Many MBA school applicants commit the mistake of coming up with an admission essay that’s a hodgepodge of ideas. They tend to submit a hodgepodge essay because they want to impress the readers by coming up with an essay that contains the “winning theme or topic.” By discussing a variety of topics in their essays that can range from philosophical, political, or even religious beliefs, these applicants are hoping that by doing so, they’ll be able to land a spot in their dream school. Unfortunately, this is not an effective essay writing technique.
Why the kitchen sink technique is never an effective essay writing tip
By throwing in everything in your essay except the kitchen sink, you’re creating an essay that has no focus and is confusing. Your readers will definitely notice this even on the first paragraph. It’s great to discuss your beliefs in your essay as these have shaped how you think and see things today. But, always remember to not go overboard. Too many irrelevant and incoherent details in your essay can dilute the strength of your personal statement. And of course, you don’t want this to happen, as the essay is your ticket to a spot in your dream MBA school.
Tips to avoid falling into the kitchen sink strategy
For you to avoid committing this common mistake, think of a topic or thesis for your essay. Have a draft outline so as to give your personal statement some direction. After writing the first draft, review your work and see if there are areas for improvement or if there are sentences or paragraphs that don’t really contribute anything to your essay.
For example, if you’re planning to discuss in your essay your work experiences, resist the temptation to include everything you did for the past five years. It’s best to think of just one experience that made you realize that an MBA degree is very helpful in achieving your goals.
Try to read sample essays when writing your own MBA personal statement. There are many reliable online resources you can check out when looking for well-written sample essays. Take note of how these essays were able to discuss a single topic without boring the reader. You should be able to achieve the same effect with your own MBA personal statement.
Letting others read your work is also a good idea. Getting the opinion of others is an effective way for you to see your work’s strengths and weaknesses without getting too subjective.
When MBA school applicants get started on their personal statements, they often concentrate on what makes a personal statement good. While it is definitely helpful to know what makes an MBA admission essay exceptional, it is also equally important to know what makes a personal statement mediocre. Knowing what makes a bad MBA personal statement will give you an idea of what mistakes to avoid while writing your own essay. Read on to learn about what makes a bad MBA personal statement, so you can be on your way to writing an exceptional essay.
A bad MBA personal statement has errors
One of the worst mistakes you can commit in your MBA personal statement is to have spelling, grammar, or syntax errors. The best way to avoid these mistakes is to carefully edit your personal statement to make sure that it reads well. If you don’t trust your own editing skills, then you should have someone else edit the essay. Perhaps a relative, colleague, or close friend who has excellent literature and English skills will be able to edit your paper to ensure that there are no errors of any sort. Some errors, such as providing erroneous information in your essay, can only be spotted and corrected by you, so make sure that you are truthful and honest in your essay to avoid such mistakes.
A bad MBA personal statement doesn’t distinguish the writer from other applicants
Another costly mistake that is common in bad MBA personal statements is that the statement does not make the writer unique from other applicants. If you want to truly interest and captivate the admissions committee, you should try to let your unique personality shine through in your essay. To set yourself apart from the rest, avoid some of these mistakes:
- using cliches
- writing about common topics
- not writing about your own feelings and perceptions
- concentrating too much on what you think the committee wants to hear and not what you want to say
- enumerating your achievements instead of telling a story
- not talking about your own goals and aspirations
A bad MBA personal statement fails to answer the question
Some people tend to get carried away writing about their experiences or feelings, leading to an essay that doesn’t completely answer the question being asked. To avoid this, it’s a good idea to make an outline focused on the question being asked. Only include topics and information that relate to the question. Try to do some research on the school, and try to reflect on your answer to the question to show your own thoughts, personality, and characteristics in your answer.
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Writing an MBA personal statement is not an easy task. Not only are you under the pressure of writing an interesting essay, but you are also expected to write something that is unique, school-specific, and exceptional. Writing an exceptional MBA personal statement has a lot to do with avoiding errors. An error-free personal statement will show the admissions committee that you took the time to write an essay that will meet and perhaps even surpass the committee’s expectations. Here’s how you can write an error-free MBA personal statement:
Use an outline
The first step is to make an outline to guide you through the writing process. First, focus on the question or questions being asked and think of ways to answer the question in a manner that reflects your unique personality, your interesting experiences, and your good traits. An outline will help you avoid the mistakes of not being concise and coherent. Once you have completed your outline, you can start writing your essay. Just be sure to stick to your outline to avoid going off-track.
Use MBA personal statement samples
A good idea would be to use MBA personal statement samples to know what an exceptional MBA personal statement looks like. Sample essays can help you understand what admissions committees expect in terms of essay quality, style, format, and topics. Just make sure that you don’t plagiarize other people’works, because plagiarism probably have the most serious repercussions.
Proofread, edit, revise, and edit again
Once you have written your essay, one of the most important steps to avoiding errors is to edit your essay. Make sure to read your paper more than once to ensure that you catch all of the simple errors, such as spelling, grammar, and syntax errors. Revise your paper as you go along, but make sure to keep multiple copies to see how your essay improves as you continue to edit and revise it.
It would also be helpful to have other people read your essay. You may read through your essay numerous times, overlooking certain mistakes because they aren’t very obvious or because your eyes are tired from reading the same passage over and over again. By having another person go over your paper, you have the advantage of having someone with a fresh pair of eyes and a different perspective to edit your paper.
Once you are satisfied with your MBA personal statement, get it in the mail along with the rest of your application package to ensure that you beat the deadline.
Photo credit : Orin Optiglot
