Blog Archive Simple Word Replacements That Save Word Count in MBA Application Essays

Blog Archive Simple Word Replacements That Save Word Count in MBA Application Essays One element of MBA application essays that can be challengingâ€"no matter how skilled the applicants are as writersâ€"is staying within word limits. Sometimes, cutting just a few words is all that is needed to avoid exceeding the maximum. However, after looking at a draft multiple times, identifying the opportunities to do this can be difficult. Here are a few common phrases that can be shortened without negatively affecting a sentence’s meaning and that in many cases may even improve the text: be able to Replacing variations of “be able to” with simply “can” in the present tense or “will” in future tense constructions can easily save you two or three words. Because of my strong organizational skills, I  am able to  accomplish more work in less time. (16 words) *Because of my strong organizational skills, I  can  accomplish more work in less time. (14 words) With this latest round of funding, my venture  will be able to  expand into new districts. (16 words) *With this latest round of funding, my venture  will  expand into new districts. (13 words) decided to If something you mention occurred because of a decision you or someone else made, you can bypass discussing the decision part of the process and focus exclusively on describing the resulting action. Avoid using “decided to” and make your action verb the primary verb of your statement. Once I saw the numbers, I  decided to call  a meeting. (11 words) *Once I saw the numbers, I  called  a meeting. (9 words) My supervisor  decided to promote  me first. (7 words) *My supervisor  promoted  me first. (5 words) despite the fact that This wordy phrase can and should be replaced with simply “even though.” I was passed over for the promotion  despite the fact that  I had committed more hours to the project. (19 words) *I was passed over for the promotion  even though  I had committed more hours to the project. (17 words) in order to/in order for Very simply, “in order” adds nothing to the clarity or meaning of the phrase that follows it. Use just “to” or “for,” as appropriate. We had to wake up three hours early  in order to  get to the site on time. (17 words) *We had to wake up three hours early  to  get to the site on time. (15 words) I knew that  in order for  my team to stay on budget, we needed to find a new distributor. (19 words) *I knew that  for  my team to stay on budget, we needed to find a new distributor. (17 words) prior to/in advance of When discussing something that occurs ahead of something else, simply use “before.” “Prior to” and “in advance of” confer no special or additional meaning and can sound affected, in addition to being wordy. Prior to   The club officers contacted all the contracted sponsors  in advance of  the conference. (13 words) *The club officers contacted all the contracted sponsors  before  the conference. (11 words) These simple changes can tighten your writing and save you a few wordsâ€"sometimes, that is all you need! Share ThisTweet Application Tips Essays