Ask 4 future trainees ANYTHING! *New TCLA Team Members*

rain2801

Active Member
Jan 8, 2025
15
9
Hi @rain2801 I definitely think you should still give it a shot. Firms have always cared a lot less about high school grades than about university performance, simply because that is most relevant to assessing your potential in the industry. They do not expect you to have always have a flawless academic record, and being able to show you have had struggles but managed to overcome them and then excel is certainly and attractive trait. And this has been a trend that has accelerated recently, with many firms significantly lowering or even dropping GCSE/A-levels requirements completely. Even those that have kept them in practice tend to treat them more as a 'soft expectations' than a mandatory field, as there are many examples of forum members who did not meet the A-level requirements of Magic Circle firms, but chose to still apply and ended up getting TCs.

Considering that you have more than made up for the final high school year performance by getting into a top law school (which you should definitely emphasize in your application, as recruiters may not be familiar with it - perhaps mention national rankings and admission statistics) and by getting top results there (again, if possible, quantify these with respect to your year group), I would not worry too much about them. This is even more the case since you have mitigating circumstances, even if not officially recognized by your institution. Simply explain the circumstances and why these weren't recorded in the system back home; this is an issue many international students face and recruiters will be familiar with it.

As for the 4 year gap, I once again do not think this is a significant impediment. Firstly, the work you have undertaken during this period will have built skills which you will definitely be able to leverage in your application - this will be an advantage compared to people who are applying straight out of university. Secondly, there are many more mature successful applicants than you would think, and age does not seem to play any part in firm's assessment of a candidate - in fact, in many circumstances age discrimination would be illegal. As a great example of success as a more mature applicant, @Ram Sabaratnam (one of our community assistants) actually only started applying in his early 30s and got a TC from Cooley!

In terms of advice, besides my usual line to focus on writing as many high quality applications as possible, there are two things I would mention specific to your circumstances: (i) make sure you provide a convincing explanation as to why you want to work in the UK even though you were educated and lived in a different country; and (ii) ensure you can explain how after high school and during your gap you became attracted to law and how your university experience confirmed this.

All the best with your applications and feel free to tag me with any further questions :)!
Thank you so much for this! It's quite encouraging to know this.
 
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FutureTrainee100

Active Member
Premium Member
Sep 12, 2022
10
4
Hi @Amma Usman, I have been invited to a first stage interview with Gibson Dunn and I am very nervous as this will be my first ever. As the focus is mostly motivational and competency-based, I was hoping you could share some advice to help me prepare. In particular, I’m curious about who you’d consider Gibson Dunn’s main competitors and how the firm differentiates itself from them. It would be great to understand what sets the firm apart from others.

@Kay Aston @Andrei Radu @Ram Sabaratnam if you have any general tips on how to approach the interview, especially in terms of preparation or standing out, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks so much for your help!
 

Andrei Radu

Legendary Member
Staff member
Future Trainee
Gold Member
Premium Member
Sep 9, 2024
542
887
Hi @Amma Usman, I have been invited to a first stage interview with Gibson Dunn and I am very nervous as this will be my first ever. As the focus is mostly motivational and competency-based, I was hoping you could share some advice to help me prepare. In particular, I’m curious about who you’d consider Gibson Dunn’s main competitors and how the firm differentiates itself from them. It would be great to understand what sets the firm apart from others.

@Kay Aston @Andrei Radu @Ram Sabaratnam if you have any general tips on how to approach the interview, especially in terms of preparation or standing out, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks so much for your help!
Hey @hello123 and first of all congrats for getting the interview, it is a huge achievement! In terms of general tips and preparation, I advise you to read the recent Complete Guide to Competency Interview Preparation I have written. You will find a list of my best tips and a detailed description of the the preparation method that has secured me a VS 4/4 times I implemented it.

