Prompt
Your close friend Dana, who is 29, quit her job as an accountant eighteen months ago to write a novel. She has been living on her savings, which will run out in three months. She asked you to read the finished manuscript before she sends it to literary agents next week. You read it carefully. You found most of it slow and hard to follow, although a few chapters moved you. She has told you more than once that this book is the most important thing she has ever done. The interviewer will play Dana, who has just sat down to hear what you thought. Speak with her.
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After you practice: what this question tests and how to approach it
What this question tests
- Communication
- Empathy and compassion
- Ethical reasoning
How to approach this question
This MMI role-play station tests whether you can be honest with a close friend about work she has staked her savings and identity on, without crushing her or misleading her. Start by asking Dana what kind of feedback would help her most before she sends the manuscript to agents. Lead with what genuinely moved you, naming specific chapters, then share your concerns about pacing and clarity as one reader's view rather than a verdict. Keep her timeline in mind, because three months of savings is a reason honest feedback matters now. Let her react, listen, and talk through what she could do next. If you later learn she wanted encouragement more than critique, reflect on whether your honesty was still right and what you'd adjust in how you delivered it.
More on honesty and disclosure of error
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