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Are you applying to a college or a scholarship that requires a community service essay? Do you know how to write an essay that will impress readers and clearly show the impact your work had on yourself and others?

Read on to learn step-by-step instructions for writing a great community service essay that will help you stand out and be memorable.

What Is a Community Service Essay? Why Do You Need One?

A community service essay is an essay that describes the volunteer work you did and the impact it had on you and your community. Community service essays can vary widely depending on specific requirements listed in the application, but, in general, they describe the work you did, why you found the work important, and how it benefited people around you.

Community service essays are typically needed for two reasons:

#1: To Apply to College

• Some colleges require students to write community service essays as part of their application or to be eligible for certain scholarships.
• You may also choose to highlight your community service work in your personal statement.

#2: To Apply for Scholarships

• Some scholarships are specifically awarded to students with exceptional community service experiences, and many use community service essays to help choose scholarship recipients.
• Green Mountain College offers one of the most famous of these scholarships. Their "Make a Difference Scholarship" offers full tuition, room, and board to students who have demonstrated a significant, positive impact through their community service

Getting Started With Your Essay

In the following sections, I'll go over each step of how to plan and write your essay. I'll also include sample excerpts for you to look through so you can get a better idea of what readers are looking for when they review your essay.

Step 1: Know the Essay Requirements

Before your start writing a single word, you should be familiar with the essay prompt. Each college or scholarship will have different requirements for their essay, so make sure you read these carefully and understand them.

Specific things to pay attention to include:

• Length requirement
• Application deadline
• The main purpose or focus of the essay
• If the essay should follow a specific structure

Below are three real community service essay prompts. Read through them and notice how much they vary in terms of length, detail, and what information the writer should include.

From the Equitable Excellence Scholarship:

"Describe your outstanding achievement in depth and provide the specific planning, training, goals, and steps taken to make the accomplishment successful. Include details about your role and highlight leadership you provided. Your essay must be a minimum of 350 words but not more than 600 words."

From the Laura W. Bush Traveling Scholarship:

"Essay (up to 500 words, double spaced) explaining your interest in being considered for the award and how your proposed project reflects or is related to both UNESCO's mandate and U.S. interests in promoting peace by sharing advances in education, science, culture, and communications."

From the LULAC National Scholarship Fund:

"Please type or print an essay of 300 words (maximum) on how your academic studies will contribute to your personal & professional goals. In addition, please discuss any community service or extracurricular activities you have been involved in that relate to your goals."

Step 2: Brainstorm Ideas

Even after you understand what the essay should be about, it can still be difficult to begin writing. Answer the following questions to help brainstorm essay ideas. You may be able to incorporate your answers into your essay.

• What community service activity that you've participated in has meant the most to you?
• What is your favorite memory from performing community service?
• Why did you decide to begin community service?
• What made you decide to volunteer where you did?
• How has your community service changed you?
• How has your community service helped others?
• How has your community service affected your plans for the future?

You don't need to answer all the questions, but if you find you have a lot of ideas for one of two of them, those may be things you want to include in your essay.

Writing Your Essay

How you structure your essay will depend on the requirements of the scholarship or school you are applying to. You may give an overview of all the work you did as a volunteer, or highlight a particularly memorable experience. You may focus on your personal growth or how your community benefited.

Regardless of the specific structure requested, follow the guidelines below to make sure your community service essay is memorable and clearly shows the impact of your work.

Samples of mediocre and excellent essays are included below to give you a better idea of how you should draft your own essay.

Step 1: Hook Your Reader In

You want the person reading your essay to be interested, so your first sentence should hook them in and entice them to read more. A good way to do this is to start in the middle of the action. Your first sentence could describe you helping build a house, releasing a rescued animal back to the wild, watching a student you tutored read a book on their own, or something else that quickly gets the reader interested. This will help set your essay apart and make it more memorable.

Compare these two opening sentences:

"I have volunteered at the Wishbone Pet Shelter for three years."

"The moment I saw the starving, mud-splattered puppy brought into the shelter with its tail between its legs, I knew I'd do whatever I could to save it."

The first sentence is a very general, bland statement. The majority of community service essays probably begin a lot like it, but it gives the reader little information and does nothing to draw them in. On the other hand, the second sentence begins immediately with action and helps persuade the reader to keep reading so they can learn what happened to the dog.

Step 2: Discuss the Work You Did

Once you've hooked your reader in with your first sentence, tell them about your community service experiences. State where you work, when you began working, how much time you've spent there, and what your main duties include. This will help the reader quickly put the rest of the essay in context and understand the basics of your community service work.

Not including basic details about your community service could leave your reader confused.

Step 3: Include Specific Details

It's the details of your community service that make your experience unique and memorable, so go into the specifics of what you did.

For example, don't just say you volunteered at a nursing home; talk about reading Mrs. Johnson her favorite book, watching Mr. Scott win at bingo, and seeing the residents play games with their grandchildren at the family day you organized. Try to include specific activities, moments, and people in your essay. Having details like these let the readers really understand what work you did and how it differs from other volunteer experiences.

Compare these two passages:

"For my volunteer work, I tutored children at a local elementary school. I helped them improve their math skills and become more confident students."

"As a volunteer at York Elementary School, I worked one-on-one with second and third graders who struggled with their math skills, particularly addition, subtraction, and fractions. As part of my work, I would create practice problems and quizzes and try to connect math to the students' interests. One of my favorite memories was when Sara, a student I had been working with for several weeks, told me that she enjoyed the math problems I had created about a girl buying and selling horses so much that she asked to help me create math problems for other students."

The first passage only gives basic information about the work done by the volunteer; there is very little detail included, and no evidence is given to support her claims. How did she help students improve their math skills? How did she know they were becoming more confident?

The second passage is much more detailed. It recounts a specific story and explains more fully what kind of work the volunteer did, as well as a specific instance of a student becoming more confident with her math skills. Providing more detail in your essay helps support your claims as well as make your essay more memorable and unique.

Step 4: Show Your Personality

It would be very hard to get a scholarship or place at a school if none of your readers felt like they knew much about you after finishing your essay, so make sure that your essay shows your personality. The way to do this is to state your personal strengths, then provide examples to support your claims. Take some time to think about which parts of your personality you would like your essay to highlight, then write about specific examples to show this.

• If you want to show that you're a motivated leader, describe a time when you organized an event or supervised other volunteers.
• If you want to show your teamwork skills, write about a time you helped a group of people work together better.
• If you want to show that you're a compassionate animal lover, write about taking care of neglected shelter animals and helping each of them find homes.

Step 5: State What You Accomplished

After you have described your community service and given specific examples of your work, you want to begin to wrap your essay up by stating your accomplishments. What was the impact of your community service? Did you build a house for a family to move into? Help students improve their reading skills? Clean up a local park? Make sure the impact of your work is clear; don't be worried about bragging here.

If you can include specific numbers, that will also strengthen your essay. Saying "I delivered meals to 24 home-bound senior citizens" is a stronger example than just saying "I delivered meals to lots of senior citizens."

Also be sure to explain why your work matters. Why is what you did important? Did it provide more parks for kids to play in? Help students get better grades? Give people medical care who would otherwise not have gotten it? This is an important part of your essay, so make sure to go into enough detail that your readers will know exactly what you accomplished and how it helped your community.

"My biggest accomplishment during my community service was helping to organize a family event at the retirement home. The children and grandchildren of many residents attended, and they all enjoyed playing games and watching movies together."

"The community service accomplishment that I'm most proud of is the work I did to help organize the First Annual Family Fun Day at the retirement home. My job was to design and organize fun activities that senior citizens and their younger relatives could enjoy. The event lasted eight hours and included ten different games, two performances, and a movie screening with popcorn. Almost 200 residents and family members attended throughout the day. This event was important because it provided an opportunity for senior citizens to connect with their family members in a way they aren't often able to. It also made the retirement home seem more fun and enjoyable to children, and we have seen an increase in the number of kids coming to visit their grandparents since the event."

The second passage is stronger for a variety of reasons. First, it goes into much more detail about the work the volunteer did. The first passage only states that she helped "organize a family event." That really doesn't tell readers much about her work or what her responsibilities were. The second passage is much clearer; her job was to "design and organize fun activities."

The second passage also explains the event in more depth. A family day can be many things; remember that your readers are likely not familiar with what you're talking about, so details help them get a clearer picture.

Lastly, the second passage makes the importance of the event clear: it helped residents connect with younger family members, and it helped retirement homes seem less intimidating to children, so now some residents see their grand kids more often.

Step 6: Discuss What You Learned

One of the final things to include in your essay should be the impact that your community service had on you. You can discuss skills you learned, such as carpentry, public speaking, animal care, or another skill.

You can also talk about how you changed personally. Are you more patient now? More understanding of others? Do you have a better idea of the type of career you want? Go into depth about this, but be honest. Don't say your community service changed your life if it didn't because trite statements won't impress readers.

In order to support your statements, provide more examples. If you say you're more patient now, how do you know this? Do you get less frustrated while playing with your younger siblings? Are you more willing to help group partners who are struggling with their part of the work? You've probably noticed by now that including specific examples and details is one of the best ways to create a strong and believable essay .

"As a result of my community service, I learned a lot about building houses and became a more mature person."

"As a result of my community service, I gained hands-on experience in construction. I learned how to read blueprints, use a hammer and nails, and begin constructing the foundation of a two-bedroom house. Working on the house could be challenging at times, but it taught me to appreciate the value of hard work and be more willing to pitch in when I see someone needs help. My dad has just started building a shed in our backyard, and I offered to help him with it because I know from my community service how much work it is. I also appreciate my own house more, and I know how lucky I am to have a roof over my head."

The second passage is more impressive and memorable because it describes the skills the writer learned in more detail and recounts a specific story that supports her claim that her community service changed her and made her more helpful.

Step 7: Finish Strong

Just as you started your essay in a way that would grab readers' attention, you want to finish your essay on a strong note as well. A good way to end your essay is to state again the impact your work had on you, your community, or both. Reiterate how you changed as a result of your community service, why you found the work important, or how it helped others.

Compare these two concluding statements:

"In conclusion, I learned a lot from my community service at my local museum, and I hope to keep volunteering and learning more about history."

