Monday Morning Essay Tip: Do Not Start With Platitudes
May 5th, 2008 | Posted in Monday Morning Essay Tips, Blogroll
Platitude (plat’e-tood)
1. Commonplaceness; flatness; dullness
2. A trite or obvious remark, uttered as if it were fresh or original
Many candidates unwittingly start their essays with platitudes. For example, when writing Columbia essay two (“Leading in the global economy requires enabling high performance from a diverse set of employees, colleagues and partners. Tell us about a manager you’ve observed who enabled or inspired others to do their best work and analyze how this manager did it.”) a candidate might mistakenly write:
“Managers constantly face difficult decisions.”
The writer doesn’t “own” this idea and can’t lay claim to this statement. A simple alternative would be to insert his or her experience and viewpoint into the sentence:
“Yet again, I was in the boardroom with Steve, anticipating his final decision on the MBA Mission file.”
By discussing your experiences, you take ownership over your story and engage the reader. Avoiding platitudes and generalities and ensuring that you are sharing your experience, instead of what could be anyone else’s, is a simple, but often overlooked step, toward creating a compelling message.
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