#241 The Paramedic Method: Revive Your MBA Essays & Beat the Word Count, Too

“Deleting prepositional phrases and replacing “is” forms with active verbs energize your prose.” – Darren, Touch MBA Darren edits an applicant’s essay using Professor Richard Latham’s Paramedic Method, an editing exercise to reduce your word count and energize your prose. Use the paramedic method to keep your essays action-oriented and concise. The Paramedic Method Circle the prepositions Circle the “is” forms Find the action Put this action in a simple (not compound) active verb Start fast – no slow windups Read the passage aloud with emphasis and feeling Write out each sentence on a blank screen or sheet of paper and mark off its basic rhythmic units with a “/” Mark off sentence length with a “/” See examples from the podcast here: https://touchmba.com/paramedic-method Topics Introducing the Paramedic Method (0:00) Example 1: Applying Paramedic Method to Introduction (5:40) Sentence 1 (7:40) Calculating the “Lard Factor” (11:00) Sentence 2 (11:35) Sentence 3 (14:10) Sentence 4 (15:20) Caveat to then Paramedic Method (20:00) Example 2: Applying Paramedic Method to Conclusion (22:45) Show Notes Revising Prose by Richard Lantham The Paramedic Method: A Lesson in Writing Concisely Touch MBA Episodes on How to Get & Keep Attention Resources for MBA Applicants ⁠⁠Get free school selection help at Touch MBA⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Get pre-assessed by top international MBA programs⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Our favorite MBA application tools (after advising 4,000 applicants)⁠