"To conclude, volunteering at my city's American History Museum has been a great experience. By leading tours and participating in special events, I became better at public speaking and am now more comfortable starting conversations with people. In return, I was able to get more community members interested in history and our local museum. My interest in history has deepened, and I look forward to studying the subject in college and hopefully continuing my volunteer work at my university's own museum."

The second passage takes each point made in the first passage and expands upon it. In a few sentences, the second passage is able to clearly convey what work the volunteer did, how she changed, and how her volunteer work benefited her community.

The author of the second passage also ends her essay discussing her future and how she'd like to continue her community service, which is a good way to wrap things up because it shows your readers that you are committed to community service for the long-term.

What's Next?

Are you applying to a community service scholarship or thinking about it? We have a complete list of all the community service scholarships available to help get your search started!

Do you need a community service letter as well? We have a step-by-step guide that will tell you how to get a great reference letter from your community service supervisor.

Thinking about doing community service abroad? Before you sign up, read our guide on some of the hazards of international volunteer trips and how to know if it's the right choice for you.

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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Through your college applications process, you’re likely to come across the term “community service” many times. In fact, you may be asked to write an essay about it. This post will cover the specifics of a community service essay and how to go about writing one, including what to cover and common mistakes to avoid. 

What is a Community Service Essay?

You may encounter the community service essay as you’re writing your supplemental essays for college. These are school-specific prompts that only go to the college that requests them, unlike the personal statement , which goes to every school you apply to. Not all schools require community service essays, but several do. It’s also a common requirement for scholarship applications, especially if it’s a school-specific merit scholarship. 

The community service essay is an essay that describes the initiatives you have taken outside of the classroom to benefit your community. In a 2018 survey of 264 admissions leaders across the US, 58% said that community service is a tie-breaker between students who are otherwise equally qualified. The community service essay offers you the opportunity to shine light on the work you have done to make an impact on the world and people around you, and is an additional way to help you stand out among other applicants. 

Approaching the Community Service Essay 

Understand the essay requirements  .

As with any essay, it’s important to first understand what is expected of your essay. For a start, elements to pay attention to include: 

• Length requirements
• Focus or subject of the essay prompt 
• Organization of the essay 

Although all community service essays ultimately have the same purpose of having you describe your local service activities, they can come with different types of prompts. Below are three sample prompts. Note the differences in topic specificity, length requirements, and breadth of the prompt. 

From the CGCS – Bernard Harris Scholarship Program: 

Please describe a meaningful volunteer or community service experience, including what you learned from participating.

From the University of California Application :

What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? (350 words).

From the Equitable Excellence Scholarship:

Describe your outstanding achievement in depth and provide the specific planning, training, goals, and steps taken to make the accomplishment successful. Include details about your role and highlight leadership you provided. Your essay must be a minimum of 350 words but not more than 600 words.

Brainstorming for your community service essay 

Once you have an understanding of what is required of the specific you are to write, the next step is to brainstorm ideas for a specific topic. If you have various community-engaged service experiences under your belt, consider the following before you finalize your decision. 

The best topics:

Are substantial in length and scope. It’s better to cover a long-term commitment than a one-off afternoon at the food pantry or animal shelter. 

Are transformative or inspiring. Although community service is “others”-oriented, colleges are looking to learn more about you. The ideal community service essay topic should be an experience that changed or challenged your perspective, and was ultimately fulfilling. 

Illustrate personal qualities or passions that you want to highlight. Given the specific prompt, and taking the rest of your application into consideration, which personal interests do you want to highlight? Which activity illuminates the personal quality that you want to bring attention to? 

These are all elements to consider before you begin writing your essay. 

Tips for Writing Your Community Service Essay 

1. include anecdotes.

Anecdotes are a great way to begin your essay, not only as a way to grab your reader’s attention, but by launching right into the experience of your service activity. You can start with a line about a particularly busy afternoon at the orphanage, or a morning cleaning up the streets after a storm, or the sense of accomplishment you felt when you watched a dog under your care at the animal shelter get adopted. 

2. Show, don’t tell 

We’re sure you’ve heard this axiom of general writing before, but it applies to college essays just as much as with any other piece of writing. Opt for evocative examples over plain explaining whenever possible. Take this sentence: “There was a lot of food waste at our school cafeteria.” It’s not nearly as powerful as this description: “I peered into the tall, gray trash cans to inspect the mountain of Styrofoam trays and discarded food. There were countless pizza crusts, globs of green beans, and unopened cartons of milk.” 

Anyone could write the first sentence, and it’s not a unique experience. In the second description, we’re shown the scene of the writer’s lunchroom. We get a peek into their perspective and life, which makes the writing more vivid and relatable. Aim to bring your reader into your world as much as possible.

3. Share your responsibilities and accomplishments.

The more tangible your community service activities feel to the reader, the more powerful your essay will be. Concretize your work by stating the basic details of what kind of work you did and what your duties involved, where it was based, when you began working, and the amount of time you spent working. 

Be sure to quantify your work and accomplishments when possible; it’s better to say your fundraiser yielded 125 books than “a large number” of books. It’s important to also elaborate on why the work you did matters. Why was it important? Did the books you collected or purchased after the fundraiser expand the library of the local orphanage that they already had, or did it offer the children easy access to books that wasn’t available previously? Be specific and detailed.  

4. Highlight what you learned and how you’ll use those lessons moving forward. 

Towards the end of your essay, you’ll want to share how you benefited from the community service work you did. This is an important part of the essay, because it shows how you are able to distill your experiences to applicable lessons in your own life. 

Think of this section in two potential parts: skills you learned, and personal development. Did you gain any hard skills, such as public speaking, poster design, or funds management? Then think about how you developed as an individual. Are you more empathetic or patient now? 

Things to Avoid in Your Community Service Essay 

1. don’t list out everything that happened..

You want to keep your essay well-structured and concise. This isn’t a résumé, or a play-by-play of the entire experience. Stick to the most telling details and anecdotes from your experience. 

2. Avoid using a pretentious or privileged tone.

Humility goes a long way, and entitlement can be smelled from afar. The purpose of this essay is not to paint yourself as a savior of any kind, but rather to show what’s important to you in your non-academic life, and how you approach solving real-world and interpersonal problems. 

3. Avoid clichés.

It may be tempting to quote famous people, but doing so can easily seem like a shortcut, plus it shows little of who you are. Try also to steer clear of trite and vague life lesson lines such as “I learned that people can be happy with so little,” or “I learned the importance of giving back.” Not only do they carry a tone of privilege, they are also sweeping general conclusions and don’t convey anything specific of what you learned. 

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Volunteering refers to the selfless and voluntary act of offering one's time, skills, or resources for the benefit of others or a particular cause, without expecting financial compensation or personal gain. It is driven by a genuine desire to contribute to the well-being of individuals, communities, or organizations, and to make a positive impact on society.

The history of volunteering traces back to ancient civilizations, where communities came together to support one another in times of need. However, the modern concept of volunteering emerged during the 19th century. Here is a brief overview of the history of volunteering: Voluntary acts of service can be found throughout history, such as religious charity work in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. In medieval Europe, religious organizations and guilds played a significant role in providing assistance to the needy. In the 19th century, philanthropic movements gained momentum. Individuals like Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton pioneered organized volunteer efforts in healthcare and disaster relief, respectively. This era also saw the establishment of charitable organizations and social reform movements. The World Wars spurred a surge in volunteerism as communities rallied together to support soldiers and civilians. After the wars, volunteering expanded into various sectors, including community development, education, and environmental conservation. In the 20th century, volunteering became more structured and professionalized. Nonprofit organizations, such as the Red Cross and United Way, grew in prominence, offering organized volunteer programs and opportunities. With the advent of the internet and social media, volunteering has become more accessible and widespread. Online platforms connect volunteers with organizations and facilitate virtual volunteering, expanding the reach and impact of volunteering efforts. Today, volunteering is a global phenomenon, deeply ingrained in societies worldwide.

Volunteering in the United States plays a vital role in supporting communities, addressing social issues, and fostering civic engagement. It involves individuals dedicating their time, skills, and resources to serve others and make a positive impact on society. Volunteering in the US takes various forms, ranging from local community service initiatives to national and international organizations. It encompasses a wide range of sectors, including education, healthcare, environmental conservation, disaster relief, and social services. Volunteers contribute in diverse ways, such as mentoring youth, assisting with food distribution, participating in environmental cleanups, supporting homeless shelters, and providing medical assistance. The importance of volunteering is evident in the benefits it brings to both individuals and communities. For volunteers, it offers an opportunity to develop new skills, gain valuable experiences, expand their social networks, and enhance personal growth. Communities benefit from the selfless contributions of volunteers, as it helps address unmet needs, strengthens social cohesion, and promotes positive change.

1. Community Service 2. Skill-Based Volunteering 3. Environmental Volunteering 4. Crisis and Disaster Relief 5. International Volunteering 6. Virtual Volunteering

Mother Teresa: Known for her selfless dedication to serving the poor and marginalized, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, an organization that provides aid to the needy worldwide. Her compassionate work earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Mahatma Gandhi: Gandhi, the influential leader of India's independence movement, was a strong advocate for volunteerism and community service. He promoted the concept of "Seva," which means selfless service to others, emphasizing the importance of giving back to society. Martin Luther King Jr.: A prominent figure in the American civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired others to engage in volunteer efforts to address racial inequality and social justice issues. His message of equality and nonviolent activism continues to resonate today. Jane Addams: Recognized as the mother of social work, Jane Addams co-founded Hull House, a settlement house in Chicago, which provided education, healthcare, and social services to immigrants and the poor. Her dedication to improving living conditions and advocating for social reform laid the foundation for modern social work.