Just to jump in before @Amma Usman can come back to you with a more informed view, I would break the competitors question into two. Firstly, you have competitors understood as firms that are most alike Gibson Dunn as a whole - the same 'type' if you like. I would describe Gibson Dunn's type as a small to middle-sized office of an elite white shoe firm, with strengths across transactional and disputes practices. Thus, I would compare it with the likes of Milbank and Willkie. Secondly, you can think of competitors as the toughest firms to pitch against on a given mandate, and this will necessarily be practice-area specific. Thus, I think you should look at Gibson Dunn's main practice areas (you should be able to see this from their Chambers firm profile) and then look up the Chambers UK 2025 band rankings for each of those. Then, select some of the two-three best ranked ones and look particularly for US firms, as they share more of the same market and client base with Gibson Dunn.
 

FutureTrainee100

Active Member
Premium Member
Sep 12, 2022
10
4
Hey @hello123 and first of all congrats for getting the interview, it is a huge achievement! In terms of general tips and preparation, I advise you to read the recent Complete Guide to Competency Interview Preparation I have written. You will find a list of my best tips and a detailed description of the the preparation method that has secured me a VS 4/4 times I implemented it.

Just to jump in before @Amma Usman can come back to you with a more informed view, I would break the competitors question into two. Firstly, you have competitors understood as firms that are most alike Gibson Dunn as a whole - the same 'type' if you like. I would describe Gibson Dunn's type as a small to middle-sized office of an elite white shoe firm, with strengths across transactional and disputes practices. Thus, I would compare it with the likes of Milbank and Willkie. Secondly, you can think of competitors as the toughest firms to pitch against on a given mandate, and this will necessarily be practice-area specific. Thus, I think you should look at Gibson Dunn's main practice areas (you should be able to see this from their Chambers firm profile) and then look up the Chambers UK 2025 band rankings for each of those. Then, select some of the two-three best ranked ones and look particularly for US firms, as they share more of the same market and client base with Gibson Dunn.
This VERY VERY helpful, thank you very much for this and all you do!!
 
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Amma Usman

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Premium Member
Sep 7, 2024
769
877
Hi @Amma Usman, I have been invited to a first stage interview with Gibson Dunn and I am very nervous as this will be my first ever. As the focus is mostly motivational and competency-based, I was hoping you could share some advice to help me prepare. In particular, I’m curious about who you’d consider Gibson Dunn’s main competitors and how the firm differentiates itself from them. It would be great to understand what sets the firm apart from others.

@Kay Aston @Andrei Radu @Ram Sabaratnam if you have any general tips on how to approach the interview, especially in terms of preparation or standing out, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks so much for your help!

Hi there @hello123 ,

I don’t have much to add to @Andrei Radu ’s wonderful response.

With regards motivational and competency interviews, I generally recommend candidates knowing their skills and experiences in and out. This way, any question you’re asked wouldn’t trip you off as you can easily link it back to yourself to show specific interest.

With regards how to differentiate a law firm from its competitors, I have linked a thread below which should help out.

Best of luck!

 

hmevey

Star Member
Sep 7, 2024
30
11
How to approach this question for SH, struggling slightly!

In up to 600 words, please outline up to three significant challenges that you think all law firms will face over the next five years. You should draw on your current awareness and your commercial awareness to answer this question.- Max 600 words
 

Amma Usman

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Sep 7, 2024
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Hi! If I’m doing a commercial case study at an AC, what kind of topics/questions should I anticipate and how can I prepare/what should I know? Thank you!
@Andrei Radu @Amma Usman @Ram Sabaratnam

Hi there,

Commercial case studies encompass so many things. In law firm interviews, I usually expected article or corporate case studies. As your firm has told you this would be a ‘commercial’ case study, I presume this to be on two businesses navigating a problem/series of problems. In my experience, this was usually an M&A case study as those firms were more transactional-focused. To prepare for this, I learnt basic terms, stages of a typical M&A deals, the types of contracts involved, etc. I will link a case study I made on this which covered most of the issues I encountered and ways to navigate these.

Now let’s assume the case study isn’t even on an M&A topic. The truth is, and in my opinion, basic knowledge of how businesses make and maintain profit, navigate common economic problems like inflation etc, will help you navigate ANY case study. The ability to also consider the influence of greater things such as social and political considerations, where necessary, may also be relevant. For example, policy considerations may also need to be taken into account in certain business processes.

