Last weekend, at a gathering of 20 or so female, ivy league-educated 30-somethings, I was the odd man out – but not just because of my gender. I was the only person not reading Fifty Shades of Grey.

At any given moment, you might scan the periphery of the outdoor/communal area and see several people deeply engrossed in the novel. (Who has time for talking with old friends, anyway?) It got me thinking, and I wanted to know more: what was so riveting about this book, beyond the obvious? Fifty Shades readers rushed to defend their guiltiest pleasure:

“The guy emails back within 5 minutes and tells her she needs to eat more…it’s every woman’s fantasy.”

“The writing’s terrible, but the erotica is couched in a good story with believable character development.”

“It taps into common instincts/desires many women share, and gives us a way to explore that without the social stigma.”

While I don’t expect to be picking up a copy of Fifty Shades any time soon, I do find it valuable to engage with my peers on why the book compels them. It has had incredible mass appeal – reinforced by a hilarious feature on SNL this past weekend – and that’s because the author deeply understood her audience. Taking a closer look, what do we have to learn from E.L. James’ Fifty Shades goldmine?

-Rethink the genre. James thought carefully and strategically about what traditional elements of her genre were already in place.. How could those elements be tweaked, refined or elevated for a broader 21st century audience? How might the market be disrupted?

-Develop a convincing story skeleton/plot structure. Story matters, regardless of genre, and is the engine through which dramatic tension fires. So, the framework for the story must be believable in order for the tensions to surface (and for audiences to stay captivated). Frequently writers excel at this piece or characterization, but rarely both.

-Even heroes and heroines are flawed, and even heroes and heroines fail. The boldest, most convicted characters must still feel human, and face their own internal hang-ups and moments of indecision. How textured, balanced and real are the participants in your story?

-Know your audience. How well do you know your reader–what are their preconceptions and desires? What do they want and what do they expect?

Now, don’t go getting any ideas…erotica isn’t the best inspiration for your admissions materials. However, these are all great tools to consider when writing for an admissions audience, and an audience that has grown weary of reading ‘more of the same.’

So, when you sit down to pen your personal statement this year, make sure you consider your reader. Your submission – er, admission – depends on it.

Cheers,

Chris

Ivy Eyes Editing

www.ivyeyesediting.com

Hello everyone,

If you’re applying to medical school this year, you’ve almost certainly amassed some undergraduate research experience. For some of you, research has been an integral part of your education as a doctor and something that you may wish to continue throughout your career; for others, your time spent closely monitoring Drosophila melanogaster may have confirmed you never want to step foot in a lab again. Regardless of which of these two camps you may fall into, there are some important considerations to be made when mentioning research in your personal statement:

-Consider your application holistically. Where are the big gaps and weaknesses in your application? It may make sense for some of you more than others to really magnify your research work. How did you take on new roles and/or projects in the lab setting? How did you exercise skills not typically expected of a young researcher, like creativity, leadership and project management?

-Think about what is unique about your research experience. NB: this is not ‘manning the centrifuge’ and ‘mastering gel electrophoresis.’ What new or advanced skills did you acquire? What roadblocks did you encounter? If your research work was dull and dry, it will read as dull and dry to your reader. There’s no clause saying you must mention research in your essay, so ask yourself if you need to at all.

-Avoid phrases that inadvertently malign the research path. “Although research was fascinating, I wanted to make a more direct impact on people.” Some researchers working toward development of drugs that take millions of lives each year might beg to differ with your distinction between researcher and physician

We find that the majority of medical school applicants choose to highlight research in their personal statements; however, 99% of that content is the same from application to application. The reality is you probably have more to say about your research experience than you think! And if you don’t, you might consider using that space to expand on more distinctive elements of your application.

Looking for feedback on your AMCAS/TMDSAS personal statements? Visit us at www.ivyeyesediting.com or email us at admin@ivyeyesediting.com for a free critique of your application materials.

