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耶鲁MBA钱永强ESSAY写作体验
（前言：钱永强老师是新东方资深讲师，尤其擅长逻辑教学，于1994年参加GMAT考试，1998年获得美国耶鲁大学商学院的奖学金，赴美就读MBA。在此之前他实际申请了8所美国院校，耶鲁、麻省理工大学、GEORGETON等名校先后向他发出录取邀请函，最后他选择了耶鲁。
有感于各校对ESSAY的书写的截然不同的要求，他愿与大家分享其经验体会，在此兹作GMAT作文的先手感觉。）
我们的问题是不知道美国人想得是什么，也不知道ESSAY该怎么写。开始我很希望新东方的老师能帮我改一改文章，最后发现谁也帮不了忙，他们能帮我的，只能是给予我一种思想。因为ESSAY要求的内容包罗万象--个人的体会，人生各方面的经历、人格的形成。在写作过程中，你会发现你把自己这二十多年的人生不知不觉重新审视了一遍。哈佛的校长曾经说过：写完这8篇ESSAY，你就知道你的一生应该干些什么。起初我毫不在意，写完后确实感到了这一点。
由于每位申请人都会写同样题目的文章，如果你泛泛而谈，写得枯燥无味，没有丝毫引人入胜的地方，那就根本没有打动人的资本。而且要把个人的人格、思想、经历写得多姿多彩，靠别人替你写，很难确切表达出个人的思路，而学校却恰恰希望通过ESSAY来了解你是不是一个MBA适合的人选。所以ESSAY的写作最重要的是：
（1）要有自己的实力，对各个问题有自己的看法；
（2）对于各ESSAY的选材起决定性作用。
以下从选材角度就各商学院的ESSAY做具体介绍：
几乎每个商学院的ESSAY都会有这样一个问题--你对未来的发展计划如何以及选择这个学校的原因。要写好这篇文章，必须对申请的学校情况、教学特点有很详细的了解，这要通过认真阅读学校寄给你的资料，比如哈佛大学，了解其案例教学的特点，应该说明在商业环境中常常碰到的困惑，而哈佛的MBA对解决这些困惑，对人生的发展、未来的成功都有极其重要的作用。又如芝加哥大学，侧重于量化教学，对计算机、数学要求较高；沃顿商学院，着重点在于金融、期货、股票方面，对数学要求较多；西北商学院，特点是营销；耶鲁商学院，金融和非盈利性行业（我认为自己能拿到耶鲁的奖学金，原因就在于我在新东方的教学经验，属于非盈利性行业）；MIT（麻省理工商学院）优势在于定量分析，对计算机要求较强。
申请人的独特的背景（BACKGROUND），即使你的生活确实平淡如水，也要另辟蹊径，写得波澜壮阔，一定要表现出独特的成就，展现出自己的优点，这些成就和优点并非惊心动魄的大事，只要富有特色，就不愁不打动人。
过去五年的成就，这其实指的是职业上、人生中、人格上的成就，有人写考上北京大学，考取全省第一名，这并不是真正意义的成就。要写一些人生中令你成熟的转折，对人格的有震撼力的事情，在生活、商业领域获得的巨大成功，还有对别人做出的巨大贡献。
我曾经看过一篇文章，写得是在三峡遭遇落水事件，作者同其他人尽全力也未能救出全部溺水的人，其中描写人对生命的渴求，写得感人肺腑，体现出自己的人格和感受——他获得了沃顿商学院的录取。
因为美国人宁愿看一个故事，也不愿平淡的经历。还有一篇写主持一个很小的机构的辛酸苦辣，也很感人。
课外活动和体育爱好，我写的是爬山，在爬山中感受到一山更比一山高，克服自我的心理历程。特别要注意每一篇文章都应尽量体现出你的精神状态和人格。
领导一个机构所带来的变革，这也是一个非常普遍而且非常难写的问题。我写的是在95年国外期货做得一帆风顺的时候，中国因为政策上的原因关闭了外汇市场的大门，通过巨大的转变，我被迫审视国内不成熟的市场，如何领导我的小组走过这个转变。
哈佛的8篇ESSAY题目分别为：
1． 写一个你崇敬的人——从中看出他对你人格的影响；
2． 你喜欢和不喜欢你的工作——写为什么喜欢(带来的挑战等等)为何不喜欢(为什么要读MBA)；
3． 领导一个机构所带来的变革；
4． 过去五年的成就；
5． 面临一个两难的情况内心的斗争——也要体现人格的力量；
6． 写一次失败——职业上的失败，对你的影响；
7． 理想是什么；
8． 独特的经历。
MIT（麻省理工商学院）的特色ESSAY题目为：
1． 随着技术的成熟化，技术对全球经济的融合和管理方面所带来的变革；
2． 对管理下几个定义。
芝加哥商学院的特色ESSAY题目为：
1． 如果2000年TIME上刊登一篇关于你的文章，会如何描写你和你的成就。
1.) Introduction
a. Introduction to the topic
b. Thesis Statement
c. Essay Outline
2.) Body Paragraph 1
a. Transition Sentence
b. Essay point number 1
c. Explanation + Facts
3.) Body Paragraph 2
a. Transition Sentence
b. Essay point number 1
c. Explanation + Facts
4.) Conclusion
a. Transition Sentence
b. Restate important points and why they support your thesis
Terms commonly use in literature essays:
All fiction is based on conflict and this conflict is presented in a structured format called PLOT.
