An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates. In high school, you may need to write many types of essays to develop your writing skills. Academic essays at the college level are typically argumentative: you develop a clear thesis about your topic and defend your position using evidence. 3. Contextualize Context: Provide brief but informative context to contextualize your readers. Briefly introduce the time, place, and key players involved in the historical narrative you are about to unfold. This helps orient your audience and lays the foundation for deeper understanding. This is at the heart of the writing process. First, set your first draft aside for a day or so to get away from it. After this break, reread it with a critical eye, almost as you would someone else's article. You will probably find that your first draft is still quite descriptive rather than argumentative. Before writing. When writing your essays for Barnard, you need to think about the world's larger problems, your relationship to them, your contribution to a meaningful solution. Barnard is a very "outward-looking" college, and admissions readers will be looking for applicants who share this broad "macro" perspective.