Personal Growth: Volunteering provides opportunities for personal development and growth. It allows individuals to acquire new skills, expand their knowledge, and gain valuable experience in various fields. Volunteering also helps boost self-confidence, improve communication and teamwork skills, and enhance problem-solving abilities. Social Connections: Volunteering offers a chance to meet and connect with diverse groups of people, fostering social interactions and building meaningful relationships. It helps individuals expand their network, create lasting friendships, and develop a sense of belonging within their communities. Sense of Purpose and Satisfaction: Engaging in volunteer work gives individuals a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Contributing to a cause they care about and making a positive impact on the lives of others can bring great satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. Community Engagement: Volunteers play a vital role in building stronger communities. By dedicating their time and efforts, they help address local needs, promote social cohesion, and create a sense of unity and shared responsibility within neighborhoods and society at large. Health and Well-being: Volunteering has been linked to improved physical and mental health. It can reduce stress, combat feelings of loneliness and depression, and increase overall well-being. Engaging in volunteer activities that align with personal interests and passions can bring joy and a sense of fulfillment. Professional Development: Volunteering can enhance career prospects and professional development. It allows individuals to gain relevant work experience, develop transferable skills, and demonstrate their commitment and dedication. Volunteering can also provide networking opportunities and open doors to new job prospects. Making a Difference: One of the most significant benefits of volunteering is the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of others and contribute to meaningful causes. By lending a helping hand, volunteers can bring about positive social change, support vulnerable populations, and contribute to the betterment of society.

1. According to the World Giving Index 2021, 31% of people worldwide reported volunteering their time, with the highest rates found in Indonesia, Kenya, and Nigeria. 2. The estimated economic value of a volunteer hour in the United States was $28.54 in 2020, highlighting the significant contribution volunteers make to the economy. 3. In the United States, approximately 25% of young people aged 16 to 24 engage in volunteer work, contributing to community development, education, and environmental initiatives. 4. Research has shown that volunteering can have positive effects on physical and mental health, reducing the risk of depression, improving well-being, and increasing life satisfaction. 5. Many companies encourage their employees to volunteer, with 59% of Fortune 500 companies offering formal volunteer programs. Corporate volunteering promotes team-building, employee engagement, and social responsibility. 6. Volunteers play a crucial role in disaster response and recovery. During the 2017 hurricane season, for example, the American Red Cross deployed over 50,000 volunteers to assist affected communities. 7. Studies have found a correlation between volunteering and increased longevity, as well as higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction.

Volunteering is an important and meaningful topic to write an essay about due to its numerous benefits and contributions to society. By exploring the subject, one can delve into the profound impact volunteers have on individuals, communities, and even global issues. Firstly, volunteering promotes social responsibility and civic engagement. It encourages individuals to actively participate in addressing social challenges and making positive changes in their communities. It fosters empathy, compassion, and a sense of belonging, leading to a more inclusive and connected society. Secondly, volunteering offers personal growth and development opportunities. It allows individuals to acquire new skills, gain practical experience, and enhance their self-confidence. Moreover, it provides a platform for individuals to explore their passions and interests, leading to personal fulfillment and self-discovery. Additionally, volunteering plays a vital role in addressing societal needs that may not be adequately met by government or other institutions. It contributes to areas such as education, healthcare, environmental conservation, and disaster relief, making a tangible difference in the lives of others. Furthermore, volunteering can have a ripple effect, inspiring and motivating others to get involved and create positive change. It serves as a catalyst for social transformation, as the collective efforts of volunteers can lead to long-lasting impact and sustainable development.

1. Brudney, J. L., & Meijs, L. C. (Eds.). (2014). The Oxford handbook of volunteering, giving, and philanthropy. Oxford University Press. 2. Clary, E. G., Snyder, M., Ridge, R. D., Copeland, J., Stukas, A. A., Haugen, J., & Miene, P. (1998). Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A functional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(6), 1516-1530. 3. Handy, F., Cnaan, R. A., Brudney, J. L., Ascoli, U., & Meijs, L. C. (Eds.). (2010). Public participation in volunteerism: A comparative analysis. Routledge. 4. Holmes, K., & Jones, E. (Eds.). (2017). The Routledge handbook of volunteering. Routledge. 5. Howlett, S., & Dickinson, H. (2009). Volunteer decision-making: What prompts a person to volunteer? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(2), 266-288. 6. Hustinx, L., Cnaan, R. A., & Handy, F. (2010). Navigating theories of volunteering: A hybrid map for a complex phenomenon. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 40(4), 410-434. 7. McNamara, T. K. (2008). The sociology of volunteering. Springer Science & Business Media. 8. Smith, D. H., Stebbins, R. A., & Dover, M. A. (2006). A dictionary of nonprofit terms and concepts. Indiana University Press. 9. Smith, K. R., Holmes, K., & Mervyn, K. (2010). Volunteering and society in the 21st century. Palgrave Macmillan. 10. Wilson, J. (2012). Volunteering. Annual Review of Sociology, 38, 519-539.

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Writing The Perfect, Targeted Volunteer Opportunity

March 20, 2018

By Apakshit Sachdeva and Basil Sadiq

Today, nearly 120,000 organizations are looking for volunteers on VolunteerMatch. With more than seven million volunteers registered, the good news there’s plenty of talent to go around.

Before you post a volunteer opportunity, however, it’s important to identify your department or program’s needs. Once you do, it’s time to write your volunteer opportunity, or appeal. Think of this as your organization’s cover letter.

A good volunteer opportunity title and description lead prospective volunteers to want to learn more about your organization, culture, mission, and role. If flexed correctly, an exceptionally-written opportunity will attract the perfect volunteer fit.

Check out these tips for writing a compelling volunteer opportunity.

Know Your Audience

People  volunteer for a number of reasons . Before you begin writing, understand your who your ideal volunteer would be—what might their motivations or intentions look like? Start with your goals and work backward. For example, if a position requires website design or coding experience, you’ll want to hire volunteers who are proficient in those skills.

According to  Nonprofit Marketing: Marketing Management for Charitable Organizations , volunteer opportunity descriptions develop realistic expectations and reduce volunteer turnover from dissatisfaction. If you have a team of current volunteers, talk to them about their roles: how do they describe the work they do? Then, incorporate their feedback into your opportunity description.

Pro tip:  An accurate volunteer persona  can help you write an appeal with your target audience in mind.

Make It About Them

You may already know to mention how this role will impact your mission or organization, but it’s just as compelling to include how it might benefit your volunteers, too.

Whether by improving their physical health and self-esteem  or helping them learn new skills, there are plenty of benefits you’ll want to highlight as long as they’re relevant to your role.

You can also demonstrate how a challenge or issue affects a group you serve, then how volunteer work can bridge that gap. The language here should be compelling, concise, and persuasive.

Invite Collaboration, Excitement

Founder of Inbound Zombie, John Haydon, once said “Don’t ask people to ‘donate’. Instead, ask them to ‘join’, ‘build’, etc. Appeal to identity and emotion, not wallets.” While John may have been referring specifically to fundraising, this quote applies to volunteer recruitment as well.

Livia Susan of Lifesaveressays, a business and  essay writing service  adds, “a great piece of writing has the potential to touch the soul of the readers and can instantly make them feel your thoughts instead of merely understanding your words.” When you give volunteers the freedom to come up with new and creative solutions, they feel like they’re part of the difference. If your organization fosters a culture of collaboration, be sure to include that!

Your volunteer opportunity title and description should appeal to the ethos, pathos, and logos—or ethics, empathy, and logic—of your readers. When you give volunteers the freedom to come up with new and creative solutions, they feel like they’re part of the difference.

If your organization fosters a culture of collaboration, be sure to include that!

Keep It Light, Brief, and Straightforward

A well-written volunteer opportunity title and description let volunteers know exactly what’s expected of them. Use short, succinct sentences to address the responsibilities of the role and clearly outline expectations. Avoid lengthy paragraphs with needlessly  professional jargon , and limit your opportunity to 100 words or less.

Your title should follow similar guidelines while being actionable and reflective of your volunteer’s persona. Catchy headlines go a long way. For example, “Bring your friends”, “Mentor a child in your community,” or “Let’s build together” all sound better and more creative than “Volunteers needed!”.

Test your recruitment efforts among a group of people similar to those you’re targeting (family and friends work, too!). A/B test a couple of different variants then elicit candid feedback. Most importantly:  proofread, proofread, proofread!   Volunteer opportunities with grammatical or spelling errors are less likely to garner interest from volunteers. Proofreading is the simplest way to dodge this avoidable mistake.

It sounds simple enough, but many forget this essential step. Think of it this way: for volunteers, your volunteer opportunity is an introduction to your organization. Misspelled words and grammatical errors give the impression of unprofessionalism and denote a lack of attention to detail.

Always check your work before posting! If you’re looking for a safety net, helpful software such as  Grammarly  could monitor your grammar and spelling from falling through the cracks.

Use these tips to help you create engaging volunteer opportunities for your organization. Get started today on  VolunteerMatch  today! Then, boost your recruitment efforts by learning about our  Member tools .

There are many other effective tips you can follow. A comprehensive blog at   Instructional Solutions  recommends you should write to express not impress, stick to seven sentences or less, maintain readability, use staccato short words to create impact, leverage active voice over passive, verbs to avoid, and more.

Have a recruitment tip to add? Share it with us in the comments section below!

Author Bio:   Apakshit is a freelance writer and a soccer enthusiast. He is a ghostwriter and writes on entrepreneurship, marketing, and football. You can watch him in action  here .

Topics: nonprofit resources volunteer engagement

Written by Basil Sadiq

Basil helps nonprofits and volunteers engage better with one another by posting impactful tips and sharing stories on VolunteerMatch.org, Engaging Volunteers, GoodCauses Newsletter, and VolunteerMatch’s social media platforms.

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65 Volunteerism Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best volunteerism topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 most interesting volunteerism topics to write about, 💡 good research topics about volunteerism.

