March Exercise: Start a Blog

When clients seek my help in writing essays, the first thing I observe after evaluating their strengths and weaknesses is the jargon-filled language they use to communicate what they do.

I always start with, "I am a beginner trying to learn about your industry".

Teach me what you do.

The questions I ask are frustrating. Some might think that I am playing Kubrick, prodding the applicant to quit, but we are so immersed in our world that we forget that there is a general public that doesn't understand a word we say.

You might argue that an MBA Admissions team is not the general public. I agree, but simplicity in language has higher recall and potential for persuasion.

Without recall and ability to touch the eight markers of persuasive writing, it is tough to differentiate from the military applicant or the hedge-fund guy who built homes in Haiti.

Stop using one-liners like these:

"Sold highly-leveraged financial products."
"Developed the messaging architecture for a Global Fashion Giant."
"Designed and developed a communication solution for one of the Fortune 500 companies"

The unlearning is tough.

One way to break out of your bubble is by creating a blog. You don't have to publish it. If you do - use an alias and test your writing style with an engaged community like the Medium.

What should you write about?

Write about your industry. This time the audience is not your peers but the general public. See if they can connect with you.

The claps and comments are an indication of your reach, but the exercise of dumbing it down for the general public will develop the muscle to write in simple English.

Assuming that you will start writing the essays by June/July, you have three months to develop this vital skill.

Some high-priority activities for March:

1) Fix a GMAT Test date. Schedule the test for the last week of May as you would have some breathing space to retake the GMAT if the total score falls below 730 or the balance in Quant and Verbal scores breaks out of the ten percentile/points window.

2) Target a balanced score (92+ percentile for both Quant and Verbal)

3) Open an Account in Medium or any other blogging platform that has an engaged and mature audience

4) Write about your industry.  Replace jargons with simple phrases.

5) Keep writing every day - 200 to 300 words for 90 days.

The 90-day challenge will change your life. Trust me.

More tips to improve your writing with Winning MBA Essay Guide

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