{"id":54258,"date":"2022-02-28T12:19:07","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T19:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=54258"},"modified":"2022-02-28T12:19:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T19:19:08","slug":"revise-and-polish-your-application-essays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/revise-and-polish-your-application-essays\/","title":{"rendered":"Revise and Polish Your Application Essays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Revise<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve got your first draft ready \u2013 this is a great milestone! Now it\u2019s time to revise and edit. Outstanding essays are not sprung into the world on the first draft. Here\u2019s how to\u00a0edit and polish until your essay shines<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Let your essay rest for a day or two<\/strong>, particularly after an intensive writing session. You\u2019ll return to your writing with fresh eyes and undoubtedly see ways to strengthen it immediately. One of the most common problems plaguing application essays is bland, forgettable prose. As you look at your essay again, look for and root out generic writing<\/a>, such as in the following sentence: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough I have been responsible for a lot of exciting projects, I want to move into management, which may not happen on my current path.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind of projects? What made them exciting? Why wouldn\u2019t a management path be open to the writer? Has this been explained? Let\u2019s resuscitate this prose by adding appropriate details<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy role as a product manager for a mid-sized giftware business has allowed me to develop my creativity as well as communication and market research skills. As exciting as it has been to have helped plan and release our innovative kitchen giftware, whose designs are based on famous Impressionist paintings, I want to move more into management, which seems unlikely at this family-owned and managed company.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding details takes more room but it makes your essay come alive. It is so important, in fact, that it\u2019s better to write about fewer examples but flesh each out in greater detail than to write a laundry list of vague accomplishments or character traits you feel you possess. \u201cShow, don\u2019t tell<\/a>,\u201d remains a cardinal rule in writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Ditch the passive voice<\/strong> \u2013 this will further enliven and tighten your writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNegotiations over the extent of the website design were carried out by a team of managers and myself, representing the technical team.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This passive construction is draggy. Move the \u201cdoer\u201d of the action to the head of the sentence for a resulting sentence that makes you sound like a leader (and is five words shorter):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI represented the technical team in negotiations with management over the extent of the website design.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/strong> Read your essay aloud.<\/strong> When you listen to your essay, you\u2019ll likely catch small mistakes that you inadvertently missed during the editing process and that you may also easily miss when reading silently. Reading aloud, you will also hear which sentences can benefit from some tightening, expanding, or other improvements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.<\/strong> Assess for overall quality control.<\/strong> Has your essay achieved the goal you set out for it? Do you sound like the irresistibly focused, thoughtful, and energetic individual you want to sound like? Make sure that the voice you created on the page resonates positively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary Tips:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n