So, you’re scrolling through Princeton’s admissions page and discover something daunting: the Princeton Graded Written Paper requirement. Okay, we probably know what you’re thinking

“Welp, I guess I’ll have to dig up some musky old essay from my Sophomore year about how Hamlet secretly wanted to do the deed with his mom!”

Don’t worry, even the smartest students have written some low-quality essays. Trust, us, we’ve worked with countless students who were at the top of their class in AP Lang and Lit. You’d be surprised how many students cringe at reading their own essays.

Fortunately, you don’t have to dig up old essays!

In fact, you can actually write up a new essay for your Princeton Graded Written Paper. Simply ask your teacher to grade the essay you write (not for an official grade recorded on a transcript) that isn’t officially part of their class. Then, take your time editing it until it’s “A+ quality.”

In other words, instead of being stuck with something you already wrote, you can write a completely new essay for your Princeton Graded Written Paper and edit it endlessly before submitting it to Princeton!

You can also find more information on the Princeton Graded Written Paper policy here.

Now, with that said, let’s get deeper into details!

Table of Contents

1. Write a new essay from scratch. Don’t reuse an old essay.
2. Ask your teacher if they could grade your paper first.
3. Find a meaningful topic to write about.
4. Show Princeton that you can articulate your ideas properly.
5. Get your essay edited or revised before submitting it to your teacher.
6. Send your results once you’re satisfied.

Write a new essay from scratch. Don’t reuse an old essay.

It might be tempting to reuse an old essay from the past for your Princeton Graded Written Paper. And, hey: we get it. Some of us write some very cool pieces.

Maybe we had a very deep idea about how the play Antigone parallels a lot of the psychological pathologies that plague modern attacks against women’s rights today. Or, perhaps we have the most intelligent claims behind the deeper meaning embedded in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven.

Hey, fair enough, dear reader!

Nonetheless, we must implore you: don’t reuse these essays!

This is because most student writings improve drastically during their high school careers. The writing you’ll do during Freshman year is likely nothing close to your Sophomore-year work. Junior is incomparable to Senior. So on and so forth.

Chances are, your writing and articulation skills will be more powerful now than the previous years. (even if you don’t have as much confidence in your writing ability!)

Additionally, writing a unique essay with a prompt of your choosing gives you A LOT more flexibility than fixed prompts required by your State standards. You have all the freedom of topical choice and even the freedom to make hypotheses that your teacher’s prompts may have restricted.

This has actually allowed a lot of our clients to write college and grad-level papers that blow other students out of the water. After all, what sounds more powerful? Is it the 1 billionth essay on Romeo and Juliet being a comedy that your entire state education department required? Or, would it be a psychoanalysis of George Orwell’s Road to Wiggan Pier and the subtle parallels its message has in predicting the pathologies of Late-Stage Capitalist philosophies?

The latter would certainly be more compelling (if not unique compared to other essays!)

Ask your teacher if they could grade your paper first.

Let’s be real: teachers are busy. Like, very busy.

Some of our private consultants used to be high school teachers. And boy oh boy; they like many other teachers work endlessly. Ask your teacher if they are willing to grade your paper with courtesy. Besides, they’d be sacrificing time from their other responsibilities.

If they’re willing to grade it, you have a leg up in the Princeton admissions process. You can write the best essay possible and even have the freedom to edit it as much as you want. Others sifting through their past essays will have to settle with work that can’t be rewritten.

More often than not, your teachers would be willing to grade your papers. Make sure to emphasize that this graded process does not need to be something that takes a million years to do! You should respect their time. So, let them know that it’s just a quick review. And, if they can’t reasonably give it an “A” quite yet, ask to edit it a few times before they briefly grade it again.

This should ultimately not take them more than 30 minutes of their time throughout the total process!

Find a meaningful topic to write about.

Some students have a forte in History, others may succeed in English. Maybe you enjoy a combination of both and can write an essay on the intersection between English literary theory and historical political analysis.

Whatever you choose, the topic is going to be one of the most important elements of your Princeton Graded Written Paper. It’s up to you to decide what you write about, but make sure it’s something you’re both passionate and knowledgable about.

So, how do you know a topic is easier to articulate and explain properly? Well, here are some hints and tips that may help.

1. Find a subject that plays to your strengths. (Political for those who understand politics and Literature for those who can analyze books)
2. Something with real-world applications.
3. Essay topics that aren’t black and white, and have a middle ground.
4. Essay topics exploring the realm of philosophy.
5. Essay topics that have many good reasons from all sides of the argument.

