Essay Writing Tips - Content Writing Tips

In last few years many MBA colleges including most of the IIMs have scrapped Group Discussion from their assessment process. In most of these cases MBA colleges have replaced GDs with essay writing. Students are given fixed amount of time to write essay on any topic.  

 

What is looked for in Essay / Content Writing?

• Subject knowledge
• Clarity of thought
• Flow of ideas
• Examples
• Facts
• Correct usage of grammar
• Correct usage of words
• A neat hand-writing

 How should you write a essay?

• Always write in paragraphs
• It’s not a natural but learned skill
• Different paragraphs express different ideas that contribute to the main idea

A paragraph should ideally contain :

• Topic Sentence: it is the 1st sentence expressing the main idea of the paragraph- Say what you are going to say
• Supporting Sentences: they expand the main idea expressed in the topic sentence- Say it
• Concluding Sentence: rounding off what has been said or a logical conclusion of the idea in the topic sentence- Say it again!!!

Precautions while writing essay?

• Follow a flow of paragraphs
• Always let the first paragraph be an introduction to the subject matter
• Expansion/ support/ refutation of the idea must follow in subsequent paragraphs
• The last paragraph must have a conclusion of the main idea
• There could be two forms of writing- Deductive and Inductive
• You should have good knowledge of the topic to write about
• Read the directions carefully
• Recognize action words- discuss, evaluate, argue, comment etc.
• Focus on the issue rather than peripheries
• Choose words with precise meanings; avoid ambiguity
• Do not use Jargon
• Do not use Slang
• Do not use Cliché
• Do not use Abbreviations
• Do not use Quotations without acknowledgments
• Make tentative statements; avoid definitive statements- it leaves a scope for further discussion

Where to prepare for essay ?

• Regular reading of: Newspaper editorials, News papers, News websites & Non-fiction article etc 
• Discussions with friends and family to diversify your views and thoughts
• Informational thinking
• Analyze a situation or topic from different perspcetive

Also Read:

• Essay Topics 2015 for Practice - B-School Selection Tests
• XAT Essay topics from XAT-1996 to XAT-2014   

Tips for deciding which B-School Application forms to fill

Deciding on to which B-School's form to fill is an important decision as this could make or break your MBA dreams. Below are some of the recommended tips along with examples which could help in decision making:


1. Based on expected Percentile Range
It is advisable to fill up the forms of the colleges abover and below your expected percentile.
Example: Based on your analysis if you are expecting a percentile of 95. Then you must fill forms of following colleges:
-MDI
-IMT
-BIM
-NIM
-IMI
=> Suggestion here is to fill up the forms of range of B-Schools, both above and below your expected/anticipated CAT percentile. 


2. Based on Profile & Sectional Cutoff
In addition to this if candidate is aware that he can easily manage to clear sectional cut-off in CAT(based on Mock Test results) and he has 1+ years work experience and has a good percentage in academics, then they could filter the above list further.
Example: A candidate with 3 years of work exp. and good percentage in 10th, 12th and graduation(80+) is more likely to get calls from a high ranked college.
=> So Suggestion here is to analyze your chances based on all aspects such as your performance in each section of CAT, your academics, work ex. etc.


3. Based on College Specific Criteria's
Certain colleges such as IIM-B, SP Jain gives calls to candidates even with lower percentile but with very good profile. Be carefull in filling up forms or expecting a call from such colleges  if your profile is not having :
- A very good academics
- Relevant and solid Work experience
- Any significant achievement
Example: A candidate with 90 percentile could get a call from SP Jain if he has 3 years of work experience and has 85+ percent marks throughout in academics. Whereas a candidate with 93+ percentile with no work exp. and around 75 percent of marks throughout his acads may not get a call from IIM-B.
= > So the suggestion here is to analyze the selection criteria of the MBA college you are applying for.