• Importance of Volunteerism Essay A society where people volunteer and work together is always faces less problems since all the members tend to get along well and support each when they are in need.
• Community service should be required by most citizens of a country One of the reasons is because President Clinton has been explaining the importance of volunteering to the community by the American students and the public. We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• Concept of the Community Services in Modern Society Community services are defined as the services which are performed for the benefit of the society on volunteering basis. The advantages of the community services cannot be questioned, still, making such service mandatory for graduation […]
• Volunteerism Is Important in Canada Nevertheless, there is a view that volunteering is the exploitation of free labor of workers and a waste of time since such delivery is not paid.
• Volunteerism in Corporate America Construct validity is significant for the research which is expected to be done in this dissertation. A threat to construct validity is the reliability of a test.
• Job Satisfaction and Employee Retention Correlates of Corporate Volunteerism The proposed sub-sample size of 200 is a prudent compromise between precision and the cost of enlarging the samples. The investigation of cause-and-effect can be projected with a reasonable degree of confidence to the universe […]
• Significant Voluntary Sector Organisations Challenges in Public Service Delivery The main concern raised in the conference was a discussion of the role of voluntary organisations in the delivery of public services.
• Addressing the Impacts of Undergraduates’ Engagement in Community Service on Stakeholders It is important to note that as much as the community and the individual stands to benefit from community service, there are various challenges facing the provision of this service in a given community.
• Illuminate Diabetes Event Design Finally, after these special performances, there will be distribution of fliers with information on diabetes and encouragement to get tested for diabetes and thus reach the climax of the event.
• Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board The Hampton-Newport Community Services Board offers a broad range of mental well-being and drug abuse services and care for people with mental and developmental disorders. The agency works together with certified psychoanalysts and psychologists in […]
• Volunteering in Leisure Sector The review shows that individuals are motivated due to the benefits that come with volunteering in the sector and the nature of the activity.
• Helping, Giving, and Volunteerism The role of voluntarism in term of donations and giving is immense and continues to change the lives of many people in different parts of the world.
• Volunteering for Horizon House: Homeless Neighbours’ Motivation to Find Jobs To understand and analyze the role of the center in changing the homeless neighbours’ life for better, it is appropriate to focus on the center’s assistance in employing neighbours and developing their job skills with […]
• Conceptualization of the Aspect of Community Service As part of expressive the Jewish values, the aspect of creativity and innovativeness help to inspire the inner self to remain observant, responsible, and caring to the needs of neighbors and the society at large.
• Community Service: Mandatory or Voluntary? Engaging in community service not only helps in transforming the behavior of young people but it is also helpful to adults.
• Effective Ecological Volunteerism
• Sacrificing Time and Effort for the Good of Others: The Volunteerism
• Comparing Patriotism and Volunteerism in the Society
• What Animal Shelters Can Do to Reduce the Gender Gap in Volunteerism
• Service and Volunteerism in THE US, Chile, and France
• The Community Outreach and Volunteerism Division at Southwest Airlines
• The Effects of Volunteerism and Social Capital as Well as Health
• Motivational Factors Affecting Olympic Volunteerism Among Turkish University Students
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• Crowding in With Impure Altruism: Theory and Evidence From Volunteerism in National Parks
• The Different Forms of Volunteerism to Help and Keep People Safe
• Changes in Volunteerism in the Info Revolution: Volunteering Community Service
• Volunteerism After the Tsunami: The Effects of Democratization
• Employee Volunteerism in Kenya
• Integration of Seven Habits to Professional Volunteerism Administration
• Capacity Building in Community Engagement and Volunteerism
• An Analysis of Public Service and Volunteerism in the United States
• Mandatory Volunteerism: Growing Within the Education System
• Community Service and Student Volunteerism
• Leadership Accountability and Ethics in Volunteerism and Volunteer Management
• Mandatory Volunteerism Is the Act of Forcing Young Adults
• Volunteerism and Community Service in America Today
• Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Volunteerism
• History of Volunteerism in the US: A Crash Course
• Solidarity, Volunteerism and Social Order
• Motivations and Perceptions of Volunteerism as a Leisure Activity
• Volunteerism and Volunteer Management in Sport
• The Context and Process of Volunteerism
• Dispositional and Structural Determinants of Volunteerism
• Volunteerism: Social Issues Perspectives and Social Policy Implications
• Demographic Understanding of Volunteerism
• The Role of Individual and Collective Identification in Aids Volunteerism
• Volunteerism in Adolescence: A Process Perspective
• The Functional Approach to Volunteerism
• The Unintended Consequences of Volunteerism: Positive Outcomes for Those Who Serve
• Factors Affecting Volunteerism among Older Adults
• The Psychology of Aids Volunteerism
• The Influence of Altruism on the Study of Volunteering
• A Model of Sustained Volunteerism during the Transition to Adulthood
• Volunteerism by Elders: Past Trends and Future Prospects
• Volunteerism: The Influences of Social, Religious, and Human Capital
• What Are the Benefits of Volunteerism to Society?
• Volunteerism in Emergencies and Disasters: Definition, Opportunities and Challenges
• The Role, Measurement, and Impact of Volunteerism in Hospitals
• Assessing Motivations for Sports Volunteerism
• The Effects of “Mandatory Volunteerism” on Intentions to Volunteer
• Volunteerism as an Occupation and Its Relationship to Health and Wellbeing
• A Functional Analysis of Altruism and Prosocial Behavior: The Case of Volunteerism
• Describing Volunteerism: The Theory of Unified Responsibility
• Volunteerism, Leadership, Political Socialization, and Civic Engagement
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IvyPanda. (2023, February 7). 65 Volunteerism Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/volunteerism-essay-examples/

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A Manual For Composing A Persuasive Essay On Volunteering

Volunteering is one of the most rewarding experience that individuals can have. There have been countless studies to show that volunteers are happier and have better social networks than their peers. In addition to the immediate personal benefit, volunteering has a way of changing lives and helping the community. When writing a persuasive essay on this topic, students can use the personal, societal and physiological impact of volunteering.

Follow a Volunteer

If the teacher allows it, students should spend a day volunteering somewhere. They can ask fellow volunteers for their story and learn why different people volunteer. In addition, students should talk to the people affected by the volunteer organization. By using these personal stories, students can improve the quality and emotional impact of their persuasive essay.

Pick an Argument and Support It

The entire goal of a persuasive essay is to argue a point. Students can choose a basic argument about the benefits or drawbacks of volunteering. For a more unique topic, students can pick a specific issue and argue how that issue needs volunteers. As the student writes, they can use statistics and other information to support their cause. Many organizations will publish statistics about the impact that they have on the community. By looking at these statistics, students can get high-quality research for their paper.

Build an Outline

Once the student has finished researching their paper, they need to create an outline. This outline should include a thesis statement, introduction and a conclusion. In the ensuing space, students should write out a topic sentence for every paragraph. Beneath the topic sentence, the student should write down the research that they will use to support their point. Some students prefer to write the outline on sticky notes because this allows them to move and adjust the order of the paragraphs easily. Although this is a great technique, students only need to do it if they feel like it is necessary.

Time to Write

One of the hardest parts of writing about volunteering is the actual writing. Many students get writers' block whenever they start to work. An outline can help to prevent this by letting students know exactly what they will cover in the next part of the paper. Students can also try setting daily goals for their assignment. By writing just a few hundred words every day, students can break up a long, difficult task into manageable pieces.

How to Write a Volunteer Essay

Dr. Cuyler B Goodwin, DO

A volunteer essay is an essay that describes the personal experience of a person who has volunteered their time to help others. This type of essay is usually written for a class or scholarship application . It should include information about why you decided to volunteer, what your experience was like, and what you learned from it. Keep reading to learn more about how to write a great volunteer essay!

Why You Decided to Volunteer

One of the first things you should address in your essay is why you decided to volunteer in the first place. What made you want to help out? Was there a specific incident that inspired you? Or did you have a more general desire to give back to your community? Whatever the reason, make sure to mention it in your essay.

Your Volunteer Experience

Next, you’ll want to describe your actual experience volunteering . Where did you go? Who did you help? What did you do? What were some of the challenges you faced? And most importantly, what did you learn from the experience? This is the heart of your essay, so make sure to really take the time to reflect on your time volunteering and what it meant to you.

What You Learned

Lastly, conclude your essay by talking about what you learned from volunteering. How did it change your perspective? Did it make you more grateful for what you have? Did it inspire you to continue volunteering in the future? Again, take some time to reflect on your experience and what it meant to you before wrapping up your essay.

Volunteering is a great way to give back to your community and make a difference in the lives of others. If you’re applying for a scholarship or class that requires an essay, don’t hesitate to write about your experiences as a volunteer. Just remember to focus on why you decided to volunteer, what your experience was like, and what you learned from it. By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to writing a great volunteer essay!

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Volunteering Essay

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Disclaimer: This paper has been submitted by a student. This is not a sample of the work written by professional academic writers.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this work are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of StudySaurus.

Topic: From what frequent activity do you derive your joy? Why is this activity meaningful to you and how does it shape your perspective on life?

My Volunteer Experience

I personally enjoy helping people with other problem they have because I always try to picture myself in another person’s shoes. I don’t enjoy watching people suffer or being unable to do certain things because I feel that it is every human’s responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves. Knowing that I can make a difference in someone’s day by just providing my assistance is very important to me because I can help bring ease to people. Volunteering to help others is where I derive my greatest joy from.

In the past few years, my volunteering experiences has allowed me to gain new perspectives on life. For example, when I volunteered at my local hospital, Nassau University Medical Center, in the summer of 2014, I was able to realize why I was such a valuable asset to a hospital as a volunteer. When I originally signed up to volunteer at the hospital, it was because I had to meet a service requirement for my school’s honor society, the Scholar Service Institute. However, after my first week of volunteering, I started to develop a love for helping people.

I realized that in the hospital, volunteers are very much needed because a hospital is a community of people working together to ensure the lives of hundreds of people. In that community of the working people, you have people such as pharmacists, who work hard to make sure that every patient gets their correct medication. However, for the pharmacists to deliver that medication to the different floors of the hospital is very time-consuming, but as a volunteer I was able to ease their job by delivering the medications to all the different floors of the hospital. Reflecting on this experience still brings me joy because I was able to help imperative people of a hospital efficiently get their job done and help patients get better with proper medication.

Another experience of volunteering is the bake sale my friends and I organized on Valentine’s Day of 2016 for Make-A-Wish foundation. We held a bake sale at the parish of our school, St. Mary’s Church. I feel that this experience was one of the most joyful volunteering experiences I was able to have. I felt that my friends and I could aid children of terminal diseases such as Lymphoma by helping them to experience some joy in their life. With the help of the funds of the $334 we raised at our bake sale, Make-A-Wish was able to grant the wishes of these ill children.

Whenever I volunteer, I never think of the personal benefits I will get. I always consider how others will benefit from my assistance. The pleasure of knowing that my assistance in the lives of others can make a difference is all the convincing I need to get out and volunteer.

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Benefits of a Volunteering Essay Sample

The main advantage of the following volunteering essay sample is that you can use it to write your own paper. If you have difficulties with writing, this essay will help you.

