informal essay about covid 19

How to Write About Coronavirus in a College Essay

Students can share how they navigated life during the coronavirus pandemic in a full-length essay or an optional supplement.

Writing About COVID-19 in College Essays

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Experts say students should be honest and not limit themselves to merely their experiences with the pandemic.

The global impact of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, means colleges and prospective students alike are in for an admissions cycle like no other. Both face unprecedented challenges and questions as they grapple with their respective futures amid the ongoing fallout of the pandemic.

Colleges must examine applicants without the aid of standardized test scores for many – a factor that prompted many schools to go test-optional for now . Even grades, a significant component of a college application, may be hard to interpret with some high schools adopting pass-fail classes last spring due to the pandemic. Major college admissions factors are suddenly skewed.

"I can't help but think other (admissions) factors are going to matter more," says Ethan Sawyer, founder of the College Essay Guy, a website that offers free and paid essay-writing resources.

College essays and letters of recommendation , Sawyer says, are likely to carry more weight than ever in this admissions cycle. And many essays will likely focus on how the pandemic shaped students' lives throughout an often tumultuous 2020.

But before writing a college essay focused on the coronavirus, students should explore whether it's the best topic for them.

Writing About COVID-19 for a College Application

Much of daily life has been colored by the coronavirus. Virtual learning is the norm at many colleges and high schools, many extracurriculars have vanished and social lives have stalled for students complying with measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

"For some young people, the pandemic took away what they envisioned as their senior year," says Robert Alexander, dean of admissions, financial aid and enrollment management at the University of Rochester in New York. "Maybe that's a spot on a varsity athletic team or the lead role in the fall play. And it's OK for them to mourn what should have been and what they feel like they lost, but more important is how are they making the most of the opportunities they do have?"

That question, Alexander says, is what colleges want answered if students choose to address COVID-19 in their college essay.

But the question of whether a student should write about the coronavirus is tricky. The answer depends largely on the student.

"In general, I don't think students should write about COVID-19 in their main personal statement for their application," Robin Miller, master college admissions counselor at IvyWise, a college counseling company, wrote in an email.

"Certainly, there may be exceptions to this based on a student's individual experience, but since the personal essay is the main place in the application where the student can really allow their voice to be heard and share insight into who they are as an individual, there are likely many other topics they can choose to write about that are more distinctive and unique than COVID-19," Miller says.

Opinions among admissions experts vary on whether to write about the likely popular topic of the pandemic.

"If your essay communicates something positive, unique, and compelling about you in an interesting and eloquent way, go for it," Carolyn Pippen, principal college admissions counselor at IvyWise, wrote in an email. She adds that students shouldn't be dissuaded from writing about a topic merely because it's common, noting that "topics are bound to repeat, no matter how hard we try to avoid it."

Above all, she urges honesty.

"If your experience within the context of the pandemic has been truly unique, then write about that experience, and the standing out will take care of itself," Pippen says. "If your experience has been generally the same as most other students in your context, then trying to find a unique angle can easily cross the line into exploiting a tragedy, or at least appearing as though you have."

But focusing entirely on the pandemic can limit a student to a single story and narrow who they are in an application, Sawyer says. "There are so many wonderful possibilities for what you can say about yourself outside of your experience within the pandemic."

He notes that passions, strengths, career interests and personal identity are among the multitude of essay topic options available to applicants and encourages them to probe their values to help determine the topic that matters most to them – and write about it.

That doesn't mean the pandemic experience has to be ignored if applicants feel the need to write about it.

Writing About Coronavirus in Main and Supplemental Essays

Students can choose to write a full-length college essay on the coronavirus or summarize their experience in a shorter form.

To help students explain how the pandemic affected them, The Common App has added an optional section to address this topic. Applicants have 250 words to describe their pandemic experience and the personal and academic impact of COVID-19.

"That's not a trick question, and there's no right or wrong answer," Alexander says. Colleges want to know, he adds, how students navigated the pandemic, how they prioritized their time, what responsibilities they took on and what they learned along the way.

If students can distill all of the above information into 250 words, there's likely no need to write about it in a full-length college essay, experts say. And applicants whose lives were not heavily altered by the pandemic may even choose to skip the optional COVID-19 question.

