Title of lesson: How to Write the Worst College Essay!

Grade(s): 11th-12th
Duration: 30 minutes
Group Size: Small groups
Learning Objective: Helping inspire junior and senior students to professionally write
their college essays. This lesson show students how not to write their essays by having
them edit it and create a better essay in timed small groups.
ASCA/NYSSCA National Standards and Competencies:
Academic Development
Standard A
Students will acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that contribute to
effective learning in school and across the life span.
A:A2.4 apply knowledge and learning styles to positively influence school
performance
A:A3.5 share knowledge
Standard C
Students will understand the relationship of academics to the world of work, and
to life at home and in the community.
A:C1.6 understand how school success and academic achievement
enhance future career and vocational opportunities
Career Development
Standard A: Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of
work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career
decisions
C:A1 Develop Career Awareness
C:A1.3 Develop an awareness of personal abilities, skills,
interests and motivations
C:A1.4 learn how to interact and work cooperatively in teams
Common Core Standard:
Career Development and Occupational Studies
Standard 3a: Universal Foundation Skills
Students will demonstrate mastery of the foundation skills and competencies
essential for success in the workplace.
NOSCA Component:
1. College Aspirations
Build a college-going culture based on early college awareness by nurturing in
students the confidence to aspire to college and the resilience to overcome
challenges along the way. Maintain high expectations by providing adequate

supports, building social capital and conveying the conviction that all students
can succeed in college.
Materials:
Red pens
Worst essay handout
Introduction (5 minutes) : The school counselor will welcome the students to the class.
He or she will then remind the class of the college application process and of the
importance of the college essays professionalism. The school counselor will ask the class
to divide into small groups of 5 people (depending on class size) and she will distribute
the worst college essay. The small groups will have 15 minutes to edit the paper and
collaborate on how they think the essay could be improved.
Procedure (15 minutes): Each student will receive a worst essay handout and have a
chance to read it on his own. After quickly skimming the essay, each group of students
will come together to edit one essay with a red pen. This essay will be the sign of their
groups collaboration and how they felt the essay could have been improved and what
they felt was missing from the essay.
Closure/Evaluation (10 minutes): The counselor will have the class come together and
share their ideas on the major issues with the essay. It is encouraged to hear from each
group and have them explain why they felt the paper contained errors. After hearing from
each group, the school counselor will collect the edited paper from each group as a source
of assessing the classs understanding of the assignment.

Adapted from:
The creative school counselor (n.d.) Free lesson plans and google docs. Retrieved from
https://sites.google.com/site/creativeschcounseling/my-form