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Dashes in PS
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 9:30 pm
by edditb
Hey all, I'm fixing up the final draft of my PS and I wanted to see what your takes on dashes are. For example: (I felt stuck – sure, I was getting good grades) etc. If anybody's able to give me a read through please let me know I only need a couple more outside looks at it. Thank you.
Re: Dashes in PS
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 9:48 pm
by k5220
The example you gave feels like period, new sentence would be more grammatically correct than a dash. I'd stay on the safe side and use a period (or maybe a semicolon in other cases), just in case you get any sticklers for grammar reading your PS.
Re: Dashes in PS
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 9:50 pm
by fats provolone
this isn't really responsive to your question but man i abuse the shit out of em-dashes
Re: Dashes in PS
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 9:59 pm
by nicknar
I can't speak to how adcomms view them, but I'm certainly using them. Just make sure you type it correctly—like that. If you type two hyphens in a row with no spaces, Microsoft Word should automatically convert into an em dash. Otherwise shift+alt+- will do it.
Re: Dashes in PS
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:09 pm
by edditb
what about contractions? I've read in a couple places that they're a major no-go but in others that not having any can make the writing seem to formal and can distance you from the reader. So confused.
Re: Dashes in PS
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:14 pm
by rnoodles
edditb wrote:what about contractions? I've read in a couple places that they're a major no-go but in others that not having any can make the writing seem to formal and can distance you from the reader. So confused.
Don't make it harder than it needs to be, OP. No contractions, start new sentences instead of dashes, etc.
Don't mean to sound harsh, but if you overthink it you risk messing up. Good luck otherwise, OP!
Re: Dashes in PS
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:15 pm
by rpupkin
fats provolone wrote:this isn't really responsive to your question but man i abuse the shit out of em-dashes
Me too.
OP: Obviously, lawyers love em-dashes. For every 10 em-dashes you use in a PS, you get a one point boost in your LSAT score. If you manage to fit 30 em-dashes into your PS, that 167 becomes a 170.
Re: Dashes in PS
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:18 pm
by rpupkin
rnoodles22 wrote:
Don't make it harder than it needs to be, OP. No—no contractions, start new sentences instead of dashes, etc.
Re: Dashes in PS
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:56 pm
by rnoodles
rpupkin wrote:rnoodles22 wrote:
Don't make it harder than it needs to be, OP. No—no contractions, start new sentences instead of dashes, etc.
