JHU-SAIS Analytical Essay

[bktz]

"Discuss an issue of national or international importance and its concern to you. This essay should be no more than 600 words."

 

Does anyone have any insight on this essay beyond the prompt? Are they looking for solutions to the international issue (like the WWS policy memo) or simply why a certain issue matters to you? Should you tie it to your future career goals, or save that for the personal statement? How heavy should it be on discussing/analyzing the issue vs. describing why it matters to you?

[k_angie]

Well if it was me, I would have picked something I consider imp like say, education system of my country and worked on it. I wouldn't have focused on my career goals while writing in it but save it for my personal statement.

As for its structure, I would have gone with intro, whatever the constitution says about it, what has been done, a critical analysis of it and then what's in the pipeline and finally conclude it with what some of my ideas to mitigate the problem. Yeah something along those lines.

Hope this can help.

Good luck!

[Kaneisha]

@bktz, k_angie provided a great structure for the essay. I also offer these guiding questions to help you make sure you are fully addressing the prompt—that is, going beyond the superficial question they've asked and answering what I think of as the "questions behind the question."

 

Questions/Suggestions to help you fully answer the JHU-SAIS issue essay:

• Choose an issue that is more specific than general. It's a lot easier to write a meaningful essay about street children in Accra than say child labor globally.
• Why does this issue matter to you? (Is it a personal interest? Have you been directly affected by it? Do you feel your particular skills, talents, and experience would be especially helpful in this area?)
• What have you done so far, if anything, to help address the issue? (And yes, making a concerted effort to learn more about the issue or helping raise awareness about the issue counts as "doing something.")
• What are some of the existing solutions to this problem and what do you think should/could be done to address it? (Keep this part short.)

I hope you found this helpful!

 

Kaneisha

[bktz]

That helps a lot, thanks! 

[joseon4th]

@bktz, if you Google "SAIS Bologna Analytical Essay" two examples pop right up. That being said, they weren't exactly a lot of help IMO. They are very dry, financial sector responses that are a world away from what I'm writing about both in content and form.

 

My essay doesn't specifically mention career interests or really even solutions, but it does relate directly to certain experiences and interests mentioned in my SOP. It reads like an Economist article -- provides context and why it matters, and what it portends for the future. 

[IRToni]

I got accepted two years ago, and wrote about what the rise of China means for my country. SInce I was in China at that point, working for a journalist, in touch with the embassy etc., I was able to relate it to my life, analyze it etc. It was both broad and narrow, related to what I wanted to study, as well as my career plans, and at least doesn't seem to have kicked me out of the running. Note that my country is not the US, though, and studies on China's rise and its impact on my country are not nearly as overwrought and omnipresent.

[Pinkman]

Would anyone care to swap essays for SAIS? Would be delighted to help anyone if they could do the same..

[riverguide]

Pick something you know about. I used an independent research project from my studies abroad. This is an IR school so obviously the focus should be international despite the fact that the prompt says it can be national as well. The Bologna essay is actually a great example. It may be dry to you but SAIS is very economics oriented -and so is that essay. I chose a subject in my field and examined an economic aspect of it. What separates SAIS from Georgetown, Harvard and other IR grad schools is the rigorous economic component of the school's program. The ability to write short and succinct essays is de rigueur at SAIS. 

Edited December 19, 2013 by riverguide