"This space is best used to discuss hardship and/or significant challenges that the student and/or the student's family experienced as a result of COVID-19 and how they have responded to those difficulties," Miller notes. Using the section to acknowledge a lack of impact, she adds, "could be perceived as trite and lacking insight, despite the good intentions of the applicant."

To guard against this lack of awareness, Sawyer encourages students to tap someone they trust to review their writing , whether it's the 250-word Common App response or the full-length essay.

Experts tend to agree that the short-form approach to this as an essay topic works better, but there are exceptions. And if a student does have a coronavirus story that he or she feels must be told, Alexander encourages the writer to be authentic in the essay.

"My advice for an essay about COVID-19 is the same as my advice about an essay for any topic – and that is, don't write what you think we want to read or hear," Alexander says. "Write what really changed you and that story that now is yours and yours alone to tell."

Sawyer urges students to ask themselves, "What's the sentence that only I can write?" He also encourages students to remember that the pandemic is only a chapter of their lives and not the whole book.

Miller, who cautions against writing a full-length essay on the coronavirus, says that if students choose to do so they should have a conversation with their high school counselor about whether that's the right move. And if students choose to proceed with COVID-19 as a topic, she says they need to be clear, detailed and insightful about what they learned and how they adapted along the way.

"Approaching the essay in this manner will provide important balance while demonstrating personal growth and vulnerability," Miller says.

Pippen encourages students to remember that they are in an unprecedented time for college admissions.

"It is important to keep in mind with all of these (admission) factors that no colleges have ever had to consider them this way in the selection process, if at all," Pippen says. "They have had very little time to calibrate their evaluations of different application components within their offices, let alone across institutions. This means that colleges will all be handling the admissions process a little bit differently, and their approaches may even evolve over the course of the admissions cycle."

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Home > Blog > COVID-19 Essay: Topic Ideas and Best Practices

COVID-19 Essay: Topic Ideas and Best Practices

Smodin Editorial Team
Published: November 7, 2024
All About Content and Writing

Writing a COVID-19 essay involves gathering facts and presenting them in a logical manner. There are a lot of different ideas to address because the pandemic had a massive impact on the world. This includes topics like food security, education for university students, and the well-being of the elderly population.

In this article, we’ll share the different topics that you can tackle to increase your odds of success. You’ll also see how AI tools can help craft your essay to speed up the writing process and overcome writer’s block.

Keep reading to learn how to improve your essay-writing skills for COVID-19 topics.

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Table of Contents

How COVID-19 Affected the World Essay: 6 Top Essay Ideas To Consider

It’s no secret that COVID-19 affected the world in a variety of significant ways. Some of these changes you may have felt first-hand or seen from a close distance in your local community. Therefore, writing about these topics is an excellent idea to make the content feel more authentic.

In this section, we’ll share some of the ways the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world, and present to you some noteworthy topics you could explore.

1. Impact on Global Health Systems

COVID-19 exposed significant vulnerabilities in global health systems. That’s because hospitals faced shortages of essential equipment like ventilators and personal protective equipment. Also, overwhelmed healthcare providers struggled to cope with the surge in patients, thereby highlighting the need for better emergency preparedness.

Furthermore, the pandemic also led to innovations in telemedicine and a global push for vaccine development. However, disparities in healthcare access, particularly in developing nations, underscored ongoing inequalities. You can cover any one of these issues in your essay. Try to focus on one aspect of the healthcare system, which you can do by writing a focused thesis statement.

2. Social and Mental Health Consequences

Lockdowns and social distancing measures profoundly impacted people’s social lives and mental health. Isolation and grief from losing loved ones contributed to a rise in anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.

Additionally, the pandemic disrupted education. This is because students and teachers had to adjust to remote learning. While it’s a great technology, it is not the same as classroom learning. Writing an essay about these topics will hit close to home for many readers.

Also, if you faced difficulties in your education during the pandemic, then covering them will make the content seem more authentic. In fact, you’ll need to complete less research when you can write from first-hand experience.

