Top Ten Tips For Writing Compelling MBA Admissions Essays

MBA Essay Writing Tips 1 - Always put a special emphasis on introduction in your MBA Essays

Here is how a candidate began the introduction of an MBA essay on feedback he had received regarding an area of weakness:

From my fist year in elementary school to my last year in high school, I consistently bagged the top position in class, except on two rare occasions, when I came second. There were years when I came in the top ten in my entire city.

Would this opening grab your attention? Of course it wouldn’t! Imagine yourself to be an admissions officer who has to read through hundreds and hundreds of essays, and then you come across this specimen. Would you feel like reading on, and would you yawn? For one thing, the information provided is so mundane and, for another, it doesn’t seem to have any connection with the topic. The fellow used to come first in school, but that is a long time ago. And what's the big deal anyway? Business schools are flooded with applications from candidates who have excelled in the top colleges of the countries they belong to, and who have stood out in large organizations they have worked in. What is so great in having come first in school?

The Second Attempt

The candidate, having put himself in the adcom’s shoes, and realizing that he had misfired, makes a second attempt. He writes:

For some mysterious reason, something that was my area of strength became, over the years, my area of weakness. It flabbergasted and depressed me, and when people around me started to comment on it, I knew it was time I took positive action to remedy the situation.

Is this a better way to start? YES! Why?

Firstly, it creates a sense of mystery. “How does someone’s strength become his weakness?” you want to know.

It also addresses the topic of weakness straight away. At once you know what this MBA essay is going to be about.

Points to Remember

So, when you are writing an MBA essay, see if your opener meets the following criteria:

• Is there anything different about it that will arrest the reader’s attention?
• Does it give you an idea about the content of the MBA essay?
• Does it prepare the ground for the launch of the story you want to tell?

It is like the first impressions you form of a person. It tends to linger a long while. If you have a poor first impression of someone, you will not be too eager to meet him a second time.

Similarly, when the opening of an MBA essay bores the reader, he or she feels disinclined to continue reading. This is why you need to put a good deal of thought into the first few lines of your MBA essay.

Beginning with a Quote

Some applicants like to begin with a quote, but to do that effectively, you need a quote that has enough punch and that not many people have heard of – a combination that is indeed rare, because any quote with a punch quickly becomes popular. If your quote is a line everybody’s heard at least a hundred times before, you cut no ice repeating it again.

Questions

An intriguing question, however, may be able to generate just the kind of interest you want. What if you are writing an MBA essay on your love for travelling and how it has broadened your horizons, and you start by asking, “How would you feel if you were offered python meat for lunch?” I think you would like to read on!

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MBA Essay Writing Tips 2 - The significance of positive writing style in MBA essays

Look at these two pairs of sentences:

1. (a) I am not very happy with your behaviour.
    (b) Your behaviour could improve.
2. (a) There’s nothing very exciting about the movie.
    (b) It’s a boring movie.

What are the differences you notice between the (a)s and the (b)s?

At least three differences are very obvious, even to the eye – the (a)s have a negative in them (not, nothing), while the (b)s don’t; each sentence of a pair means the same as the other; and the (b)s are shorter than the (a)s.

What this means is that when you are writing using positive words, you are being more concise. This by itself is a great virtue in essay writing, especially MBA essay writing, where you often need to pack a lot of information into limited space.

Another thing you will have noticed is that the (b) sentences are more direct, and because they are more direct, they are more crisp and dynamic. On the other hand, the (a) sentences seem to go about their business in a slightly roundabout way, which makes them weaker in comparison to their (b) counterparts.

Can It Be Stated Better in the Positive Form?

Obviously, ‘not’ is a perfectly valid word with its definitive uses. You cannot, for instance, change “He is not well” or “He is unwell” to “He is well” without meaning the opposite of what you want to say. For that matter, in the sentence “Don’t hit your brother,” the word “don’t” is the perfect word for the occasion, despite being a negative one. However, what you need to look out for is whether a sentence put in the negative form could be better stated as a positive expression. Thus, “He is not a dishonest person” could be re-framed as “He is an honest person,”; “She is not generally unwilling to help others out” would sound better if you were to say, “She is generally helpful to others”; and “Don’t waste your time,” could be rephrased as “Make constructive use of your time.”

