<p>I can reduce my word by using them so was wondering if it's ok to do so.</p>
<p>No, don’t use them!</p>
<p>@HONOURSTUDENT‌ lol, nice</p>
<p>Very cute, honorStudent!
@Dhruv97, of course you can.</p>
<p>Thank you lol I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not</p>
<p>I am being serious. In my Composition 1 class, the first thing we were told was DO NOT use contractions.</p>
<p>I was worried about this too…</p>
<p>From what I read up on, contractions are okay… just don’t overdo it I guess?</p>
<p>I would say NO, never use contractions in formal writing.</p>
<p>My counselor also told me not to use contractions in my essays. But I feel that my essay sounds better and more personal if I do use them. Now I’m not sure if I should or not. :(</p>
<p>A college application essay is not the same as a research paper or a literature analysis paper, which should be written in a formal academic style usually devoid of contractions. A college application essay is a personal essay, which is a completely different genre. Contractions are fine. Contractions make your writing sound like it is written by a normal human being and not a robot. Your college application essays don’t need to avoid contractions any more than they need a bibliography.</p>
<p>I did not use any in mine, and I still wrote in a very conversational voice.</p>
<p>I used contractions. It’s completely acceptable. As other users have said, a college admissions essay isn’t quite a “formal” writing like a research paper, but it also isn’t as casual as a note you’d write your friend. It should sound intelligent but still conversational, and that’s possible with contractions (in fact, not using contractions can severely diminish the conversational quality of an essay). That being said, you shouldn’t have contractions twice in every sentence. Vary your sentence structure to keep it interesting. </p>
<p>If a college’s view on language is so archaic, pretentious, and simple-minded as to dismiss a well-crafted essay on the grounds of a student daring to participate in linguistic evolution and showcase an authentic voice, they’re really not worth your time or skill.</p>
<p>Use contractions. Break the rules. Anger prescriptivists.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
1 Like
<p>If you are using a conversational tone, then by all means use them for effect as needed. You think these adcoms who read thousands of essays apiece are the contractions-police? The real sin to commit in your essay isn’t using contractions; it’s boring the reader.</p>