3. Economic Recession and Financial Instability

COVID-19 triggered a global economic downturn since lockdowns and travel restrictions brought several industries to a halt. This included tourism, retail, and hospitality. Additionally, many businesses were forced to close, thereby leading to mass layoffs and unemployment spikes.

Governments responded with economic stimulus packages, but recovery has been uneven across countries and sectors. Also, the pandemic accelerated shifts toward remote work and e-commerce, which caused long-term changes in labor markets.

You could write an essay tackling a specific aspect of how the economy has changed due to COVID-19. Also, cover if the economy has bounced back in the years after the pandemic spike. This gives you a lot of material to tackle.

Alternatively, you could address the industries that received growth because of the pandemic. This includes gaming and streaming services like Netflix. That’s because people were indoors for the most part and could only enjoy indoor forms of entertainment.

4. Technological Acceleration and Remote Work

COVID-19 forced rapid adoption of digital technologies as millions of people switched to remote work and online learning. For example, companies like Zoom and Microsoft Teams saw massive growth, thereby enabling a more flexible work environment that persists post-pandemic.

Additionally, businesses that previously relied on in-person interaction quickly pivoted to digital platforms. This generated a lot of innovation in fields such as e-commerce, telemedicine, and online education.

However, the shift also highlighted the digital divide, as many people in rural or low-income areas struggled with inadequate internet access. This underscored the need for improved digital infrastructure worldwide.

5. Political Polarization and Governance Challenges

The pandemic intensified political divisions in many countries. For instance, public health measures, such as lockdowns and mask mandates became politically charged topics. Also, some governments struggled to coordinate effective responses, thereby leading to public frustration and protests.

In certain regions, authoritarian regimes used the crisis as an opportunity to consolidate power, while others saw democratic backsliding. If politics is your thing, then there is an array of topics you can tackle in your essay.

6. Global Collaboration and Vaccine Development

While COVID-19 initially led to border closures and isolationism, it also sparked unprecedented global collaboration. This is particularly true in vaccine development. Scientists and researchers from around the world worked together to develop vaccines in record time. This included using technologies like mRNA that had never been deployed on a large scale before.

Additionally, global organizations like the World Health Organization coordinated efforts to distribute vaccines . However, access to these vaccines was an issue, especially in low-income countries. Hence, the pandemic highlighted both the strengths and weaknesses of international cooperation. Exploring this in your essay can be an interesting approach with the right research.

Mistakes To Avoid With a COVID-19 Essay

Now let’s turn our attention to a few notable mistakes you should avoid if you want to write an excellent COVID-19 essay. These suggestions are especially useful if you’re writing an essay on the topic for the first time.

The following tips will help you steer clear of the mistakes beginners tend to make.

Overgeneralizing the pandemic impact: Avoid making sweeping generalizations about COVID-19’s effects. The pandemic affected different countries, communities, and individuals in unique ways. Recognizing these differences will make your essay more nuanced. For example, some family members had much worse health outcomes than others.
Ignoring reliable sources: Relying on misinformation or unverified sources weakens your essay. The coronavirus pandemic is a complex and evolving subject that requires credible data from health organizations, governments, and academic studies. Hence, avoid citing conspiracy theories, rumors, or unsubstantiated claims.
Focusing only on negative outcomes: While COVID-19 caused immense harm, focusing solely on negative outcomes can limit your essay’s scope. Instead, consider also discussing positive developments. Top examples include advancements in digital technology, global cooperation for vaccine development, or renewed focus on public health.
Oversimplifying scientific concepts: COVID-19 involves complex scientific concepts related to virology, immunology, and public health. Therefore, avoid oversimplifying these ideas or misrepresenting them. You’ll want to ensure that you accurately explain terms like herd immunity, virus transmission, or vaccine efficacy.
Avoid controversial topics entirely: Shying away from controversial topics like vaccine hesitancy or government responses weakens your essay’s depth. While these issues are sensitive, they are crucial to understanding the full impact of the pandemic. Also, addressing these subjects with a balanced, fact-based approach demonstrates critical thinking and adds complexity to your analysis.

The phrase "COVID-19" surrounded by images of small viruses on a red background.

