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Scholarship Essay Guide
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EssayEdge) |
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This article contains three parts:
Step One: Brainstorming
By
EssayEdge.com:
Our Editing Makes the Difference
Scholarship essays vary dramatically in
subject. However, most of them require a
recounting of personal experience. These
tips will be more helpful for writing
personal essays, like for the National Merit
Scholarship, than for writing academic
essays.
The most important aspect of your
scholarship essay is the subject matter. You
should expect to devote about 1-2 weeks
simply to brainstorming ideas. To begin
brainstorming a subject idea consider the
following points. From brainstorming, you
may find a subject you had not considered at
first.
-
What are your major accomplishments,
and why do you consider them
accomplishments? Do not limit
yourself to accomplishments you have
been formally recognized for since
the most interesting essays often
are based on accomplishments that
may have been trite at the time but
become crucial when placed in the
context of your life. This is
especially true if the scholarship
committee receives a list of your
credentials anyway.
-
Does any attribute, quality, or
skill distinguish you from everyone
else? How did you develop this
attribute?
-
Consider your favorite books,
movies, works of art, etc. Have
these influenced your life in a
meaningful way? Why are they your
favorites?
-
What was the most difficult time in
your life, and why? How did your
perspective on life change as a
result of the difficulty?
-
Have you ever struggled mightily for
something and succeeded? What made
you successful?
-
Have you ever struggled mightily for
something and failed? How did you
respond?
-
Of everything in the world, what
would you most like to be doing
right now? Where would you most like
to be? Who, of everyone living and
dead, would you most like to be
with? These questions should help
you realize what you love most.
-
Have you experienced a moment of
epiphany, as if your eyes were
opened to something you were
previously blind to?
-
What is your strongest, most
unwavering personality trait? Do you
maintain strong beliefs or adhere to
a philosophy? How would your friends
characterize you? What would they
write about if they were writing
your scholarship essay for you?
-
What have you done outside of the
classroom that demonstrates
qualities sought after by
universities? Of these, which means
the most to you?
-
What are your most important
extracurricular or community
activities? What made you join these
activities? What made you continue
to contribute to them?
-
What are your dreams of the future?
When you look back on your life in
thirty years, what would it take for
you to consider your life
successful? What people, things, and
accomplishments do you need? How
does this particular scholarship fit
into your plans for the future?
If these questions cannot cure your
writer's block, consider the following
exercises:
1. Ask for Help from Parents, Friends,
Colleagues, etc.
If you cannot characterize yourself and
your personality traits do not
automatically leap to mind, ask your
friends to write a list of your five
most salient personality traits. Ask
your friends why they chose the ones
they did. If an image of your
personality begins to emerge, consider
life experiences that could illustrate
these particular traits.
2. Consider your Childhood
While scholarship and aid officers are
not interested in reading about your
childhood and are more interested in the
last 2-4 years of your life, you might
consider events of your childhood that
inspired the interests you have today.
Interests that began in childhood may be
the most defining parts of your life,
even if you recently lost interest. For
instance, if you experienced extreme
poverty, the death of a loved one,
immigration, etc., you might want to
incorporate this into your scholarship
essay. Analyze the reasons for your
interests and how they were shaped from
your upbringing.
3. Consider your Role Models
Many applicants do not have role models
and were never greatly influenced by
just one or two people. However, for
those of you who have role models and
actually aspire to become like certain
people, you may want to incorporate a
discussion of that person and the traits
you admired into your scholarship or
financial aid application essay.
4. Read Sample Scholarship Essays and
Admissions Essays
Before writing a poem, you would
certainly read past poets. Before
writing a book of philosophy, you would
consider past philosophers. In the same
way, we recommend reading sample
application essays to understand what
topics other applicants chose. EssayEdge
maintains an archive of over 100 free
sample application essays.
Click here
to view sample essays that worked.
5. Goal Determination
Life is short. Why do you want spend 2-6
years of your life at a particular
college, graduate school, or
professional school? How is the degree
necessary to the fulfillment of your
goals? When considering goals, think
broadly. Few people would be satisfied
with just a career. How else will your
education fit your needs and lead you to
a fulfilling life?
If after reading this entire page you do
not have an idea for your essay, do not be
surprised. Coming up with an idea is
difficult and requires time. Actually
consider the questions and exercises above.
Without a topic you feel passionate about,
without one that brings out the defining
aspects of you personality, you risk falling
into the trap of sounding like the 90
percent of scholarship applicants who will
write boring essays. The only way to write a
unique essay is to have experiences that
support whatever topic you come up with.
Whatever you do, don't let the essay stress
you out. Have fun with the brainstorming
process. You might discover something about
yourself you never consciously realized.
Good Luck!
Step Two - Selecting an Essay Topic
By
EssayEdge.com:
Our Editing Makes the Difference
Having completed step one, you should now
have a rough idea of the elements you wish
to include in your scholarship essay,
including your goals, important life
experiences, research experience,
diversifying features, spectacular
nonacademic accomplishments, financial need,
etc. You should also now have an idea of
what impression you want to make on the
scholarship committee.
