Business schools have different requirements for essays that are part of the application package. One of the most important criteria is conciseness.

Ernest Hemingway once argued with other writers that he could write a story in six words. He succeeded: "Children's shoes are put up for sale, unworn." According to legend, Hemingway wrote the story in a matter of minutes on a napkin in a bar and won ten dollars from each writer who took part in the dispute.

This is exactly the task published by one business school for candidates for MBA programs. According to Forbes, the assignment for the essay is: "Tell us a story in six words that depicts a memorable event in your life."

After that, you need to write in 250 words why this story is so important to you. This challenge, replacing last year's "what song best describes your character," is designed to turn your experience into a memorable chapter in your autobiography.

Where to start?

"Admission committees value conciseness and informativeness"

The six-word essay is a good example of how "shorter" doesn't always mean "easier." A good story must have a beginning, content, and conclusion, and that's hard to achieve in just six words. As Mark Twain said, "If I had more time, I would write a shorter letter." A six-word essay allows the admissions committee to understand what kind of person you are better than your professional resume and college grades. Write not about what the admission committee might theoretically like, but about what you really think, about your true goals. In this essay, you need to talk about your experience in achieving your goals, about your confidence after many failures. If such work causes difficulties for you, it is better to turn to professionals and gain experience at least for the first time. On the service where you will be provided with essay help, the best writers will take care of you just find out more, they have written many introductory essays for Harvard and even Yale universities.

First, think about your experience and why it brought you joy or made it difficult. “There are no right stories, only yours,” she says. This is not a grammar exercise. Think about what you want to say about yourself in this essay, and then write a six-word introduction.”

In the rest of the famous business schools - Harvard, Wharton and Stanford - nothing much has changed in essay assignments. Harvard Business School still asks the vague question "what would you like us to know about you" (and there's not even a word limit), and Wharton asks you about your professional goals and how you're going to lead university life. . Stanford - for the thirteenth year in a row - wants to know "what matters most to you and why."

This year, for example, the London Business School and INSEAD have included a mandatory video message where candidates have to briefly introduce themselves to the camera. Thus, universities are struggling with the depersonalization of the candidate and allow applicants to show themselves not only in documents and essays. Some schools require you to explain why you think this university is a good fit for you. Remember that the selection committee will look at your self-confidence, knowledge of the language, ability to think spontaneously and, of course, the ability to “apply yourself”.

Different business schools may give applicants specific questions that need to be addressed in an essay. A common question relates to career goals and asks candidates to explain "what is your long-term dream job?". It also asks you to explain "your personal priorities" and "how you are going to allocate your time."

Previously, the essay had to explain “how you would take advantage of a leadership position in a business.” Perhaps the most creative assignment, where you need to answer one of two questions: "Please tell me what matters most to you in life" or "If you had a free day and the opportunity to spend it anywhere, however, what would you do?"

Such questions allow you to show what you breathe and what you love, so it’s worth reflecting on them carefully. If you are interested in writing an essay, then, most likely, the selection committee will also like it.

To make your career vision inspiring and logical, professionals recommend thinking about what you would like to do after graduation. Think about which companies, brands, and industries you like and why, and then think about how you can achieve your goal of working in those areas with an MBA. Unlike an interview, you won't have the opportunity to explain your answer, so consider how the admissions committee will perceive discrepancies between your experience and future plans and try to improve writing skills in advance.

Business schools want to educate motivated people who plan their future

At many universities, you will need to talk about “how you have shown leadership and achieved meaningful results. What challenges did you face and what did you learn? An example is the slogan "to help, inspire and educate courageous leaders who create meaningful results." These qualities are needed in this university.

In addition, now they are often asked not about previous experience as a leader (“describe how in the recent past you were a leader and did something meaningful”), but about how exactly you showed leadership qualities and showed results, no matter in what role or position. There is innate leadership, and there is one that can be learned - this is what is worth talking about in this essay.

Regardless of the length of the essay or its topic, the most important thing in writing it is to give yourself time to reread and edit. Do not expect that you will be able to write an essay in one go in a burst of inspiration. The same Hemingway who transformed American literature with his economical and powerful style painstakingly rewrote the first part of A Farewell to Arms more than fifty times. In addition, Hemingway, who never held back in his expressions, gave the young writer this advice: “The first draft of any book is a ****.” This is almost always true, even for writers like Hemingway, who was able to write one of the most memorable stories on a napkin.