Infrastructural Decay and National Development : First Bank Essay – Writing a winning entry

hey, I noticed that lots of people are searching the internet for information to help them to write this essay. Some were even going as far as posting the question on message boards and forums. Oh well, I doubt that any good information will be found there, especially when everyone is searching for the bounty.

I decided, as such a benevolent spirit, to put up some information that can help you write a winning essay. The following are some great tips:

1. Get the question right!
   It is important to understand the major issue in the essay. Consider the question “Infrastructural Decay and National Development : The Role of Banks”. Even though you are expected to speak on Infrastructural Decay in the nation, that is only to serve as a background for explaining the role of Banks. What they really want to know is what the Banks can do to help. If I were writing this essay, I would spend most of my 20 pages suggesting ways the Banks can help.
2. Focus!
   After understanding the direction you must be writing in, it is important to narrow your ideas to the content. You can say a lot on the topic, but remember that developing and explaining a few concrete ideas is better than going on a merry go round with talk that will only distract, or even worse, irritate the judges.
3. Give Examples!
   If possible, give examples to support your claims. When you do not have any examples you can cite, try to explain the rationale behind any suggestion. Refrain from embellishing your stories. Judges can usually know when you are trying to “bobo”. Believe me, especially for an essay competition of this magnitude, no one is gonna fall for it.
4. Don’t Cheat!
   This is probably one of the most important things to address. If you were hoping to download a page or find a website from google that will spit out the content of the essay for you to dub and pass over, you probably shouldn’t be writing this essay at all. For your information, the same search engines that you get your pages from will index searches on the topic. All it will take is one of the judges, or maybe his underling to google the same string that you did, and poof!, your dreams of that new iPhone are so ga ga! It is easier to locate sections in an essay that have been copied than you think, believe me.
5. Speak practically!
   it is easy to get carried away with the topic and to begin to suggest idealistic and unrealistic approaches to solving the menace of decaying infrastructure in Nigeria, but it is better not to. First Bank of Nigeria is an old generation bank. Even if they are wearing a new look, it is very apparent that they still operate on the same principles. Practical Banking! Don’t get me wrong, it is good to be idealistic and to dream, but it is important to know the difference between an ideal and a solution that can be practically applied. Maybe in a Bank PHB essay, just maybe.
6. Organise your Ideas effectively before you start writing!
   Most times, we are tempted to write the first sentence and then go where the writing leads us. This rarely works, except for experienced writers, and even those with experience rarely ‘wing it’, not when you have a full month to write. Prepare, Plan, Proceed!
7. Write Well!
   If you have the articulateness of Obama and the diction of Rev. Chris Okotie, it wouldn’t count for a 2 naira coin if your writing is filled with typographical errors and grammatical gaucherie. You can use a simple spell checker (F7 key in most WYSIWYG text editors). It is important to proof read a physical copy of your essay, sometimes, screen reading can be tricky. A tool I find most useful when writing is the thesaurus. You can search online for a myriad of thesaurus tools and other writing aids.
8. Seek Independent Appraisal!
   Since you spent so much time online and offline trying to get the essay done, why don’t you hand it to someone you deem qualified and learned to review it for you. Try to give it to someone you can trust, someone who will give you an honest opinion and helpful suggestions. Then afterwards you can go to First Bank and make the drop off!

Please don’t send your essay to me to review, cos I promise you, if its good, that same day I will submit it on my own behalf. I wish you all the best of luck as you work towards it, and don’t forget, even if you don’t win the money, you will have learnt a thing or two about the topic which will be of use to you someday.

~ by whichlevel on June 24, 2008.