What Are the Benefits of Volunteering and Giving Back? Volunteering means that you willingly give your free time for a cause. You are not paid for volunteer work, but can help people or animals in need, or the environment. But how does the volunteer benefit from volunteering? What do volunteers gain from doing this? 1. Improves your social and relationship skills 2. Improves your well-being 3. Gives new experiences for your career 4. Makes you feel self-fulfilled Improves Your Social and Relationship Skills When you volunteer, you will meet new people with similar interests and have new connections. In the future, these people might support you and help you when you are in need. Volunteering helps you practice and develop your social skills especially if you are reserved (Segal & Robinson). If you volunteer as a group with friends or family, it boosts your relationship with each other as you collaborate in your volunteer work. It also improves teamwork in general whether you are working with people you know or with new people. Improves Your Well-Being Volunteering aids in fighting stress, anxiety, and even in combating depression. It also redirects your attention away from your daily tasks, thus helping you to clear out your mind and feel relaxed. When you connect with people, you will have a support system to help in combating depression, and you will feel less lonely and isolated. It also improves your outlook in life. Meanwhile, working with animals in shelters can ease stress and uplift your mood (Segal & Robinson). Physically, volunteer work makes you more active, especially in a crisis or in emergencies. It also helps to burn fats, as well (Fritz). For seniors, it reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This improves the elasticity of the brain, according to studies from the Journal of Gerontology (Fritz). Moreover, it slows down aging, as seniors feel younger when they are active. Gives New Experiences for Your Career You can volunteer for work that is related to your dream job and add this as working experience in your resume. You can also add the skills in your resume and discuss this during the interview. Some volunteer work needs specific skills like project management, public speaking, and other communication skills. For fresh graduates, volunteer jobs could already serve as work experience since most of them do not have paid working experience yet. Even if your volunteer work is not related to your dream job, some soft skills such as being a team player, responsiveness, and being people-oriented can be added to your cover letter and interview. Makes You Self-Fulfilled When you volunteer, you feel rewarded in assisting others. Making a difference in someone else’s life improves your self-worth and self-esteem, as this can make you feel that you have a purpose in life. Making strangers feel better also makes you feel better and happier. Also, when you willingly work on something that you are passionate about, it energizes you. It is also a way to find out your interest and passion. You can also work for free on similar jobs that you would have liked to work before but were unable because of some criteria you did not meet. A good example of this is working as a reserve for military service. Volunteer work may not make you rich but it is the fulfillment that makes you feel complete as a person. In conclusion, volunteering does not only benefit the recipient of the help, but also the volunteer. You may not receive money from it, but the experience itself is enough payment for the work that you have done. Works Cited Fritz, Joanne. “15 Unexpected Benefits of Volunteering that Will Inspire You.” The Balance Small Business, 24 June 2019, www.thebalancesmb.com/unexpected-benefits-of-volunteering-4132453. Accessed 29 July 2019. Segal, Jeanne, and Lawrence Robinson. “Volunteering and Its Surprising Benefits.” Help Guide, June 2019, www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/volunteering-and-its-surprising-benefits.htm. Accessed 29 July 2019.

From this volunteering essay, you can get valuable ideas and thoughts for your writing. In addition, you can see how to structure the paper and format it in the right way. Our samples always give hints on how to write a paper on the particular topic, but never give direct instructions, because your paper should have your own voice. If it turns out that you don’t know how to start your writing, you can always check out our blog to find helpful guides. We believe that on our blog, you can find all the necessary information that will help you with your writing.

If you can’t write your volunteering essay, then a necessary step should be to place an order on WritingCheap. Despite the fact that there are many cheating writing services, there is no need to be afraid of using our service, because we do everything possible to satisfy customers’ needs. For example, our writers write unique papers, stick to customers’ requirements, and follow academic standards. Moreover, they writer papers of different academic levels, such as high school, college, university, and so on. At the same time, you won’t spend much if you decide to get help from our cheap custom writing service . Don’t hesitate any minute.

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Volunteerism: My Experience by Nori

Noriof Syracuse's entry into Varsity Tutor's May 2018 scholarship contest

Volunteerism: My Experience by Nori - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

Community service has become a major aspect of my life that has shaped me into who I am today. Volunteering is a way that I can give back to the world that does so much for me. There is no one way to define community service, because everyone has their own definition. However, it is not the definition itself that matters; it is what community service means to you. Is it the laughter of the special needs children when I help them bounce on the trampoline at cheer practice? Is it the squeals of the recreational cheer team that I coached when they win a competition? Maybe it is the joy on the faces of the veterans when they win a round of bingo. To me, volunteering and community service are all of these things. Volunteerism is a donation of my time in order to enhance someone’s life, even if it is only slightly. I view volunteering as a window through which I have an opportunity to change the lives of people, as well as my own. However, volunteering is not only about aiding others. It offers so much more. Through volunteering, I learned valuable community and social skills, and well as gained valuable work experience. I learned how to work with children, the elderly, and those with special needs. In addition, I learned what it is like to have a job and responsibilities. Volunteering has played in a significant role in the shaping of who I am today. Community service has been a resource for me to express myself and gain control of my life. After my father passed and my mother suffered a major stroke, leaving her permanently impaired, I sought an outlet, or an escape. I desperately needed a positive activity to take my mind off of the hardships I was experiencing. That outlet was community service. After a visit to my mother in the hospital, I would go to the public library and volunteer with their children’s activities. Seeing the overwhelming smiles of children after reading them a story made me forget about my problems at home. Volunteering has always been a way to bring joy into my life and to make my day (as well as someone else’s) a little bit better! My first significant volunteer experience was coaching a special needs cheerleading team. As a special needs coach, I had to control a group of special needs children. They struggled to do many things on their own, and looked to me to lead them. It is from this experience that I learned to be a leader. I volunteered as their coach during my freshman year of high school, and that is when my leadership skills truly began to develop. I was responsible for instructing the team on cheerleading and ensuring that they did everything safely. When they would go out and compete, they would bring tears to my eyes. I have never met such an inspiring group of kids, and it is from them that I learned that no matter what comes in my way, anything is possible if you give it your best effort, and that all hardships can be overcome. Coaching Team FIRE was not always an easy job. There were many meltdowns and times when I would want to give up. However, the joy that lit up their faces when times were good motivated me to keep going. From them, I learned perseverance. They would be elated when they successfully completed a forward roll, or learned a new dance. Every day, with their joy, they would remind me to enjoy the small things in life, and I will forever appreciate the endless giggles we’ve shared. That team made me proud and made me recognize how lucky I am to be healthy and well. They taught me that someone is always in need of help, and with my help, that person can succeed. Community service made me realize that I wanted to participate in a profession that helped people. At first, I was unsure of what I aspired to be when I grew up, but I knew one thing: I wanted to make an impact in people’s lives. I developed a love of science, and asked myself how I could help people with science. I decided that my goal was to become a forensic chemist, so I could help solve crimes. That way, if a crime was inflicted upon someone or a loved one, those people would receive justice thanks to me. I truly feel as if volunteering has helped me recognize what it is I aspire to be in the future. In addition, I have goals of participating in more volunteer work throughout my life. Volunteering is a significant way to make the world a better place and to grow as a person. I have impacted numerous lives through volunteering, and that is something that I take great pride in. Whether it was reading to children at the library, helping veterans play bingo, giving Thanksgiving meals to the less fortunate, or anything else, I made someone’s day better, and that is an amazing feeling. In addition, I have developed numerous skills through volunteer work. I feel as if I have grown significantly through my community service. Community service has shaped me into a responsible leader. I am grateful for all that volunteering has done for me.

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How To Write An Essay: Beginner Tips And Tricks

Updated: July 11, 2022

Published: June 22, 2021

Many students dread writing essays, but essay writing is an important skill to develop in high school, university, and even into your future career. By learning how to write an essay properly, the process can become more enjoyable and you’ll find you’re better able to organize and articulate your thoughts.

When writing an essay, it’s common to follow a specific pattern, no matter what the topic is. Once you’ve used the pattern a few times and you know how to structure an essay, it will become a lot more simple to apply your knowledge to every essay. 

No matter which major you choose, you should know how to craft a good essay. Here, we’ll cover the basics of essay writing, along with some helpful tips to make the writing process go smoothly.

Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash

Types of Essays

Think of an essay as a discussion. There are many types of discussions you can have with someone else. You can be describing a story that happened to you, you might explain to them how to do something, or you might even argue about a certain topic. 

When it comes to different types of essays, it follows a similar pattern. Like a friendly discussion, each type of essay will come with its own set of expectations or goals. 

For example, when arguing with a friend, your goal is to convince them that you’re right. The same goes for an argumentative essay. 

Here are a few of the main essay types you can expect to come across during your time in school:

Narrative Essay

This type of essay is almost like telling a story, not in the traditional sense with dialogue and characters, but as if you’re writing out an event or series of events to relay information to the reader.

Persuasive Essay

Here, your goal is to persuade the reader about your views on a specific topic.

Descriptive Essay

This is the kind of essay where you go into a lot more specific details describing a topic such as a place or an event. 

Argumentative Essay

In this essay, you’re choosing a stance on a topic, usually controversial, and your goal is to present evidence that proves your point is correct.

Expository Essay

Your purpose with this type of essay is to tell the reader how to complete a specific process, often including a step-by-step guide or something similar.

Compare and Contrast Essay

You might have done this in school with two different books or characters, but the ultimate goal is to draw similarities and differences between any two given subjects.

The Main Stages of Essay Writing

When it comes to writing an essay, many students think the only stage is getting all your ideas down on paper and submitting your work. However, that’s not quite the case. 

There are three main stages of writing an essay, each one with its own purpose. Of course, writing the essay itself is the most substantial part, but the other two stages are equally as important.

So, what are these three stages of essay writing? They are:

Preparation

Before you even write one word, it’s important to prepare the content and structure of your essay. If a topic wasn’t assigned to you, then the first thing you should do is settle on a topic. Next, you want to conduct your research on that topic and create a detailed outline based on your research. The preparation stage will make writing your essay that much easier since, with your outline and research, you should already have the skeleton of your essay.

Writing is the most time-consuming stage. In this stage, you will write out all your thoughts and ideas and craft your essay based on your outline. You’ll work on developing your ideas and fleshing them out throughout the introduction, body, and conclusion (more on these soon).

