The essay is used by the admission office to get a better idea of who you are. This is one of the most important parts of your application and will be your opportunity to differentiate yourself from other applicants.

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This is your chance to demonstrate your qualifications and commitment to a career in business by discussing experiences, people, and events that influenced your decision to enter the field. That’s a lot to accomplish.

Strong essays will your lift your application above the others and weak essays can virtually guarantee that your application will not be accepted. Moreover, the essay is the only part of the application packet that you have total control of. Use this opportunity to tell the admission office all about yourself - your objectives, goals, aspirations and how you propose to achieve them. An effective essay may even compensate for the weaker portions of your application such as less-than-perfect grades. Writing a statement of purpose is a tough challenge. So do not wait until the last moment to accomplish this task. Before you start writing, remember the fact that the essay is not your resume. So do not repeat the information in your resume. You could however use it as a reference and highlight your academic experience and extracurricular achievements.

Before actually writing the essay here’s what you need to do:
Sit down with a pencil and blank paper and write down whatever comes to your mind, without filtering your ideas. Take as long as you need, and try not to be too organized about it. This unstructured ‘brainstorming’ will put you in an excellent state of mind to begin writing. The exercise is meant merely for clarity of thought, and no one will see it but you.

When you are finished look at the paper and consider what you wrote that is most descriptive of yourself. Consider your strengths and goals and how they intermingle with the particulars of the programme to which you are applying. You should consider your weaknesses as well. Be confident but not pretentious or verbose.

After you have done some serious brainstorming about who you are and what pieces of you an admissions committee would be most interested in seeing (and admitting), sit down to start a first draft.

Here are a few basic tips to help you out:
Research the universities/colleges you want to apply to.
Your research will tell you more about the institution, courses offered, curriculum, kind of students, facilities to an international student and more. You could use this information to write about your decision of wanting to attend that particular school and how the institution will help you achieve your goals. This will also give you a fair idea of the university’s essay requirements.

Use Headings
Because every essay question is really three or four questions combined, it's a good idea to use headings to add structure to your essays and help you stay focused on the questions being asked. Headings also make it easier for the reader to follow your story. 

Have an interesting start, interesting enough to have the reader continue reading.
Try an attention-grabbing lead--an anecdote, quote, question, or engaging description of a scene.  

Elaborate on your interests, experiences, objectives and academic plans.
Write about the significant events and that one person’s influence in your life. This person could be your mother, teacher, mentor, friend or even a personality who you have read about. Don’t forget to add those extra-curricular achievements you are proud of.

Writing Style and Voice
Avoid your essays from being stiff, passive, and unnecessarily formal. Loosen up.  However don’t get carried away and a bit too informal. For instance, try not to use the contraction ‘you'll’ in an application essay.  It’s too informal. The voice you use in your essays should sound professional but, at the same time, it should be a little informal. It’s not a good idea to sound chatty. Using slang is a complete no-no.

Word Limits
Most schools are pretty serious about their assigned essay lengths. You can exceed the limits by 50 words or so, but 100 words is pushing it. That's especially true at Harvard, where the essays are very short.

Brevity
After you have written an essay, see how many words you can edit out of it. That's the only way to make an overweight and ineffective essay crisp, focused, and clear.  Finally tell the admissions office about your future plans and how the degree you are aiming for will help you fulfill them. In short, what you intend to do with the degree. 

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