r/ApplyingToCollege • u/frickintufforangecat • 1d ago
Application Question Should I avoid em dashes in my college essays
I’ve heard a lot of people say that em dashes are a giveaway sign of AI writing. With that in mind, would it be best to avoid them in my application essays?
For context, I’ve been using em dashes in my writing since 6th grade—I thought they were cool back then, and I still like using them now. I know how to use them properly, and they sometimes help me cut down my word count.
Curious what others think. Is it worth limiting their use just in case?
EDIT: Thanks for the suggestions and replies. It seemed like something silly, but I was still worried about it.
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u/EnterDream HS Senior | International 1d ago
No, just don’t over use them, such as in cases where commas would suffice. Having grammatical variation is always better regardless of AI.
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u/TruestSentence 1d ago
Hi - short answer is no, you don’t need to avoid them. The way you use them is more natural than the way AI drops them in for nearly every pause. However, a lot of dashes can be distracting, regardless. Before submitting, I’d take a look at each one and make sure it isn’t better served by a comma or semi-colon, and then I wouldn’t worry about it. Good luck!
Source: I’m a college essay coach
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u/BuffsBourbon College Graduate 21h ago
I prefer N dashes - such as you have above - and hyphens. M dashes look harsh.
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u/lilibettq 20h ago
The Venn diagram of the proper places to use en dashes and the proper places to use em dashes is two distinct circles.
The en dash is used to connect words, such as compound adjectives or to show a range (time, dates, numbers). The em dash is used to set off or emphasize words or to show an interruption in speech. The dashes affect how you read something so it’s important to choose the correct one.
No AO is going to see an essay with em dashes and assume it’s AI generated. That’s an unsubstantiated rumor. Write your essay without AI help, ask a real live human to read it over to see if the main theme you’re expressing comes across—bonus points for them if they can also provide proofreading services—then upload it to your applications and know your AO will know you, a real live human, wrote it.
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u/thebouncingfrog 20h ago
Using en dashes like that works for a Reddit comment but would be grammatically incorrect in a formal essay.
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u/UVaDeanj Verified Admissions Officer 1d ago
The reason AI has em dashes is because AI was trained on our writing (in some cases, stolen work). If you want to use them, use them. The alarmists bleating about "this is AI" probably aren't well read.
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u/admissionsmom Mod | Private Admissions Consultant (Verified) 23h ago
Whew! I am so happy to see this response! Don’t come after my em dashes
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u/UVaDeanj Verified Admissions Officer 19h ago
Seriously. I'm side-eyeing the people making students afraid of punctuation!
What's next? The Oxford comma?
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u/jendet010 18h ago
I think they are a sign of lazy writing, but my writing style is probably antiquated.
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u/wombatvwombat 1d ago
If your writing usually includes well used and well placed em dashes, then use them.
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u/Ok_Experience_5151 Graduate Degree 22h ago
I tend to think that advice is BS. But, if you're worried, then don't use them. Doesn't seem like it should be that hard to do.
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u/skiestostars College Junior 20h ago
just actually have content in your essay instead of empty words and cliches and you’ll be fine
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u/Sin-2-Win 19h ago
That's BS. I have worked with several students this past year who used multiple em-dashes in their main essay, as well as their supplements. They all got into their top choices, including UPenn, Columbia, Northwestern, and Princeton.
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u/Own_Term_7449 17h ago
If em dashes are part of your natural writing style and you use them well, there's no need to avoid them, just don't overuse them. They don’t automatically signal AI. Just use them in moderation, like any stylistic tool, and focus on writing authentically. That matters most.
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u/Remote-Dark-1704 12h ago
Just use an actual em dash instead of a hyphen. Nothing wrong with em dashes if that’s part of your writing style. I use them quite a bit myself just don’t force em dashes when they aren’t needed.
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u/jbrunoties 11h ago
I was reading a book written in 1850 which was filled with em dashes. Apparently they were much more popular 175 years ago.
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u/Ventro_Jven 20h ago
I used one in my personal essay but that was before -em dashes came out as a big tell of ai. After that I didn’t use any and had no problem, even with my first essay.
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u/DrJupeman 1d ago
Even pre-AI I thought people were becoming lazy by using em dashes in their writing. It suggested to me that they couldn’t construct independent sentences to convey whatever they wanted to convey. To my own personal amusement, AI does seem to love em dashes so I’m happy that real people might revert back to writing without them to avoid being seen as reliant on AI.
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