<p>I have a close to final draft of my common app essay ready, but the problem is I went over. I went waaaay over initially -- at around 800 words starting off. I was able to cut it down to 684 last night in a couple hours of work and revision but still have 34 words to go. Ideally, I would like to get it down to 600-ish anyway instead of right at 650. </p>
<p>Anyone have tips for cutting down words? Cutting out sentences? Questions to ask yourself? Good resources?</p>
<p>I was over too by about 30 words. It took me seconds. Just read ur essay and try to reword some sentences or exclude unecessary info</p>
<p>Try to reword any sentences using passive voice into active; it usually cuts around one to three words per sentence. If you use a verb + adverb (or adverbial phrase) combo, try picking a verb with a stronger connotation and omitting the adverb. When you look over your writing, ask yourself if the information you include is actually necessary (does it give more insight into you or your situation? or is it just filler details?) or if there’s a way to summarize the info by using fewer words.</p>
<p>^^ Exactly. As an example of editing, let me give an example using the OP’s post:</p>
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Since it came up, I thought I should mention that you should NEVER use passive voice in your essays. Most people consider it bad writing.</p>
<p>Get rid of the useless details that are not relevant to adcoms. Kids get hung up on describing. Your ability to self-edit and stay on point can matter more.</p>
<p>My original had 1,000 words and I got it down to 650 on the dot. Never thought it was possible, but I did it. What I did was I opened a new word document and literally re-typed the essay, going sentence by sentence makings sure each one was as short as it possibly could be. I did this 3 or 4 different times, each with a new word document. It was really effective… unfortunately I’m not even using the essay though lol.</p>