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. 2014 Dec 31;9(12):e115844.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115844. eCollection 2014.

When small words foretell academic success: the case of college admissions essays

James W Pennebaker  1 , Cindy K Chung  1 , Joey Frazee  1 , Gary M Lavergne  1 , David I Beaver  1
Affiliations

When small words foretell academic success: the case of college admissions essays

James W Pennebaker et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The smallest and most commonly used words in English are pronouns, articles, and other function words. Almost invisible to the reader or writer, function words can reveal ways people think and approach topics. A computerized text analysis of over 50,000 college admissions essays from more than 25,000 entering students found a coherent dimension of language use based on eight standard function word categories. The dimension, which reflected the degree students used categorical versus dynamic language, was analyzed to track college grades over students' four years of college. Higher grades were associated with greater article and preposition use, indicating categorical language (i.e., references to complexly organized objects and concepts). Lower grades were associated with greater use of auxiliary verbs, pronouns, adverbs, conjunctions, and negations, indicating more dynamic language (i.e., personal narratives). The links between the categorical-dynamic index (CDI) and academic performance hint at the cognitive styles rewarded by higher education institutions.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have read the journal's policy and have the following competing interest: JWP is the co-owner of the commercially-available text analysis software, LIWC, which was used to analyze the language data. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

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