{"id":46706,"date":"2019-07-26T05:50:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T12:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/using-evidence-in-mba-essays-how-conspiracy-theories-can-teach-you-to-show-not-tell-2\/"},"modified":"2019-07-26T05:50:09","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T12:50:09","slug":"using-evidence-in-mba-essays-how-conspiracy-theories-can-teach-you-to-show-not-tell-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/using-evidence-in-mba-essays-how-conspiracy-theories-can-teach-you-to-show-not-tell-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Evidence In MBA Essays: How Conspiracy Theories Can Teach You To \u201cShow\u201d Not \u201cTell.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How<\/figure>\n

What makes a claim persuasive? Every young writer has heard the dictum \u201cshow don\u2019t tell,\u201d but what does it actually mean? Why is everyone so hung up on it? The phrase has become such a buzzword in writing pedagogy that it can leave even the most proficient writers scratching their heads, but never fear. We\u2019re here to help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To clarify the difference between \u201cshowing\u201d and \u201ctelling,\u201d the best place to turn (or at least the most entertaining) is to any one of your favorite conspiracy theories. Yeah, you read that right. Good conspiracies are the ultimate examples of how to use evidence persuasively. Conspiracies make wild claims, yet large numbers of people actually buy into them! They\u2019re incredibly persuasive, and you, the MBA applicant, can learn a lot from them. If a conspiracist can convince an audience of relatively intelligent humans that the Queen of England is a reptile (Google \u201creptilian conspiracy\u201d if you haven\u2019t heard of this \u2013 it\u2019s a fun one!) then certainly you, a qualified professional with a long list of skills and accomplishments, can convince an admissions committee that you\u2019re the right choice for their MBA program. So, how do these conspiracists do it? Simply put, they use evidence, and so should you.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What does “showing” mean?<\/h3>\n

As an example, let\u2019s take a look at our favorite viral video: the \u201cMonster Energy Drink Lady.\u201d In the video<\/a>, we see a middle-aged woman talking to a small group of people at some sort of conference (who knows the context for her presentation \u2013 we\u2019re just happy someone clicked record!) The point of her presentation is simple: she\u2019s making an argument. Specifically, she\u2019s arguing that Monster Energy Drinks are the work of the devil, and their secret purpose is to bring satanic values into unknowing Christian homes and families. Got it? Okay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Obviously, at face value, her claim seems ridiculous. If she stood on a street corner shouting \u201cMonster Energy Drinks are works of the devil!\u201d you\u2019d probably think she were bonkers. This, friends, is what we mean when we say \u201ctelling.\u201d It packs very little persuasive punch. The Monster lady knows this, being a smart conspiracist, and so she chooses to go the more persuasive route: \u201cshowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShowing\u201d means using evidence to support your claim. In the Monster lady\u2019s case, the first claim she makes refers to the brand\u2019s catch-phrase: \u201cUnleash the Beast.\u201d Sure, the beast could <\/em>stand for the devil, but we\u2019re definitely not convinced. This is technically \u201cshowing,\u201d as she is<\/em> using evidence, but it\u2019s borderline \u201ctelling\u201d \u2013 she\u2019s still asking you to go along with her opinion, and the skeptics amongst us (like your adcom readers) probably won\u2019t buy into it. <\/p>\n

So, she moves deeper into firmer evidence where there\u2019s less room to argue: she points directly to a tangible example \u2013 what\u2019s written straight on the can. The green, iconic \u201cM\u201d for Monster? No, it\u2019s not just <\/em>an \u201cM,\u201d it\u2019s three disconnected Hebrew numbers: 6-6-6. She shows us the Hebrew character for 6, and sure enough, it\u2019s a pretty good match! Then, she points to a strange cross between the circumference of the O in the brand name. \u201cEven if the M is not the issue,\u201d she says to her audience, \u201cyou cannot deny that there\u2019s a cross [inside the O.] And what is witchcraft? When the cross goes upside down!\u201d To her audience\u2019s amazement, the Monster lady mimes drinking the beverage, turning the cross upside down in the process. \u201cBottoms up,\u201d she says, and the person on the other end of the camera makes an audible \u201cwow\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whether you buy that Monster Energy Drinks are actually cryptic, Satanic messaging, one can\u2019t help but think \u201chmmm\u201d when they watch that video. Even Tosh.0, in a humorous interview poking fun at the Monster lady, admits: \u201cYou know the biggest problem I had with your video? That every single thing you said made sense to me.\u201d And he\u2019s right. It made sense because she didn\u2019t tell her audience anything. She showed us evidence, and only after she presented us hard facts did she construct claims based off that evidence. <\/p>\n

You can argue with the claim that Monster is the devil\u2019s drink, but you really can\u2019t argue that the lettering on the can looks (coincidentally?) like Hebrew 6\u2019s. And therein lies the beauty of evidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, what does this have to do with MBA Essays?<\/h3>\n

So, as you write your MBA essays<\/a>, remember this: An audience is inherently skeptical, and your MBA admissions readers will be no different. When you tell your reader, for example, you \u201cvalue collaboration,\u201d we want you to imagine the Monster lady shouting at you about the devil. No one\u2019s going to buy it. So, instead, with every claim you want to make, think about the ways that you can use actual evidence (like the Monster lady did with the can) to SHOW your point rather than telling it. You want the adcom to know that you value collaboration? Don\u2019t tell them anything. Instead, paint them a scene from your professional life in which you actually collaborated \u2013 a time when there was a real problem you couldn\u2019t solve on your own, and how you effectively enlisted and led a group of colleagues to overcome that obstacle. That\u2019s using evidence. And that <\/em>is persuasive. <\/p>\n

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