Business School Admissions Essay Structures - Continued

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2. The Flash Forward: Sometimes your essay’s main focus will be showing the progression or growth of your interests and abilities. That does not mean, however, that your essay must start from the beginning. Often it can be effective to open with a more recent episode to accomplish three purposes: a) establish a clear context for the rest of the material; b) demonstrate a strong interest in a certain field from the beginning of the essay; c) bring to the forefront a significant experience with depth you could not have achieved in an earlier stage. It is the last point that distinguishes this approach from the previous one. Using a Flash Forward opening enables you to highlight your strongest points, but then move backward to recount your growth process.

3. The Bookend: Like the first two, this approach involves using a story in the introduction, but it leaves that story unfinished until the conclusion. For example, you might stop within the story to reflect on how you found yourself in that position. The body of the essay would then be a flashback to the experiences that led you to the place of the introduction, and the conclusion would return to complete the story. Another possibility would be a story that involved two distinct phases; the body of such an essay might discuss what you learned between the phases, and the conclusion would show how you applied what you learned to the second phase. Again, the precise approach depends on your content, but the Bookend method can be a very effective way to create a flowing, coherent piece.

4. Within the Body: Regardless of whether you choose to open with a narrative, you may find opportunities and reasons to insert a story within the body of the essay. This is the approach for which you have to worry most about integration. Unlike introductory anecdotes, you should not jump right into these stories without preface. You will need at least one sentence to make the transition from the previous paragraph and briefly hint at what themes your story will illustrate. Actually beginning your story will usually require some introductory phrase, such as a more creative version of the following:

“One memorable incident involved…”

After the story, you should conclude with some significant insight to justify the story’s inclusion. This line should not be a mere repetition of the transition from the beginning of the paragraph, because you now should have more concrete details from which to draw more in-depth thematic conclusions.

Click here for a Sample Business School Narrative Essay.

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