4. IIM Dreams
Even if you score 99+ in CAT but if you have average academics then its very likely that you would not get calls from Top IIMs scuh as IIM-A, IIM-B, IIM-C, IIM-L etc.
Example: A candidate with 99.5 percentile and 71% in 10th (CBSE) , 61% in 12th (CBSE) and 72% in Graduation (B.Tech)  may not get calls from any of the top 5 IIMs. Furthermore this doesn't mean that he would get calls from rest all IIMs, from lowers IIMs also he may or may not get calls depending on the academic marsk cutoffs set by particular IIM.
This is because most of the IIMs consider academics marks as one of the criteria along with CAT score for shortlisting candidates for interview. 
=> So the suggestion here is to analyze yourself based on your profile and not to have false expectations for IIM calls if your past academics marks are low.

You may also like reading following posts which are recommended for you: 

• B Schools with best ROI
• Check Rankings of Top 247 B-Schools of India 
• IIMs Selection Parameters & weightage for 2017-19
• Expected CAT Cut-off percentile for Top 50 MBA colleges
• Various Tests after CAT at each MBA colleges?

     

Cut-off percentile for MBA colleges - CAT Percentile cut off for MBA Colleges

Updated on 26th December 2014                                                                      Source: Online MBA Forums

CAT Percentile Cut-off for Top Colleges accepting CAT Score

Below B-School percentile list would help candidates in understanding which all B-Schools expect calls from and also deciding on which B-School's form to fill


After CAT exam, the next important thing for all MBA aspirants to do is to identify & fill the application form of right B-Schools based on their percentile in CAT.
Making a decision on which B-School's form to fill is critical as this could make or break your MBA dreams.

Range	Institute Name	Expected Cut-off for General Category
96-100	Indian Institute of Management Calcutta	99+
	Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad	99.67+
	Department of Management Studies (DMS), IIT Delhi	98+
	Faculty of Management Studies Delhi (FMS, DU)	98+
	Indian Institute of Management Indore	98
	SJMSOM IIT Bombay	98+
	Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode	98
	Indian Institute of Management Ranchi	96.82
	National Institute of Industrial Engineering Mumbai	96+
94-96	MDI Management Development Institute Gurgaon	95
	Great Lakes Institute of Management - Chennai	95+
	IIT Kanpur	95
	IIT Kharagpur	95
	IIT Madras	95
	IIT Roorkee	95
	Bharathidasan Institute of Management	94+
90-94	IMT - Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad	92
	International Management Institute Delhi	92
	KJ Somaiya Institute of Management and Research - Mumbai	90
	Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB)	90
	Indian Institute of Management Lucknow	90(Ideally it would be 98+ & lot depends on your profile )
	Indian Institute of Management Bangalore	90(Ideally it would be 98+ & lot depends on your profile )
	Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli	90(Ideally it would be 97+ & lot depends on your profile )
	Indian Institute of Management Shillong	90(Ideally it would be 97+ & lot depends on your profile )
	Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad	90
	Fore School of Management - Delhi	90
	University Business School Chandigarh	90
	Goa Institute of Management - GIM Goa	90
85-90	Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management - New Delhi	89
	T A Pai Management Institute - Manipal	86
	Nirma University Ahmedabad	85
	SP Jain Institute of Management Mumbai	85 (Ideally it would be 95+ & lot depends on your profile )
	Institute for Financial Management and Research - Chennai	85+
	Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur	85(Ideally it would be 97+ & lot depends on your profile )
	Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Rohtak	85(Ideally it would be 97+ & lot depends on your profile )
	Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research	85+
80-85	Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kashipur	96.82
	Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Udaipur	96.82
	LIBA - Loyola Instt. of Busi. Admin. Chennai	85
	Banaras Hindu University	82+
	XIME - Xavier Inst. of Mgmt.& Entr. Bangalore	80
	Birla Institute of Management Technology - Noida	80
	Indian Institute of Materials Management - Pune	80
	National Institute of Technology, Surathkal	80
	Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management – Kolkatta	80
70-80	Indian Institute of Forest Management - Bhopal	78
	Amrita School of Business – Coimbatore	75
	Alliance Business School – Bangalore	75
	Christ college Bangalore	75
	School of Communication & Management Studies - Cochin	70
	SDM Institute for Management Development - Mysore	70
	MIT School of Business - Pune	70
	Apeejay Institute of Technology - Greater Noida	70
	Institute for Technology and Management - Navi Mumbai	70
	ITM Business School - Chennai	70
	Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies - Harihar	70
	Mets Institute Of Management Mumbai	70
	Regional College of Management - Bhubaneswar	70
60-70	IFIM Business School - Bangalore	65
	Institute of Management Development and Research - Pune	65
	PROTON Business school	65
	Rourkela Institute Of Management Studies	65
	NIILM-Center for Management Studies – Delhi	60
	Jaipuria Institute of Management – Lucknow	60
	Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management & Technology - Bareilly	60
	Army Institute of Management – Kolkata	60
Less than 60	SIES College of Management Studies - Mumbai	< 60
	Prestige Institute of Management - Gwalior	< 60
	ITM Business School	< 60
	NIILM Centre for Management Studies	< 60
	Army Institute of Management, Kolkata (AIMK) - West Bengal	< 60
	Institute of Public Enterprise	< 60
	Skyline Business School	< 60
	National Institute of Technology (Durgapur)	< 60
	Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Institute for Management Development	< 60
	School of Management, KIIT University	< 60
	St. Joseph College of Business Administration	< 60
	SCMS School of Business	< 60
	MIT-SOB:MIT School of Business	< 60

