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Proofing Your Prose: 5 Errors That You Don't Want In Your Personal Statement
These are the 5 biggest mistakes that we watch for when we review your essays: 1) Evading the question. You're not running for governor of California or any other political office with this essay. Make sure your essays answer all parts of a question. 2) Meandering. Having essays that wander through the pathways and byways of your mind or life might work if you are James Joyce, but fail miserably if you are not. Make sure that each essay has a point and a theme. Then stick to it. 3) The gray flannel generality. Sweeping declarative statements that any applicant can make. Platitudes about the preciousness of life, the universality of man, the centrality of family, the importance of vision and buy-in in leadership . They're a dime-a-dozen in personal statements and application essays. Now don't get me wrong. Those ideals resonate with me, and with most adcom members. However, unless you demonstrate that you uphold them by using specifics, details and anecdotes to prove your point and distinguish you from the masses of applicants, you will write a bland, boring essay. Detail and show-me specifics reveal your values, distinguish you from your competition, and add interest to your essays. 4) Superficiality. Closely related to the gray flannel generality, superficiality means that when asked why you want to pursue a particular goal, you answer, "Because I want to help people." That's nice. It's also necessary, but insufficient. You could become a plumber and help people. Why do you want to help people as a doctor, lawyer (yes, they say they want to help people, too.), psychologist, or even businessperson? Why do you want to attend a particular program? If your answer applies to all the schools you are applying to, it is shallow and you have not done your homework. If you are just cutting and pasting essays to answer different schools' essay questions, you are being lazy. Give the process the time, attention, and thought it requires if you want to get accepted. Superficiality and laziness will not land the fat envelope in your mailbox. 5) Writing what you think they want to hear. This is mistake #1 according to many adcom members. To paraphrase JFK, write what you want them to know; don't write what you think they want to read. When you proof your prose, look for these fatal errors, and do what we do: get rid of them. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Linda Abraham, Accepted.com's founder and president, has helped thousands of applicants develop successful admissions strategies and craft distinctive essays. In addition to advising clients and managing Accepted.com, she has written and lectured extensively on admissions. The Wall St. Journal, The New York Times, and BusinessWeek are among the publications that have sought Linda's expertise. |
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