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4 years ago
Admissions Advice

Should my Common App essay follow a standard essay format?
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I was curious to know if the standard "short and concise introduction/conclusion, three body paragraphs" formatting of lit essays is expected in the common app essay? I've gotten mixed reviews on my essay, all agreeing that the flow and topic are interesting, but one mentioned my conclusion and introduction paragraphs exceeded 3 sentences and that that would "cause problems." While I don't agree, am I in the wrong?

commonapp
essays
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Accepted Answer
4 years ago

If you go for the average intro body conclusion style paragraph then besides the word count there’s no issue with a longer intro and or conclusion as long as it doesn’t subtract from the main theme/message of the essay. I will note that in my opinion that having more than 3 paragraphs in the intro is almost expected from my understanding.

Also I’d recommend that you try out the peer essay review on CollegeVine if you haven’t already as it has been super helpful for me when I previously used it.

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