Things you should almost never or never mention in your PS. Forum

[Flips88]

Anything that involves use of the words "unique", "countless" or "visceral".

+1 and "plethora." Thanks for ruining what was previously a perfectly good word, plebeian fools.

[TatteredDignity]

On a side note, the words law, law school, etc. are not in my PS at all. I never understand why applicants feel the need to make a call to action at the end of their PS. It is not a sales pitch or personal advertisement.

That's exactly what it is.

[Non-Chalant1]

What's wrong with the word plethora? Not that I use it in my writing a lot.

[loblaw]

What's wrong with the word plethora? Not that I use it in my writing a lot.

People with not-so-great vocabularies have repurposed it to become synonymous with "a lot" and get really excited when they find a way to discuss "a lot" of something because they can use the word "plethora" and sound smart.

I'm pretty sure the word was banned in my former English department.

[Flips88]

What's wrong with the word plethora? Not that I use it in my writing a lot.

People with not-so-great vocabularies have repurposed it to become synonymous with "a lot" and get really excited when they find a way to discuss "a lot" of something because they can use the word "plethora" and sound smart.

I'm pretty sure the word was banned in my former English department.

what about myriad, copious amount, overabundance, superfluous amount? They all sound better because "a lot" is a)pretty generic and b)it's open to interpretation about quantity.

[TatteredDignity]

What's wrong with the word plethora? Not that I use it in my writing a lot.

People with not-so-great vocabularies have repurposed it to become synonymous with "a lot" and get really excited when they find a way to discuss "a lot" of something because they can use the word "plethora" and sound smart.

I'm pretty sure the word was banned in my former English department.

what about myriad, copious amount, overabundance, superfluous amount? They all sound better because "a lot" is a)pretty generic and b)it's open to interpretation about quantity.

#1- Myriad meant 10,000 in antiquity. Fun fact.

#2- "a lot" doesn't have the implication of overabundance or excess, so if you just mean "a high number of", then using plethora is dumb.

[loblaw]

Those terms are all awesome because there is exactness in the language (assuming you know the nuances of each and one's use is suitable.) Plethora has come to suck precisely because there is a plethora of people who just mean "a high number of" as quoted.

#2- "a lot" doesn't have the implication of overabundance or excess, so if you just mean "a high number of", then using plethora is dumb.

[kublaikahn]

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[Sloth Hero]

Probably a good idea to NOT mention your love of Foucault/Spanos/Zizek.

"Legal institutions are inevitable products of capitalism which exist to secure US global hegemony."

and on that note, don't try to defend policy debate as a legitimate activity.

[Dany]

Definitely shouldn't mention UChicago...

...in the PS you send to Duke.

[vanwinkle]

What's wrong with the word plethora? Not that I use it in my writing a lot.

People with not-so-great vocabularies have repurposed it to become synonymous with "a lot" and get really excited when they find a way to discuss "a lot" of something because they can use the word "plethora" and sound smart.

I'm pretty sure the word was banned in my former English department.

I just looked up what it actually meant. Until now, I always thought that it did just mean "a lot".

[FiveSermon]

Why not visceral?

[071816]

Gay porn.

[YourCaptain]

Why not visceral?

I know right? Visceral is a fine word, it's just most people don't understand how to use it.

[powerlawyer06]

I have to add this one because it really happened.

Don’t write about a time when you got arrested in Mexico for being too drunk on the beach. A friend asked me to read his P.S. and it described him getting arrested for partying and then thinking about how much he “valued” the American legal system after he spent the night in a Mexican jail. I liked parts of it but there is no way you should talk about being drunk in Cabo in your P.S.

[Dany]

Why not visceral?

I know right? Visceral is a fine word, it's just most people don't understand how to use it.

Which is why you shouldn't use it. Those people have ruined it.

[theZeigs]

"Legal institutions are inevitable products of capitalism which exist to secure US global hegemony."

I've been contemplating writing my PS based around this idea. I'm a patriot.

U-S-A! U-S-A!

[fltanglab]

After seeing a few things on here, I am adding:

Anything focusing on your sorority or fraternity.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1#p3780461

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 8&t=142076

Does that go for all Greek orgs or just ones that mention them in those ways? I'm not sure it can be a blanket generalization.

[TIKITEMBO]

I want to attend Duke Law because I want to be like Trucker Max

Not to be a spelling creep, but that's Tucker Max. Trucker Max sounds like maybe he took a road trip in one of his stories.

[PDaddy]

There is almost always a constructive way to discus any topic, but one would usually not want to discuss sex activity, unless they're HIV positive and plan to use their law degree to advocate for AIDS victims.

Properly framed, almost any subject can be discussed and can make a candidate stand out. Just make sure that you are not a predator or advocating for something clearly negative or vile. My father was a pimp in his younger days, and I discussed it during my first cycle of applications. That was my diversity statement and my personal statement. I used it to give my perspective on street laws and how socially accepted norms affect legal development.

I also used it to explain that I grew up in an unstable envirnment where academics were not really emphasized. Given my strong academic and community service record, my having transcended that lifestyle was a positive thing. It must've worked; I was WL'd and admitted to several top schools. If pimpin' and hoin' can be discussed, anything can. I can just imagine some adcom/law prof chuckling that he once fantasized about pimping. lol.

[PDaddy]

I have to add this one because it really happened.

Don’t write about a time when you got arrested in Mexico for being too drunk on the beach. A friend asked me to read his P.S. and it described him getting arrested for partying and then thinking about how much he “valued” the American legal system after he spent the night in a Mexican jail. I liked parts of it but there is no way you should talk about being drunk in Cabo in your P.S.

The problem with this topic was that it was one-dimensional and had no texture. If your friend had taken it much further and simply used the incident in a diversity statement as an example of how he overcame alcoholism, that would have worked.