Blog: Archive for the “Application Tips” Category

Many writers choose to use the passive voice in their essays, yet the best writers rarely, if ever, use this technique. The passive voice puts the verb in the wrong place in the sentence, thereby removing the “action.” Subjects become acted upon rather than performing actions. Sentences with the passive voice typically include verb phrases like “was” or … Read More  

If you were to read a skilled writer’s work (in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times or New Yorker, for example), you would find articles that are characterized by “connectivity.” Simply put, a skilled writer ensures that each sentence is part of a chain—each sentence depends the previous one and necessitates the next. With … Read More  

There is an old journalistic maxim—“Show, don’t tell,”— that demands that writers truly illustrate the actions involved in an event or story and not just state the results of what happened. Tell (Results Oriented): “I arrived at ABC Bank and took on a great deal of responsibility in corporate lending. I managed diverse clients in … Read More  

As a general rule, “etc.” should never appear in your text. Consider the following sentences: 1. I helped draft prospectuses, analyze key company data, value companies, etc. 2. I look forward to courses such as “Small Business Management,” “Leading Teams,” “Multi-party negotiations,” etc. In the first example, “etc.” replaces information that the reader values. The … Read More  

In their application essays, many business school candidates unwittingly discuss their personal experience with a specific MBA program in the most vague and general way. Because they are writing from memory and discussing their authentic experience, they do not realize that they are not being specific enough. Consider the following example: “During my experience at … Read More