{"id":43625,"date":"2018-10-12T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T13:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=43625"},"modified":"2018-10-09T02:18:38","modified_gmt":"2018-10-09T09:18:38","slug":"writing-a-lead-that-pops-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/writing-a-lead-that-pops-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing a Lead That Pops"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Writing<\/p>\n

How many times have you wandered through a bookstore, opening up a book to read the first few lines only to quickly close it again? How often have you read one of those free samples on your Kindle, only to decide after a paragraph that you\u2019re glad you didn\u2019t buy it?<\/p>\n

Similarly, how many times have you met someone for the first time and made a judgment in the first five minutes \u2013 whether it\u2019s based on how they look, speak, or carry themselves? Even if you know it\u2019s wrong to do so, how many of us have said to ourselves, \u201cthey just don\u2019t seem like my type,\u201d and started to look at the clock before you\u2019ve even ordered coffee?<\/p>\n

The human tendency to make snap judgments<\/h2>\n

We all do this, dozens of times a day. In our extremely fast-paced world, we are forced to make quick decisions: whether it\u2019s which brand of pasta sauce to buy at the store, which book to read, or which movie to watch. There\u2019s always another link to click on if we\u2019re not grabbed right away by the content on the page, or another pair of shoes right next to the ones our eyes first laid sight on, or another person to talk to at a party if the person who approached us first just wasn\u2019t that interesting. We can often only base our decisions on a \u201csnap judgment\u201d: a two-minute movie trailer, the label on the pasta sauce jar, or the first few lines of a book.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, admissions committee members often have to make very quick decisions; they simply have too many applications to wade through to spend more than a few minutes on each one, which means you \u2013 the application essay writer (anyone applying to law school<\/a>, b-school<\/a>, med school<\/a>, grad school<\/a>, or college<\/a>) \u2013 need to remember this:<\/p>\n

Make those first few lines count. Make them sing. Grab your reader\u2019s attention before their attention wanders away.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, I know this can sound like a lot of pressure, and in a way, it is. Much like a movie trailer or first few lines of a newspaper article, you only have a short space in which to convince your reader to keep reading.<\/p>\n

The challenge of reeling in the essay readers<\/h2>\n

Try thinking of it as a fun challenge. Think of it as catching a fish: you must \u201chook\u201d your reader first before reeling them in. You do this in a brief, to the point, compelling few sentences that start the essay off with a punch. This is called a lead.<\/p>\n

The strongest leads are usually personal anecdotes about YOU. Not the details of your GPA or the technical facts of what you researched in the lab, but a STORY that makes the reader sit up<\/a> and say, \u201cAh! An interesting human being with a voice!\u201d For many of you, the essay will be the main way to \u201cintroduce\u201d yourselves to the admissions committee, and it may be the only way that they get to \u201cmeet\u201d you. So, it needs to really shine.<\/p>\n

Components of a good lead<\/h2>\n

A good lead:<\/p>\n