Cheers,

Ivy Eyes Editing

www.ivyeyesediting.com

In a recent article at portfolio.com, CEOs were commended for a quality that dare-not-speak-its-name in strong-arm 20^th century executive leadership: vulnerability. With a widening spotlight on corporate responsibility and improved connection  to consumer audiences, many CEOs have become the emotional, philosophical barometer for their organizations. Sure Starbucks produces high-quality coffee products, but do they CARE about their consumers, their suppliers and the way their products are produced?

Vulnerability has a place, too, in admissions writing. Consider the MBA applicant who maps out their life story and goals – from humble beginnings to megawatt entrepreneurial superstardom – emphasizing the ascent above all else. What about the crises, the moments of tension, and the failures?

Perhaps your life has only looked up after being raised by wolves in Appalachia, but even still—everyone makes mistakes and experiences failure. How you reacted to those mistakes will be of interest to your reader. Additionally, the vulnerability required to transparently explore those mistakes builds a visceral connection with an admissions committee member.

One of the biggest challenges of admissions writing is forming a real connection with your audience. You might be another sheet of paper, and another essay about IT consulting, but you can find ways to tap into the more human, distinctive elements of your story. These are the elements which will distinguish you from a growing applicant pool and help you gain admission to a top MBA program.

As business-to-consumer paradigms continue to shift, so do definitions of leadership and the ways in which we relate. Not too far down the line, an inability to be vulnerable (only when the occasion demands it, John Boehner) will be seen as a weakness, a character deficiency or even a sign of leadership immaturity.  So, start cultivating this trait in yourselves now – in your lives, in your careers and in the admissions process.

Cheers,

Ivy Eyes Editing

www.ivyeyesediting.com

I’ve always imagined you standing up while you read these, I don’t know why.

There are two bills currently making their way through congress that are of grave concern to myself, and should be for you as well: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

Full disclosure: I spend a LOT of time on the Internet. I work here, I play here, and I socialize here, so there might be some slight bias on my part when it comes to discussing things that affect the way the Internet functions. As fantastic as this technology is, it isn’t perfect. There is widespread piracy, and combating said piracy has been a chief concern of both content providers and policymakers for quite some time. SOPA and PIPA are two legislative attempts to combat online piracy. The problem is that they are both egregious infringements on free speech, and will serve to empower content providers with private police powers.

There are many negative effects that will result if SOPA and PIPA are signed into law, but two of the major ones concern the possible censorship of websites that have no infringing material and the ability for internet service providers to police their own networks and deny their users access to content they have unilaterally determined to be infringing on copyrights.

These bills would essentially be applying a blunt instrument in an effort to combat a widespread problem. One of the methods would allow content providers to block any web address that has been determined to be infringing on copyrights. The problem with this approach is that many domain names are shared among several different websites. Websites such as blogspot, wordpress, and tumblr, are all hosts for a variety of websites created by completely different authors. In the event that one of the pages using a domain name is branded a copyright infringer, the Internet service provider (ISP) would have free reign to deny access to all the web pages utilizing the same domain name. Therefore, you end up shutting down a bevy of perfectly legal sites in order to get to the one infringing address.

Another concern is the private police power that corporations would be afforded when it came to shutting down websites. Under the terms of SOPA, ISPs would be given a complete waiver of liability in the event that they decide to shut down a website they deem to be infringing on copyrights. Essentially, this would allow them to shut anyone down and bear no responsibility in the event that they were wrong and the website they targeted was not actually committing copyright infringement.

The problem that we are facing is that government representatives who have little to no understanding of the technology are being tasked with determining how that technology should be policed. While the Internet can be complicated, the ramifications of this legislation are simply explained in this video. I ask that you all watch it, and then contact your state representative and tell them to pull their support for these bills.

You can easily contact your local senator or state representative here .

Cheers,

Ivy Eyes Editing

www.ivyeyesediting.com

[Youtube]