For anyone in Finance, Technology or Consulting, this exercise might seem counterintuitive but the best way to improve you chance of writing memorable essays is not to write less but write at least 2000 words even if the word count of your school essays is 250 to 500 words.
For applicants, consider these 3 factors:
Writing is Inefficient
Writing like stand-up needs practice.
What you hear in a stand-up comedian’s special has been practiced and perfected in clubs, with the awkward smiles and hearty laughs measured by the comedian before building the premise to its full impact. Some comedians with popular podcasts test it out on the audience, and guests before the thread of an idea make it into the routine.
We can learn a lot from these storytellers.
If you are in Finance or Technology or Consulting where the incentive is not to stretch or to write from your heart, written words are considered as this sacred communication medium. You ponder endlessly before writing a line. I do too while communicating with a reader or a client or a partner. But the traits that you need in writing MBA essays are boldness and tolerance for inefficiency.
In MBA Essays, when clients start self-censoring from the beginning, I am certain that the collaboration will be tricky for me as an editor and consultant. I had experiences where the client quit rewriting after the 3rd or 5th iteration and began searching for feedback to improve the essay.
By 3rd or 5th iteration when your essays are over 1000 words, you are just warming up your creative muscles. Don’t ask for feedback about the flow or the story. Capture more thoughts and story threads.
Brainstorming
Writing MBA Essay drafts is the written form of brainstorming. I am sure you have been in such meeting where you were asked to write an idea in a post-it note and paste it in a whiteboard.
I have seen then in my previous life in a corporate world. Some ideas are ridiculous, some silly but from the hundreds of not-so great ideas, you will find ideas that are unique and tackles the problem.
5 Strategies to cross 2000 words
1. Answer the Question
The first step in drafting the essay is to answer the question. You can start with the most obvious way, like:
My short-term goal is to
My long-term goal/vision is to start…
If you seek an MBA Essay editor’s help, they will craft the essay in such a way that you don’t start with the obvious opening, but when you write the draft, it is always a good idea that you understand the question. And the best way to answer them is to reiterate the question as the first line.
2. Outline for the productivity-obsessed
Sometimes, despite all the tweak required for writing MBA essays, your professional persona will interfere with the writing process. As a middle ground, use outlines to structure the essay.
Once you have an outline of at least 10 pivotal moments in your life with a title for each, write 200 words about each of them.
The section narratives will add up and cross the 2000-word mark.
3. Don’t ask your friends and family
I made the mistake of sharing my underdeveloped short story with my wife, and in 2 minutes, she criticized my abstract ending and ambiguous twists. I felt furious that she did not understand my superior storytelling skills. Once I had time to accept the feedback, I went back to the draft and noticed several gaps in the narrative.
The mistake – I shared the draft before I had hit the 2000 word limit. When you write extensively, the version will have several repetition and exploration of motivation. But once you look past the repetitive themes and branding, a unique story will emerge.
4. Timed 10-minute Freewriting
When you sense that you are aimlessly capturing the scenery without taking the story forward, a small tweak can reset this approach.
Start by writing for 10 minutes.
All research shows that our attention wanes after 10 continuous minutes of pursuing an activity in an academic context or when we are highly motivated. Unless you are writing fiction (I have written a whole 30-minute session without realizing the passing of time), you should target a 10-minute interval for free writing.
Set an alarm for 10 minutes of writing, 7 minutes of no screen, and 10 minutes of writing.
Once that 20 minutes of free writing is over, switch to another task – GMAT/GRE prep or any activity where writing is not involved.
Once an hour or two has passed, repeat the same 10-7-10 routine for another two freewriting sessions.
In a day, you would have four good free writing sessions, and soon, in a couple of days, you will cross the 2000-word limit.
5. Character Description
The biggest roadblock to writing freely in personal essays is a lack of awareness of what to capture about yourself, the supporting characters, and the antagonist.
Note: Antagonists are not villains in MBA essays. They could be inner thoughts/doubts and, in many cases, external events/circumstances.
Let us say you are writing about Harvard’s career choice Essay, you are in PE, and your choice was influenced by your father, mother, and elder brother.
Now you can be in a rut and write 2000 words of nothing. Instead, answer questions about the three influences.
Father/Mother/Brother
1. What was their thought about your career choice
2. Was your career choice similar to that of your father/mother/brother?
3. Was there any contrarian or opposing views on the career choice?
4. What risk did they quote?
5. If one/all influences were supporting your decision, what traits did they mention to affirm your decision?
6. What is the influence of their opinion on your decisions
7. How different was your thinking compared to the three influences in your life?
8. How similar was your thinking compared to the three influences in your life?
9. What were the ideals/values you held dearly when you made the career choice
10. How have you evolved after being in the role? What did you learn?
This is just one iteration of the 10 questions for the first part of the Harvard MBA Career Choice question. Now with a four 10-minute sessions, you will have at least 600 to 1000 words. And in 2 days – 2000 words - a draft ready to be edited and perfected.
If you are stuck in the writing process, subscribe to F1GMAT’s Essay Editing Service. There is no one fit for all solutions, but as an editor and a consultant, I help applicants with the right questions and expand their writing from cliched to holistic writing that captures real motivation with relevant life and career milestones that paint a complete picture of their personality traits.
