By Linda Abraham, Founder & President of online admissions consultancy Accepted.com.

Writing your essay is mainly about expressing your individuality in a free and creative manner. Dedicating efforts and hard work in the preparation pays off at the end. Avoid cliches, but make sure all necessary parts of the essay are there.

In your applications, the schools are attempting to get to know you through your essays. So what should you write about? Write about what is most important to you and distinctive about you. The admissions readers seek to uncover how you will contribute to their class, their programme, and the diversity of their schools. By telling your story – not what you think they want to hear and not what you share with 50% of other applicants – you will reveal how you can uniquely add to their class.

For applications asking you to respond to specific questions and requesting statements of purpose, you first and foremost have to answer the question. Frequently, when reviewing application essays and personal statements, I read the essay first and then the question. If I can answer the question based on the essay I just read, it passes the first check: it answers the question. If the question asks you to discuss a failure, somewhere in that essay you must discuss a time when you really blew it.  And then what you learned, and if appropriate, a nice dose of how you successfully handled a similar subsequent situation. But the starting point has to be an answer to the question posed.

If the question asks why you want to attend a given programme, you need to provide specifics about that programme that relate to your interests and goals. Don't respond with an answer that could apply to all programmes in your field. That is a non-answer, non-starter, and probable ding. Don't tell them why you are more qualified than anyone else to attend their programme. Just answer the question.

If it's an open-ended question with just general instructions, then follow the general instructions and enjoy the luxury of writing about what interests you and best presents your qualifications.

But keep that application alive. Answer the question.

When applying to business school, perform the following check before you submit your essays to an admissions committee reader.

  • Make sure your essay answers the question.
  • Make sure it answers the question as well as you can.

Ensure it is a coherent, articulate demonstration of your writing ability.

Accepted.com helps MBA and EMBA applicants present themselves at their best. Visit Accepted.com to find experienced MBA admissions advising and expert editing, informative ebooks and free articles, email courses, B-school zones, sample essays, online chats with MBA admissions directors, and the MBA Interview Feedback Database.