You must now consider topics that will
allow you to synthesize your important
personal characteristics and experiences
into a coherent whole. While most
scholarship essays allow great latitude in
topic selection, you must also be sure to
answer the questions that were asked of you.
Leaving a lasting impression on someone who
reads 50 essays a day will not be easy, but
we have compiled some guidelines to help you
get started.
Consider the following questions before
proceeding:
Is your topic a gimmick? That is, do
you plan to write your essay in
iambic pentameter or make it funny.
You should be very, very careful if
you are planning to do this. We
recommend strongly that you do not
do this. Almost always, this is done
poorly and is not appreciated by the
scholarship committee unless a
creative approach is explicitly
recommended. Nothing is worse than
not laughing or not being amused at
something that was written to be
funny or amusing.
Will your topic only repeat
information listed elsewhere on your
application? If so, pick a new
topic. Don't mention GPAs or
standardized test scores in your
essay if they are mentioned
elsewhere.
Can you offer vivid supporting
paragraphs to your essay topic? If
you cannot easily think of
supporting paragraphs with concrete
examples, you should probably choose
a different essay topic.
Can you fully answer the question
asked of you? Can you address and
elaborate on all points within the
specified word limit? If you plan on
writing about something technical,
make sure you truly can back up your
interest in a topic and are not
merely throwing around big
scientific words. Unless you
convince the reader that you
actually have the life experiences
to back up your interest in
neurobiology, the reader will assume
you are trying to impress him/her
with shallow tactics. Also, be sure
you can write to the scholarship
officers and that you are not
writing over their heads.
Can you keep the reader's interest
from the first word. The entire
essay must be interesting,
considering scholarship officers
will probably only spend a few
minutes reading each essay.
Is your topic overdone? To ascertain
this, peruse through old essays.
EssayEdge's 100 free application
essays can help you do this.
However, most topics are overdone,
and this is not a bad thing. A
unique or convincing answer to a
classic topic can pay off big.
Will your topic turnoff a large
number of people? If you write on
how everyone should worship your
God, how wrong or right abortion is,
or how you think the Republican or
Democratic Party is evil, you will
not win the scholarship or aid
award. The only thing worse than not
writing a memorable essay is writing
an essay that will be remembered
negatively. Stay away from specific
religions, political doctrines, or
controversial opinions. You can
still write an essay about
Nietzsche's influence on your life,
but express understanding that not
all intelligent people will agree
with Nietzsche's claims. Emphasize
instead Nietzsche's influence on your life, and not why you think
he was wrong or right in his claims.
In this vein, if you are presenting
a topic that is controversial, you
must acknowledge counter arguments
without sounding arrogant.
Will a scholarship officer remember
your topic after a day of reading
hundreds of essays? What will the
officer remember about your topic?
What will the officer remember about
you? What will your lasting
impression be?
After evaluating your essay topics with
the above criteria and asking for the free
opinions of EssayEdge editors, of your
teachers or colleagues, and of your friends,
you should have at least 1-2 interesting
essay topics. Consider the following
guidelines below.
1. If you are planning on writing an
essay on how you survived poverty in Russia,
your mother's suicide, your father's
kidnapping, or your immigration to America
from Asia, you should be careful that your
main goal is to address your own personal
qualities. Just because something sad or
horrible has happened to you does not mean
that you should win a scholarship. You don't
want to be remembered as the pathetic
applicant. You want to be remembered as the
applicant who showed impressive qualities
under difficult circumstances. It is for
this reason that essays relating to this
topic are considered among the best. Unless
you only use the horrible experience as a
lens with which to magnify your own personal
characteristics, you will not write a good
essay.
2. "Diversity" is the biggest
buzzword of the 1990's. For this reason, so
many applicants are tempted to declare what
makes them diverse. However, simply saying
you are a black, lesbian female will not
impress scholarship officers in the least.
While an essay incorporating this
information would probably be your best
topic idea, you must finesse the issue by
addressing your own personal qualities and
how you overcame stigma, dealt with social
ostracism, etc. If you are a rich student
from Beverly Hills whose father is an
engineer and whose mother is a lawyer, but
you happen to be a minority, an essay about
how you dealt with adversity would be
unwise. You must demonstrate vividly your
personal qualities, interests, motivations,
etc. Address specifically how your diversity
will contribute to the realm of campus
opinion, the academic environment, and the
larger society.
3. Don't mention weaknesses unless
you absolutely need to explain them away.
You want to make a positive first
impression, and telling a scholarship
officer anything about drinking, drugs,
partying, etc. undermines your goal.
EssayEdge editors have read more essays on
ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) than we
would ever have imagined. Why admit to
weakness when you can instead showcase your
strengths?
4. Be honest, but not for honesty's
sake. Unless you are a truly excellent
writer, your best, most passionate writing
will be about events that actually occurred.
While you might be tempted to invent
hardship, it is completely unnecessary.
Write an essay about your life that
demonstrates your personality.
