Over the years, our editors have seen some amazing stories become dreadfully boring and some ridiculously dry topics transform into an exciting read. The culprit (or hero): writing style. Witness the advice of some admissions officers:

“Use a conversational style and easy-to-understand language to project a genuine, relaxed image.”

“Make sure that your essay is readable. Don’t make us work. Give your essay momentum – make sure that the parts work together and move to a point, carrying the reader along.”

“Don’t bore us. More often it is the monotonous style, and not the subject matter, that makes these essays dull.”

A large majority of the corrections made by our editors fall into one of five categories: sentence variety, word choiceverb tense, transitions, and essay cliches. If you weren’t paying attention in English class, here’s a refresher…

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