The 3 Ds of College Essay Writing: How Details, Dialogue, and Description Make Your Essay Stand Out (With Examples)
Want to write a personal statement that will really make your college applications stand out? Instead of veering into generalizations, which are boring and send your reader packing, take time to remember Details, Dialogue, and Description, what we at Revision Learning call the 3 Ds, from your lived experience to draw your reader into your experience and leave them asking for more.
The Details, Dialogue, and Description you remember make your college essays vivid and your own. These 3 Ds of college application essays add spice to your writing, just as surely as plenty of salt and pepper keep you in the kitchen on Top Chef.
Here's how to do it:
Details
Share the experience with your reader through vivid sensory details: What colors were the leaves? What sounds came with the pounding rain? Which vegetables could you taste in your grandmother's soup? What perfume was she wearing? Those scratchy trousers you wore to your first interview, were they polyester or wool?
Dialogue
It's much more powerful to recreate the exact words of the conversation. Which of these draws you in and makes you want to read more?
"We talked about Manhattanhenge."
"That is the biggest sun I have ever seen," Charles said, pointing west across 53rd Street.
Description
These are the journalism questions: who, what, when, where, with the occasional why woven in. Who else was there? What was going on at this moment and sociopolitically? What year was it? What season? Where in the world were you? What brought you there? Set the scene for your reader, so they are ready when you appear and take action!
One More D for the Road
It's much better to go into depth with your college application essays, and to talk specifically about one specific moment, than to try to convey your whole life history in 250-500 words!
For more on how to structure your essay around a single meaningful moment, check out our post on how to write a college essay that engages your reader and our college essay rubric guide.
Free Download: The Focus Out Worksheet
The 3 Ds work best when you practice using them. Our Focus Out Worksheet helps you replace generic language with the specific Details, Dialogue, and Description that make your college essay vivid and your own. Download it free to apply the 3 Ds to your own writing.
For personalized support, explore our college essay coaching and workshops.