Other Negatives

When you happen to use words or expressions like “no,” “never,” “no one,” or “nothing,” see if you could replace them by using the positive form. Here are some examples of how you can do that:

• “I have no dictionaries in my shop at present,” can be re-constructed as “I have sold out my dictionaries.”
• “Never tell lies” can be replaced by “Always tell the truth.”
• “No one spoke up,” can be re-worded as “Everybody remained silent.”
• “There is nothing she cannot do,” is just a negative way of saying “She can do everything.”

Negative sentences can also come in disguise, with the use of prefixes such as ‘un.’ For example, the sentences given at the top of this article can be re-stated in the following negative-forms-in-disguise:

• I am unhappy with your behaviour.
• It’s a very unexciting movie.

When ‘Not’ Works Well

There is at least one particular situation where the word “not” can be used to great effect. This is when you use it in a phrase, and follow it up by using a contrasting positive phrase, as in the famous quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Would you like to put this principle into practice in a sentence of your own making? How about this one?

You are not only my brother, but also my friend, philosopher, and guide.

Generally speaking, however, there is a power in positive constructions that is missing in negative ones, and your essays become much more lively and readable when you express yourself in the positive form.

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MBA Essay Writing Tips 3 - How do you show your leadership qualities and strengths in your MBA essays?

It might seem obvious, but many applicants just don’t do it. They just talk about their strengths, they don’t highlight strengths in MBA application essays.

There is no point using a string of adjectives to try to impress the adcom with your list of strengths. “I’m brilliantly innovative, and have constantly come up with fresh ideas that have had a tremendous impact by way of results,” might sound impressive to people who don’t know better but, in actuality, it means nothing.

Detail the process

In the sentence given above, phrases like ‘brilliantly innovative,’ ‘fresh ideas,’ and ‘tremendous impact’ ring hollow when you don’t have concrete examples to back them up. In fact, using such words is a waste of space and time that can be better utilized by putting in an additional point, thereby further strengthening your essay.

Effective writers will simply describe what action they took, what new thoughts occurred to them, why and how they occurred to them, how they put them into practice, whether they encountered obstacles on the way, how they overcame these obstacles, how they succeeded in winning others over to their ideas, and what impact they made when their work was finally completed.

You don’t have to say that you were brilliant and that you made a tremendous impact. You just need to describe the process and quantify the impact, and it is the reader who will sing your praises in his/her mind. The fundamental principle behind this approach, and one that can’t be repeated too often, is, “Show, don’t tell.”

An example here is an inventor-entrepreneur presenting his strengths:

I invented a new demo machine and then personally sold the first of them, before opening my company with zero investment on the strength of my first sale. After my company started seeing some success, I employed my first sales agents. In one year, I hired 14 employees. I created my worldwide suppliers’ and representatives’ networks, and built up, on my own, the various departments of my organization – engineering, production, administration, marketing, sales, etc. It involved acquiring patents, making hard negotiations with suppliers, designing my own web page and brochures, and learning the effective use of social media.

Is there a word of self-praise here? There isn’t – and yet, the paragraph bears testimony to many qualities any b-school will cherish: inventiveness, initiative, dynamism, the capacity and confidence to take risks, organizational dexterity, and functional versatility, among others. He is ‘showing,’ not ‘telling.’

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MBA Essay Writing Tips 4 - Show Don't Tell in your MBA Esssays

In admissions essays, you obviously have to show yourself in the best light. If you trying to get into b-school, you will have to portray yourself as a person with a certain set of desirable qualities, such as being a tried and tested team player, besides being dynamic, enthusiastic, ethical, innovative, etc. You can, of course, like some applicants do, come up with sentences like, “I have always been known for my enthusiasm for work, my dynamism, and my innovative approach to problem-solving,” but, by itself, how good is that? Politicians, for instance, make Himalayan claims before an election, but all too often fail to follow them up afterwards. People are skeptical about empty claims.

Let us take an illustrative example. Let us suppose you are applying to a school where ethics is high on the list of its priorities. You could say something like. “My parents were deeply religious people who led highly moral lives. It was by observing and trying to emulate them that I formed my character. Though I have been fortunate enough to see some success in my life, it has never been at the expense of ethical compromise.”

