# Essay topic ranked S-to-F tier list

A learning and careers format, measured November 8, 2026 by Volume. https://tryvolume.app/working/learning-and-careers/essay-topic-ranked-s-to-f-tier-list

Rank college-essay openings or topic clichés on an S-to-F tier list, usually ordered F up to S, and tease the strangest S-tier example in the hook. It worked for 3 accounts, with a median of 7x their usual reach. Type: Editing trick. Seen as: Slideshow.

## Why it works

Viewers swipe to the end to see the S tier and to check whether their own draft sits in the F tier. Narrowing to one cliché topic (the family essay, the immigrant essay) beat the generic 'first lines' version on gradgpt.essays.

## How to make it

1. Pick one overused essay topic or element
2. Sort real-feeling examples from F to S, one tier per slide
3. Name the weirdest S-tier detail in the hook or slide 1

## Hook formula

the [specific essay archetype] ranked S to F. (S tier: [odd concrete detail])

## Examples

- @olga.gradgpt (4K followers, TikTok slideshow): 7.6x their usual views. Hook: “S A B C D F college essay first sentences ranked S to F. the F tier is in half of all drafts.” [Original post](https://www.tiktok.com/@olga.gradgpt/photo/7691330491013664013)
- @audrey.gradgpt (4K followers, TikTok slideshow): 7.0x their usual views. Hook: “college essay first lines ranked S to F” [Original post](https://www.tiktok.com/@audrey.gradgpt/photo/7702066831804140831)
- @gradgpt.essays (4K followers, TikTok slideshow): 5.2x their usual views. Hook: “the immigrant college essay ranked S to F. (S tier: flea market)” [Original post](https://www.tiktok.com/@gradgpt.essays/photo/7690567339594583327)

More learning and careers formats: https://tryvolume.app/working/learning-and-careers.md

## Get the full library

The full library has every post, format and hook in learning and careers, plus long-running Meta ads, and your AI agent can search it over MCP. The library comes with Volume Core and Pro, from $29.99 a month, and every plan starts with a 3-day free trial. Start a free trial: https://tryvolume.app/library

Agents: add Volume's MCP server (https://app.tryvolume.app/api/mcp) and call `search_library(shelf: "formats", niche: "Learning and careers")` for every format, `search_library(shelf: "posts", niche: "Learning and careers")` for examples with transcripts and scripts.

## How this is measured

- Every post is compared with its own account's usual reach, not with other accounts. "14x their usual" means the post got 14 times the median views of that account's recent posts.
- TikTok videos and Instagram Reels are measured on views. Instagram carousels have no view count, so they are measured on likes against the account's usual likes, and say so.
- A post makes the library at 2x its account's usual or more. A format is a repeatable move (what is said or shown, or how it is edited) that several accounts used in breakout posts. It is listed here once it worked for 3 or more different accounts.
- Formats rank on how many accounts they worked for and how far above usual, damped so a fluke on one tiny account cannot outrank a format that worked for ten.

Your post here and want it removed? Email support@tryvolume.app.