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Introduction

Writing in college can be a challenge for some students. Having experienced success with writing in high school, some students are puzzled not to experience similar success in college.

While you will have many different types of writing assignments in college, the following slides present some key differences between writing in college and writing in high school.

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Essay structure and content

High School Essays	College Essays
Essays have three main points	Essays have as many points as needed
The 5-paragraph essay is commonly taught: Introduction, three body paragraphs that address each of the three main points, conclusion	Multi-paragraph essay that usually has an introduction and conclusion, but the number of body paragraphs is flexible and determined by the assignment
Personal essays are common.	Essays are evidence-based.

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Thesis statement

High School Essays	College Essays
Essays must include a thesis statement.	Most essays will have a thesis statement. However, in more advanced writing, the the essay may have an implied thesis.
The opening paragraph will almost always end with a thesis statement.	Often, the thesis statement will be at the end of the first paragraph, but this is not always the case. The thesis may appear elsewhere in the essay.
A thesis is supported by three main points.	A thesis is supported by as many points as necessary.

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Argument

High School Essays	College Essays
Argument may be based on opinion or personal experience.	Arguments need to be supported by evidence from sources. In general, these sources must be reliable, scholarly sources. In our class, we will be using the Leeward CC library databases to ensure the sources are reliable and scholarly.

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Research

High School Essays	College Essays
Internet sources from Google are often acceptable. Sometimes students use the first items in a search list and can end up with unreliable sources. Books and magazines from the school or public library are often acceptable sources.	Scholarly sources are required. Online sources are often found in college library subscription databases like Ebscohost. Peer-reviewed journals and professional-level books can also be acceptable sources.
Documentation of researched material is required but a specific format may not always be followed.	Documentation of researched material must follow a standard format like MLA or APA.

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Essay Format

High School writing	College writing
Cover page for essay required.	Unless requested by a professor or a particular style, no cover page is required.
Extra points for graphics.	Graphics may be used if needed and permitted, but they should be relevant and labeled.
Fancy fonts show creativity.	Fonts should be standard--Times New Roman or Arial-- and in 12-point type.

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Conclusion

These slides introduced some general differences between high school and college writing. Your professors will give you more specific instructions for your writing assignments, but, when in doubt, these generalizations are good to follow!

“Writing in College” is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA by Susan Wood.