{"id":11145,"date":"2017-08-28t12:30:34","date_gmt":"2017-08-28t19:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=11145"},"modified":"2017-09-11t19:25:53","modified_gmt":"2017-09-12t02:25:53","slug":"college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/","title":{"rendered":"college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>rising seniors, you worried that your essay won\u2019t be good? don\u2019t fret. as i told you in the last blog, you don\u2019t need an impressive topic to impress admissions officers.<\/p>\n<p>here\u2019s another tip:<\/p>\n<p><strong>myth 2:<\/strong>\u00a0your college entrance essay should sound sophisticated, like hemingway or a college professor.<\/p>\n<p>if your essay does not sound like you, admissions pros will be unimpressed, and it might not help you. please don\u2019t try to sound different from the person you are. hemingway is not applying to college; you are. you do not want you to sound like any famous author, or your favorite intellect.<\/p>\n<p><strong>fact:\u00a0<\/strong>the college essay\u00a0is your story, and it should be written using your words, and in your voice. you are 16 or 17, a high school senior, and you should sound like one. not your mom. not your dad. not your english teacher. not the writer down the street. and not me, the writing coach.<\/p>\n<p>ditch the thesaurus, too. write your essay with the words and expressions you use in everyday conversations with your friends.<\/p>\n<p>\u201ci wish i saw more of a thoughtful voice of a 17-year-old,\u201d said\u00a0duke university dean of undergraduate admissions christoph guttentag.\u00a0\u201cby the time the application comes to us, many of them have gone through so many hands that the essays are sanitized.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>stay tuned for myth no. 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>about the author: kim<em> lifton is president of\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wowwritingworkshop.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer sponsored\"><em>wow writing workshop<\/em><\/a><em>, a strategic communications and content marketing company. wow\u00a0students get into their top-choice colleges year after year.\u00a0\u00a0let the national experts on the college essay guide you to your best story, and improve your chances of getting into the college of your <\/em>dreams. want <em>to find out how to find a great topic and make your essay good? watch this video, <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/wowwritingworkshop.com\/college-essay-writing\/students\/#crash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer sponsored\"><em>college essay crash course, the common app. <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>rising seniors, you worried that your essay won\u2019t be good? don\u2019t fret. as i told you in the last blog, you don\u2019t need an impressive topic to impress admissions officers. here\u2019s another tip: myth 2:\u00a0your college entrance essay should sound sophisticated, like hemingway or a college professor. if your essay does not sound like you, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24880],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- this site is optimized with the yoast seo premium plugin v21.7 (yoast seo v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional - magoosh blog | high school<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"rising seniors, you worried that your essay won\u2019t be good? don\u2019t fret. as i told you in the last blog, you don\u2019t need an impressive topic to impress admissions officers. here\u2019s another tip: myth 2:\u00a0your college entrance essay should sound sophisticated, like hemingway or a college professor. if your essay does not sound like you, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"magoosh blog | high school\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/magooshsat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-28t19:30:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-09-12t02:25:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"guest author\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@magooshsat_act\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@magooshsat_act\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"guest author\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"article\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/#article\",\"ispartof\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"guest author\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/b7e6143cd1e3cc496347b662b343f0e4\"},\"headline\":\"college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional\",\"datepublished\":\"2017-08-28t19:30:34+00:00\",\"datemodified\":\"2017-09-12t02:25:53+00:00\",\"mainentityofpage\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/\"},\"wordcount\":316,\"commentcount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#organization\"},\"articlesection\":[\"college admissions\"],\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\",\"potentialaction\":[{\"@type\":\"commentaction\",\"name\":\"comment\",\"target\":[\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"webpage\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/\",\"name\":\"college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional - magoosh blog | high school\",\"ispartof\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#website\"},\"datepublished\":\"2017-08-28t19:30:34+00:00\",\"datemodified\":\"2017-09-12t02:25:53+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\",\"potentialaction\":[{\"@type\":\"readaction\",\"target\":[\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"breadcrumblist\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemlistelement\":[{\"@type\":\"listitem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"home\",\"item\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/\"},{\"@type\":\"listitem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional\"}]},{\"@type\":\"website\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#website\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/\",\"name\":\"magoosh blog | high school\",\"description\":\"act, sat, college