Written by Ahmed Ahmed
Start as early as possible:
Starting early is key to writing a good scholarship essay. This gives you the ability to think critically and deeply about the question and what it entails, without having to worry about time constraints. First, always make sure you completely understand the criteria, then start writing down ideas and a general framework to outline how you will approach the question. You should use this foundation to write different drafts, which will provide you with enough time and resources to develop your writing technique and build upon your ideas. After several attempts, you will eventually come up with an excellent final version, which you can submit well before the application deadline.
Understanding the question and instructions:
Even though many people write extraordinary essays, they still miss out on big scholarships each year as they do not pay close attention to or adequately understand what the question asks or the scholarship instructions. To reduce the risk of this happening, you should properly analyze the question and read it many times. After that, a general theme and key concepts must be deduced to gain a better understanding of the assignment. Through these topics, many more thoughts can be developed as you will have a clear view when writing the essay. After understanding the question and brainstorming ideas, review your key points and make sure they cover - and exceed - the criteria.
Make the essay engaging and authentic:
Scholarships need to be genuine - they must highlight your passion for your education, career, or personal life. Scholarship committees read countless essays and tostand out, you need to write something attention-grabbing and thought-provoking. This can be done by writing an engaging introduction, highlighting your improvement as you’ve progressed throughout either your personal or academic journey, what you’ve learned from your experiences, or a unique aspect about yourself. Scholarship essays are your chance to stand out, and even if you get out of your comfort zone while writing, chances are that it could work in your favour by improving the likelihood of you being selected.
Read, re-read and read it again.
After you’re done writing the essay, make sure you read it multiple times, as it is very important to ensure correctness and accuracy. Fixing basic errors like grammar and spelling mistakes, as well as checking that all information is factual and credible is key. Go over the scholarship criteria and the essay question while reading the essay over, and mark off each component as you go through to guarantee everything is included.
Get feedback:
Finally, get someone else to read it over for you. Asking somebody you know well to add their compliments and critiques is very beneficial. You could ask a teacher, guidance counsellor, friend, mentor or family member. These diverse viewpoints can give you different perspectives to eliminate assumptions or bias and catch hidden mistakes.
Good luck with your scholarship essays!
Works Cited
“8 Steps for Writing a Winning Scholarship Essay.” The Princeton Review, www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/scholarship-essays.
“How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay.” Top Universities, 15 Nov. 2019, www.topuniversities.com/student-info/scholarship-advice/how-write-winning-scholarship-essay.
“Scholarship Essay Examples That Actually Worked: Sample Essays.” Going Merry, 6 May 2020, www.goingmerry.com/blog/scholarship-essay-examples/.
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