Or perhaps you could relate an anecdote:

“Rahul was an office colleague of mine who, at the personal level, was little more than an acquaintance. He and his wife were about to divorce, and the depression he suffered because of this began to have a very negative effect on his work. It didn’t help at all that others in the office pulled his leg. I decided to stay back at office after my usual working hours to lend him a helping hand. It made a difference – it not only enabled him to cope better with his work, but it also bucked him up, so that he won back some of his previous efficiency. Perhaps, best of all, we became great friends.”

Now, in the first example, you are praising your parents and yourself, but you are merely saying these things – you are not producing any evidence. The second example does not carry a single world of self-praise. You are describing a specific situation, but your conduct in it reveals a few desirable traits in you – your empathetic nature, your team spirit, and your ethicality. Any b-school would treasure these qualities, and yet you have not explicitly employed any of the complimentary adjectives that will inevitably crop up in the adcom’s mind on reading your account.

It is not that you always have to use many words. Sometimes a few words will do the trick. Instead of saying, “My superiors in my present company have always appreciated my efficiency,” if you point out that, in 2015, you were the recipient of the company Best Employee Award, you will make a far more favourable impression.

The Golden Rule

The basic rule in these respects is show, do not tell in MBA essays. That the validity of this dictum has long been acknowledged is borne out by the fact that it may be said to be just a modern-day modification of the old proverb, “Actions speak louder than words.”

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MBA Essay Writing Tips 5 - The Role of Obstacles in Accomplishments

Imagine you are watching what you were told is a romantic movie. There is a hero, and there is a heroine. One day they meet at a party. They fall in love. They start dating. After a few months, they decide to get married. They have a grand wedding. The movie ends!

You can be sure that, with a story line like this, the movie will run out of an audience pretty soon.

Why, what’s wrong with the story?

It is extremely dull. That is because the lovers encounter no obstacles: there is no rival lover, there are no challenging circumstances to overcome, and there is nothing to test the depth of their love. The story falls flat.

The more obstacles you bring in, the more interest the story will evoke. The heart of the story will lie in the overcoming of the obstacles. It is this, in fact, that will make the hero a hero, and the heroine a heroine. Without it, there will be nothing to make them stand out.

Think of Romeo and Juliet. What makes their story poignant is the obstacles they encountered, and how their love endured through it all.

Put Obstacles in Your MBA Accomplishments Essays

Yes, obstacles have a key role to play in your application. When you write your story, present the obstacles as well, and let the adcom know how you surmounted them.

Let us consider portions of two versions of the same MBA essay:

When I was a Project Manager at Company XYZ, I invented the Anilox laser machine, which is the most innovative machine of its kind in the industry. I had it tested, and was confident that I had made an important scientific breakthrough. It has a novel feature that makes it special: it utilizes ultrasound viscometers that measure the ink viscosity in line with the printer machine. When I succeeded in persuading a client to buy it, I gave up my job and used the money to start my own company.

The invention is impressive, no doubt, but the account does not read too well. It is bland. Why? Because there is no conflict here, no hardships, no obstacles. Introduce these, and an element of drama enters the scene which makes the goings-on much more interesting, as in the passage below:

When I was working as a Project Manager at Company XYZ, I would return home in the evenings and, rather than relax, head straight to my workshop to complete an invention I had conceptualized – the Anilox laser machine. It would have a novel feature that would make it special: it would utilize ultrasound viscometers that would measure the ink viscosity in line with the printer machine. Working on it relentlessly, I created my first machine, had it tested, and felt confident that I had made an important scientific breakthrough. But when I went up to the company I was working for and enthusiastically offered it to them, they were suspicious of it and turned it down immediately.

Deeply disappointed as I was, I kept my chin up and looked around for a client. I faced the resistance all inventors face – people were sceptical. Even when I explained the process to them in minute detail, they refused to be convinced. Then one day, it happened: I found my client. He bought my machine, and my life changed forever. I gave up my job and used the money to found my own company.