In the final stage, you’ll go over your essay and check for a few things. First, you’ll check if your essay is cohesive, if all the points make sense and are related to your topic, and that your facts are cited and backed up. You can also check for typos, grammar and punctuation mistakes, and formatting errors.  

The Five-Paragraph Essay

We mentioned earlier that essay writing follows a specific structure, and for the most part in academic or college essays , the five-paragraph essay is the generally accepted structure you’ll be expected to use. 

The five-paragraph essay is broken down into one introduction paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a closing paragraph. However, that doesn’t always mean that an essay is written strictly in five paragraphs, but rather that this structure can be used loosely and the three body paragraphs might become three sections instead.

Let’s take a closer look at each section and what it entails.

Introduction

As the name implies, the purpose of your introduction paragraph is to introduce your idea. A good introduction begins with a “hook,” something that grabs your reader’s attention and makes them excited to read more. 

Another key tenant of an introduction is a thesis statement, which usually comes towards the end of the introduction itself. Your thesis statement should be a phrase that explains your argument, position, or central idea that you plan on developing throughout the essay. 

You can also include a short outline of what to expect in your introduction, including bringing up brief points that you plan on explaining more later on in the body paragraphs.

Here is where most of your essay happens. The body paragraphs are where you develop your ideas and bring up all the points related to your main topic. 

In general, you’re meant to have three body paragraphs, or sections, and each one should bring up a different point. Think of it as bringing up evidence. Each paragraph is a different piece of evidence, and when the three pieces are taken together, it backs up your main point — your thesis statement — really well.

That being said, you still want each body paragraph to be tied together in some way so that the essay flows. The points should be distinct enough, but they should relate to each other, and definitely to your thesis statement. Each body paragraph works to advance your point, so when crafting your essay, it’s important to keep this in mind so that you avoid going off-track or writing things that are off-topic.

Many students aren’t sure how to write a conclusion for an essay and tend to see their conclusion as an afterthought, but this section is just as important as the rest of your work. 

You shouldn’t be presenting any new ideas in your conclusion, but you should summarize your main points and show how they back up your thesis statement. 

Essentially, the conclusion is similar in structure and content to the introduction, but instead of introducing your essay, it should be wrapping up the main thoughts and presenting them to the reader as a singular closed argument. 

Photo by AMIT RANJAN on Unsplash

Steps to Writing an Essay

Now that you have a better idea of an essay’s structure and all the elements that go into it, you might be wondering what the different steps are to actually write your essay. 

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Instead of going in blind, follow these steps on how to write your essay from start to finish.

Understand Your Assignment

When writing an essay for an assignment, the first critical step is to make sure you’ve read through your assignment carefully and understand it thoroughly. You want to check what type of essay is required, that you understand the topic, and that you pay attention to any formatting or structural requirements. You don’t want to lose marks just because you didn’t read the assignment carefully.

Research Your Topic

Once you understand your assignment, it’s time to do some research. In this step, you should start looking at different sources to get ideas for what points you want to bring up throughout your essay. 

Search online or head to the library and get as many resources as possible. You don’t need to use them all, but it’s good to start with a lot and then narrow down your sources as you become more certain of your essay’s direction.

Start Brainstorming

After research comes the brainstorming. There are a lot of different ways to start the brainstorming process . Here are a few you might find helpful:

• Think about what you found during your research that interested you the most
• Jot down all your ideas, even if they’re not yet fully formed
• Create word clouds or maps for similar terms or ideas that come up so you can group them together based on their similarities
• Try freewriting to get all your ideas out before arranging them

Create a Thesis

This is often the most tricky part of the whole process since you want to create a thesis that’s strong and that you’re about to develop throughout the entire essay. Therefore, you want to choose a thesis statement that’s broad enough that you’ll have enough to say about it, but not so broad that you can’t be precise. 

Write Your Outline

Armed with your research, brainstorming sessions, and your thesis statement, the next step is to write an outline. 

In the outline, you’ll want to put your thesis statement at the beginning and start creating the basic skeleton of how you want your essay to look. 

A good way to tackle an essay is to use topic sentences . A topic sentence is like a mini-thesis statement that is usually the first sentence of a new paragraph. This sentence introduces the main idea that will be detailed throughout the paragraph. 

If you create an outline with the topic sentences for your body paragraphs and then a few points of what you want to discuss, you’ll already have a strong starting point when it comes time to sit down and write. This brings us to our next step… 

Write a First Draft

The first time you write your entire essay doesn’t need to be perfect, but you do need to get everything on the page so that you’re able to then write a second draft or review it afterward. 

Everyone’s writing process is different. Some students like to write their essay in the standard order of intro, body, and conclusion, while others prefer to start with the “meat” of the essay and tackle the body, and then fill in the other sections afterward. 

Make sure your essay follows your outline and that everything relates to your thesis statement and your points are backed up by the research you did. 

Revise, Edit, and Proofread

The revision process is one of the three main stages of writing an essay, yet many people skip this step thinking their work is done after the first draft is complete. 

However, proofreading, reviewing, and making edits on your essay can spell the difference between a B paper and an A.

After writing the first draft, try and set your essay aside for a few hours or even a day or two, and then come back to it with fresh eyes to review it. You might find mistakes or inconsistencies you missed or better ways to formulate your arguments.

Add the Finishing Touches

Finally, you’ll want to make sure everything that’s required is in your essay. Review your assignment again and see if all the requirements are there, such as formatting rules, citations, quotes, etc. 

Go over the order of your paragraphs and make sure everything makes sense, flows well, and uses the same writing style . 

Once everything is checked and all the last touches are added, give your essay a final read through just to ensure it’s as you want it before handing it in. 

A good way to do this is to read your essay out loud since you’ll be able to hear if there are any mistakes or inaccuracies.

Essay Writing Tips

With the steps outlined above, you should be able to craft a great essay. Still, there are some other handy tips we’d recommend just to ensure that the essay writing process goes as smoothly as possible.

• Start your essay early. This is the first tip for a reason. It’s one of the most important things you can do to write a good essay. If you start it the night before, then you won’t have enough time to research, brainstorm, and outline — and you surely won’t have enough time to review.
• Don’t try and write it in one sitting. It’s ok if you need to take breaks or write it over a few days. It’s better to write it in multiple sittings so that you have a fresh mind each time and you’re able to focus.
• Always keep the essay question in mind. If you’re given an assigned question, then you should always keep it handy when writing your essay to make sure you’re always working to answer the question.
• Use transitions between paragraphs. In order to improve the readability of your essay, try and make clear transitions between paragraphs. This means trying to relate the end of one paragraph to the beginning of the next one so the shift doesn’t seem random.
• Integrate your research thoughtfully. Add in citations or quotes from your research materials to back up your thesis and main points. This will show that you did the research and that your thesis is backed up by it.

Wrapping Up

Writing an essay doesn’t need to be daunting if you know how to approach it. Using our essay writing steps and tips, you’ll have better knowledge on how to write an essay and you’ll be able to apply it to your next assignment. Once you do this a few times, it will become more natural to you and the essay writing process will become quicker and easier.

If you still need assistance with your essay, check with a student advisor to see if they offer help with writing. At University of the People(UoPeople), we always want our students to succeed, so our student advisors are ready to help with writing skills when necessary. 

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12 Strategies to Writing the Perfect College Essay

College admission committees sift through thousands of college essays each year. Here’s how to make yours stand out.

Pamela Reynolds

When it comes to deciding who they will admit into their programs, colleges consider many criteria, including high school grades, extracurricular activities, and ACT and SAT scores. But in recent years, more colleges are no longer considering test scores.

Instead, many (including Harvard through 2026) are opting for “test-blind” admission policies that give more weight to other elements in a college application. This policy change is seen as fairer to students who don’t have the means or access to testing, or who suffer from test anxiety.

So, what does this mean for you?

Simply that your college essay, traditionally a requirement of any college application, is more important than ever.

A college essay is your unique opportunity to introduce yourself to admissions committees who must comb through thousands of applications each year. It is your chance to stand out as someone worthy of a seat in that classroom.

A well-written and thoughtful essay—reflecting who you are and what you believe—can go a long way to separating your application from the slew of forgettable ones that admissions officers read. Indeed, officers may rely on them even more now that many colleges are not considering test scores.

Below we’ll discuss a few strategies you can use to help your essay stand out from the pack. We’ll touch on how to start your essay, what you should write for your college essay, and elements that make for a great college essay.

Be Authentic

More than any other consideration, you should choose a topic or point of view that is consistent with who you truly are.

Readers can sense when writers are inauthentic.

Inauthenticity could mean the use of overly flowery language that no one would ever use in conversation, or it could mean choosing an inconsequential topic that reveals very little about who you are.

Use your own voice, sense of humor, and a natural way of speaking.

Whatever subject you choose, make sure it’s something that’s genuinely important to you and not a subject you’ve chosen just to impress. You can write about a specific experience, hobby, or personality quirk that illustrates your strengths, but also feel free to write about your weaknesses.

Honesty about traits, situations, or a childhood background that you are working to improve may resonate with the reader more strongly than a glib victory speech.

Grab the Reader From the Start

You’ll be competing with so many other applicants for an admission officer’s attention.

Therefore, start your essay with an opening sentence or paragraph that immediately seizes the imagination. This might be a bold statement, a thoughtful quote, a question you pose, or a descriptive scene.

Starting your essay in a powerful way with a clear thesis statement can often help you along in the writing process. If your task is to tell a good story, a bold beginning can be a natural prelude to getting there, serving as a roadmap, engaging the reader from the start, and presenting the purpose of your writing.

Focus on Deeper Themes

Some essay writers think they will impress committees by loading an essay with facts, figures, and descriptions of activities, like wins in sports or descriptions of volunteer work. But that’s not the point.

College admissions officers are interested in learning more about who you are as a person and what makes you tick.

They want to know what has brought you to this stage in life. They want to read about realizations you may have come to through adversity as well as your successes, not just about how many games you won while on the soccer team or how many people you served at a soup kitchen.

Let the reader know how winning the soccer game helped you develop as a person, friend, family member, or leader. Make a connection with your soup kitchen volunteerism and how it may have inspired your educational journey and future aspirations. What did you discover about yourself?

Show Don’t Tell

As you expand on whatever theme you’ve decided to explore in your essay, remember to show, don’t tell.

