Essay Writing, Addressing the Reader Directly

[EPLabJunkie]

Hello all,

In writing secondary application essays, is it ever okay (perhaps only in a single sentence) to address the reader directly as "you"?

Rough example: Having followed such a winding and tortuous path, I believe I have been imbued with a wiser, more mature perspective that I hope you will see fit to make a suitable addition to the class of 2018 at Medical School of La La Land.

Thank you

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[jm192]

I think it depends.

For the secondaries that had several short essay sort of things, I really just answers the questions concisely. You don't have the time to make these beautiful, and they don't have the time to read your elegance.

If they give you 1-2 longer essays, absolutely. I treated the entire essay as if I'm sitting down having a conversation with whatever person asked the question.

 

[Law2Doc]

Hello all,

In writing secondary application essays, is it ever okay (perhaps only in a single sentence) to address the reader directly as "you"?

Rough example: Having followed such a winding and tortuous path, I believe I have been imbued with a wiser, more mature perspective that I hope you will see fit to make a suitable addition to the class of 2018 at Medical School of La La Land.

Thank you

I think there are many ways to write effective essays and each has worked or not worked in certain circumstances.

 

[Jepstein30]

I'd be hesitant to throw out the word "tortuous." While I'm sure your path has been tough, I'm not sure if you want to get into a "Whose story is worse?" kind of thing. Dunno if playing the pity card is advantageous here.

As for using "you", I don't think it matters though you can certainly word that sentence to mean the same thing without addressing the reader.

 

[Lya]

I would not use "you" in my secondary essays. You may use it in LOI to address the adcoms, but in secondary essays, no.

 

[talinnlove]

Just my opinion, but that sort of "breaking the fourth wall" has always seemed hokey to me. It sounds like a plea. I'm inclined to say that you should grab their attention with your subject matter and introspection, not with gimmicky prose.

That's just me though. Maybe I'm getting too writerly here. If it sounds good to you, and like something that conveys your message well, then go for it. I don't like it personally, but I'm not on any adcoms