The phrase "a sort of impression" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when describing a vague or general feeling or idea about something.
Example: "After the meeting, I was left with a sort of impression that the project would be delayed."
Alternatives: "a kind of feeling" or "a type of perception."
But the incident was unpremeditated & the record was reasonably clear--a sort of general impression that our Senators spend some of their time watching disorderly citizens get the bum's rush.
He says he would like to make a name for himself at the Olympic Games and that London in 2012 or 2016 would be a realistic target to create any sort of impression in terms of challenging fellow 400 metre runners.
They seemed insipid, lacking drive and self-belief, and it was hard to imagine how they could make any sort of impression in the Champions League.
Having failed to make any sort of impression in Scotland's top flight, one wonders whether or not he can still hack it in the Premier League after an absence of one and a half seasons.
Although Ms. Hoffman and Mr. Steinhardt had been in the same place at the same time on occasion since her early college days, and had been introduced at least twice, "somehow neither of us made any sort of impression on the other," Ms. Hoffman said.
Do a sort of Gollum impression, but in your own voice.
When players ran on the field, the jersey, which had an opening on the chest with laces, generated a bulge on the back (a sort of parachute effect), giving the impression that the players have a hunchback.
Here's an example: a well-known law in physics and mathematics is called "Gauss's Law". I know this law well, but like the scientists mentioned above, it exists in my mind only as a sort of image or impression.
But still, the emotions themselves escape reduction to their propositional content because emotions are a sort of concern-based impression or perception or construal of the situation in these terms.
