We started this discussion with a review of an HBS essay that was submitted for consideration for a freebie review, where the BSer started the draft by telling a story.
We then did a whole separate post on using stories in MBA essays, where the takeaway message of both of these posts was essentially, “Answer the question.”
Yeah, we know, we’re in the Department of the Obvious with all of this. However, when asked “What is the most frequent mistake applicants make?”, one of the most common answers that adcom around the world give is, “They don’t answer the question.”
Sometimes people don’t answer the question because they have this Really. Great. Story. that they are itching to tell to the adcom – usually a story written for another school’s prompt – and they are so in love with it that they decide to include it here too, knowing it’s not really what’s being asked.
Sometimes people don’t answer the question because they really do think that this other story is a fit, because they didn’t spend time with this school’s question to reflect on it and understand it.
Most often though, people don’t answer the question because they don’t have an answer. They think they do but they don’t. They have stuff they want to say and they start saying it, but they haven’t gone through the entire process of figuring it out – because they haven’t gone through the process of figuring THEMSELVES out.
The adcoms want to see the REAL YOU in your essays. These questions force a process of introspection and self-discovery (damn it’s like EssaySnark is getting all spiritual on your ass today).
The exercise of writing your bschool essays is not a one-shot deal. You’re not going to plop yourself down at the computer and whip out a draft and be done with it – not if you expect your draft to be good, that is. “Sitting down to write your essays” is a process that will be repeated many times over likely the course of many weeks before you can call yourself “ready.”
Typically we recommend starting out not by writing at all. Instead, a better idea is to begin by doing a lot of brainstorming and rumination. Chewing on your ideas – or on the end of your pen as you stare out the window pondering the meaning of the universe – is actually a very productive activity in the realm of essay-writing. Many of our essay guides, particularly the ones for schools with difficult questions like Harvard and Stanford and MIT, contain a variety of brainstormers to help you get the pump primed and the juices flowing. These should not be skipped if you’re serious about uncovering the good stuff to use in your applications.
Writing essays is just as much about polishing and refining, as it is about getting your hands dirty. You need to dig in the dirt of your life if you want to uncover the gems.
8/26/14 UPDATE: The Tuck School posted a great set of MBA application tips – #2 is “Answer the question you’re asked” (following #1 of “Read the directions”).
vasilescu says
August 16, 2014 at 6:47 amYes, tottaly agree.
Whrn I started talking to some alumni/students a while back ago, all of them said that this brainstorming part is very beneficial outside of the mba app world. Even thise who didn’t get into theiir first choice said they gained a lot through the pricess.
I thought that there was a little dose of cliche in this, but I’ve started to see that this really not the case.
The deeper you go in your ‘expliration of slef’, the more you learn about yourself.. At least that’s thr case with me
Eaglenoodle says
August 16, 2014 at 5:16 pm“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
As I slave away at my essays, I can confirm that it is much more efficient to have laid the proper foundation first. If I were a fan of lame analogies, I’d say that crystallizing your career goals and achievements are like forming the bones of your essay, and developing outlines is where you arrange your skeleton. With that, you merely have to layer on the meat and connective tissue of words to produce your essay. Writing is still hard…but this process is incrementally progressive and it’s much easier when you know what you’re going to say and can focus on figuring out how to best say it. It’s also a lot smoother to transfer these core ideas from one school’s essay to the next after you’ve invested in building this framework.
As a check to make sure you’ve answered the question, I’ve found it helpful to actually say things out loud. Verbally read the essay prompt, pretending someone is asking you (or actually have someone ask you), and then run through your outline or essay, summarizing its essence in a handful of sentences, elevator-pitch style. Distilling the mass of words into a brief, verbal explanation can help you identify random sentences or tangents that don’t directly answer the question, and it’ll make it easier for a partner to call out.
Another tip: as you read through your essay drafts, ‘Snark yourself! Pretend you’re a wry but well-meaning elf (or whatever your mental image is), and read through each sentence and clause with a critical eye. Ask yourself: Is the meaning clear here? Does this clause raise unwanted or unanswered questions? Is this sentence necessary? Does this statement add value to the overall pitch?
vasilescu says
August 17, 2014 at 6:08 pmhaha, great analogy with the skeleton! I totally agree with what you describerd there!
For me, as an international applicant, it’s critical to put out the foundation first; I’ve tried before to write an essay without having a clear structure and it was a mess…
Good luck with your writing!
essaysnark says
August 17, 2014 at 10:48 pmOnly four hours for axe-sharpening? You’re much more efficient than most! 😉
Great tips here. “‘Snark yourself” indeed!
Anyone else got ideas? These are excellent.