Can you Curse in a College Essay?

When writing a college essay, it is common for your college to have a guideline on the requirements. Despite this, there is hardly any mention of whether curse words are allowed. And if allowed to what extent is the allowance. This may leave you confused, especially if tackling a topic that requires mentioning such words once in a while.

Nevertheless, this article is here to help you with this problem. The article will look at what is allowed when you use the words, what you shouldn’t write, and the implications of using the words if your college doesn’t allow their use.

Can You Curse in a College Essay?

Using curse words in college essays is a common question with varied answers. The answer might be yes or no, depending on who you ask.

Generally, it would be best to avoid using curse words in a college unless it is essential and you can defend yourself if called upon.

As mentioned, there is no hard and fast rule about whether you can use curse words or vulgarity in your college admissions essays. Many schools have strict rules against cursing on their campuses but will view cursing in an essay as entirely different because it does not represent your character but rather the character’s viewpoint you adopt for your story or opinion piece. If you are going to use cursing in your essay, it is crucial to understand your purpose and then do it sparingly.

Additionally, curse words in a professional piece erode the writer’s confidence, which may make you appear casual and not an expert in the subject matter. Further, people who have extreme intolerance to the words, including your instructor or professor, may even give you a fail grade even if the essay was good in all other areas.

When Can you Use Curse Words in an Essay?

There are a few cases you can use curse words in an essay.

But it would be best not to use the words because your instructor’s and college professors’ opinions vary. They are some who will be okay with it, while others will view it negatively and affect your grade.

• When quoting a dialogue 

However, curse words can be used when quoting dialogue from a character or poem. If you are quoting a character and that character uses curse words, you may use those exact curse words in your essay. On the other hand, if you want to use curse words in an original college essay, it is best to avoid them. It’s better not to include them at all because they will detract from the overall quality of your writing piece and hurt your chances of admission into the college of choice rather than help them.

The following are the key consideration that determines if you can use profane language apart from the general rules your college has in place

• The target audience
• The intensity of the curse words
• How formal or informal the document needs to be
• If you can justify the use of the words
• If the words portray a deep or the main point in the statement

What Should You Not Write About in a College Essay?

Every word that you write impacts how the reader interprets what they’ve read and allows them to understand what you were trying to say. If every other word is a swear word, this might take away from the meaning of your overall message instead of clarifying what you want them to understand.

• Avoid Curse words 

One of the things you should not write about is curse words. But if you must include them, the best way is by deciding whether or not including foul language makes sense with regards to what you’re trying to say within the context of your essay. If swearing works as shorthand for something else, go ahead and do it. Otherwise, leave out vulgarity altogether so that you don’t distract from the main point of your application essay or any other paper which requires good grammar.

• Don’t bring out your weaknesses 

Similarly, you should avoid bringing up your weaknesses or things that may be viewed negatively about you. However, you can write about your weaknesses but twist them to portray how you are working towards self-improvement. But if writing a guided essay about your weaknesses, there is no harm in that.

• Avoid controversial topics 

You should also avoid giving deep, opinionated essays about issues like politics or religion outside of yourself. There is nothing worse than a bad college essay with biased opinions. The essays intend to show your creativity and personality, not how much you hate other people or belief systems different from yours. Your beliefs will show through in the rest of your application, so there’s no need for them to stand out in your essays.

Further, you might criticize an area your professor ascribes to. The aftermath is that you will appear as an inconsiderate individual. Nevertheless, if you have been asked to write about your opinion on it, there is no harm, but still, you need to be considerate to both sides.

Conclusion

It might be challenging to decide whether to use curse words in your essay or not. But your college’s instructions, type of writing, and the intensity of the words, among other factors, are the fundamental guiding principles. It is best to avoid them totally, but if you can’t, use them sparingly.

Likewise, there are cases where curse words are allowed in an essay. Therefore, you should first know your college’s take before plunging yourself into their use