This has been coming up A LOT on the essays we’ve been reading lately so we’ll just post it publicly for all BSers to hear: You need to be SHOWING the reader how stuff is true. Not TELLING them it is. Yeah we know. That advice just don’t make no sense. Until you sit with […]
Continue reading...($) When do you need to provide proof for what you are saying in your essays and apps?
Writing essays is hard, there’s just no two ways about it. Obviously you are writing about true things in your apps, but the “show, don’t tell” advice implies that simply saying what’s true isn’t enough, you have to provide some form of proof. Is this element of proof — or backup, or justification, or rationale […]
Continue reading...($) Stories of change and personal transformation in MBA essays
These can be some of the hardest essays to write – and they can be, hands down, some of the most powerful. These are the types of stories that schools like Stanford and Kellogg and Tuck and maybe Darden and others love. If you can write an essay like this – powerful, introspective, honest – […]
Continue reading...($) Here’s a vivid (we hope!) explanation of the critical essay-writing technique of show don’t tell
If you’ve gotten any feedback on your essays and apps from The ‘Snark, you’ve likely been told you’re not doing it right. No, that’s not what we do; we point to sentences that aren’t helping you, and we try to explain what the issue is. It is likely experienced as “You’re doing it wrong” but […]
Continue reading...($) Writing essays for complex environments: When is a deep dive beneficial?
Since we’re in WRITING TIPS! mode again, with the ramp-up to Round 2, let’s continue the topics we started last week with identifying stellar stories to write about in your MBA essays. We’ve been coaching you on strategies for what to include and how much detail to go into, and how to write about the […]
Continue reading...($) Identifying stellar stories of leadership and impact for MBA apps
When you’re developing content for an MBA essay, or even for your resume, you’ll need to focus on stating what you did in the specific situation. That’s the essence of the “show, don’t tell” advice that you hear over and over here on the blahg. Speaking in generalities is never going to help the reader […]
Continue reading...($) Are you arrogant?
First: This is not a subpost! Please don’t read this and think that it’s directed to you. We don’t want to trigger shame in Brave Supplicants or make you think you’re doing it wrong with how you’re trying to present yourself, but this is an important topic — because the way you write determines how […]
Continue reading...($) “Should I write about this horrible personal experience in my essays for business school?”
To continue the subject we started yesterday about disclosing personal stuff in MBA essays, but today on a different aspect: The difficult life event. If you’re coming from the military and have been deployed to combat, then it’s likely you have seen some awful things. Many people are currently dealing with the absolute tragedy of […]
Continue reading...($) Goldplating
This is a tricky thing to critique, because the type of MBA applicant who does this actually has a lot to offer. And by calling this out, it can make it seem like we’re critiquing the person, or saying that this applicant is not going to make it in to a top school. Not at […]
Continue reading...($) The most important technique you need to learn to write a good MBA admissions essay
What we’re going to cover today is what we cover over and over again on this here snarkolicious blahg – and it’s one of the slipperiest techniques to master. It’s also perhaps the most sophisticated, and while we cannot say that if you write your essays using this technique, that you’re guaranteed to be accepted, […]
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