When you are talking of your achievements in your essays, don’t just dwell on what you accomplished; emphasize also the obstacles you had to overcome before you finally succeeded. Your achievements will come across all the more impressively because of them.

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MBA Essay Writing Tips 6 - To Err is Human: Discussing Your Flaws

Many b-schools ask you about your flaws in their application essays. Here is as sampling of the kind of questions that is set:

• What have you learned from a mistake? (HBS)
• Describe a failure that you have experienced. What role did you play, and what did you learn about yourself? (Wharton)
• Describe the most difficult constructive criticism or feedback you have received. How did you address it? What have you learned from it? (Tuck)
• Please provide an example of a team failure of which you’ve been a part. If given a second chance, what would you do differently? (Columbia)

What Not to Write

For many applicants, such questions are a stumbling block. They think, how can you talk about your own defects? After all, in an application your primary aim is to show how worthy you are. If you start discussing where you are wanting, what impression will you make on the adcom?

And so what do such applicants do?

They come up with flaws that aren’t flaws at all. One such applicant might say, “I am just too much of a perfectionist. Unless I am a hundred percent satisfied with what I have done, I simply can’t rest in peace.” Another might remark, “I tend not to take any credit for my achievements, so that sometimes others don’t even know about them. I feel that I should be more forthcoming about what I have accomplished.”

They probably suppose they are being artful, but they convince no one.

Owning Up to Your Flaw

The bottom line is that nothing in nature is perfect, and neither is any human being anywhere on the face of the earth. As such, adcoms don’t consider owning up to a flaw a sign of weakness, but one of self-awareness and strength. It shows that you are a mature person. It also shows – and this is vitally important – that you are capable of growth. All said and done, it is only people who own up to their shortcomings who can possibly overcome them and become better or more capable human beings.

As such, your response to the questions needs to be honest. Depending on the nature of the question, you may have to pinpoint the lack you see in yourself, say how you came to realize it, and then go on to discuss the ways in which you have been trying to surmount it. Finally, you can focus on how successful you have been in this respect.

Here is a good example of an applicant dealing candidly and constructively with the issue:

My biggest weakness is I tend to micromanage people around me – be it my subordinates or my kids. As someone who takes a lot of pride in the quality of work being delivered, I always want to be at the top of things and get personally involved in executing tasks, which I am actually expected to supervise. This results in two main issues – firstly, my productivity takes a hit and I tend to lose the bigger picture at times and secondly it hinders the development of my juniors.

Over the last few years, I have made deliberate attempts to minimize my involvement in tasks, which already have an assigned owner. Instead of seeking daily updates from my team, I have rather started seeking only weekly updates. At home, I have transformed myself from being a mother who monitored every trivial activity- time tables, project, homework, of her kids to someone who has given her kids independence, accountability and freedom to make decisions per their best judgment. This has proven to be very beneficial in the overall personality development of my children.

The adcom will not think less of you because of such an answer. On the contrary, you will grow in their estimation.

However, if you have experienced a drug problem in your life, or have gone through an alcoholic phase, the b-school application essay is not the place to write about it. Restrict yourself to flaws that are directly connected with your professional life.

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MBA Essay Writing Tips 7 - Significance of Specific Information in MBA essays

Generic MBA application essays are loaded with words which mean nothing to the admissions committee. They are full of words which conveys very little about the strengths or uniqueness of the candidate. Many applicants believe that just filling up with words or name dropping few crucial things such as school’s ranking, famous faculty members, location or global alumni network will help them to crack the B-school admission process.

Example – 1:

Here is the concluding part of a generic MBA application essay:

My interest in attending the Wharton Business School program stems from its international reputation for academic and research brilliance, thanks to which it is one of the highest ranked b-schools in the nation. I greatly look forward to learning from its world-class faculty, and to participating actively in, and contributing significantly to, its wide range of community activities. Not the least of the school’s attractions for me are its diverse, international student body, its ideal location near the commercial hub of one of the world’s busiest and most dynamic cities, and its tremendous popularity with recruiters.

I have no doubt that the program will enable me to build on my existing skill set, and to playing an impactful role in my industry in times to come.

