<p>I've written my common app essay, but I feel as if it's a little too "english essayish".</p>
<p>How do I avoid something like that?</p>
<p>Not sure what you mean without being specific.</p>
<p>“English essayish” doesn’t sound inherently bad. However, if it doesn’t sound like YOU, rather it sounds as if you pulled every other word from a thesaurus… then yes, that is not good.</p>
<p>My recommendation is that you find someone who knows you and will be completely honest (maybe not a parent or guardian, but a trusted teacher) to read the essay and give you their thoughts. They know you, we don’t. If what sounds “english essayish” actually reflects the best part of you, then great. If they agree and think the essay needs to be peared down or rewritten, then it’s back to the drawing board.</p>
<p>No matter what, a piece of writing can always be improved.</p>
<p>Wait the Common App Essay questions are out? Where? I thought it was a preview?</p>
<p>It’s the same general idea as last year bunny2015. They might be exactly the same actually.</p>
<p>bunny - If all else fails, you can always choose option 6 for the Common Application essay (topic of your choice!)</p>
<p>magentaturtle - do you mean it sounds too formal and/or lacks your voice?</p>
<p>I feel like I always write like this… But, the way I write may be the way everyone else writes and I don’t want that, you know?</p>
<p>“I feel like I always write like this… But, the way I write may be the way everyone else writes and I don’t want that, you know?”</p>
<p>Again, there’s no way to know without actually reading the essay. To some degree, most high school writing (including strong writing) will have a similar voice. Especially those taught by the same teachers in the same school system. Reason being that you haven’t really had time to fine-tune your writing yet. Heck, I’m getting ready to prepare graduate school applications for English and am now experiencing the feeling that there’s nothing to differentiate my writing from that of other scholars in my field. So, it never really ends :)</p>
<p>Have you tried giving your essay a rest for a bit? It’s VERY hard to critique our own writing, especially if we’re still ‘in the moment’ so to speak. It’s only July. Let your essay sit for 2-3 weeks (even a month or more) and then return to it. Some time and distance should allow you to view the paper constructively. You can only fix it if you have concrete concerns to go on. Simply thinking that it “may be the way everyone else writes” isn’t much to go on.</p>
<p>Also, have a trusted adult or writing-wise (and trustworthy) peer take a glance.</p>