Best Practices for Writing a Cause and Effects of COVID-19 Essay

Using the best practices when tackling a COVID-19 essay will increase your chances of getting a top grade. Some of these suggestions are a good idea for all types of essays you can work on in the future.

How To Research the Cause and Effects

When researching the causes and effects of COVID-19, rely on credible sources like the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and peer-reviewed medical journals. Furthermore, use reliable databases like PubMed or Google Scholar for academic studies.

Additionally, you’ll want to focus on the biological causes of the virus, such as its transmission and mutation. Compare data across different regions to understand varying effects. These strategies will work great when gathering enough material to write a persuasive essay on the topic of COVID-19.

Tips for Choosing the Right COVID-19 Topic

Choosing the right COVID-19 topic for your essay is crucial for creating an engaging and insightful piece. Start by considering your audience. If you are writing for a general audience, opt for topics that are accessible. This includes the impact of COVID-19 on daily life, mental health, or the economy.

For academic or specialized audiences, more technical subjects are a good choice. For example, vaccine development, virus mutations, or pandemic response strategies might be more appropriate.

Also, focus on current and relevant issues. As the pandemic is still evolving, choose topics that reflect the latest developments. This ensures your essay is timely and offers fresh insights. After all, the subject matter of COVID-19 is still evolving, and covering old news isn’t the best approach.

Another tip is to select a topic that genuinely interests you. Passion for a subject often translates into better research and writing. This might be about the effect of the pandemic on education, global trade, or environmental changes. Hence, select a topic that resonates with you to maintain motivation throughout the writing process.

Using AI Tools for the Best Results

AI tools can provide a lot of help with your COVID-19 essay, thereby boosting your grade if used correctly. Tools such as an AI essay writer can speed up the writing process and help with overcoming writer’s block.

Here are some of the top features of AI tools to consider to boost your writing performance:

Research assistance: AI tools can quickly gather information from reputable sources about COVID-19, thereby saving time in the research process. Tools like academic databases and AI-powered search engines can filter relevant articles, studies, and news.
Grammar and style improvements: AI-powered grammar checkers help refine your essay by identifying grammatical errors, awkward phrasing, and sentence structure issues. These tools also offer suggestions for improving readability.
Plagiarism detection: Using AI-based plagiarism detection tools ensures your COVID-19 essay is original. These tools scan your writing against extensive databases to detect any unintentional copying. Therefore, by identifying matching content, you can rephrase or properly cite sources.
Topic generation and idea expansion: AI homework solvers can generate essay topics or provide prompts for deeper exploration of specific COVID-19-related themes. These tools help spark creativity and ensure you cover all angles of a subject.
Summarizing complex research: AI tools like a Text Summarizer can condense lengthy COVID-19 research articles into concise summaries. This allows you to quickly grasp the main ideas of complex studies without needing to read through pages of data.

Write Your COVID-19 Essay With Smodin and Impress Your Readers

There is a vast number of topics that you can cover with your essay on COVID-19. This includes aspects like the effects on human life, food insecurity, self-isolation, and the need for social support. Pick a topic that you resonate with to have a more pleasant writing experience.

When crafting your COVID-19 essay you can use the help of AI tools to fast-track the process. These can offer you help with things like topic generation, grammar suggestions, and plagiarism detection. Using these tools can get you a better grade and help you finish the work faster.

Are you unsure of what AI tool to choose for your essay? Then consider taking advantage of the AI Essay Writer at Smodin. The well-optimized user interface makes using the tool simple and fast. Also, you can give it a try for free with the freemium plan.

So what are you waiting for? Try Smodin right now to write your best essay yet.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What topics can i explore in a covid-19 essay.

The topics you can explore in a COVID-19 essay include the health impact, economic effects, mental health consequences, global response, and vaccination strategies. Other topics might be long-term impacts, environmental effects, or the role of technology during the pandemic.

Ideally, you will select the topic that you feel passionate about. This typically makes the research and writing process more enjoyable.

How do I address sensitive topics like vaccine hesitancy or government response?

Tackle sensitive topics with a balanced and fact-based approach. Also, avoid personal bias and rely on credible data to present both sides of the issue. Presenting different perspectives also gives you more topics to cover in an essay.

