<p>can you use contractions in the honorary scholarship and danforth essays or is that too informal?</p>
<p>I’d say that depends on the overall tone of your essay and your own personal voice.</p>
<p>Yes; I did.</p>
<p>No, you really should not use contractions-it is not considered proper English. Especially since you are writing to get a scholarship based on your academics it would be best to use a somewhat more formal tone-at least that is what I did.</p>
<p>To be honest, I really don’t think what they want to see is some trussed-up essay. MLA format says not to use contractions…but college essays aren’t in MLA format. What’s important is conveying your own voice. Obviously, the essay shouldn’t read like an AIM conversation, but it doesn’t have to sound like a research paper either.</p>
<p>From personal experience, I’m confident that using contractions and informalities isn’t going to hurt you, as long as it fits with the essay.</p>
<p>It is definitely okay in the shorter, more personal essays for the honorary scholarships.</p>