Exposition
The introductory material which gives the setting, creates the tone, presents the characters, and presents other facts necessary to understanding the story.
Foreshadowing
The use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the story.
Inciting Force
The event or character that triggers the conflict.
Conflict
The essence of fiction. It creates plot. The conflicts we encounter can usually be identified as one of four kinds. (Man versus…Man, Nature, Society, or Self)
Rising Action
A series of events that builds from the conflict. It begins with the inciting force and ends with the climax.
Crisis
The conflict reaches a turning point. At this point the opposing forces in the story meet and the conflict becomes most intense. The crisis occurs before or at the same time as the climax.
Climax
The climax is the result of the crisis. It is the high point of the story for the reader. Frequently, it is the moment of the highest interest and greatest emotion. The point at which the outcome of the conflict can be predicted.
Falling Action
The events after the climax which close the story.
Resolution (Denouement)
Rounds out and concludes the action.
CHARACTERIZATION
MAJOR CHARACTERS
Almost always round or three-dimensional characters. They have good and bad qualities. Their goals, ambitions and values change. A round character changes as a result of what happens to him or her. A character who changes inside as a result of what happens to him is referred to in literature as a DYNAMIC character. A dynamic character grows or progresses to a higher level of understanding in the course of the story.
Protagonist
The main character in the story
Antagonist
The character or force that opposes the protagonist.
Foil
A character who provides a contrast to the protagonist.
MINOR CHARACTERS
Almost always flat or two-dimensional characters. They have only one or two striking qualities. Their predominant quality is not balanced by an opposite quality. They are usually all good or all bad. Such characters can be interesting or amusing in their own right, but they lack depth. Flat characters are sometimes referred to as STATIC characters because they do not change in the course of the story.
POINT OF VIEW
First Person
The narrator is a character in the story who can reveal only personal thoughts and feelings and what he or she sees and is told by other characters. He can’t tell us thoughts of other characters.
Third-Person Objective
The narrator is an outsider who can report only what he or she sees and hears. This narrator can tell us what is happening, but he can’t tell us the thoughts of the characters.
Third-Person Limited
The narrator is an outsider who sees into the mind of one of the characters.
Omniscient
The narrator is an all-knowing outsider who can enter the minds of more than one of the characters.
CONFLICT
Conflict is the essence of fiction. It creates plot. The conflicts we encounter can usually be identified as one of four kinds.
Man versus Man
Conflict that pits one person against another.
Man versus Nature
A run-in with the forces of nature. On the one hand, it expresses the insignificance of a single human life in the cosmic scheme of things. On the other hand, it tests the limits of a person’s strength and will to live.
Man versus Society
The values and customs by which everyone else lives are being challenged. The character may come to an untimely end as a result of his or her own convictions. The character may, on the other hand, bring others around to a sympathetic point of view, or it may be decided that society was right after all.
Man versus Self
Internal conflict. Not all conflict involves other people. Sometimes people are their own worst enemies. An internal conflict is a good test of a character’s values. Does he give in to temptation or rise above it? Does he demand the most from himself or settle for something less? Does he even bother to struggle? The internal conflicts of a character and how they are resolved are good clues to the character’s inner strength. | 
