ten tips for better writing

8/3/2019 Ten Tips for Better Writing

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Tone

Use a consistent tone throughout the essay - it will only confuse the admissions officers if you alternatelysound like Ernest Hemingway and Shakespeare, and is hardly likely to endear you to them! While you

should avoid flowery language and cliches, there is no harm in looking for the most apt phrase or

sentence. Be careful while using humor - it can misfire and harm your chances.

POLISHINGPolishing your Statement of Purpose for Graduate School

So now you have a coherent essay put together. You think the structure is more or less right, the ideasflow, and the language isnt bad. What next?

The In their shoes check

Put your essay away for a day or two. When you take it out, lay it face down for two minutes while youput yourself in the admissions committees place. Imagine yourself to be a professor or graduate student

who is going through a few hundred applications and classifying them into yes, maybe and no piles.

Think of how you would look at SoPs and try to read yours through a strangers eyes. What do you see?

Detailed descriptionShowing your stuff around

It is essential to show your SoP to a few people whose opinion you respect an English teacher fromschool, a professor, an older friend, a parent or a relative. Include among these, 2-3 people who know youwell. Ask your readers to pay particular attention to the following points: Detailed description

Ten Tips for Better Writing

1. Express yourself in positive language. Say what is, not what is not.

2. Use transitions between paragraphs. Transitions tie one paragraph to the next.

A transition can be a word, like later,furthermore, additionally, ormoreover; a phrase likeAfter this

incident...; or an entire sentence.

If you are writing about Topic A and now want to discuss Topic B, you can begin the new paragraph with

a transition such as "Like (or unlike) Topic A, Topic B..."

3. Vary your sentence structure. It's boring to see subject, verb, object all the time. Mix simple, complex,

and compound sentences.

4. Understand the words you write. You write to communicate, not to impress the admissions staff withyour vocabulary. When you choose a word that means something other than what you intend, you neither

communicate nor impress. You do convey the wrong message or convince the admissions officer that you

are inarticulate.

5. Look up synonyms in a thesaurus when you use the same word repeatedly. After the DELETE key, the

thesaurus is your best friend. As long as you follow Tip 4, using one will make your writing more

interesting.

6. Be succinct. Compare:During my sophomore and junior years, there was significant development of my maturity and markedly

improved self-discipline towards school work.During my sophomore and junior years, I matured and my self-discipline improved tremendously. The first example takes many more words to give the same information. The admissions officers are

swamped; they do not want to spend more time than necessary reading your essay. Say what you have to

say in as few words as possible. Tips 7, 8, and 9 will help you to implement this suggestion.

7. Make every word count. Do not repeat yourself. Each sentence and every word should state something

new.

8. Avoid qualifiers such as rather, quite,somewhat,probably,possibly, etc.You might improve your writing somewhat if you sometimes try to follow this suggestion.
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The example contains nonsense. Deleting unnecessary qualifiers will strengthen your writing 1000%.

Equivocating reveals a lack of confidence. If you do not believe what you write, why should theadmissions officer?

9. Use the active voice. Compare:The application was sent by the student. (Passive voice)The student sent the application. (Active voice)

They both communicate the same information. The active voice, however, is more concise; it specifieswho is performing the action and what is the object. The passive voice is wordier and frequently less

clear.

10. Read and rereadElements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White. Containing basic rules of

grammar, punctuation, composition, and style, this indispensable classic is available in paperback and is

only eighty-five pages long.Whew! That's a lot to remember. And failing to follow these writing rules may make you appear sloppy or

cast doubts about your communications skills. Our seasoned editors will make sure that your essay

displays your communications skills at their best without you going cross-eyed reviewing the essay

over and over and over. See how Accepted.com can critique and polish your essay. The money youspend will save you time and ensure that you are writing your best. But don't take our word for it, read

what our clients have said about Accepted.com.Now Accepted.com tips and services can help YOU with your essays and writing. But what about yourrecommenders? Would you like to give them some tips. The proceed to 10 Tips for Recommenders and

print out these tips for your recommenders.

Writing Your Statement of Purpose for Grad School

The graduate school statement of purpose is your chance to demonstrate your unique qualifications forand commitment to your chosen field by discussing those experiences, people, and events that compelled

you to pursue it.

That's a lot to accomplish--especially in the typical two-to-three pages allowed for your statement. Youcan find the key to success by focusing on a few illustrative incidents as opposed to giving a superficial

overview. Remember: Detail, specificity, and concrete examples will make your essay distinctive and

interesting. Generalities and platitudes that could apply to every other grad school applicant will bore. Ifyou use them, you'll just blur into one of the crowd.

Following "Ten Do's and Don'ts for Your Statement of Purpose" will help you write a compelling,

focused essay -- one that will transform you from a collection of numbers and classes into an interestinghuman being.

Ten Do's and Don'ts for Your Statement of Purpose

The Do's

Unite your essay and give it direction with a theme or thesis. The thesis is the main point you want tocommunicate.

Before you begin writing, choose what you want to discuss and the order in which you want to discuss it.

