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哈佛商学院经典申请陈述分析(4)

主题：优点和缺点

　　“坦诚地评价你的优点和缺点”

　　和写其它命题作文一样，描述自己优缺点时你首先要对自己有一个清晰的评估。在做自己的“超级崇拜者”的同时又做自己的“无情批判者”，这也许是一件很难的事情。但是这个命题给你提供了一个集中展示的机会，证明你是了解自己的。你的坦诚很重要——不要借助虚伪的谦虚、不要夸大其词、也不要羞羞答答 ——但是一定要诚实相见。

　　列举自己的种种优点对你来说可能不是一件难事，但要把自己的缺点写出来，你可能会在开始时觉得稍有难度。但是，你可以把这个命题看成是一个机会，借此来展示你过去或未来的个人和职业发展。选择一个缺点(不能是一个改头换面的优点)，并清晰地展示你是如何意识到这个缺点的。这样，读者会认为你是一个成熟和有自知之明的人。另外，一定不要选择可能会阻碍你在商学院取得成功的缺点——比如不敢在公众场合讲话。

　　描述你优缺点的方式可以是多种多样的。通过具体的故事来证明你的自我评价似乎是最好的方式，不过列举个性特征和性格的方法只要有创意也会达到同样好的效果。只要你传递信息时是自信和真诚的，你的写作风格就可以是正式的、交流式的、分析式的或者文学式的。请注意：在最优秀的陈述中，形式往往是反映内容并为内容服务的。

　　最后，一定要记住，尽管你是在评价自己的优缺点，但你同时也给哈佛商学院递交了一个间接的案例。如果你能把你陈述的优点定位成未来能够对学校做出贡献的东西，把你的缺点定位成学校MBA课程会涉及的个人发展需求。那么，你的陈述就一定会引起招生办的关注。

　　优秀英语范文：

　　I think that enthusiastic, professional, and international, with all the positive and negative implications, would be a good way to summarize my strengths and weaknesses. When I decide to take something on, whether in business or in personal life, I tend to be very enthusiastic about it: I want to give it my best, get as much as possible out of it, and enjoy myself while doing so. I put my heart into everything I do. Therefore, enthusiasm is one of my biggest strengths: it makes it easy for me to get on with anyone, to motivate people, and to create a fun and supportive environment around me. My positive nature has also helped me to get through tough times (whether on projects or during difficult company situations). However, enthusiasm is also one of my weaknesses by making me relatively impatient with people that have a negative or cynical outlook. Because I fully engage in anything I do, a cynical attitude goes against what I stand for and believe in. Therefore, I find it more emotionally challenging to deal with people who have a more neutral attitude towards their work.

　　I would also describe myself as professional. When I take on a task, I want to do it to the best of my ability and make no compromises. I find it crucially important to be respectful among colleagues and towards superiors and clients, especially in today sometimes very casual workplace. Professionalism makes me a thorough and appreciated colleague, who provides robust and well-considered analyses and conclusions. However, this very thoroughness and perfectionism sometimes prevents me from taking on tasks that I feel I have too little experience in. Although I am always ready to take on challenges when I have the right support mechanism, I never make bullish statements about my abilities unless I am convinced I am well prepared to do the job, sometimes leading me to underestimate my abilities.

　　Finally, being international is also both a strength and a weakness. Having traveled a lot during my studies and my work has given me a lot of confidence of being able to stand on my own, even in a foreign environment. I cherish international contact. On the downside, being very international has left me less deeply rooted in any one place than people who have spent their entire lives in the same community.
　　点评：

　　作者在文中将三个优点和缺点等同起来说，这是一种不常见却很有效的叙述方式。如果简单地说极端的优点就成了缺点，这会使陈述显得很模糊和抽象。在本文中，作者具体和细节的解释使这篇文章变得非常的成功。作者用三个具体的个人例子来阐明她的观点。这样，除了对优缺点的描述之外，她也展现出了高度的自我认知、成熟和生活中的周全意识。不拘一格的陈述方式总是有一些风险的。自由度太大会使文章在回答核心问题时显得缺乏力度。但是一旦成功的话，它就会出类拔萃。