I’ve included some topics you could anticipate, though the list is non-exhaustive:

  • Market entry: Should a company expand into a new region or launch a new product?
  • M&A: Evaluating whether a merger or acquisition makes strategic sense.
  • Risk assessment: Identifying potential risks (legal, financial, reputational) for a client.
  • Stakeholder analysis: Considering the perspectives of different parties involved, like clients, regulators, or investors.
To prepare:

  • Brush up on current commercial trends, like AI, ESG, or economic developments (inflation, interest rates, etc.).
  • Familiarise yourself with basic financial terms (e.g., revenue, EBITDA, valuation) and frameworks like SWOT or PESTLE.
  • Practise structuring your answers logically. Use frameworks to organise your thoughts and clearly explain your reasoning.
  • Stay calm and don’t panic if you’re unsure, it’s more about how you approach the problem than having the “right” answer.

You’ve got this!

 
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Amma Usman

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Sep 7, 2024
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Hi there. You can touch on anything really, from ESG, energy, AI, and the likes. There is no right answer, only your ability to connect it to the commercial and legal worlds, as this is what will help demonstrate your commercial awareness. There is also a tendency for applicants to talk a lot about topics like AI, but I presume it would not be much of an issue if you mention a common topic, provided you expand on it adequately. Another thing is that you do not have to equally split the word count, but I recommend doing so (or somewhat closely) to ensure you touch on each topic in depth.

I’ve linked an example of how I would personally approach this question in the context of ESG:

One significant challenge law firms will face over the next five years is managing the escalating demand for environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related legal services amidst rapidly evolving regulations and stakeholder expectations. Governments worldwide are introducing stricter environmental legislation, such as carbon reduction targets and mandatory sustainability reporting, while investors and clients demand greater transparency and accountability in corporate operations.

For law firms, the challenge lies in providing clients with proactive and commercially viable solutions to meet these obligations while avoiding reputational and legal risks. This requires deep expertise in emerging ESG frameworks, sector-specific regulations, and litigation risks, as well as the ability to handle the increasing complexity of cross-border ESG issues. Moreover, firms must address their own ESG commitments to attract talent and clients who prioritize sustainability and ethical practices. Balancing the cost of internal transformation with maintaining profitability will test firms' strategic adaptability.

Law firms that effectively integrate ESG advisory into their practice and demonstrate leadership in this space will secure a competitive advantage, but those that fail to keep pace risk losing relevance in an increasingly sustainability-conscious market.

How to approach this question for SH, struggling slightly!

In up to 600 words, please outline up to three significant challenges that you think all law firms will face over the next five years. You should draw on your current awareness and your commercial awareness to answer this question.- Max 600 words
 

Addicted2chikin

Distinguished Member
Premium Member
Jul 3, 2022
51
46
Hi there,

Commercial case studies encompass so many things. In law firm interviews, I usually expected article or corporate case studies. As your firm has told you this would be a ‘commercial’ case study, I presume this to be on two businesses navigating a problem/series of problems. In my experience, this was usually an M&A case study as those firms were more transactional-focused. To prepare for this, I learnt basic terms, stages of a typical M&A deals, the types of contracts involved, etc. I will link a case study I made on this which covered most of the issues I encountered and ways to navigate these.

Now let’s assume the case study isn’t even on an M&A topic. The truth is, and in my opinion, basic knowledge of how businesses make and maintain profit, navigate common economic problems like inflation etc, will help you navigate ANY case study. The ability to also consider the influence of greater things such as social and political considerations, where necessary, may also be relevant. For example, policy considerations may also need to be taken into account in certain business processes.

I’ve included some topics you could anticipate, though the list is non-exhaustive:

  • Market entry: Should a company expand into a new region or launch a new product?
  • M&A: Evaluating whether a merger or acquisition makes strategic sense.
  • Risk assessment: Identifying potential risks (legal, financial, reputational) for a client.
  • Stakeholder analysis: Considering the perspectives of different parties involved, like clients, regulators, or investors.
To prepare:

  • Brush up on current commercial trends, like AI, ESG, or economic developments (inflation, interest rates, etc.).
  • Familiarise yourself with basic financial terms (e.g., revenue, EBITDA, valuation) and frameworks like SWOT or PESTLE.
  • Practise structuring your answers logically. Use frameworks to organise your thoughts and clearly explain your reasoning.
  • Stay calm and don’t panic if you’re unsure, it’s more about how you approach the problem than having the “right” answer.

