Common Pitfalls in Admission Essays

Reference & EducationCollege & University

  • Author Bree Benson
  • Published June 10, 2008
  • Word count 388

College admission services require essays from applying students in order to further determine their skills and worthiness to be accepted in the organization. Thus, it is crucial to present the best possible essay that will play up the best possible traits of the applicant.

To ensure such a paper, here are common pitfalls to avoid in writing the admission services' requisite essay:

Failing to Answer the Question

Even with a sharply written narrative, admission services will still reject the essay when it totally misses the question. Why? This failure to answer the main question automatically points to a student's inattention and low comprehension, traits that are normally unacceptable in all advanced academic levels.

Failing to Follow Proper Directions

Similar in failing to address the question, failure to follow the directions also implies the same level of inability to understand basic regulations. As this is a major turn-offs for admission officers, it is best to be careful on the varying requirement of application essays.

Sounding Like a Resume

One of the primary objectives of an admission essay is to highlight the personality of the student from the GPA ranking and academic accomplishments. This can hardly be achieved when all the admission staff reads is a detailed declaration of scholastic feats. To check oneself, refrain from integrating details that can be otherwise viewed in the other application pages.

Long-Winding Composition

In writing an admission essay, it is advisable to assume that the attention span of the designated reader is shorter than usual, what with all the applications coming in. Thus, using long-winding compositions and too profound words will only hurt the eyes of the reader, and possibly hurt the student's chances of being accepted.

Grammatical Mistakes

This should be an unspoken rule already. Unfortunately, more than a few students still become trapped in this situation. Just to reiterate the obvious: Typos, spelling, and grammatical errors are strictly forbidden in admission essays. As the student is trying to get the acceptance of the admission services people, it should be a no-brainer then that the student should put his best foot (in this case, writing) forward.

Indeed, the admission essay is a crucial requirement in getting accepted by a good College. As the academic future is at stake here, every detail needs to be examined, every mistake needs to be taken out.

Bree Benson is a technical writing instructor. Off campus, this 32-year-old bachelor, who finished his MBA in communication management at a premier university in Dublin, Ireland, works as a part-time editor in an admission services (firm) that's been in the writing industry for two decades.

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