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&lt;p&gt;Business school students face a uniquely difficult challenge, because most programs require a series of essays rather than a single,comprehensive personal statement. This fact alone should indicate the importance that business schools place on your written responses.Part of the reason for this extra required writing is that business schools also place a stronger emphasis on practical experience.Academic ability may still be the number-one factor, but it&#39;s not enough to get you into a school, just as it&#39;s not enough to guarantee yoursuccess in the business world. Business schools pay close attention to personal qualities, including your leadership, communicationskills, initiative, vision, and many more. Grades and scores do not explain this side of you, and neither does a resume.&lt;p&gt;Thus your admission will depend largely on your ability to convey your experiences and goals in written form. Self-assessment is asignificant part of this process, as is a careful review of both your life and what you have done professionally. Many successfulprofessionals have simply never had to articulate their accomplishments before and now for the first time must communicate thisinformation in a very clear, concise, powerful manner that is accessible to anyone, even without knowledge of their field. Being able toconvey both the substance and significance of one&#39;s work life is crucial for all applicants.&lt;p&gt;As the founder of EssayEdge.com, the Net&#39;s largest admissions essay prep company, I have seen firsthand the difference a well-writtenapplication essay can make. Through its free online admissions essay help course and 300 Harvard-educated editors, EssayEdge.comhelps tens of thousands of student each year improve their essays and gain admission to business schools ranging from Harvard to StateU.&lt;p&gt;Having personally edited over 2,000 admissions essays myself for EssayEdge.com, I have written this article to help you avoid the mostcommon essay flaws. If you remember nothing else about this article, remember this: Be Interesting. Be Concise.&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;TOP 10 BUSINESS SCHOOL ESSAY WRITING TIPS&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;1. Don&#39;t Use Company Jargon.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;As a prospective business student, you have probably spent the past few years in a corporate environment with its own in-houseterminology. Remember that you are writing for a reader who hasn&#39;t attended your company&#39;s meetings or contributed to its products. Youshould certainly describe various aspects of your professional life--your leadership skills, your career trajectory, your triumph in the face ofobstacles, and so on--but do so in language that is as accessible to your reader as it is to you. Imagine that you are composing adocument for a customer who must decide whether to buy a particular product: you. Write clearly and personably.&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;2. Don&#39;t Bore the Reader. Do Be Interesting.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;Admissions officers have to read hundreds of essays, and they must often skim. Abstract rumination has no place in an application essay.Admissions officers aren&#39;t looking for a new way to view the world; they&#39;re looking for a new way to view you, the applicant. The best way togrip your reader is to begin the essay with a captivating snapshot. Notice how the blunt, jarring &quot;after&quot; sentence creates intrigue and keepsthe reader&#39;s interest. &lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;Before:&lt;/i&gt; I am a compilation of many years of experiences gained from overcoming the relentless struggles of life.&lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;After:&lt;/i&gt; I was six years old, the eldest of six children in the Bronx, when my father was murdered.&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;3. Do Use Personal Detail. Show, Don&#39;t Tell! &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;Good essays are concrete and grounded in personal detail. They do not merely assert &quot;I learned my lesson&quot; or that &quot;these lessons areuseful both on and off the field.&quot; They show it through personal detail. &quot;Show, don&#39;t tell&quot; means that if you want to relate a personal quality,do so through your experiences without merely asserting it.&lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;Before:&lt;/i&gt; If it were not for a strong support system which instilled into me strong family values and morals, I would not     be where I am today.&lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;After:&lt;/i&gt; Although my grandmother and I didn&#39;t have a car or running water, we still lived far more comfortably than did     the other families I knew. I learned an important lesson: My grandmother made the most of what little she had, and she     was known and respected for her generosity. Even at that age, I recognized the value she placed on maximizing her     resources and helping those around her. &lt;p&gt;The first example is vague and could have been written by anybody. But the second sentence evokes a vivid image of something thatactually happened, placing the reader in the experience of the applicant.&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;4. Do Be Concise. Don&#39;t Be Wordy. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;Wordiness not only takes up valuable space, but also confuses the important ideas you&#39;re trying to convey. Short sentences are moreforceful because they are direct and to the point. Certain phrases, such as &quot;the fact that,&quot; are usually unnecessary. Notice how the revisedversion focuses on active verbs rather than forms of &quot;to be&quot; and adverbs and adjectives.&lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;Before:&lt;/i&gt; My recognition of the fact that the project was finally over was a deeply     satisfying moment that will forever linger in my memory.&lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;After:&lt;/i&gt; Completing the project at last gave me an enduring sense of fulfillment.&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;5. Do Address Your Weaknesses. Don&#39;t Dwell on Them. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;At some point on your application, you will have an opportunity to explain deficiencies in your record, and you should take advantage of it.Be sure to explain them adequately: &quot;I partied too much to do well on tests&quot; will not help your application. The best tactic is to spin thenegatives into positives by stressing your attempts to improve; for example, mention your poor first-quarter grades briefly, then describewhat you did to bring them up.&lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;Before:&lt;/i&gt; My grade point average provides an incomplete evaluation of my potential and of     the person I am today, since it fails to reveal my passion and determined spirit which     make me unique and an asset to the _______ School of Business.&lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;After:&lt;/i&gt; Though my overall grade point average was disappointing, I am confident that the     upward trend in my undergraduate transcript will continue in business school.     Furthermore, my success on the GMAT and in the corporate world since graduation     reinforces my conviction that I have a keen business sense--one that I hope to develop at     the _______ School of Business.&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;6. Do Vary Your Sentences and Use Transitions. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;The best essays contain a variety of sentence lengths mixed within any given paragraph. Also, remember that transition is not limited towords like nevertheless, furthermore or consequently. Good transition flows from the natural thought progression of your argument.&lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;Before:&lt;/i&gt; I started playing piano when I was eight years old. I worked hard to learn     difficult pieces. I began to love music.&lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;After:&lt;/i&gt; I started playing the piano at the age of eight. As I learned to play more     difficult pieces, my appreciation for music deepened.&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;7. Do Use Active Voice Verbs. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;Passive-voice expressions are verb phrases in which the subject receives the action expressed in the verb. Passive voice employs a formof the word to be, such as was or were. Overuse of the passive voice makes prose seem flat and uninteresting.&lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;Before:&lt;/i&gt; The lessons that have prepared me for my career as an executive were taught to me     by my mother. &lt;p&gt;     &lt;i&gt;After:&lt;/i&gt; My mother taught me lessons that will prove invaluable in my career as an     executive.&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;8. Do Seek Multiple Opinions. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;Ask your friends and family to keep these questions in mind:&lt;ul&gt;     &lt;li&gt;Does my essay have one central theme?     &lt;li&gt;Does my introduction engage the reader? Does my conclusion provide closure?     &lt;li&gt;Do my introduction and conclusion avoid summary?     &lt;li&gt;Do I use concrete experiences as supporting details?     &lt;li&gt;Have I used active-voice verbs wherever possible?     &lt;li&gt;Is my sentence structure varied, or do I use all long or short sentences?     &lt;li&gt;Are there any clichis, such as &quot;cutting-edge&quot; or &quot;learned my lesson&quot;?     &lt;li&gt;Do I use transitions appropriately?     &lt;li&gt;What about the essay is memorable?     &lt;li&gt;What&#39;s the worst part of the essay?     &lt;li&gt;What parts of the essay need elaboration or are unclear?     &lt;li&gt;What parts of the essay do not support my main argument?     &lt;li&gt;Is every single sentence crucial to the essay? This must be the case.     &lt;li&gt;What does the essay reveal about my personality?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;9. Don&#39;t Wander. Do Stay Focused. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;Many applicants try to turn the application essay into a complete autobiography. Not surprisingly, they find it difficult to pack so muchinformation into such a short essay, and their essays end up sounding more like a list of experiences than a coherent, well-organizedthought. Make sure that every sentence in your essay exists solely to support one central theme.&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;10. Do Revise, Revise, Revise. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;The first step in an improving any essay is to cut, cut, and cut some more. EssayEdge.com&#39;s free admissions essay help course andHarvard-educated editors will be invaluable as you polish your essay to perfection. The EssayEdge.com free help course guides youthrough the entire essay-writing process, from brainstorming worksheets and question-specific strategies for the twelve most commonessay topics to a description of ten introduction types and editing checklists.&lt;p&gt;

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