Below are cutoff & average salary some of Government MBA colleges offering MBA:

=> Average Salary Pune University MBA around 6-6.5 lakhs/annum , Expected cutoff Pune University 98+
=> Average Salary DMS, IIT Kanpur around 9.25 lakhs/annum , Expected cutoff DMS, IIT Kanpur Not predictable advisable tha you fill form with 90+ percentile & on 85+ if you have a good profile.
=> Average Salary DMS, IIT Roorkee around 9.83 lakhs/annum , Expected cutoff DMS, IIT Roorkee: Not predictable advisable tha you fill form with 90+ percentile & on 85+ if you have a good profile.
=> Average Salary VGSoM IIT Kharagpur around 12.02 lakhs/annum , Expected cutoff VGSoM IIT Kharagpur: Not predictable advisable tha you fill form with 92+ percentile & on 86+ if you have a good profile.
=> Average Salary Bharatidasan Institute of Management(BIM) around 8.8 lakhs/annum , Expected cutoff Bharatidasan Institute of Management(BIM) 90+
=> Average Salary University Business School Chandigarh around 6.85 lakhs/annum , Expected cutoff University Business School Chandigarh 88+
=> Average Salary National Institute of Technology (NIT) Trichy around 7.3 lakhs/annum , Expected cutoff National Institute of Technology (NIT) Trichy 90+
=> Average Salary IISWBM Calcutta around 6 lakhs/annum , Expected cutoff  IISWBM Calcutta  80+
=> Average Salary Institute of Public Enterprise- IPE Hyderabad(Osmania University Campus,) around 4 lakhs/annum , Expected cutoff Institute of Public Enterprise- IPE Hyderabad 70+
=> Average Salary Motilal Nehru National Institute (MNIT) Allahabad Placement is not so good , Expected cutoff Motilal Nehru National Institute (MNIT) Allahabad 60+
=> Average Salary MBA ISM University Dhanbad Placement is not so good , Expected cutoff ISM Dhanbad 60+

Recommended posts for you

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Various Tests after CAT at each MBA colleges?
 

Check Rankings of Top 247 B-Schools of India
 

Tips for deciding which B-School Application forms to fill
 

MBA Colleges Last Date for Applying - Admissions 2015.

Cut-off percentile for MBA colleges 2011 - CAT Percentile cut off for MBA Colleges 2011, CAT Percentile Cut-off for 2011 of Top 50 Colleges accepting CAT Score 2011, CAT Percentile Cut-off for Top 50 Colleges accepting CAT Score, CAT Percentile Cut-off , Cut-off percentile for MBA colleges, Cut-off percentile