Monday Morning Essay Tip: Past vs. Present Tense
June 7th, 2010
Virtually all MBA admission essays are written in the past tense, which makes sense, as candidates are most often discussing past experiences. While the past tense is quite “user friendly,” another choice is to use the present tense to heighten the immediacy of the experience being presented and draw the reader into the story.
Past tense: “I arrived in my supervisor’s office at 11 am; we tabled the deal no less than 15 minutes later. Then, the two of us sat by the phone, casually chatting about baseball, and waited. When our CEO finally called two hours later, we discovered that we had indeed submitted the winning bid….”
Present tense: “I arrive in my supervisor’s office at 11 am. Fifteen minutes later, we table our deal. Casually chatting about baseball for two hours, we wait by the phone. When it finally rings, it is our CEO, informing us that our offer has been accepted….”
These examples do not represent “right” and “wrong” options, but instead illustrate two different styles a candidate might use, both of which are equally “right;” choosing which is the better fit for a particular essay depends entirely on the skill of the writer. Executing well in the present tense can be quite difficult, and we recommend that candidates undertake the task with caution. Further, this choice also depends significantly on the story’s content and context—the present tense is a good option when the experience recounted involves “high drama,” but it is not necessarily appropriate for every essay.
Posted in Blogroll, Monday Morning Essay Tips