The above paragraph deals wholly in generalities. Nothing is specified – exactly how high is the school ranked? Who are some of the distinguished members of its world-class faculty? Which community activities does the applicant wish to participate in? How will the school’s location in a commercial hub benefit the applicant? Etcetera.

This essay, without any modification whatsoever, can be sent to any of five or six b-schools. However, it will be consigned to the reject pile in every instance because, being totally generic and lacking in specifics, it is also, in a sense, superficial and fake. It doesn’t show any knowledge of the school’s program, or its values; and the question of how the applicant is a proper fit for the program is altogether absent.

Example -2:

Contrast the above with the following piece from the essay of an applicant who has been working in a position of responsibility in the oil and gas industry:

Wharton's core courses like Macroeconomics and International Political Analysis will be particularly relevant to me in the context of the close link between oil prices, global economics, and prevailing political conditions, which in turn impact the sector’s investments and operations. The involvement of big bucks and high-risk investments also calls for a deep understanding of Corporate Finance and Strategy and Operations Optimization – subjects which the core courses will deal with in depth. Electives like M7As, Alliances and Corporate Strategy hold special significance for me in view of the fact that my own company is headed for a process of mergers and consolidation in 2017-18. At the same time, while Negotiation is crucial to the oil and gas industry, courses like Corporate Entrepreneurship and Gaining Market Leadership and Identifying New Business Opportunity fit in perfectly with my professional needs. It is not only that, as a global energy company, we often venture into uncharted locations to start operations for our clients, but I also wish to expand my company’s focus on one product line and add some appropriate complementary services that will add significantly to our revenue.

Finally, I relish the idea of a course within a course in the form of a Leadership Development Program that is geared towards self-improvement. The live forums will give me an invaluable insight into the thought processes of global leaders, and the peer exchange opportunity will provide me with a constructive platform for a give and take of enriching ideas and experiences.

This is full of specifics in discussing the curriculum and how different elements of it will benefit him. It therefore both rings true and forms a solid basis for the candidate to apply to this particular school.

Therefore, to whatever extent possible, be specific in whatever you say, and avoid writing generic MBA application essays.

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MBA Essay Writing Tips 8 - The Art of Writing the Short MBA Essays

The nature of MBA application essays is changing. A decade ago, the practice was to set lengthy essays. Today, possibly for a variety of reasons, the trend is towards shorter and shorter essays. The same school which required you to write 500 words on a certain topic two or three years back may today ask you to restrict yourself to 250 words on a similar topic.

The problem many applicants face is this: how can they possibly put all they want to say in so few words?

The solution lies in saying fewer things, but saying the things that really matter. It is the quality of what you say that counts, and not its quantity. When you say too many things in too short a space, the individual points lose their importance, and the total effect is just a blur.

That is not what you want.

Here are some tips to help you tackle such a situation:

1. Collect your ideas before you begin.

Many applicants begin responding even before they have fully understood the question being asked. Perhaps it is a ‘why’ question that is being asked, and it is a ‘how’ answer that they are responding with.

It is worth your while, therefore, to spend a fair amount of time considering your answer well before you get down to the actual job of composing it. Collect all the thoughts that occur to you on the topic, and from them choose a single theme or a couple of points that stand out the most and which you would want to focus on. Ignore everything else.

When you decide on your theme or your points, do it in the context of your entire application. Why repeat things you have dealt with elsewhere? Bring in something new. Make sure your answers in different essays complement one another, rather than overlap.

2. Cut down on examples.

There is no need to provide numerous examples to back up a single point that you make. A few select examples will suffice.

3. Stay away from the passive voice.

Sentences in the passive voice take up much more space than those in the active, and generally sound less attractive as well. Therefore, you should stick to the latter as far as possible.

4. Avoid flattery.

It is a common habit among applicants to flatter the school they are applying to. The fact of the matter is that this not only does that not serve any purpose, it actually goes against you – you waste a lot of words, and you also create a poor impression.

5. Edit your essay.

It is surprising how much you can shorten your essay just be editing it effectively. For example, look at the following sentence:

What I saw was extremely disheartening but, at the same time, it sparked a realization within me that transformed my perspective.

It is a 21-word sentence. You can say the same thing in just 11 words:

Though what I saw was disheartening, it completely changed my perspective.