admissions, life\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#organization\"},\"potentialaction\":[{\"@type\":\"searchaction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"entrypoint\",\"urltemplate\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\"},{\"@type\":\"organization\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#organization\",\"name\":\"magoosh\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"imageobject\",\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/files\/2019\/02\/magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"contenturl\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/files\/2019\/02\/magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"width\":265,\"height\":60,\"caption\":\"magoosh\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameas\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/magooshsat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/magooshsat_act\"]},{\"@type\":\"person\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/b7e6143cd1e3cc496347b662b343f0e4\",\"name\":\"guest author\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"imageobject\",\"inlanguage\":\"en-us\",\"@id\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/e6d4888362b05973d75b05981bf1e462\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2a53298e1ece8f22b8c186f2ef3fe2dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contenturl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2a53298e1ece8f22b8c186f2ef3fe2dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"guest author\"},\"description\":\"this post was written by a friend of magoosh.\",\"url\":\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/author\/guestauthor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ yoast seo premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional - magoosh blog | high school","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/","og_locale":"en_us","og_type":"article","og_title":"college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional","og_description":"rising seniors, you worried that your essay won\u2019t be good? don\u2019t fret. as i told you in the last blog, you don\u2019t need an impressive topic to impress admissions officers. here\u2019s another tip: myth 2:\u00a0your college entrance essay should sound sophisticated, like hemingway or a college professor. if your essay does not sound like you, [&hellip;]","og_url":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/","og_site_name":"magoosh blog | high school","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/magooshsat\/","article_published_time":"2017-08-28t19:30:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-09-12t02:25:53+00:00","author":"guest author","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@magooshsat_act","twitter_site":"@magooshsat_act","twitter_misc":{"written by":"guest author","est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"article","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/#article","ispartof":{"@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/"},"author":{"name":"guest author","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/b7e6143cd1e3cc496347b662b343f0e4"},"headline":"college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional","datepublished":"2017-08-28t19:30:34+00:00","datemodified":"2017-09-12t02:25:53+00:00","mainentityofpage":{"@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/"},"wordcount":316,"commentcount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#organization"},"articlesection":["college admissions"],"inlanguage":"en-us","potentialaction":[{"@type":"commentaction","name":"comment","target":["\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"webpage","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/","url":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/","name":"college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional - magoosh blog | high school","ispartof":{"@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#website"},"datepublished":"2017-08-28t19:30:34+00:00","datemodified":"2017-09-12t02:25:53+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/#breadcrumb"},"inlanguage":"en-us","potentialaction":[{"@type":"readaction","target":["\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/"]}]},{"@type":"breadcrumblist","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/college-essay-myth-2-college-essay-must-sound-professional\/#breadcrumb","itemlistelement":[{"@type":"listitem","position":1,"name":"home","item":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/"},{"@type":"listitem","position":2,"name":"college essay myth #2: your college essay must sound professional"}]},{"@type":"website","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#website","url":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/","name":"magoosh blog | high school","description":"act, sat, college admissions, life","publisher":{"@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#organization"},"potentialaction":[{"@type":"searchaction","target":{"@type":"entrypoint","urltemplate":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inlanguage":"en-us"},{"@type":"organization","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#organization","name":"magoosh","url":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/","logo":{"@type":"imageobject","inlanguage":"en-us","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/files\/2019\/02\/magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","contenturl":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/files\/2019\/02\/magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","width":265,"height":60,"caption":"magoosh"},"image":{"@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameas":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/magooshsat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/magooshsat_act"]},{"@type":"person","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/b7e6143cd1e3cc496347b662b343f0e4","name":"guest author","image":{"@type":"imageobject","inlanguage":"en-us","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/e6d4888362b05973d75b05981bf1e462","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2a53298e1ece8f22b8c186f2ef3fe2dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contenturl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2a53298e1ece8f22b8c186f2ef3fe2dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"guest author"},"description":"this post was written by a friend of magoosh.","url":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/author\/guestauthor\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":24880,"user_id":60,"is_guest":0,"slug":"guestauthor","display_name":"guest author","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2a53298e1ece8f22b8c186f2ef3fe2dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"author","first_name":"guest","description":"this post was written by a friend of magoosh."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11145"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11145"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=11145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}