Looking for how to write a good scholarship application essay? This article contains all you need to know with scholarship essay examples.
Hey folks. How are you doing? So today we are going to hit the road on the journey of composing a stellar scholarship essay. Do you know why? Writing a scholarship essay is a capital stage of the scholarship application process. With a well–constructed essay, you would introduce yourself to the university in question as a competent applicant who is fit for a scholarship award and a tenacious candidate who would make the best out of his/ her studies. So it’s time to learn, apply and win!
Learn more about Scholarship Applications
WHAT IS A SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY?
A scholarship application essay is a statement that aims at persuading the university, a high school, or a college that you deserve the scholarship. As simple as that! It is a stage where you explain the reasons for choosing to study a particular course in college. You express your intentions, your struggles, your motivation, your career drive, your purpose, and the impact that the course of study would have on your personal and professional goals. You are also entitled to purport your reasons for financial aid. They say that while the scholarship application is cold and informative, the scholarship essay is heartwarming and persuasive. In essence, YOU TELL YOUR STORY. Now, there are thousands of scholarship essays that are religiously screened by the university board. How can you make your winning scholarship application essay exceptional, mind-captivating, and impossibly irresistible?
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THE PERFECT 8 – STEP GUIDE TO WRITING A WINNING SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY
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Plan and know your audience in advance
A menacing mistake that you have to avoid as an applicant is to wait until the last minute before you proceed with applying for a scholarship. If you fall into that trap, there is an immense possibility that the quality of your essay would be poor and would ruin your chance of gaining admission to a higher institution. Instead of committing this error, why don’t you set up a calendar for each scholarship you apply for before the deadline? In that way, you ensure a professionally written scholarship application essay.
As you plan for the process, you also need to be abreast of what the board is looking for in suitable candidates. Conduct research on the strengths, achievements, or awards of the university and the competencies of past winning candidates. Find ways in which you can tailor your strengths with the assets that the board is looking for.
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Follow the instructions and choose the topic that interests you the most
Don’t peruse or read the scholarship essay outline in a haste. Ensure that you are circumspect in following the directions given. If details, such as word count, are neglected, then you may impair your chances of getting admission to the institution of your choice.
From the scholarship essay outline, choose the topic that interests you the most. A topic that you are passionate about will serve as an enabler to give your very best at writing a scholarship essay that thrills.
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Keep a good structure and create a strong introduction
Make sure that your thoughts and ideas about the topic you have chosen are penned down. When constructing your scholarship application essay, your sentences shouldn’t be in disarray. Rather, they should follow a logical order that can carry the reader along. Also, your introductory sentences should be impactful. They are the first to be read so they own the strongest part of the scholarship application essay. Which of the following invites you the most?
A: I started high school when I was just 10 years old and the faces in class were so unfamiliar.
B: I was just 10 years old when I cowardly stepped into the first class of high school. Who would have thought that the faces marked the most defining part of my life?
Which of the previous sentences appealed to you the most? That’s right! Unlike the A sentence, the B sentence made you wonder why and how the faces in the class defined an important part of the writer’s life. That’s exactly how the university board should feel about your essay. Make them wonder “why” and “how”!
- Show Emotions
One unique way in which the reader connects with the writer is by understanding the emotions that are delineated. Express your weaknesses, and your soft spots and narrate how your experiences challenged you to become a better you. The university board wants to know about your vulnerabilities and how you can overcome them. This would depict self-awareness – a quality that is highly appreciated by the universities.
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Share Real – life examples
What would make your scholarship application essay even more delectable is using real-life examples. In the process of writing your scholarship essay, dramatize the scenes of your experience in a way that conveys suspense, adventure, or empathy. Writing a scholarship essay in that manner will encourage the reader to stay glued to your essay.
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Write a conclusion that leaves much to be desired.
Writing a scholarship essay is one thing but keeping your readers inspired is another. While other applicants would compose a conclusion that seems to be the summary of the entire essay, decorate the concluding part with attention-grabbing sentences, or leave a question unanswered!
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Edit and Proofread
As much as we want to believe that we have completed an essay unerringly, you have to be very cautious with your work. Read and proofread as much as possible. Seek the assistance of your family and friend to read the essay out loud and detect errors (if any) in the tone or style of the essay.
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Make Good use of the Available Scholarship Essays Online
There are copious examples of winning scholarship essay outlines that can guide you further in writing a scholarship essay in a decorous way.
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HOW TO STRUCTURE AND FORMAT THE SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY
Now that you have the perfect guide to composing an essay, it’s time to structure your format. What is a format? A format is a way of formally arranging and developing ideas. A format can help you to organize your scholarship essay by checking to see if and how ideas connect and whether some points need more support.
- Identify the topic: As it was earlier mentioned, choose a topic that interests you the most. When you do so, you will be able to express your ideas appropriately
- Figure out the main points: When you are done, it would be wise to deliberate on the ideas. Ask yourself: Why is this topic important? Did the scenes around this topic make me recount ebullient or demoralizing thoughts? This is where you have to be more specific
- Arrange the main points in a logical order and use them in the outline: Depending on the progress of the essay, the order can be changed later
- Create sub-points beneath each major idea: There should be at least two sub-points for each main idea. In that way, you can maintain a savory flow for your essay
- Evaluate the format: Give your structure one more glance. Are your ideas or points properly arranged? Can they guide you to well-established paragraphs? Do they sound equivocal?
HOW TO TAILOR YOUR SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY TO THE TOPIC GIVEN?
Writing a scholarship essay can be quite daunting! So you may choose to compose an essay and employ it for every scholarship you apply for! But remember – the judges at the university board are willful at digging out the students’ passion. A generic essay will only decimate your efforts. So you have to tailor your essay to the topic. How?
If your topic is concerned with community service, construct your essay in a way that shows how appreciative you are and how you are using the scholarship as a means of giving back to the community. If the essay prompt requires you to express how important education is to you, be veracious and relate the challenges you had to overcome to be able to apply for a scholarship. You can express that you are so vehement that you could never throw in the towel on education. Do you get the idea?
