Lesson Four: Style and Tone   

Introduction

While the structure of your essay affects the clarity, coherence, and impact of your content, writing style affects presentation in an even more fundamental way: It determines how engaged your reader is from sentence to sentence. Poor writing can make fascinating experiences a dull read, while strong writing can transform mundane details into an exciting tale.

The best advice we can give is to be simple and straightforward. Occasionally an essay will sound choppy or unsophisticated because of too many short sentences, but more often the problem is the opposite scenario. Applicants think that flowery prose and large words will make them sound more intelligent, when in reality their expression becomes muddled and tedious. A direct style is not only more efficient to read, but also more enjoyable, because it allows a steadily moving pace.

The tone you use should be neither too formal nor too informal. The sentences you write should be sentences that you would actually say—in a professional setting, not in the locker room or at a dinner party. This is not to suggest that you should avoid refining your writing carefully, but the ultimate goal should be a natural voice.

In this section of the course, we will cover the major weaknesses found in most applications and show you how to turn them into strengths.

• Sentence Variety

• Word Choice

• Verbs

• Transitions

• Essay Clichés