EssaySnark

  • about
  • contact
  • help
  • sign up
  • login
CLICK FOR MORE!
  • Essay Questions
    • Harvard
    • Stanford
    • Wharton
    • Chicago Booth
    • Kellogg
    • MIT Sloan
    • Tuck
    • NYU Stern
    • Columbia
    • Yale SOM
    • Berkeley Haas
    • UVA Darden
    • Duke Fuqua
    • Michigan Ross
    • UCLA Anderson
    • Cornell
  • Strategy Guides
    • MBA Interviewing Guide
    • Getting Off the Waitlist
    • Applying in Round 3 mini-guide
    • Applying to European Business Schools
    • School-Specific MBA Application Guides
      • Columbia 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Harvard 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Kellogg 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • MIT Sloan 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Chicago Booth 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • *MORE SCHOOL-SPECIFIC GUIDES HERE*
  • MBA Consulting
    • Free essay reviews
    • What stage are you in?
    • Military MBA
    • BIPOC Program
    • Testimonials & Reviews
    • Guest Posts
  • My SnarkCenter
    • My Strategy Guides
    • My Favorite Posts
    • Discounts & Offers

Every word matters: Language and positioning in your essays.

August 2, 2016 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

You can see this concept in action in this post where we focused on only the first few sentences of a BSer’s career goals essay.

We gave feedback to a different Brave Supplicant some time back on the goals that they submitted as part of the Comprehensive Profile Review process. This person had told us that they were thinking of trying a few things with their career – but the way they phrased it caused some concern.

Here’s what we said:

Most schools only want to see ONE set of goals in the essays; a few schools ask for an alternate plan but you volunteered separate ideas without being asked, which actually is not recommended, since it can make you seem uncommitted. Even the way you said it – “if it doesn’t materialize” – casts doubt on your candidacy, since that’s a very passive statement, as if you expect the goal to just “happen” without you working for it. We know that that’s not what you really expect, but that’s how this phrasing can sound. This is why the essays are so important (and how it’s so easy to mess up with them!) – every single thing that’s presented will affect your positioning and it can really change how the reader responds, just based on word choice and how you phrase things.

Regardless, your second choice option is also no less competitive or difficult than your first choice – in fact, it appears to be something that we have even greater doubts about, given what we’ve seen on the profile thus far. So you’ll need to be very deliberate on what you say and how you say it. [emphasis added]

Every single thing you say in the essays – and the way that you say it – totally totally matters.

Yes, you need to have solid ideas formed before you start writing your answer to the essay question. You need to know where you’re going before you begin. In the first draft or two, just getting those ideas down on the page may be the main worry.

But as you do so, and in every pass you take on your materials, you need to be on the lookout for how you’re coming across to a reader.

Being too casual in how you phrase things can be just as much of a risk to your candidacy as being too stiff and formal. The former can make it seem like you’re not really all that invested to what you’re saying you will do, that it’s just an idea that popped into your head this morning. The latter can make you come across as posturing and trying to impress. Instead you’re looking for the happy-medium, which happens to be The Real You.

Authenticity is important. The only way you can be authentic in your essays is if you know what you are saying, and why you’re saying it. So the first part is figuring that out (that’s where a lot of our App Accelerators come in, to assist you through that process of brainstorming ideas and honing in on what your core message will be). The next part is equally important, though. That’s why we harp on seemingly trivial things like no ampersands and no parenthesis. We get it, those may seem like insignificant aspects of an essay to you – but believe us when we tell you, all of it adds up to an experience of you that you’re crafting for your reader.

It’s just like when you’re reading a novel, and you’re deep in the story, immersed in the action of the events around you. You forget that you’re reading a book – until blamo, there’s a word you don’t recognize, or one that’s used incorrectly, or maybe a misspelled word. Not everybody will notice or be bothered by it, but some will.

Filed Under: writing tips

« Previous: ($) NYU’s GMAT score and the Class of 2018
Next: ($) Lessons learned in essays: “This experience taught me…” »

So who the heck is EssaySnark, anyway?!

We're the snarky experts in MBA admissions!

Sometimes amused and often appalled by what candidates write in their MBA applications to top bschools, EssaySnark created this little blahg to share common mistakes. Learn from them and avoid making admissions directors laugh (or want to hurl) when they read your essays. If you are hoping to have your essay reviewed anonymously on the blahg for free, submit it for consideration.

