Applying for scholarships can be a tedious process, especially the dreaded essay. The scholarship essay portion allows you to sell yourself and explain why you deserve the scholarship. It is important to highlight everything that makes you unique—focus on who you are not what you think you should be!
PLANNING
- Before writing your essay, it is important to plan in advance. Don’t wait until the last minute to start writing. This is one of the most important parts of the process—you have to convince the audience that you deserve the scholarship. Do research in advance on the scholarship’s sponsor and know your audience. It is super important to know which company or organization is giving the scholarship!
- Make sure to follow all prompts and select a topic that you are passionate about. It is important to select a topic that you truly care about to allow your audience to see your personality through your writing. No one wants to read a boring essay! If you’re bored writ-ing it, odds are the judges will be bored reading it.
WRITING
- Keep in mind that your introduction needs to be one of the strongest parts of the essay because it draws your audience in. It’s important to make a powerful connection to your audience by using emotions and real-life examples in your essay but always make sure the story you’re writing is uniquely yours.
- Start with an outline to organize your thoughts and plan your introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. This will make it much easier to actually write your essay. Remember, you need to have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
- Throughout your essay, stay positive and bring all elements to a strong conclusion. You can even end the essay with an important question to interest the reader. Remember to follow all instruc-tions and make sure to stay within the word count!
EDITING
- It is important to always proofread your work before submitting it. After you have proofread your own work a couple of times, ask a classmate, family member, or teacher to read it for you as well. This will help bring a fresh pair of eyes and a new perspective. Try reading it aloud to yourself or a classmate a couple of times so you can catch any mistakes you may have made in the rough draft.
- Also, check out your school or local library for writing centers that offer help for students. It’s very clear to the reader when work hasn’t been read over and this tells the audience that while you may want the money, you’re not willing to work for it.
- When submitting your essay, make sure that you get it in before the deadline!
LEAVE OUT
1. FAMOUS QUOTES – This essay is about YOU, so don’t take that away from yourself.
2. OVERUSED GENERAL PHRASES – This essay should be about why you stand out, not how you’re like others. Avoid the cliché phrases!
3. PROFANITY – This is a given, but leave out the curse words!
4. EMOJIS, IMAGES, CRAZY FONTS – Resist using things like photos, emojis, or creative fonts. Keep it professional.
5. PUTTING DOWN OTHERS – Don’t focus your essay on why someone else doesn’t deserve the scholarship. Only focus on why you deserve to win, and stay away from mentioning others in your essay.
By: Helen Taylor