You’ve got this!

Thank you so much! This is really helpful :)
 
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Eye of the Sun

Active Member
Gold Member
Premium Member
Nov 6, 2024
10
6
Hey TCLA team!

I have recently purchased the TCLA Gold membership but have not had my request to access the Premium content approved yet. I'd appreciate your help on this one thanks!

Also, I have an AC coming up in Feb, which includes written exercise, business case study, group exercise, and interview with a Silver Circle firm. This is my first ever AC and I'd appreciate any advice to prep for the day. @Amma Usman @Andrei Radu @Jaysen thank you in advance. :)
 

Jessica Booker

Legendary Member
TCLA Moderator
Gold Member
Graduate Recruitment
Premium Member
Forum Team
Aug 1, 2019
14,983
20,819
Hey TCLA team!

I have recently purchased the TCLA Gold membership but have not had my request to access the Premium content approved yet. I'd appreciate your help on this one thanks!

Also, I have an AC coming up in Feb, which includes written exercise, business case study, group exercise, and interview with a Silver Circle firm. This is my first ever AC and I'd appreciate any advice to prep for the day. @Amma Usman @Andrei Radu @Jaysen thank you in advance. :)
If you send me proof of purchase via a private message, I can get this access sorted for you.
 

TCchaser24

Star Member
Nov 20, 2023
28
29
Hi everyone,

I hope you are well. This question is for everyone, but particularly @Amma Usman given your connection to Gibson Dunn as a future trainee, I thought you might be able to help with a slight dilemma I have.

I have a VS offer at Gibson Dunn which I have accepted, however, I am a paralegal at another firm and have not yet asked for the time off - I am nervous about doing this given it is three weeks and I handle my own cases at work, so it feels like I'm just walking away from the responsibility and gives the firm more of a reason to say no. I ordinarily don't think they would, but given the length of the VS it is slightly problematic and I don't know how I should approach asking for this time off- I had applied to GDC VS in September before my paralegal job began in November. How would you approach this?

I note that Gibson Dunn had a direct TC route that was open, as seen on the Gradallhires website, but from memory, this link never seemed to work when I tried clicking, and it was confusing because I was under the impression that everyone at GDC, at least externally, got a TC through the VS? Could you advise how this works, and whether there was in fact a direct TC route available?

Finally, I have seen on the firm's VS brochure that "To secure a training contract you should first apply for our vacation scheme but training contract will be open for those unable to participate in the programme". Do you know what this means? Based on how this sounds, I am thinking about calling grad rec, and asking to potentially be considered for a TC another way, perhaps through a direct route if this does in fact exist, as this would bypass having to take three weeks off which I may not be afforded by my current employer. However, I don't know if this is the right thing to do, and whether it disadvantages my chances of a TC. Could you also give your opinion on this?
 

FutureTrainee100

Active Member
Premium Member
Sep 12, 2022
10
4
Hi @Amma Usman @Andrei Radu,

I wanted to thank you, as well as the resources provided by TCLA, for all the guidance—I'm thrilled to share that I have made it to the second and final stage interview with Gibson Dunn! This stage includes an article-based interview and a further competency interview with a partner and a senior associate.

I was hoping to get some advice on how best to prepare for the article-based interview. Do you have any tips on how to approach it effectively, particularly in terms of structuring responses and demonstrating commercial awareness, especially since I’ve been told it likely won’t be very legal?

Additionally, I’m feeling a bit unsure about how to approach the further competency interview. Since my first interview with Graduate Recruitment was also competency-based and covered questions like “Why Gibson Dunn?”, “Why law?”, and “Tell me about yourself,” I’m not sure if I need to adapt my answers for the final stage.

In the first interview, I focused on Gibson Dunn’s strengths across transactional and contentious work, the appeal of the free market system, the training philosophy, and the firm’s culture. Should I give different reasons this time, or is it okay to reiterate and expand on these points? Similarly, should I change my answer to “Why law?” or even adjust how I introduce myself at the start of the interview?

