Is it bad to say "I" a lot in a college essay?

Question

I can't think of any other way to say what I want to say without using "I"? See? I already used it 4 times!

I mean in the essay I wrote to send to colleges as part of my application. I wrote about how my experience playing competitive badminton changed my life. It was a personal essay so I think I should be able use "I." Also, can I use contractions?

Answer 1

I don't see how you could possibly avoid using "I" in the kind of essay you describe. But try to minimize the number of sentences that start with "I." Your essay will be much more fun for the admissions people to read if you use a variety of sentence structures and interesting nouns. This means not spending the whole essay talking only about yourself (only talking about yourself is almost never a good idea, unless you're trying to get help during a health crisis.) Talk about why badminton is an intrinsically fun game; describe your competitors; describe the people who got you interested in badminton; describe how your body felt (using the names of body parts instead of "I" as the subject of your sentences). You can also talk about what your friends and family think about your badminton experience, and how their feelings influenced you.

Answer 2

I remember when my brother was applying for college he wrote some bogus essay about himself that was 90% untrue, and nothing happened. Now he has a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from an Ivy league, working on a master, and has already been offered a full time job at Exxon in Houston TX, as well as Pratt and Whitney in CT. So to answer your question, im pretty sure nothing will happen. I could be wrong, but nothing happened in our case. =P Edit: To the girl above me, thats a bit extreme. I doubt anyone else would have the sense to do that, i was talking more along the lines of something not quite to that extent.

Answer 3

Are you telling a personal story? If not, it's not a great idea to use your own opinions as reference points, because you aren't a qualified expert yet. Your paper will sound much smarter if you talk about your subject more than yourself.

Okay, just saw the additional information. Since it is a personal story, you can absolutely reference yourself. Although you might want to change directions a little, and tell them more about the impact of Badmiton on society. I'd be impressed.

P.S., You can absolutely use contractions, as long as you can find them in the dictionary. Try to avoid "slang" contractions like using numbers in place of words (2 for to, or too), or 'em (for them).

Good luck!

Answer 4

Most college papers require us not to use the word "I"

For example instead of saying: I thought this book was entertaining and thought-provoking

You could say:

This was an enjoyable and thought-provoking book
or even
The reader was brought on a journey of....

Say all the same things, just flip it to a more neutral way of talking.

Answer 5

In an essay I should NEVER be used. It is only ok to use I in an opinion piece, never in formal writing. Contractions also shouldn't be used, as english teachers find it to be very laxy. also, not using contractions helps boost your word count ;)
instead of using I use -one, people, etc. or rearrange your sentences so you don't need to explain who you are talking about.
e-mail me if you have any questions
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Answer 6

Depends on what the essay is about. If the essay is about what you did for the summer, then sure, use I. If the essay is about medieval archaeology, you should probably leave out the I's.

Answer 7

Yes, you aren't really supposed to say I in any essay, it denotes opinions in most cases. If you are using as a supporting example, I would keep it to a minimum and find a new source. I know, I got my BA in English :D

Answer 8

Yes, because your opinion doesnt count, your teacher just wants you to convey the information you have learned from the material, if your having trouble, just take what you have already written and take out all the I's if it doesnt make sense rephrase it so it will.

Answer 9

It depends on what kind of essay, is it an autobiographical essay? Then it is okay to use "I." Normally in a very formal essay you never use "I"!

Answer 10

"I" is too informal. They want you to use more in a 3rd person view in essays. Unless your essay is an opinion based essay.. then it's fine to say "I" or "we".