The admission essay is an important part of your application package.  This will serve as a means to tell the admission committee something about yourself apart from all of the information that is already on your application forms, resume, and transcript.  If you use the admission essay properly, you can give the committee some insight into your personality, character, and how you live your life.  Despite the freedom that you have when writing your admission essay, there are still a number of mistakes you should look out for, and here are some of them:

Boring your readers right from the start

One of the biggest mistakes that people sometimes commit on their admission essay is to bore their readers.  You might as well check out some poorly written personal statement examples to get an idea of what a boring essay is.  Remember that your goal is to get the reader hooked on who you are and why you deserve to be in the school.  If you bore the reader from the start, then what’s to keep him or her from putting down your essay and going on to the next applicant?  Try to hold the reader’s interest with an attention-grabbing introduction, an interesting body, and a clinching conclusion.(1)

Using the thesaurus to find inappropriate, big words

Another mistake that some applicants make is using the thesaurus to look for big words.  People tend to think that big words will make them sound more educated or well read.  The truth is, many of the best writers and speakers out there are able to convey volumes of useful information with the use of simple language that most people can understand.  Try checking some examples of personal statements and pay close attention to their language use.  You’ll probably notice that most personal statement examples make use of simple and sincere language.  Instead of using big words, try to focus on expressing yourself in a simple but interesting manner.(2)

Saying the same things over and over again

Another common mistake is writing an essay that goes around in circles, repeating the same information in different ways.  Some tend to give too much information, or they just use the same information over and over again.  A useful trick to remedy this mistake is to compose a short outline that will guide you through what you want to say.(3)  Try to emulate a personal statement example that reads well and keeps the reader’s thought process flowing.

(1)  http://businessmajors.about.com/od/admissions/a/essaytips.htm
(2) http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jun2008/bs20080619_275093_page_2.htm
(3)  http://gradschool.about.com/od/essaywriting/a/DosandDonts.htm