Support Material on Writing Skills - For XAT, TISS, FMS Etc

8/14/2019 Support Material on Writing Skills - For XAT, TISS, FMS Etc

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Support Material

Writing Skills

2009



Why session on writing skills?

§ Lots of institutes ask subjective answers intheir application form itself

§

Institutes like XAT, TISS has separatesubjective test

§ What is the ideal way to write different typesof writing like SoPs, Essays, Précis etc.?

.... and above all, good writing is not easy




"Writing is easy- All youdo is sit staring at a blank

sheet of paper. . . untildrops of blood form on

your forehead"~ Gene Fowler

(American journalist, author and dramatist)




Institutes that consider subjective answers

§ FMS, Delhi

§ MFC, Delhi

§ SPJIMR, Mumbai

§ XLRI, Jamshedpur

§ T. A. Pai, Manipal

§ MICA, Ahmedabad§ TISS, Mumbai

... and many more



Essentials of writing

§ Good handwriting

§ Clarity of ideas and unambiguous

language§ Grammar

§ Concise and focused




If its online, its alright.

If it is not handwriting is important




This is... very bad




This is unacceptable






We don t even ask for this .




What does it mean...

Whatever you write in the form filling

procedure or in an exam, yourhandwriting should neither be of adoctor nor of an artist

Neither be too complacent nor trytoo hard




Just these will do .












Clearity of ideas and unambiguouslanguage

§ Don't use esoteric or unusual words, itmay confuse many readers

§ Spelling, grammar, and punctuationmistakes make writing hard tounderstand

§ Pronouns are inherently ambiguous,and pose a constant threat to clarity.




Grammar

§ Poor grammar can make your writingconfusing or impossible to understand

§

Be careful with spelling, and especially withhomonyms (words which sound the same butare spelled differently)

§ Incorrect punctuation can change the meaningof a sentence. "My brother's money" belongs

to my brother, but "my brothers' money"belongs to my brothers




Concise and focused

§ Brevity, according to Shakespeare, is the soulof wit

§ Don't write bloated and repetitive documents.

Here are some examples of trimming the fact

Right now, gasoline is expensive.

Gasoline is expensive.

Mr. Smith, who is my lawyer, wrote this document.Mr. Smith, my lawyer, wrote this document.




Concise and focused

§ A well-written document should have a point

§

After the document is finished, go back over it,keeping your theme or purpose in mind,anything that doesn't contribute to your centralmessage or goal should be removed



§ SoP

§ Essays

§ Précis writing

§ Analytical framework writing§ Achievements

... and questions like

§

Why do you want to do MBA?§ Why this college?

§ Why this course? etc.

Types of writing



Types of writing

The Statement of Purpose (SoP)

§ The Statement of Purpose is whatbrings your application to life

§ It is your personal statement aboutwho you are what has influencedyour career path so far, your

professional interests and whereyou plan to go from here



Types of writing

Which colleges ask for SoP

§ FMS, Delhi

(both for MBA and MBA-MS)

§ TAPMI, Manipal etc.



Types of writing

What do B-schools seek to see in an SoP?

§ Real YOU

§ Rationality

§ Clarity of thoughts

§ Justified intent to get into that particularcollege.

§ It must reflect real YOU in a subtle way

§ Smartness and yet not over-smartness



Types of writing

How to write an impressive SoP?

By your own hand

using your own brain

Yes, nobody knows YOU better than YOU know YOURSELF



Types of writing

How to write an impressive SoP?

§ You must write your SoP yourself

§

No one can describe you and hence sellyou better, but you

§ Write your SoP first, then take it to thefaculty at your center for any changes orcorrection





Types of writing

Some DON Ts while writing your SoP

§ Try to be something you are not

§ Try to tell the admissions committee what

you think they want to hear and whatmight not be real you

§ Be boastful

§ Be loud

§ Be too philosophical



Types of writing

Essay: What is an Essay?

A short piece of writing, often

written from an author's personalpoint of view.



Types of writing

Exams asking for essay writing

§ XLRI Admission Test etc.

§ TISS, Mumbai



Types of writing

Why do B-schools make us write essays?