You’ll also want to acknowledge different perspectives without promoting misinformation. Therefore, you need to fact-check everything by using credible sources. You’ll improve at doing this as you write more essays.

Can I discuss personal experiences in a COVID-19 essay?

Yes, you can incorporate personal experiences in a COVID-19 essay if they are relevant to the topic and support the argument. You’ll find that personal anecdotes can add depth and a human element to your essay. However, they should be balanced with factual research and analysis.

How do I conclude a COVID-19 essay effectively?

You can conclude a COVID-19 essay by summarizing the key points without repeating them with the same wording. Instead, emphasize the broader significance of your findings. If possible, suggest long-term implications or future trends.

You can also highlight the lessons learned from the pandemic and how they could shape the future. Leaving the reader with something to ponder after they have read the essay can leave a lasting impression.

How long should a COVID-19 essay be?

The length depends on the assignment requirements or publication guidelines. A standard essay might be 500-1,000 words, while research papers could range from 1,500 to 5,000 words or more.

Therefore, be sure to follow your instructor’s or editor’s word count guidelines. Also, make sure you cover the topic thoroughly without excessive repetition. You may get a better grade if you write less, but offer higher-quality thoughts and ideas.

Writing about COVID-19 in a college admission essay

by: Venkates Swaminathan | Updated: September 14, 2020

Print article

Writing about COVID-19 in your college admission essay

For students applying to college using the CommonApp, there are several different places where students and counselors can address the pandemic’s impact. The different sections have differing goals. You must understand how to use each section for its appropriate use.

The CommonApp COVID-19 question

First, the CommonApp this year has an additional question specifically about COVID-19 :

Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces. Please use this space to describe how these events have impacted you.

This question seeks to understand the adversity that students may have had to face due to the pandemic, the move to online education, or the shelter-in-place rules. You don’t have to answer this question if the impact on you wasn’t particularly severe. Some examples of things students should discuss include:

The student or a family member had COVID-19 or suffered other illnesses due to confinement during the pandemic.
The candidate had to deal with personal or family issues, such as abusive living situations or other safety concerns
The student suffered from a lack of internet access and other online learning challenges.
Students who dealt with problems registering for or taking standardized tests and AP exams.

Jeff Schiffman of the Tulane University admissions office has a blog about this section. He recommends students ask themselves several questions as they go about answering this section:

Are my experiences different from others’?
Are there noticeable changes on my transcript?
Am I aware of my privilege?
Am I specific? Am I explaining rather than complaining?
Is this information being included elsewhere on my application?

If you do answer this section, be brief and to-the-point.

Counselor recommendations and school profiles

Second, counselors will, in their counselor forms and school profiles on the CommonApp, address how the school handled the pandemic and how it might have affected students, specifically as it relates to:

Grading scales and policies
Graduation requirements
Instructional methods
Schedules and course offerings
Testing requirements
Your academic calendar
Other extenuating circumstances

Students don’t have to mention these matters in their application unless something unusual happened.

Writing about COVID-19 in your main essay

Write about your experiences during the pandemic in your main college essay if your experience is personal, relevant, and the most important thing to discuss in your college admission essay. That you had to stay home and study online isn’t sufficient, as millions of other students faced the same situation. But sometimes, it can be appropriate and helpful to write about something related to the pandemic in your essay. For example:

One student developed a website for a local comic book store. The store might not have survived without the ability for people to order comic books online. The student had a long-standing relationship with the store, and it was an institution that created a community for students who otherwise felt left out.
One student started a YouTube channel to help other students with academic subjects he was very familiar with and began tutoring others.
Some students used their extra time that was the result of the stay-at-home orders to take online courses pursuing topics they are genuinely interested in or developing new interests, like a foreign language or music.

Experiences like this can be good topics for the CommonApp essay as long as they reflect something genuinely important about the student. For many students whose lives have been shaped by this pandemic, it can be a critical part of their college application.

Want more? Read 6 ways to improve a college essay , What the &%$! should I write about in my college essay , and Just how important is a college admissions essay? .

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