Any advice on these points would be so appreciated! Thank you in advance for your help.
 

Andrei Radu

Legendary Member
Staff member
Future Trainee
Gold Member
Premium Member
Sep 9, 2024
542
887
Hi @Amma Usman @Andrei Radu,

I wanted to thank you, as well as the resources provided by TCLA, for all the guidance—I'm thrilled to share that I have made it to the second and final stage interview with Gibson Dunn! This stage includes an article-based interview and a further competency interview with a partner and a senior associate.

I was hoping to get some advice on how best to prepare for the article-based interview. Do you have any tips on how to approach it effectively, particularly in terms of structuring responses and demonstrating commercial awareness, especially since I’ve been told it likely won’t be very legal?

Additionally, I’m feeling a bit unsure about how to approach the further competency interview. Since my first interview with Graduate Recruitment was also competency-based and covered questions like “Why Gibson Dunn?”, “Why law?”, and “Tell me about yourself,” I’m not sure if I need to adapt my answers for the final stage.

In the first interview, I focused on Gibson Dunn’s strengths across transactional and contentious work, the appeal of the free market system, the training philosophy, and the firm’s culture. Should I give different reasons this time, or is it okay to reiterate and expand on these points? Similarly, should I change my answer to “Why law?” or even adjust how I introduce myself at the start of the interview?

Any advice on these points would be so appreciated! Thank you in advance for your help.
Hi @FutureTrainee100 and first of all huge congratulations, this is a huge achievement! Also, I am very glad to hear we were able to help :)!

For your question about how to approach the competency interview, I do not think you should let your strategy be affected by the answers you gave in the graduate recruitment interview. The partner are unlikely to know/keep in mind what you have responded, and regardless there is no expectation for you to have different why law/why firm motivations. If anything, coming up with radically different answers might be a sign of dishonesty/insincerity.

The only adjustment regarding this interview should be to account for the fact that you will be speaking with experts in their fields who have very detailed technical knowledge of their practice but also of the firm and the legal market in general. As such, you might expect more scrutiny and follow up questions on your motivations and knowledge of the firm/commercial law. Thus, as you are preparing I would advise you to try to anticipate what you might be questioned further on and find answers to that. Moreover, you might want to actively try to showcase your nuanced understanding more than in a graduate recruitment interview. For instance, when discussing the firm's strengths in different practice areas you could analyze that in the context of its competitors, thus demonstrating an increased depth of research.

As for your question about advice for the written exercise part, I have quoted bellow some posts I made discussing general written exercise tips and some specific to an article-based written exercise. Besides these, in regards to showing commercial awareness, I would have two further tips:
  • When considering a commercial factor, always try to link it to the bottom line: is this likely to increase/decrease revenues and/or is this likely to increase/decrease costs and expenses? If so, by how much? This should be helpful in terms of showcasing understanding of how businesses work and should also help with coming up with an argument in favor of one view or another if that is required of you.
  • Try to actively think of ways the weigh given to a given commercial factor is impacted by current events/trends: is inflation coming down relevant in any way? Is AI innovation? Or perhaps the recent elections? It is likely that for one factor or another, at least something in terms of recent news will be relevant, so if this is the case definitely try to mention it. This is once again particularly useful for helping you to formulate an argument in situations where you need tiebreakers.
I have not had any personal experience with this particular type of written assessment method, but I think it is quite likely the firm is looking to assess the same key competencies: time-management and resilience under pressure, ability to identify and summarize key issues in large bodies of text, use of formal language, commercial awareness and problem solving skills. As such, I do not think your preparation for this type of written assessment format should be very different from your preparation for an exercise with a more common format.

The only things I can think of that you may want to consider as altering in your preparation are the following:
  • Broader scope: An article will normally treat a broader topic and will aim to be more comprehensive than an email relating to a particular task. As such, when preparing I would look for written exercises asking me to summarize/comment on a wider set of issues. However, a corollary of that may be that you are not expected to go into as much depth in any of the particular issues.
  • Length: Because of the broader scope, an article may generally be longer than an email.
  • Impersonal and objective tone: As opposed to an email, which will relate to a particular issue a client cares about, an article is generally supposed to be more objective and impartial. You may therefore have to consider the perspective of stakeholders other than the firm's clients and to avoid the temptation of analysing the issues from a 'client-centric' perspective. However, if you are asked to also make an argument and give your personal view in the article (rather than an impartial commentary), definitely avoid sitting on the fence.
Finally, I would advise you to try to gather more information about the details of the written task at this specific firm. Resources like the TCLA Interview Database may come in very handy.

