Best Answer
How to approach a future plans essay depends on the exact prompt used in the essay. So, the first thing that you want to do is to make sure that you understand the question. The first thing to do is to consider your audience? Are you writing a future plans essay for college admissions, for a scholarship, or as part of the interview process for an internship or job? You want to make sure and write your essay with your audience in mind; your future plans need to align with the plans that the audience may have for you if you are trying to ensure that you are considered for a position, a job, or a scholarship.
The next thing to do is to consider the scope of the question. Are you being asked about future plans for the rest of your high-school career, for your college career, for the beginning of a profession? In the broadest sense, most people want to work and make enough money so that they can eventually not have to work and enjoy their retirement, but if you emphasize how eager you are to no longer have to work, your future plans essay is not going to be persuasive. So, consider your scope. If you are asked for a plan that is longer than you can realistically envision, it is okay to lay out a detailed shorter-term plan and then include, as part of your plan for later years, that you intend to evaluate things based on progress at that point in time.
Once you really understand the question, sit down and think about your important goals. What do you honestly want to achieve in whatever time period has been assigned? Do those goals seem like ones your audience will find interesting? If not, brainstorm about more goals.
Next, think about steps that you will take to reach your ultimate goals. If you come up with three of those steps, you can use the steps as paragraphs in a traditional five-paragraph essay approach. We like to write body paragraphs and then go back and write the introduction and the conclusion, because we feel like it keeps the writing tighter and more coherent, but you could also start with the introductory paragraph.
