<p>I know that Common App supposedly only allows one paragraph break, but it won't allow me any; it just turns my essay into one long paragraph. I have six paragraphs in my actual essay. Does anyone know how to get it to allow at least the one break, and if there is a way around that rule to get more?</p>
<p>Also, is the three version rule for submitted versions or just edited versions? I have edited my essay twice in an attempt to format the paragraphs since I put it in Common App. Do I only have one more chance to fix this before it is locked in its current format?</p>
<p>You are not limited in the number of paragraph breaks. The limit is in the number of returns between paragraphs. You cannot add more than one return, so there is no possibility for a blank line in the essay. It might look to you now as though there are no paragraphs, but when you finally get to preview the essay just before submitting, you’ll see them and will have a final opportunity to fix the formatting before actually submitting.</p>
<p>I’ve fiddled with it while previewing it constantly for hours and it still won’t format correctly. If I try to return at all it suddenly adds 170 words to the word count and it squishes some paragraphs together but leaves others completely separate, with blank lines in between. I have no idea what it’s doing. I just really wish they could come up with a better system.</p>
<p>If there are not supposed to be empty lines between paragraphs, does that mean that we are just supposed to format it in its prior program (i.e. Word or Note) to have just an enter after every paragraph?</p>
<p>My D wrote her essay in Microsoft Word. She cut and pasted it into the Common App essay section and the sentences were moved all over the place. After many tries ( including lower version of Word) she actually retyped it in directly into the Common App. Still have the issue with the lack of paragraph breaks. She plans on submitting Common App to some schools this weekend. Can someone please give a step by step as to how she should adjust her essay before she submits. Thanks.</p>
<p>Here is what worked for me using the suggestions above. The essay was created in Word. As soon as you finish a paragraph, just hit the return key once. Do not indent the next paragraph or hit the return key twice to create a space. Cut & paste into the Common App.</p>
<p>As mentioned, after many attempts to cut and paste she typed the entire essay directly into Common App. Any tips for editing would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I read an article that said to type your essay into “Note” and then cut and paste it into the common app. There have been reports that the automatic formatting features of Word add a lot to the space count etc. I haven’t done that yet but there are reports that the essay looks better when cut and pasted from Note. </p>