Should i use contractions in a personal statement

Note: use double negatives with caution. There are a handful of little everyday words that people mix up all the time because they sound exactly the same to, too, and two, for example. This is a tricky one! When should a word be capitalized and when should it just be treated like any other word in a sentence?

Students have a lot of trouble with capitalization in their college essays because the rules for capitalizing certain academic disciplines, programs, majors, and degrees are not consistent. To help clear up the rules, remember these two simple tips:. Hyphens, apostrophes, and quotation marks are some of the most commonly used — and easily confused — punctuation marks that come with their own sets of rules, so listen closely. You may have heard that contractions are a no-no in formal writing, but we beg to differ.

The whole point of the personal statement is for you to speak to admissions in your own voice. Give us your email address to learn more about how we can create high-quality content for you.

The History of Contractions People have been using contractions in speech for quite some time, since around the 16th century, for more or less the same reason we use them today—to save time and get ideas out faster. Using Contractions in Formal Writing at a Glance Deciding whether or not to use contractions in formal writing really depends on the format and the expectations within that format.

When to Use Contractions Using contractions in formal writing is permissible as it can help the writing seem more natural; however, writers are advised to use discretion. Author Recent Posts. Carly Palacios. Carly Palacios taught middle and high school English at a juvenile rehabilitation center for 5 years before moving with her family to the Pacific Northwest.

Now she's a full-time stay-at-home mom to her 3 girls and a part-time writer. When she's not tapping away at the keyboard, her hands are busy knitting, crocheting, weaving, and sewing basically non-stop.

Latest posts by Carly Palacios see all. Sew vs. Sow - September 6, Post by Jordan Catalano » Thu Jun 16, am rpupkin wrote: Jordan Catalano wrote: rpupkin wrote: what "rule on grammar and style" does one break by using contractions in a personal statement? They accept no such rule. There is no such rule. Jordan Catalano wrote: A note: while some websites say that say it is fine to use contractions you should pay attention to the fact that these websites are mostly not discussing law school personal statements.

Lastly, take a glance at my previous comment on "Why risk it? Post by somewhatferal » Thu Jun 16, am Jordan Catalano wrote: somewhatferal wrote: You said that there is a rule in academic writing that one shouldn't use contractions. Then this other person used contractions only on her Yale and not her PS. Take that advice as you will. Post by Jordan Catalano » Thu Jun 16, am somewhatferal wrote: Jordan Catalano wrote: somewhatferal wrote: You said that there is a rule in academic writing that one shouldn't use contractions.

Post by cavalier » Thu Jun 16, am I'm most amused by the NYU guidelines, since my congratulatory note from NYU specifically referenced and praised my personal statement which was, of course, rife with contractions. Sociologist Hello, nervous prospie here with a very specific and likely unimportant question.

I've had a number of professors and peers read my personal statement, which has a few contractions like I've in it, and none of them told me to delete them. Last night I asked a very kind current grad student read it and they said that having contractions will be an "instant disqualifier".

Is this something that's actually a big deal in the personal statement? Sociologist a. For most people reading it, it won't matter. For the three assho es who insist it's too informal, they're probably worth removing.

So for the two I already submitted due Dec 1 , not necessarily an automatic deal-breaker? Sociologist f. It depends what the "contradiction" is. Is it an issue running through your entire research program? Then, it can be problematic and people will pick it up immediately elsewhere even if it is not for the PS.