While I think different strategies apply for different formats, there are a couple of pointers which I would say are generally applicable for all or almost all types of written exercises:
  1. Time-management: You might have heard this so many times already, but I have to stress that most written exercises are incredibly time-pressured. I remember I was always told this, but it is very easy to forget during the actual assessment. In the first 20-30 minutes I have always to an extent or another allowed myself to be tempted by thoughts such as 'Oh it won't take me that long to read/write that part, I will just speed up a bit later' and I would thus justify being less efficient than I could have been in the first half of the exercise. As I would be entering the second half and nearing the end, I would invariably then find that it was very difficult to increase my working pace to make up for lost ground and my work product would suffer as a result. Thus, my advice is to be on your guard against that and to try to spread out your efforts evenly across the allocated time. Take one or two minutes in the beginning to make a plan and divide your workload, allocate portions of your time to completing the different parts, and try to make yourself to stick to those time limits.
  2. Efficient reading: In a substantial number of written exercises you will be given a large number of documents containing overlapping information and also big sections of text containing technical details which are not of great importance to your task. Once again, there is a temptation to ignore the time constraints and to try to read everything closely to ensure you are not missing anything. However, in my experience the main task of the assessment very rarely or never hinges on easy to miss details. As such, my advice for you is to try to quickly read and skim through the documents, and only once you have a big picture go back and look at the relevant sections in more detail.
  3. Analysis: Almost all written assessments have an analysis part, in which you are asked to weigh different considerations and make a judgement. I would advise you not to focus too much on trying to "blow away" the reader with the depth of your analysis or creativity of your arguments. Given the time constraints and nature of the tasks, there is rarely scope for that and if you focus to much on this kind of goal you might miss explaining much simpler points that should have been included in your analysis. As such, concentrate on considering the position of all relevant stakeholders (if you have issues doing this, drawing out diagrams can be very useful), having all the main pros and cons properly laid out, and weighing which set of considerations should you give priority to. If you can further support your opinion by making any links to current news stories or commercial trends, try to do so.
  4. Clarity and structure: Finally, ensuring your answer is very easy to follow is a point whose importance I cannot overstate. A essential skill for a prospective trainee is an ability for clear communication, both verbally and in writing, and this type of assessment is how they test the later. As such, you should focus on having a simple writing style and structure as much as you focus on the substantive points you are trying to communicate.

Hi @CHLTC I really empathize with your struggles, as case studies/written tasks were always the hardest part of ACs for me as well. I don't think there is a specific method you can prepare, since as you mentioned, they come in a wide variety of formats. In my view, the only way to prepare is by developing the underlying skills every case study will seek to test: time-management and work under pressure, clarity of writing and structure, commercial awareness and analysis, ability to digest large amounts of information, etc.

To do that, I think it is useful to both practice actual case studies and to read more widely about the commercial matters that might be relevant for them. A particularly helpful resource for me was the course offered by TCLA on the matter (which you can find here). It includes a number of mock PE and M&A case studies, recordings of two hour long sessions explaining how to think through written/interview style M&A case studies, and a number of questions that are analyzed in depth by the TCLA team. To link a few useful free resources on TCLA:
  • An amazing guide for M&A case studies by @Jacob Miller, which includes both a mock case study and a model answer with detailed explanations of how you should think through the materials (which you can find here).
  • A mock written case study offered by TCLA here.
  • An excellent article written by @Jaysen Sutton, which explains the process, types, structures, and general terms of an M&A transaction (which you can find here).
  • A glossary of M&A terms by @Amma Usman here.
Besides these, I have also found a few external resources you may want to take a look at:
Finally, I quoted bellow a recent post I wrote which I think you could find useful - it includes my top tips for any written task:
 

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