Use concrete examples from your life experience to support your thesis and distinguish yourself fromother applicants.

Write about what interests you, excites you. That's what the admissions staff wants to read.

Start your essay with an attention-grabbing lead -- an anecdote, quote, question, or engaging descriptionof a scene.

End your essay with a conclusion that refers back to the lead and restates your thesis.

Revise your essay at least three times.

In addition to your editing, ask someone else to critique your statement of purpose for you.
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Proofread your personal statement by reading it out loud or reading it into a tape recorder and playing

back the tape.Write clearly, succinctly.

The Don'ts

Don't include information that doesn't support your thesis.

Don't start your essay with "I was born in...," or "My parents came from..."

Don't write an autobiography, itinerary, or rsum in prose.Don't try to be a clown (but gentle humor is OK).

Don't be afraid to start over if the essay just isn't working or doesn't answer the essay question.

Don't try to impress your reader with your vocabulary.

Don't rely exclusively on your computer to check your spelling.

Don't provide a collection of generic statements and platitudes.

Don't give mealy-mouthed, weak excuses for your GPA or test scores.

Don't make things up.

So far we've emphasized content, but of course, persuasive writing requires good style, grammar,

vocabulary, usage, etc. You know, those nit-picky details that most people prefer not to think about. Wellif you prefer to continue not thinking about them or if you don't think you know enough about them to

ensure good writing, check out Accepted.com'sreview and editing service. If you just want a quick brush-up on writing fundamentals, visitTen Tips for Better Writing.But wait. Before putting the pieces together, what if you are still not sure how to develop a unifying

theme? Or perhaps you don't know which experiences to focus on, or simply lack confidence in your

writing skills, or have suddenly developed an acute case of blank-screen-itis!?!Remember, you can have one-on-one, personalized assistance every step of the way. Accepted.com's

complete package is designed to give you the guidance and direction necessary to draft a compelling story

and the comprehensive editing needed to perfect it.

WHAT DO COLLEGES LOOK FOR IN A STATEMENT OF PURPOSE?

The primary question admissions committee members ask themselves when they read a Statement of

Purpose is: What does this essay tell me about the person who wrote it?

Put yourself in an admission officer's shoes. From among thousands of applications, you have to choosethe fraction of students that will comprise next year's incoming class. A mix of interesting, confident and

enthusiastic people who will make the class a stimulating place. Academic achievements and good test

scores are important. But in an era where the majority of applicants have good academic records, itbecomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between individuals and decide who gets the offer of

admission.

When you apply, each of the items in the application packet

-recommendations, extra-curricular achievements, work samples - adds an extra dimension to yourpersonality. But it is the SoP that brings you to life. Which is why each essay is read carefully by at least

two and often four or five people before a decision is taken on the application.

Does this mean that the SoP is the main deciding factor? No. Your academic record . grades and thecourses you took- are the first section admission committee members turn to. Standardized test scores are

useful to know where you stand in the applicant pool. For graduate schools, relevant work or academic

experience is important. Being from a reputed school or college confers a distinct advantage. What yourteachers or boss think of you goes a long way towards the school's opinion. A good work sample can

show your creativity, skill and professionalism.
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However, only the SoP or application essays can bring out your uniqueness. And therefore make or break

your application. An applicant who does not take the essay seriously is throwing away the bestopportunity available.

So are the admission officers looking for specific personality sorts? Well, yes and no. Creativity,

curiosity, pride in your work, an enthusiasm for learning, a capacity for teamwork, the ability to think

independently and so on are all good attributes, and most of us share these in varying proportions. But

what schools look for is a mix of individuals that together, form a well-balanced class. This would includeseveral personality types.

It is good to go through the school's brochure or web site, speak to people about it, visit if that is possible;get a feel of the student mix that they look for and decide if this is the school for you. However, trying to

tailor your SoP to reflect what you think the school is looking for is dangerous business. The people who

read your application have been doing so for years and are skilled at spotting fakes. They are likely toknow soon if a particular author is saying something for effect or if an essay does not ring true. And that

means almost certain rejection.

What is this, you might ask. Of course we want to have an effect on the admissions officers. The

important thing is to do so without appearing dishonest. If, for instance, you talk about your deep desire tomake society a better place, your application should reflect it. Have you done anything about this desire?

Can you talk about your actions and experiences? A small example of something you did, not necessarilyspectacular, can do more towards boosting your chances than the noblest platitude can.Don. t try to be something you are not. Don. t try to tell the admissions committee what you think they

want to hear. Be honest, look inside yourself and do your best.

Which brings us to the next point - self-knowledge. The people who read your essay want to be convincedthat you have thought long and hard about who you are, what are the things you appreciate, what inspires

you. What you want out of life, and where you are going from here. It is not necessary to have all the

answers . after all, several admirable people have no idea where they are going even at age 40 or 50. It is

necessary to show that you have thought about this. And that these life experiences have taught yousomething.

Finally, you have to show a desire to learn. From your books and teachers, from your classmates, from

music or art, from life itself.Too vague for you? Turn to the section on starting your SoP and find out how these attributes translate

into concrete steps.

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