If you can gain 10 words from a single sentence, imagine how much you may be able to shorten an entire essay.

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MBA Essay Writing Tips 9 - What are the main qualities that top B-schools wish to see in your MBA essays?

Essentially, these boil down to the following four:

1. Drive

It has been defined as “the determination to get things done, to make things happen, and constantly to look for better ways of doing things.”

When your MBA application questions ask you about an occasion when you faced a difficult challenge or one in which you achieved something significant in life, it is your drive that they are testing. Drive is closely associated with determination and the ability to stick to a task, no matter what obstacles come in the way. A person with drive does not get defeated by setbacks, but learns its lessons and attempts to overcome them by putting in a renewed effort. The spirit of drive has been well encapsulated in this saying of Abraham Lincoln: “Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.”

2. Leadership

Its, of course, is a huge topic, but some of the key characteristics of any good leader are integrity, confidence, and competence. It is only when people are able to fully trust you that they will be willing to follow you. Integrity also involves being true to your word, and doing what you say you will do.

As a business leader, you must have an intrinsic belief in yourself, in the company you belong to, in the worthiness of its products and services, and in the people who work for you. This needs to be back up by your functional capability, and your capacity to continually improve your performance throughout your career.

3. Problem-solving skills

Your ability to solve problems is crucial to your success not only in business, where it is a fundamental aspect of any manager’s role, but also in life at large. Those who make better decisions increase their work productivity, and enjoy more promotions and job opportunities. A recent study conducted by the University of Chicago School Of Business concluded that good decision makers are also happier people. As the American industrialist Henry Kaiser put it, “Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.”

4. Interpersonal Communication Skills

An organization’s operational efficiency and quality of teamwork is largely dependent on the quality of interpersonal communication within it, on how ideas are interchanged through words, voice tone, body language, etc. As such, your skill in interpersonal communication is as vital for your individual success as it is for the smooth running and progress of your organization.

The more you can demonstrate in your essays that you possess the above qualities, the greater are your chances of gaining admission into your dream school. Has your team got stuck in a demanding project, and have you able to show a way out through your critical thinking? What vision do you hold in your mind about your future? What interpersonal impact have you made through your participation in sports or social activities? What leadership positions have you taken in your career or in your extracurricular activities? These are the things you should pay special attention to.

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MBA Essay Writing Tips 10 - What To Avoid in MBA Essays?

Just like there are sins of omission and sins of commission, there are things that you MUST not do and others that you SHOULD, when you go about writing your MBA essays.

I will now deal with some of the things you should scrupulously keep away from while composing your MBA essays:

1. Avoid presenting yourself as a super person.

There are candidates who use so many superlatives to describe themselves, that they stand the danger of not only losing credibility, but of making a laughing stock of themselves. Even if you are a high achiever, it pays greater dividends if you can eloquently describe your accomplishments, and let them speak for themselves.

Let your actions speak for you, rather than your self-praise, which is to be distinguished from self-confidence. Self-praise is not generally seen as an attractive trait, as it can make you appear vain, egotistical, and lacking in the humility you need to be a true learner.

2. Don’t say you did things that you didn’t actually do.

In their desperation to please the adcoms, candidates sometimes compromise with the truth. They speak of doing things they have never done, of holding positions they have never held, and of making an impact they have never made. Admission officers are experienced people who know a thing or two about human nature. Often they can see through exaggerations and downright lies. They may not have solid evidence to prove you wrong, but they don’t need that solid evidence. Their suspicion may be enough to queer your pitch. The interview may show you up.

Worse still, (for truth has a habit of coming out), if you have the style and flair to carry off your untruths but it is later discovered that you indulged in deceit, you might lose your place in the school even if you have been given admission.

In short, honesty is the best policy.

3. Avoid technical jargon and bombastic or flowery words.

Many candidates harbor the illusion that the bigger the words you use, the more impressive you become. This makes them write in a stuffy, pretentious language that does no good.

Often they are not even familiar with the words they use, which they might have picked up from a thesaurus, and as a result they use them inappropriately and out of context.

