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How To Write the Scholarship Essay
Writing the scholarship
essay is a critical step in the scholarship application
process because it helps establish why a particular
applicant is deserving of the money. Other scholarship
criterion such as a high SAT score and a solid GPA,
while still valuable, do not personalize the scholarship
application like the essay does, as the essay appeals
to the emotional aspect of one's psyche. For this reason
it is important that the scholarship essay is clear,
concise and well-written.
So how does one go about creating a
masterpiece scholarship essay? Well, the very first
step would involve one absolving themselves of the notion
that only those with talent have the ability to write
well. If a person can talk they can write. However,
because writing does involve a little bit more thinking
than regular talking, it is important to follow a few
guidelines during the writing process. These guidelines
are detailed below:
1) Read other scholarship essays
Reading other winning scholarship essays
is the best way to get a feel for what scholarship judges
are looking for. It may also help provide ideas during
times of writer's block. Be careful, however, not to
copy other people's words unless they are properly quoted
in the scholarship essay. This applies for both direct
quotes and paraphrased statements.
2) Use outlines and brainstorm
Outlines are a great tool for a writer
to get their thoughts together. A traditional outline
format consists of a Roman numeral identifying the main
heading, a capital letter identifying a subheading and
numbers indicating topics under the subheading. Further
points related to these topics can be denoted using
small letters. Of course, for the scholarship essay
an informal outline could work just as well... all that
really matters is that the writer is aware of what they
want to say before they actually start saying it.
3) Don't be afraid of research
Some scholarship essays seem so essay...
so why does a writer still encounter mental roadblocks
when starting their piece? This is perfectly natural
even on topics that one feels they are knowledgeable
of. To get the brain cells functioning again, sometimes
researching on topics directly and indirectly related
to the main topic is helpful.
4) Write from the heart
Don't try to sound like the latest best-selling
author when writing the scholarship essay. This includes
trying to sound 'deep', (unless of course 'deep' is
one's natural writing style), and littering the essay
with big words. Scholarship judges can see through this
and are usually turned off if they feel an essayist
is trying to sound like someone else.
5) Be creative
As long as creativity doesn't distract
from the main theme of the scholarship essay, and assuming
one is still using proper grammar, don't be afraid to
deviate from the 'academic style.' Believe it or not
scholarship judges are human and tend to notice essays
that touch their emotions in some way. Anecdotes, emotional
personal accounts and even dialogues are creative approaches
that have been used in winning scholarship essays. If
the scholarship essay instructions allow for creative
expression, go wild with it.
6) Use proper grammar and punctuation
Scholarship essays full of grammatical
errors are the first to be disqualified even if the
content is otherwise compelling. Therefore it is important
that an essayist is fully aware of the rules of English
grammar and writes in a formal manner. This means that
when it comes to choosing to write a sentence with a
traditional structure versus a 'contemporary' one, the
writer should opt for the former. For example, even
though it has recently become acceptable to use and
or but at the beginning of a sentence, it should be
avoided when writing the scholarship essay. There are
still a lot of editors that feel uncomfortable with
the idea of using a conjunction at the beginning of
a sentence, so why even take the chance? A writer can
never lose when choosing to write traditionally.
7) Use a standard essay format
A basic essay format consists of a thesis
statement, three or four paragraphs expanding on points
detailed in the thesis statement and a concluding paragraph.
This traditional structure, despite being seen as generic
by some writers, works very well. Why? Because it allows
the essayist to clearly lay out their thoughts both
for themselves during the writing process and for the
judges who are reading the essay. This is an important
factor when creating the scholarship essay, particularly
for inexperienced writers who may have trouble clearly
expressing the 'main point' in a non-traditional approach.
8) Follow the scholarship essay's instructions
It is important that the scholarship
essay addresses the points asked for in the instructions.
No matter how brilliant a particular piece is, if it
goes off on a tangent discussing irrelevant topics then
it has not achieved the desired objective.
9) Get someone else to proofread your
work
It is very easy for writers to not catch
all of their mistakes, whether they are grammatical
errors, typos or inconsistencies in the 'logic' of their
piece. This is why it is important for everyone, even
those who have previously written winning scholarship
essays, to get their work proofread by a variety of
sources.
10) Don't get discouraged by 'losing'
scholarship essays
Just because a scholarship essay didn't
win doesn't necessarily mean that it was bad. Keep in
mind that scholarship judges are responsible for reading
hundreds sometimes even thousands of scholarship essays.
Deciding who will win, particularly when there are so
many good essays to choose from can be very difficult.
Sometimes the final choice will be based purely on emotion...
the judge may see factors in an essay that reminds them
of their personal life. Either way, it is impossible
to please everyone. This is why it is important to apply
to as many scholarships as possible. As long as a person
follows these guidelines and produces a well-written
essay, the power of numbers shall be on their side.
Good scholarship essays are bound to get noticed eventually.
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