Want EssaySnark's personal assistance with your MBA applications? Start with our menu of consulting services and please read the Help FAQ to learn how we operate. Still have questions after doing all that? Email Team EssaySnark at gethelpnow at essaysnark dot com.

Good luck on your apps, Brave Supplicant!

Tell us what you think. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for the 'Snark via email

Enter your address to get weekday blahg posts by email.

UPCOMING MBA APP DEADLINES

  • INSEAD Jan '22 intake Rd 1
    in 0 weeks, 2 days, 17 hours
  • INSEAD Jan '22 Intake Rd 2
    in 1 month, 2 weeks, 6 days, 17 hours
  • (expected) HBS Class of 2024 app requirements released
    in 2 months, 0 weeks, 3 days, 18 hours
  • (expected) Columbia J-Term/ED app to open
    in 3 months, 0 weeks, 1 day, 18 hours
  • INSEAD Jan '22 Intake Rd 3
    in 3 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 17 hours
   
From a BSer January 2020:
"love the guide books!"


CLASS OF 2023 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

     
    The 2020 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2023 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2020-2021 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the main essay, the EQ Endorsement and Pick Six!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2023 essays!
   
    The 2020-2021 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2020-2021 applications
   
    The 2020 Harvard MBA Application Guide - completely overhauled and updated for the coronavirus era!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
    The 2020-2021 Duke Essay Guide - covers the 25 Random Things essay and all the rest too!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Duke Fuqua - up to date for the current season!
   
    The 2020-2021 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the contacts for two references, and additional tips for the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2023!
   
    The 2020-2021 Tuck Essay Guide has been refreshed with latest insights and advice for your essays about "investing generously" and "why Tuck"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Dartmouth Tuck MBA - completely overhauled for 2020, to help you demonstrate how you are nice, aware, etc stuff!
   
    The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2023 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2020-2021
   
    The 2020-2021 Chicago Booth MBA Application Guide - ready to go to support your Class of 2023 essay strategy!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Chicago Booth for this year's MBA app!
   
    The 2020 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with new tips for 2020!
   
    The 2020 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values' -- plus tips on 2020 world events and applicability to your essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - updated and revised for the new realities of 2020!    
      The 2020 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2023
   
    The 2020-2021 UCLA Anderson MBA Application Guide - updated for Class of 2023 on "impact"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for 
UCLA
   
   

Brave Supplicants' latest reviews on The 'Snark


Feb 11, 2021
by hopeful on MBA Interview Prep: Custom Practice Questions
Helpful

Just wanted to say thank you for these questions! A lot of them were really tailored to my profile, ... Read more

Apr 10, 2020
by George on EssaySnark
Great Starting Point

I thought getting over the GRE/GMAT hurdle was fairly straightforward--disciplined study then test execution... Read more

Apr 10, 2020
by George on Single Shot Express MBA Essay Review
Worth Every Penny

I used the Single Shot Express to decimate essay #1 at my first-choice school. Paired with the school... Read more






Not sure where to begin with EssaySnark?
Our Snark Selector
will tell you!



What were we snarking about at this time in past years?

  • 2020: What did the Fed do with interest rates today, and why?
  • 2020: ($) "Will applying in Round 3 weaken my application next season?"
  • 2017: Success Story! Research and the right school targets bring results!
  • 2016: What ethics is not
  • 2016: ($) Why telling the truth in your apps is important.
  • 2015: Quiz Leaderboard
  • 2015: ($) Do bschools have quotas in admissions?
  • 2014: Extracurriculars and military applicants
  • 2012: "School X, or School Y with $$$?" (Part 1.5)
  • 2011: More reasons why a Round 3 application is not a good idea
My Tweets

See the Top U.S. Business Schools on a Map!


EssaySnark is currently available! We're accepting new clients! Standard turnarounds apply. If you're in a hurry, Speedy Review is available!

EssaySnark® is a registered trademark. All content copyright © 2010–2021 Snarkolicious Press · Privacy Policy

Where should you start with EssaySnark?

Which EssaySnark service is right for you? Answer a few questions to find out!

This field must be set to Everyone - then in the Settings -> HTML -> After Fields screen there's JavaScript to hide it.
Sending