Business schools are not on a literary talent hunt. They don’t expect you to be a budding Shakespeare, so there is no point trying to be one. It is best to express yourself in simple, direct language. Avoid repetitions and redundancies, and stick to the stipulated word-length. Adcoms have endless MBA essays to read, and they don’t have time for verbiage. Besides, when you exceed the word limit, you convey the impression that you don’t have the ability to follow even the most basic instructions.

Another bad habit some candidates has is to resort to technical jargon at the drop of a hat. They apparently think that this works well for them, but it doesn’t. It is presumptuous to take for granted that the adcom is familiar with the jargon of your particular industry. The vocabulary you employ in your MBA essays should be such that a layman can follow.

In conclusion, be your natural self in your MBA essays. That way your essays will have a more authentic feel. Your true personality will come out, which is exactly what the schools want. They are not looking for perfection, but for flesh-and-blood human beings who are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, and who can use their self-knowledge as a basis of their future growth.

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MBA Essay Writing Tips 11 - A few more things to avoid in your MBA Essays:

You are often told how to go about your MBA application essays, but you also need to know how not to go about them. In this article we will consider a list of 10 things you should strictly avoid in your essay writing to improve your chances of admission:

1. Don’t write MBA essays without a theme or central idea. Perhaps you are writing an essay on an offbeat topic, and the main idea that you want to convey is your love for music. Don’t include anecdotes or information in the essay that is not connected with this theme.
2. Don’t use cliche such as ‘go-to person,’ ‘giving back to the community,’ ‘thinking outside the box,’ etc. in your MBA essays. These phrases are used so often that when you resort to them, you sound just like everybody else, and fail to come out as a person with originality. You want to differentiate yourself from the other candidates, and this is best done by using your own words. Rather than saying, ‘Right from my childhood, I have had the habit of thinking outside the box,’ you can say, ‘Right from my childhood, I have done things in my own way’.
3. Don’t try to impress by using bombastic words or overly formal vocabulary in writing MBA essays. Applicants who do so often misuse words and convey the impression of being stiff in their manner.
4. Don’t give lame excuses for poor performance, mistakes, or shortcomings, but take responsibility for them and talk about what you have done to set things right. Especially, don’t come out with a sob story to try and win the adcom’s sympathy. Owning up to your failures will show you in good light – as a self-aware and mature person – if you can demonstrate that you have taken proactive measures to overcome them.
5. Don’t assume that the admissions team will be familiar with your industry jargon. Write as you would for a layman. If your reader cannot appreciate the point you are making in your MBA essays, it is only you who will suffer.
6. Don’t use generic MBA essays that you send to every school with minor alterations. While it undoubtedly involves more work, it always pays to customize each of your essays so that it is in tune with the requirements and values of the school you are applying to.
7. Don’t quote facts about the school that the adcom already knows. Some applicants have the habit of picking up words and phrases from the school’s own website and throwing them back at the adcom. If a Kellogg applicant writes that the school’s ‘core courses on general management will help me grow beyond my functional area and develop into a well-rounded manager with leadership skills across all aspects of my organization,’ the adcom will be far from impressed because the words are lifted straight from Kellogg's website.
8. Don’t give misleading information about your achievements, the lay-off you had in your career, etc. You may be caught during the interview. If your deceit is caught, you will have to pay for the consequence.
9. Don’t disregard character, word, or page limits. Though adcoms permit a certain flexibility in this regard, your breaking the limits suggests that you are unable to follow instructions or that you don’t care for the rules.
10. Don’t shorten the font size, margins or spacing to accommodate material that would not have fit it otherwise within the page requirements. Besides being well-written, your essay should be pleasing to the eye as well.

Why the MBA Essays Are Pivotal For Your Application?

Thousands of applicants with stellar GMAT, phenomenal academic grades, quality work experience and polished recommendations apply to the few coveted seats in the top-ranked Business Schools worldwide. But these details don’t tell Admission committee whether you can be a successful business leader in future. Admission officers want to know the real person behind the MBA application. The MBA essay gives them glimpse of your personality and it is the only tool in their possession to evaluate your leadership potential and shortlist you for an interview. Hence, The admission essays are the cornerstone of your application. Serious applicants must take all precautions to avoid the common mistakes in writing their MBA essays.

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