When I write my essays, I learned a long time ago to break up my essay into parts. The normal essay should have an introduction, at least 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. But when you are not used to this, even writing the introduction can seem like an impossible task. That is where the SOAP method comes into play. This is an extremely helpful tool to anyone needing to write an essay. The entire college admission process can be exhausting and nerve-racking but there are few things worse than writing the personal statement for college applications. Your first thought is that it would be a piece of cake.