Preferably, you’d also want to choose an essay topic for your Princeton Graded Written Paper that challenges you. Don’t shy away from the hard stuff. Remember: the easy content is what most students are going to reach for. They’re going to try to find easy topics to write about so they can get an “easy A” that gives them an edge in the admissions process.

But, this is not how you stand out.

To really stand out in Princeton’s admissions process, you need a graded paper that actually has compelling substance and demonstrates your sophistication in wrestling with complex ideas. And, you can’t do that without challenging yourself with harder topics.

Additionally, this proves to admissions officers that you’re not afraid of diving into more difficult challenges as a whole. It demonstrates you’re willing to forgo the safe route and get right to the hard questions.

Show Princeton that you can articulate your ideas properly.

Before you start writing out your essay, take a step back. Take a look at why the Princeton Graded Written Paper requirement even exists.

“The graded written paper will help the admission office assess the student’s written expression in an academic setting. This will further the holistic understanding of the student’s application and help admission officers evaluate the student’s potential contributions to and ability to thrive in the University’s rigorous academic environment.”

Princeton official website

The primary reason for the Princeton Graded Written Paper is to provide the school with an idea of your written and verbal intelligence. In other words, how well you can articulate complex ideas and abstractions.

This is often harder than most people think.

In fact, if you take your average A-grade persuasive essay from sophomore year through senior year, you’ll realize… they’re not that good.

Most high-level essays are still not well-articulated enough to be at a college level.

There’s a reason AP Lit is considered one of the most difficult AP classes across the board!

If you want to submit the Princeton Graded Written Paper, you’ll need to submit an essay that demonstrates skill far above average. Remember: this is a replacement for the SAT and ACT test scores. Instead of testing for general intelligence, the Princeton Graded Written Paper tests for verbal/written intelligence.

Think through how you’re going to structure your points in the essay. More importantly, try to make it clear to the readers –admissions officers– why exactly you believe something in your essay. This is the hardest part of articulation.

One of the things we highly suggest our clients do when trying to articulate their writing properly is to brainstorm correctly. That is, when ideas come into your head, wrestle with them without trying to “fix” your ideas. Most students make the mistake of telling themselves that their ideas are stupid during the brainstorming process; and, they end up losing out on otherwise fantastic ideas.

When you’re brainstorming, you’re just recording all the thoughts and ideas that come forward. You can edit and revise your ideas later; but, by just letting your thoughts come forward and recording them without judgment, you’ll have a much easier time mapping your nodes of ideas in a sophisticated network of brainstorming ideas.

Note: we highly recommend speaking with one of our admissions essay experts on this. Schedule a free consultation with us, and our experts will get back to you within 24 hours.

Get your essay edited or revised before submitting it to your teacher.

Before sending your essay to your teacher, remember to have your essay edited and revised. Remember: there are easy graders and strict graders. Not all A-graded papers are made the same. Just because your teacher gives you an ‘easy A’ on your Princeton Graded Written Paper does not mean Princeton will be impressed by it.

The goal is to write a Princeton Graded Written Paper that surpasses other papers in the application pool.

So, even if your teacher gives you a solid “A” grade on the paper, don’t be afraid to edit it further and see what direction it can take.

One useful tip is to ask your teacher what THEIR opinion is on your essay. That is, tell them not to just give generic feedback like they would with any other essay. Rather, have them give subjective feedback on what they think they want to say. Maybe they disagree with what you think. Or, they actually think you’re correct but have only scratched the surface of an otherwise convoluted yet interesting problem. Don’t be afraid to talk to your teacher about their personal opinions on your essay, for they may point out things you didn’t originally think about.

We can nearly guarantee that if you ask your teacher what their personal opinions are of your essay’s content you’ll discover some fantastic things. Most teachers can’t express their agreements or disagreements with student essays due to general feedback rules for teachers. So, this is a great way to open up discussion and introduce new ideas to your Princeton Graded Written Paper that would make it more sophisticated.

Send your results once you’re satisfied.

Once you’ve had your essay graded by a teacher, and reviewed by an admissions expert, you’re ready to submit your essay. Remember that the Princeton Graded Written Paper is a rather new policy. However, just because it’s new does not mean that Princeton will not take it seriously (why else would they include it in the application?)

After all, this is Princeton we’re talking about. We don’t want to settle for anything less in your college application. Don’t settle for less in your Princeton application. Prep your essay as much as you can.

Lastly, best of luck with your application!