(I)
I will repeat ad nauseam – verbal score is the key for high GMAT score. But it is not easy to master the verbal portion, not only for Indians even for the people who have English as primary language. Today I will handle one element of the English language, punctuation. Many (not all) examples have been shamelessly lifted from the book “Eats, Shoots & Leaves” by Lynee Truss (explanations are mine). No one ever expected this book to get into the bestseller category. But it did.

 For a puritan English loving person, it is quite irritating to see the following: we sell CD’s, DVD’s and Book’s / We are Ladie’s hairdresser

Look at the change in meaning punctuation marks / their positioning can make

 A woman, without her man, is nothing (a woman is nothing without man)
 A woman: without her, man is nothing (man is nothing without a woman)

 Leonara walked on her head, a little higher than usual (she walked on her head)
 Leonara walked on, her head a little higher than usual (she walked, with her head high)

 The convict said the judge is mad (judge is mad, says the convict)
 The convict, said the judge, is mad (judge says that convict is made)

 The oft-repeated blunders: it’s (which is ‘it is’) / its (possessive – belongs to it)

 Cannot is one word; all other nots’ are two words – did not, does not, would not, etc

There have been situations where a comma caused difference between life and death

Don’t stop killing.
Don’t, stop killing.

It helps a lot to keep an eye on the punctuation mark and such detail. Knowing punctuation will be key to cracking many sentence correction questions.

(II)

Why is diversity important? If all students at ISB were like me, ISB would be a lot more silent place, there would have been no elections (because no one will participate), and thinking would have been a little more eccentric (not necessarily acts). At ISB, there are as many types as one can imagine and no one will complain because the types of people, the kinds of acts, the idiosyncrasies, the weirdest outlooks, are simply too many to not engage attention and interest. Any one looking for fun, apart from studies, can find a lot of it here.
Those who are planning to apply to ISB, and who can afford time and money, should come down, go around the campus and interact with the students here. Decision making will become much easier. Motivation will be much higher. Sure, it will be fun too.

PS: The title of the book refers to a Panda, which Eats ‘shoots and leaves’. But by placing a comma after Eats, the author refers to a serious change in meaning which is that Panda eats and then shoots (someone) and leaves.