Tips for mastering the write-ups:
There rarely exist right answers to these questions. That’s what makes the prompts interesting,
useful, and fun (we hope). Good write-ups will always reflect a solid understanding of the
material but more importantly you should be able to apply the concepts to the prompt. This means
that you should not provide definitions and examples from the reading, but instead figure out
what concepts are relevant and how they apply to this business situation.
The following are a few tangible, specific tips based on years of grading write-ups. I offer them to
you in roughly decreasing order of how frustrating their violations are to a grader.
1. Don’t regurgitate the reading. You never need to waste space including definitions from the
reading. Ace my homework – Write as if your audience not only has read the assigned materials but also knows
them well. When necessary, cite a concept as briefly as possible. The fact that you’ve done
the reading should be revealed to us by your thinking, NOT by some quotation.
2. Start quickly and end abruptly. For these short write-ups, introductions, background, and
conclusions are entirely unnecessary. Even worse, they take away space that is better used in
other ways. We don’t expect these things to read like English essays. Nor are we strangers to
why you’re writing in the first place. Treat it like an email to a colleague and jump right in.
3. Choose specific over abstract. Precision is good. It’s good for communication, and it’s good
for sharpening thinking. When you feel yourself getting fuzzy, think to yourself: I need an
example. We love examples. Make it real.
4. Be realistic. There is nothing more irritating than a cute suggestion (for example, of how an
organization might mitigate a particular bias) that works theoretically but is utterly infeasible
in the real world. Perhaps the best criterion is to ask yourself if you’d be willing to sit in a
manager’s office advocating his or her use of your recommendation.
5. Less is more. Believe it or not, a common mistake is to include too many ideas — not
because too many ideas itself is bad, but because these ideas, as intriguing, tantalizing, and,
yes, right as they might be, are often too poorly developed. Don’t make this mistake! We’re
not impressed with laundry lists. It’s much better to write about a few things really well.
Oh, and have fun! This is an opportunity to be creative (the risk-reward tradeoff for creativity is
very attractive). A student who is thoughtful and having fun when writing these is generally going
to do pretty well. And get more out of it. Thanks!
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Tips for mastering the write-ups include the following:
There are very few correct solutions to these types of questions. That’s what keeps the prompts fresh.
both useful and enjoyable (we hope). A strong comprehension of the subject will always be reflected in good writing.
material, but you should be able to apply the concepts to the prompt as well. This entails
So instead of providing explanations and examples from the reading, you should find out what you want to say.
What concepts are important and how do they apply to this situation?
Based on years of grading write-ups, here are a few practical, concrete suggestions. I offer them to
you in roughly decreasing order of how frustrating their violations are to a grader.
1. Don’t regurgitate the reading. You never need to waste space including definitions from the
