Don’t use slang in a personal essay
Even candy hearts use slang
Even though my advice in this post may seem obvious, it’s worth repeating: don’t use slang in a personal essay! (Also, avoid using exclamation marks.)
Thanks to text messaging and twitter, certain acronyms and abbreviated words incorporating numbers have become common place, such as lol, ur, 2morrow, etc. But no matter how universally understood these terms are, don’t use them in a personal essay. It comes off as unprofessional and annoying.
Even if you think it’s cute or some sort of play on words that people will think is funny, don’t do it! If you want to add cool words, revisit the list you memorized studying for the SAT and incorporate some of those. But even then I urge caution, make sure you use the words correctly otherwise it could weaken your essay. My essay rules are: when in doubt delete and have at least three different people read through your essay to check for mistakes. The last thing you want is a perfect essay marred by a typo.
Leave a Comment