The most engaging writing “shows” by setting scenes and providing anecdotes, rather than just providing a list of accomplishments and activities.

Reciting a list of activities is also boring. An admissions officer will want to know about the arc of your emotional journey too.

Try Doing Something Different

If you want your essay to stand out, think about approaching your subject from an entirely new perspective. While many students might choose to write about their wins, for instance, what if you wrote an essay about what you learned from all your losses?

If you are an especially talented writer, you might play with the element of surprise by crafting an essay that leaves the response to a question to the very last sentence.

You may want to stay away from well-worn themes entirely, like a sports-related obstacle or success, volunteer stories, immigration stories, moving, a summary of personal achievements or overcoming obstacles.

However, such themes are popular for a reason. They represent the totality of most people’s lives coming out of high school. Therefore, it may be less important to stay away from these topics than to take a fresh approach.

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Write With the Reader in Mind

Writing for the reader means building a clear and logical argument in which one thought flows naturally from another.

Use transitions between paragraphs.

Think about any information you may have left out that the reader may need to know. Are there ideas you have included that do not help illustrate your theme?

Be sure you can answer questions such as: Does what you have written make sense? Is the essay organized? Does the opening grab the reader? Is there a strong ending? Have you given enough background information? Is it wordy?

Write Several Drafts

Set your essay aside for a few days and come back to it after you’ve had some time to forget what you’ve written. Often, you’ll discover you have a whole new perspective that enhances your ability to make revisions.

Start writing months before your essay is due to give yourself enough time to write multiple drafts. A good time to start could be as early as the summer before your senior year when homework and extracurricular activities take up less time.

Read It Aloud

Writer’s tip : Reading your essay aloud can instantly uncover passages that sound clumsy, long-winded, or false.

Don’t Repeat

If you’ve mentioned an activity, story, or anecdote in some other part of your application, don’t repeat it again in your essay.

Your essay should tell college admissions officers something new. Whatever you write in your essay should be in philosophical alignment with the rest of your application.

Also, be sure you’ve answered whatever question or prompt may have been posed to you at the outset.

Ask Others to Read Your Essay

Be sure the people you ask to read your essay represent different demographic groups—a teacher, a parent, even a younger sister or brother.

Ask each reader what they took from the essay and listen closely to what they have to say. If anyone expresses confusion, revise until the confusion is cleared up.

Pay Attention to Form

Although there are often no strict word limits for college essays, most essays are shorter rather than longer. Common App, which students can use to submit to multiple colleges, suggests that essays stay at about 650 words.

“While we won’t as a rule stop reading after 650 words, we cannot promise that an overly wordy essay will hold our attention for as long as you’d hoped it would,” the Common App website states.

In reviewing other technical aspects of your essay, be sure that the font is readable, that the margins are properly spaced, that any dialogue is set off properly, and that there is enough spacing at the top. Your essay should look clean and inviting to readers.

End Your Essay With a “Kicker”

In journalism, a kicker is the last punchy line, paragraph, or section that brings everything together.

It provides a lasting impression that leaves the reader satisfied and impressed by the points you have artfully woven throughout your piece.

So, here’s our kicker: Be concise and coherent, engage in honest self-reflection, and include vivid details and anecdotes that deftly illustrate your point.

While writing a fantastic essay may not guarantee you get selected, it can tip the balance in your favor if admissions officers are considering a candidate with a similar GPA and background.

Write, revise, revise again, and good luck!

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About the Author

Pamela Reynolds is a Boston-area feature writer and editor whose work appears in numerous publications. She is the author of “Revamp: A Memoir of Travel and Obsessive Renovation.”

How Involved Should Parents and Guardians Be in High School Student College Applications and Admissions?

There are several ways parents can lend support to their children during the college application process. Here's how to get the ball rolling.

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'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?

ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.

ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form .

How to write better ChatGPT prompts in 5 steps

ChatGPT is the generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that's taken the world by storm. While there's always the possibility it will simply make stuff up , there's a lot you can do when crafting prompts to ensure the best possible outcome. That's what we'll be exploring in this how-to.

In this article, we'll show you how to write prompts that encourage the large language model (LLM) that powers  ChatGPT to provide the best possible answers. 

Also: Have 10 hours? IBM will train you in AI fundamentals - for free

Writing effective prompts, known as prompt engineering, has even become its own highly-paid discipline . Who knows? These tips could help you build the skills to become one of those highly paid prompt engineers. Apparently, these gigs can pay from $175,000 to $335,000 per year.  

How to write effective ChatGPT prompts

1. talk to the ai like you would a person.

One of the more interesting things I had to get used to when working with ChatGPT is that you don't program it, you talk to it. As a formally trained programmer, I've had to leave a lot of habits by the wayside when engaging with AI. Talking to it (and with it) requires a mindset shift.

When I say talk to it like a person, I mean talk to it like you would a co-worker or team member. If that's hard to do, give it a name. Alexa is taken, so maybe think of it as "Bob". This naming helps because when you talk to Bob, you might include conversational details, little anecdotes that give your story texture.

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When talking to a person, it would be natural for them to miss your point initially and require clarification, or veer away from the topic at hand and need to be wrangled back. You might need to fill in the backstory for them, or restate complex questions based on the answers they give you. 

This is called interactive prompting. Don't be afraid to ask multi-step questions: ask, get a response, and based on that response, ask another question. I've done this myself, sometimes 10 or 20 times in a row, and gotten very powerful results. Think of this as having a conversation with ChatGPT.

2. Set the stage and provide context

Writing a ChatGPT prompt is more than just asking a one-sentence question. It often involves providing relevant background information to set the context of the query.

Let's say that you want to prepare for a marathon (for the record, I do not run, dance, or jump -- this is merely an example). You could ask ChatGPT:

How can I prepare for a marathon?

However, you'll get a far more nuanced answer if you add that you're training for your first marathon. Try this instead: 

I am a beginner runner and have never run a marathon before, but I want to complete one in six months. How can I prepare for a marathon?

By giving the AI more information, you're helping it return a more focused answer. Even with ChatGPT's help, there's no way I'm going to run a marathon (unless I'm doing it with a V-Twin motor under my seat). Here are two more examples of questions that provide context:

I am planning to travel to Spain in a few months and would like to learn some basic Spanish to help me communicate with local residents. I am looking for online resources that are suitable for beginners and provide a structured and comprehensive approach to learning the language. Can you recommend some online resources for learning Spanish as a beginner?

In this case, rather than just asking about learning resources, the context helps focus the AI on learning how to communicate on the ground with local residents. Here's another example: 

I am a business owner interested in exploring how blockchain technology can be used to improve supply chain efficiency and transparency. I am looking for a clear and concise explanation of the technology and examples of how it has been used in the context of supply chain management. Can you explain the concept of blockchain technology and its potential applications in supply chain management?

In this example, rather than just asking for information on blockchain and how it works, the focus is specifically on blockchain for supply chain efficiency and how it might be used in a real-world scenario. 

Also:  How to use Image Creator from Microsoft Designer (formerly Bing Image Creator) Lastly, let's get into how to construct a detailed prompt. 

One note: I limit the answer to 500 words because ChatGPT seems to break when asked to produce somewhere between 500 and 700 words, leaving stories mid-sentence and not resuming properly when asked to continue. I hope future versions provide longer answers, because premises like this can generate fun story beginnings: 

Write a short story for me, no more than 500 words. The story takes place in 2339, in Boston. The entire story takes place inside a Victorian-style bookstore that wouldn't be out of place in Diagon Alley. Inside the store are the following characters, all human: The proprietor: make this person interesting and a bit unusual, give them a name and at least one skill or characteristic that influences their backstory and possibly influences the entire short story. The helper: this is a clerk in the store. His name is Todd. The customer and his friend: Two customers came into the store together, Jackson and Ophelia. Jackson is dressed as if he's going to a Steampunk convention, while Ophelia is clearly coming home from her day working in a professional office. Another customer is Evangeline, a regular customer in the store, in her mid-40s. Yet another customer is Archibald, a man who could be anywhere from 40 to 70 years old. He has a mysterious air about himself and seems both somewhat grandiose and secretive. There is something about Archibald that makes the others uncomfortable. A typical concept in retail sales is that there's always more inventory "in the back," where there's a storeroom for additional goods that might not be shown on the shelves where customers browse. The premise of this story is that there is something very unusual about this store's "in the back." Put it all together and tell something compelling and fun.

You can see how the detail provides more for the AI to work with. First, feed "Write me a story about a bookstore" into ChatGPT and see what it gives you. Then feed in the above prompt and you'll see the difference.

3. Tell the AI to assume an identity or profession

One of ChatGPT's coolest features is that it can write from the point of view of a specific person or profession. In a previous article, I showed how you can make ChatGPT write like a pirate or Shakespeare , but you can also have it write like a teacher, a marketing executive, a fiction writer -- anyone you want. 

Also: How ChatGPT can rewrite and improve your existing code  

For example, I can ask ChatGPT to describe the Amazon Echo smart home device, but to do so from the point of view of a product manager, a caregiver, and a journalist in three separate prompts: 

From the point of view of its product manager, describe the Amazon Echo Alexa device. From the point of view of an adult child caring for an elderly parent, describe the Amazon Echo Alexa device. From the point of view of a journalist, describe the Amazon Echo Alexa device.

Try dropping these three prompts into ChatGPT to see its complete response. 

I've pulled a few lines from ChatGPT's responses, so you can see how it interprets different perspectives.  From the product manager identity:  I can confidently say that this is one of the most innovative and revolutionary products in the smart home industry.

From the caregiver identity:  The device's ability to set reminders and alarms can be particularly helpful for elderly individuals who may have trouble remembering to take their medication or attend appointments.

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And from the journalist identity:  From a journalistic perspective, the Echo has made headlines due to privacy concerns surrounding the collection and storage of user data.

You can see how different identities allow the AI to provide different perspectives as part of its response. To expand this, you can let the AI do a thought experiment. Let's look at some of the issues that went into the creation of something like Alexa:

The year is 2012. Siri has been out for the iPhone for about a year, but nothing like an Alexa smart home device has been released. The scene is an Amazon board meeting where the Echo smart assistant based on Alexa has just been proposed.  Provide the arguments, pro and con, that board members at that meeting would have been likely to discuss as part of their process of deciding whether or not to approve spending to invest in developing the device.  Feel free to also include participation by engineering design experts and product champions, if that provides more comprehensive perspective.

