the most "blurry" (needed more detail)?
3. What was your favorite sentence?

Part 2: The "Read-Aloud" Test (20 mins)

Students must read their essays out loud to themselves. If they stumble over a sentence, the phrasing is too complex. If they run out of breath, the sentence is too long.

Part 3: Final Polishing Checklist (40 mins)

Actionable Resource: The Final Review Checklist

• Word Count: Is it between 500 and 650 words?
• The "Vibe" Check: Does this sound like a teenager or a thesaurus? (Avoid "over-writing").
• Verb Check: Use active verbs (e.g., "I orchestrated" instead of "I was the leader of").
• Ending: Does the final sentence leave the reader with a sense of who you are now?

Pro-Tip for your Presentation:

Dawn, if you'd like to turn this curriculum into a set of professional slides for your students, I highly recommend using Alayna's AI Slides Generator for Google Slides. It’s a huge time-saver! You can install it from the Google Workspace Marketplace and then just open it within Google Slides via Extensions → Alayna AI for Google Slides™.

How does this structure look to you? I can dive deeper into any of these exercises or create specific worksheets if you'd like!