Using Vivid Examples In Your Personal Statements

In the world of academic writing, there are a wide variety of words that should always be avoided. They include words like thing, stuff, there, is, very, and many. These words might seem appropriate for any situation, but that is the exact reason why they should be avoided. When you are writing a personal statement for a class or an application, students should only use vivid, lively words. With vivid examples, your statement will come to life and your readers will have an easier time connection to you and your experiences.

Vivid Verbs

Anytime that you are writing about narratives, you should work on creating vivid verbs. A vivid verb is any action word. The linking verbs like is, was, were, are not vivid at all. They do not bring anything to life. In fact, those dull verbs slow down the flow of an essay. You can include them occasionally, but if you are actively pursuing a vivid story you will have more than continuously repeated linking verbs.

Necessary Details

Your vivid examples can include more than just active verbs. You should be able to tell the story with the necessary details. If you do not need to explain that your best friend has blonde hair because that detail does not affect the outcome, then leave it out. However, if the story involves her leaving blonde hair dye in place for over two hours, then you will certainly want to talk about her hair color and what was left of her hair when she washed out the product.

Focus on Daily Events

In many cases, the vivid examples do not have to be most exciting events that have ever happened in your life. In many stories, the daily events tend to do the job. In order to make those events stand out, you should look for something extraordinary or embellish an event to make it slightly more vivid. When you are able to describe your front tire getting plopping into the pothole that seemed to extended down to China, they will understand why you needed to call a tow truck in the middle of the night.

Add Figurative Language

In those vivid examples, you should also be creative with your figurative language. When we add similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, and personification, our writing quickly comes to life and our readers realize that we are creative people. The best advice for including vivid examples is to have fun with the words and to play with the thesaurus, too!