§ To check reasoning ability

§ To see the approach to practical problemhandling

§ To see the thought procedure that weapply

§ And finally to check our writing skills



Types of writing

Some DOs while writing an essay

§ Essay must be concise

§ Plan it well

§ Establish clear direction andunderstanding of the topic

§ Thoughts need to be organized

§ Create clear structure

§ Use an appropriate style



Types of writing

Some DOs while writing an essay

§ Support your arguments with evidence

§ Express yourself clearly

§ It should end with a conclusion§ If it talks of a social issue you must be

able to give a solution

§ Don't be too lame neither too

overwhelmed with personal emotion



Types of writing

Some DON Ts while writing an essay

§ Be too overwhelmed with personalemotion

§ End an essay with a contradiction to yourprevious approach

§ Shuffle too much within the topic

§ Give too many examples (hence reducing

the actual content part)



Types of writing

Some DON Ts while writing an essay

§ Include irrelevant information

§ Try to solve the mysteries of the world in

an essay.§ Use overly long quotations

§ Use slang or unnecessary technical jargon

§ Forget to proofread



Types of writing

Précis Writing : What is précis? A type of summary written in the writer's own wordsabout a text source.

Précis usually

§ States the name of the article/document, the

author and the source (is it from a magazine,book, encyclopedia, etc.)

§ Avoids use of phrases such as "in this article","throughout history" or other clichés

§

Is written in past tense§ Has subheadings which are underlined or in

italics

§ Does not uses contractions



Types of writing

Institutes asking for précis writing

§

MICA, Ahmedabad etc.



Types of writing

Steps to précis writing

§ A précis should reduce the length of theoriginal passage by at least two-thirds.

§ Every important idea must be retained,preferably in the order in which it appearsin the original

§ Unimportant points, including details,

illustrations and anecdotes, should bediscarded



Types of writing

Steps to précis writing § A first draft of the précis should be written, then

checked to see that it contains the main ideas of thepassage

§ Although you should be as brief as possible. Guardagainst being so condensed that you obscure thepoint of passage

§ Try to capture the tone or feeling of the original,particularly if it is deliberately humorous, ironic or

biased§ Check the draft for expression errors, repetition or

vague phrasing; then write a smoother final version



Types of writing

Achievements

Institutes like SPJIMR which focushighly in the personality of the

candidate and during the form fillingprocedure ask them to mention theirachievements in various walks of life.

While quoting your achievements



Types of writing

§ You must be humble and must use a languagethat is not too pretentious

§ Never lie

§ Be honest and respect who you are

§ Don t compare yourself with any of your friends

§ Achievement no matter how big must not bequoted with its magnitude. Let the people in theselection committee decide how big yourachievement is. Never use the phrases likeimpossible for others etc. to describe your

achievement.



Types of writing

How to rate yourself

Institutes like SPJIMR also ask

candidates to rate their achievement asoutstanding / excellent / very good / good and so on .

While doing this remember .



Types of writing

§ Don t underrate yourself, and at the sametime don t overrate as well

§ What ever is your rating according toyourself, it must be justified automaticallyby your description

§ Achievements only after the highersecondary class must be considered untiland unless they are exceptional before

that



Types of writing

Debate

A statement is provided and the candidate isexpected to either favour the topic or writeagainst it. For example -



Types of writing

Institutes asking for debate writing

§ MICA, Ahmedabad



Types of writing

For a good debate writing

§ Try to think against the notion that you aresupporting and then try to negate them

§ Come up with cogent points and examples§ Stick to one thought only. If you keep

changing sides it is considered as lack ofdecision making ability and may prove

devastating in your selection procedure



Types of writing

Description

In this the candidate is expected to describeany fact. For example -



Types of writing

Institutes asking for description writing

§ MICA, Ahmedabad



Types of writing

Things to remember for a good description write-up

§ Requires to work more on facts andless with his/her own view point

§ Not required to take a stand but todescribe all the aspects of the fact



Types of writing

Analytical framework

In this the candidate is judged on hisanalytical reasoning skills. For example -



Types of writing

Institutes asking for analytical framework writing

§

MICA, Ahmedabad,§ MFC, Delhi etc.



Types of writing

Things to remember while writing analytical framework

§ In it candidate not only requires to

put facts but more than that he/shemust be able to conclude

§ Also the solution/conclusion mustnot just solve the problem but must

also be viable



Types of writing

Why do you want to do MBA? OR

Why do you want to do MBA

from this particular college? OR Why do you want to do these

particular courses? etc..

Your answer can be…



Types of writing

§ Because it pays good or

§ You guys are among top 10 B-schools or

§ Because it grooms one s completepersonality or

§ Because my technical knowledgefrom bachelors degree is so weak

that I can t afford a masters in thesame etc.



Types of writing

Whatever your answer be ...

Try finding your reason yourself

All we can suggest is

§ Your answer should be just

§ Should not be negative

§ And finally should be yours i.e.original

Documents

Support Material on Writing Skills - For XAT, TISS, FMS Etc