Best tools to cut words from essay?

[Anonymous]

Kid needs to cut 33 words from an essay. I've already tried and helped eliminate some (it was way over).

Is this an AI-use case?
Which AI tool is best for this?

[Anonymous]

It's achieved by editing over and over. First you cut the unnecessary words (it sounds like you already did this). Then you go find the two- to three-word phrases that can be consolidated. There are likely many of these. "As an example" becomes "For example." "As a result" becomes "thus." Or, "I first became interested in this because..." becomes "This interest stems from..." You find these by reading over and over. Also do not forget that there is no rule about not using contractions! 33 is nothing - you can do it for sure!

[Anonymous]

Read it aloud. You’ll find quicker ways to say things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's achieved by editing over and over. First you cut the unnecessary words (it sounds like you already did this). Then you go find the two- to three-word phrases that can be consolidated. There are likely many of these. "As an example" becomes "For example." "As a result" becomes "thus." Or, "I first became interested in this because..." becomes "This interest stems from..." You find these by reading over and over. Also do not forget that there is no rule about not using contractions! 33 is nothing - you can do it for sure!

Don't ever use THUS in a college essay!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's achieved by editing over and over. First you cut the unnecessary words (it sounds like you already did this). Then you go find the two- to three-word phrases that can be consolidated. There are likely many of these. "As an example" becomes "For example." "As a result" becomes "thus." Or, "I first became interested in this because..." becomes "This interest stems from..." You find these by reading over and over. Also do not forget that there is no rule about not using contractions! 33 is nothing - you can do it for sure!

Don't ever use THUS in a college essay!!!

Why, if it's an appropriate adverb indicating cause and effect? I mean, it is a bit formal, so it might not belong in a CommonApp essay meant to tell about the person, but in a supplemental about chosen major or planned community activities, it might be okay. It's a word that fills a purpose.

[Anonymous]

ChatGPT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ChatGPT

yep

[Anonymous]

Try to cut a whole sentence or two. You don’t want the essay to come out condensed but sound like chatgpt (it has a lot of tells).

[Anonymous]

Brain is better than ChatGPT. It is pretty easy to tell when something was run through it. 33 words is really easy to cut, and people here have already given good suggestions.

[Anonymous]

grammarly.com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try to cut a whole sentence or two. You don’t want the essay to come out condensed but sound like chatgpt (it has a lot of tells).

Agree with this. Find sentences that aren't strictly necessary.

[Anonymous]

The essay would probably benefit from cutting 100 words, not just 33. Cut away anything not completely necessary. Target 90% of the word limit.

[Anonymous]

Check for use of passive voice as that typically results in more words (usually superfluous, unnecessary ones).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's achieved by editing over and over. First you cut the unnecessary words (it sounds like you already did this). Then you go find the two- to three-word phrases that can be consolidated. There are likely many of these. "As an example" becomes "For example." "As a result" becomes "thus." Or, "I first became interested in this because..." becomes "This interest stems from..." You find these by reading over and over. Also do not forget that there is no rule about not using contractions! 33 is nothing - you can do it for sure!

Don't ever use THUS in a college essay!!!

Why, if it's an appropriate adverb indicating cause and effect? I mean, it is a bit formal, so it might not belong in a CommonApp essay meant to tell about the person, but in a supplemental about chosen major or planned community activities, it might be okay. It's a word that fills a purpose.

Agreed. It's a helpful word to show the author's reasoning.

OP: You might be able to save a half dozen words by using contractions. Because it's a personal statement and not a formal academic paper, I think contractions are fine and even help the statement sound more "personal." (Not that contractions would ever be a reason to reject an application, but my DD used contractions in her essays and did very well last year.)

[Anonymous]

Chat gpt with a specific prompt of ‘remove 13 words from this essay while retaining original sentiments and original sentences as much as possible.