Dear Dr. Price,
I’m applying for a competitive internship, and I want my essay to stand out. I have ideas, and I’ve written a few paragraphs, but I don’t know what’s good enough to land the internship. How do I write something that actually shows why I’m the best candidate?
— Hoping to Stand Out
Dear Hoping to Stand Out,
You’re asking the right question. Strong internship essays don’t just list qualifications; they demonstrate them with clarity, detail, and purpose. I recently worked with a student who came in wanting to do the same thing: make sure her internship essay was the strongest version of itself.
She brought multiple introductions and a handful of ideas. Instead of jumping straight into editing, we started with conversation. I asked her why she believed she was the best candidate. As she talked, her experiences, motivations, and strengths became clearer—and more compelling. But here’s the thing: none of those powerful details were in her draft…yet.
So, I encouraged her to support each claim with specific examples and to connect those examples directly to her long-term goal of joining her dream profession. Once she understood the importance of grounding her essay in meaningful details, we worked on clarifying what she wanted the reader to understand about her.
From that discussion, I drafted an outline she could follow—one that organized her thoughts and made space for her strongest evidence.
Then, she shared her one of her introductions. It was thoughtful, but it read more like a summary—something that belonged at the end rather than the beginning. Easy fix. I simply suggested using it as her conclusion. After that, I offered ideas for crafting a more engaging introduction—one that was personal, vivid, and anchored in her authentic experiences.
So, here’s what I want you to take away:
Strong internship essays are built on specificity, not summaries.
Talk through your ideas. Identify the experiences that shaped your goals. Show the reader why your background, motivation, and preparation align with the opportunity you want. This is your opportunity to show your reader who you are.
Start with something personal and engaging.
You have a story worth telling—give yourself permission to tell it clearly and confidently.
Sincerely,
Dr. Price
A Writing Consultant Who Loves Writing That Speaks for the Writer