It's also good to know that making minor changes to your prompts can significantly change ChatGPT's response. For example, when I changed the phrase, "Provide the arguments, pro and con, that..." to "Provide the pro and con arguments as dialogue, that...," ChatGPT rewrote its answer, switching from a list of enumerated pros and cons to an actual dialogue between participants.

4. Keep ChatGPT on track

As mentioned above, ChatGPT has a tendency to go off the rails, lose track of the discussion, or completely fabricate answers. 

There are a few techniques you can use to help keep it on track and honest.

One of my favorite things to do is ask ChatGPT to justify its responses. I'll use phrases like "Why do you think that?" or "What evidence supports your answer?" Often, the AI will simply apologize for making stuff up and come back with a new answer. Other times, it might give you some useful information about its reasoning path. In any case, don't forget to apply the tips I provide for having ChatGPT cite sources .

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If you have a fairly long conversation with ChatGPT, you'll start to notice that the AI loses the thread. Not that that's unique to AIs -- even in extended conversations with humans, someone is bound to get lost. That said, you can gently guide the AI back on track by reminding it what the topic is, as well as what you're trying to explore.

5. Don't be afraid to play and experiment

One of the best ways to up your skill at this craft is to play around with what the chatbot can do.

Try feeding ChatGPT a variety of interesting prompts to see what it will do with them. Then change them up and see what happens. Here are five to get you started:

• Imagine you are a raindrop falling from the sky during a thunderstorm. Describe your journey from the moment you form in the cloud to the moment you hit the ground. What do you see, feel, and experience?
• You are a toy that has been left behind in an attic for decades. Narrate your feelings, memories of playtimes past, and your hopes of being rediscovered.
• Write the final diary entry of a time traveler who has decided to settle down in a specific era, explaining why they chose that time and what they've learned from their travels.
• Imagine a dialogue between two unlikely objects, like a teacup and a wristwatch, discussing the daily routines and challenges they face.
• Describe a day in an ant colony from the perspective of an ant. Dive deep into the politics, challenges, and social structures of the ant world.

Pay attention not only to what the AI generates, but how it generates what it does, what mistakes it makes, and where it seems to run into limits. All of that detail will help you expand your prompting horizons.

More prompt-writing tips 

• Feel free to re-ask the question. ChatGPT will often change its answer with each ask.
• Make small changes to your prompts to guide it into giving you a better answer.
• ChatGPT will retain its awareness of previous conversations as long as the current page is open. If you leave that page, it will lose awareness. To be clear, ChatGPT will also sometimes lose the thread of the conversation without reason, so be aware you may need to start over from time to time.
• Similarly, opening a new page will start the discussion with fresh responses.
• Be sure to specify the length of the response you want. Answers over about 500 words sometimes break down. 
• You can correct and clarify prompts based on how the AI answered previously. If it's misinterpreting you, you may be able to just tell it what it missed and continue.
• Rephrase questions if ChatGPT doesn't want to answer what you're asking. Use personas to elicit answers that it might not otherwise want to give.
• If you want sources cited , tell it to support or justify its answers.
• ChatGPT custom instructions are now available to free users. You can  give ChatGPT a set of prompts that are always available , so you don't have to retype them.
• Keep experimenting.
• Consider getting the ChatGPT Plus subscription . You can then use your own data for powerful analytics . You can also pull data from the Web . 
• Try asking the same question of Gemini  (formerly Bard) or Copilot (formerly Bing Chat). Both will interpret your prompts differently and answer differently. This is effectively getting a second opinion on your prompt, and can give you alternate perspectives.
• Ask for examples. If you want to see how well ChatGPT understands what you're asking for, ask it "Can you give me three examples of how that works?" or similar questions.
• Ask it to repeat parts of your original requests back to you. For example, if you feed it an article to analyze, you can tell it something like, "Just to be sure you understand, please echo back the first three headlines," or "I want to be sure you understand what I mean, so summarize the main conflict discussed in this article." 
• Sometimes ChatGPT just fails. Keep trying, but also be willing to give up and move on to other tools. It's not perfect...yet.

What type of prompts work best with ChatGPT? 

Part of what makes ChatGPT so compelling is you can ask it almost anything. That said, keep in mind that it's designed to provide written answers. If you want a list of websites, you're better off talking to Google. 

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If you want some form of computation, talk to Wolfram Alpha . Give ChatGPT open-ended prompts, encourage creativity, and don't be afraid to share personal experiences or emotions. Plus, keep in mind that the AI's knowledge ends in 2021  for ChatGPT 3.5 and December 2023 for ChatGPT 4 in ChatGPT Plus.

How can I adjust the complexity of ChatGPT responses?

You can directly specify the complexity level by including it in your prompt. Add "... at a high school level" or "... at a level intended for a Ph.D. to understand" to the end of your question. You can also increase complexity of output by increasing the richness of your input. The more you provide in your prompt, the more detailed and nuanced ChatGPT's response will be. You can also include other specific instructions, like "Give me a summary," "Explain in detail," or "Provide a technical description."

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You can also pre-define profiles. For example, you could say "When evaluating something for a manager, assume an individual with a four-year business college education, a lack of detailed technical understanding, and a fairly limited attention span, who likes to get answers that are clear and concise. When evaluating something for a programmer, assume considerable technical knowledge, an enjoyment of geek and science fiction references, and a desire for a complete answer. Accuracy is deeply important to programmers, so double-check your work."

If you ask ChatGPT to "explain C++ to a manager" and "explain C++ to a programmer," you'll see how the responses differ.

What do I do if ChatGPT refuses to answer or I don't like its answer? 

There are some guardrails built into ChatGPT. It tends to shut down if you ask it political questions, for example. That's what's built into the system. While you might be able to tease out an answer, it's probably not going to provide great value. That said, feel free to keep trying with different phrasing or perspectives. 

You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly update newsletter on Substack , and follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz , on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz , on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz , and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV .

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How to design a volunteering program in your workplace

More workplaces are bolstering their volunteer programs, especially as employee demands grow for socially responsible employers and engagement

More workplaces are bolstering their volunteer programs, especially as employee demands grow for socially responsible employers and engagement. Nearly three in five companies surveyed by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals reported increased opportunities for group volunteering last year.

With National Volunteer Week in the rearview mirror, coworkers buoyed by recent acts of kindness might be looking for ways to integrate service more regularly into their professional schedules. They stand to benefit themselves, too. Recent University of Oxford research suggests organized volunteering is one of the most effective workplace programs for improving workers' well-being.

But not all corporate volunteering is created equal. The following advice from experts and nonprofit leaders provides some best practices for anyone interested in building or strengthening an officewide culture of service.

Dr. Eddy Hogg, a University of Kent lecturer who studies volunteering, recommends giving agency to employees in the design of their workplace volunteer program. People who volunteer on their own time likely have a much more personal connection to the cause, he said, whereas an employee group will have varied levels of interest in any given act of service.

Allowing employees to select from a range of local community groups, and suggest their own, can help ensure everyone feels connected to their nonprofit partner's mission. Affinity groups can be a good place to start aligning employee interests with service work.

Still, buy-in from the entire corporate ladder is necessary.

“It's one thing for a guy in head office to think it's a good idea,” Hogg said. “But if people's line managers think it's a load of rubbish, it's not going to happen. Even if the staff are actually really keen to do it."

Hogg also recommends breaking away from the short-term, light-touch days of service frequently featured in company press releases. Otherwise, Hogg says, you’re essentially just participating in a company retreat. Deep connections between employees and the community won't form if they only interact once or twice a year.

“You might as well just put everyone on a bus and take them up to the Catskills, right?" he said.

Bosses and nonprofit leaders to communicate how the chosen activity will benefit the community. That means fostering direct interactions with the people being served, said Jessica Rodell, which can help ensure employees return for future volunteering.

“The more meaningful the activity, the better," said Rodell, a University of Georgia management professor.

Cold-calling charitable organizations can be daunting. Luckily, there are third-party organizations ready to partner companies looking for skills-based volunteering opportunities with nonprofits in need of extra help.

Common Impact leverages the increased power of corporations in society by connecting their employees with community groups. CEO Leila Saad describes it as the corporate version of legal pro bono work.

The nonprofit has partnered with dozens of Fortune 500 companies. Common Impact connected Allstate employees with a Wisconsin domestic violence prevention group to improve staff parental and bereavement leave polices, for example. It also brought Blue Cross Blue Shield employees together with a Worcester, Massachusetts gang rehabilitation program that needed help collecting data to measure its success in grant applications.

Employees working at smaller companies could consider partnering with their local Big Brothers Big Sisters of America club. Mentors help high school students plan for post-graduation life by helping fill out college aid forms or choose majors under its “Big Futures” program.

The necessary commitment levels come and go, according to Chief Development Officer Deborah Barge. Volunteers might only show up once to a career fair, for example. Others may work with mentees for about six or more hours across several days.

Lower the barrier to entry by creating a variety of programs where newcomers can wet their feet and seasoned volunteers can go all-in. In a corporate world where employees are increasingly working hybrid schedules and spread out geographically, that means providing some remote service opportunities.

The beauty brand Shiseido Americas ships volunteer kits out to its employees scattered across its New York headquarters, New Jersey manufacturing facilities, Ohio warehouse and regional offices around the country. Keep America Beautiful, an environmental nonprofit that works to end littering and expand recycling, has cleanup kits used by Shiseido employees to beautify local parks. The company also sends kits with materials so employees can make blankets or decorate bags for foster children.

A robust employee engagement program should celebrate the “wholeness” of who they are,” said Melissa MacDonnell, head of the Liberty Mutual Foundation.

The insurance company often starts by inviting organizations that have already been the recipient of donations through its employee match program, MacDonnell said, and also solicits suggestions from employees.

In addition to monthslong, skills-based opportunities, MacDonnell said Liberty Mutual also offers curated service projects that employees can sign up to join during the first three weeks in May.

“If you’re forcing it, it doesn’t feel authentic,” said Julia Haase, the chief operating officer for Liberty Mutual Investments. “If you give people the platform and the choice -- the where and when and how they want to engage -- I think they will feel empowered to pursue those areas that are really meaningful to them.”

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

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