Step Three: Writing the Essay, Tips for
Success
By
EssayEdge.com:
Our Editing Makes the Difference
Even seemingly boring topics can be made
into exceptional
scholarship
essays with an innovative approach.
In
writing the essay you must bear in mind your
two goals: to persuade the scholarship
officer that you are extremely worthy of
receiving college assistance and to make the
officer aware that you are more than a GPA
and a standardized score, that you are a
real-life, intriguing personality.
Unfortunately, there is no surefire
step-by-step method to writing a good essay. EssayEdge editors at
www.EssayEdge.com will remake your essay
into an awesome, memorable masterpiece, but
every topic requires a different treatment
since no two essays are alike. However, we
have compiled the following list of tips
that you should find useful while writing
your
scholarship
essay.
-
Answer the Question.
You can follow the next 12 steps,
but if you miss the question, you
will not
win the scholarship.
Be Original.
Even seemingly boring essay topics
can sound interesting if creatively
approached. If writing about a
gymnastics competition you trained
for, do not start your essay: "I
worked long hours for many weeks to
train for XXX competition." Consider
an opening like, "Every morning I
awoke at 5:00 to sweat, tears, and
blood as I trained on the uneven
bars hoping to bring the state
gymnastics trophy to my hometown."
Be Yourself.
The scholarship committee wants
to learn about you and your writing
ability. Write about something
meaningful and describe your
feelings, not necessarily your
actions. If you do this, your essay
will be unique. Many people travel
to foreign countries or win
competitions, but your feelings
during these events are unique to
you. Unless a philosophy or societal
problem has interested you intensely
for years, stay away from grand
themes that you have little personal
experience with.
Don't "Thesaurize" your Composition.
For some reason, students continue
to think big words make good essays.
Big words are fine, but only if they
are used in the appropriate contexts
with complex styles. Think
Hemingway.
Use Imagery and Clear, Vivid Prose.
If you are not adept with
imagery, you can write an excellent
essay without it, but it's not easy.
The application essay lends itself
to imagery since the entire essay
requires your experiences as
supporting details. Appeal to the
five senses of the scholarship
officers.
Spend the Most Time on your
Introduction.
Expect
scholarship
officers to spend 1-2 minutes
reading your essay. You must use
your introduction to grab their
interest from the beginning. You
might even consider completely
changing your introduction after
writing your body paragraphs.
scholarship
officer need not read the rest
of your essay.
Create Mystery or Intrigue in
your Introduction.
It is not necessary or
recommended that your first
sentence give away the subject
matter. Raise questions in the
minds of the
scholarship
officers to force them to read
on. Appeal to their emotions to
make them relate to your subject
matter.
Body Paragraphs Must Relate to
Introduction.
Your introduction can be original,
but cannot be silly. The paragraphs
that follow must relate to your
introduction.
Use Transition.
Applicants continue to ignore
transition to their own detriment.
You must use transition within
paragraphs and especially between
paragraphs to preserve the logical
flow of your essay. Transition is
not limited to phrases like "as a
result, in addition, while . . . ,
since . . . , etc." but includes
repeating key words and progressing
the idea. Transition provides the
intellectual architecture to
argument building.
Conclusions are Crucial.
The conclusion is your last chance
to persuade the reader or impress
upon them your qualifications. In
the conclusion, avoid summary since
the essay is rather short to begin
with; the reader should not need to
be reminded of what you wrote 300
words before. Also do not use stock
phrases like "in conclusion, in
summary, to conclude, etc." You
should consider the following
conclusions:
Consider linking your conclusion
to your introduction to
establish a sense of balance by
reiterating introductory
phrases.
Redefine a term used previously
in your body paragraphs.
End with a famous quote that is
relevant to your argument. Do
not try to do this, as
this approach is overdone. This
should come naturally.
Frame your discussion within a
larger context or show that your
topic has widespread appeal.
Remember, your essay need not be
so tidy that you can answer why
your little sister died or why
people starve in Africa; you are
not writing a "sit-com," but
should forge some attempt at
closure.
Do Something Else.
Spend a week or so away from your
draft to decide if you still
consider your topic and approach
worthwhile.
Give your Draft to Others.
Ask editors to read with these
questions in mind:
Have I used active voice verbs
wherever possible?
Is my sentence structure varied
or do I use all long or all
short sentences?
Do you detect any
cliches?
Do I use transition
appropriately?
Do I use imagery often and does
this make the essay clearer and
more vivid?
What's the best part of the
essay?
What about the essay is
memorable?
What's the worst part of the
essay?
What parts of the essay need
elaboration or are unclear?
What parts of the essay do not
support your main argument or
are immaterial to your case?
Is every single sentence crucial
to the essay? This MUST be the
case.
What does the essay reveal about
your personality?
Could anyone else have written
this essay?
How would you fill in the
following blank based on the
essay: "I want to accept you to
this college because our college
needs more ________."
Revise, Revise, Revise.
You only are allowed so many words;
use them wisely. If H.D. Thoreau
couldn't write a good essay without
revision, neither will you. Delete
anything in the essay that does not
relate to your main argument. Do you
use transition? Are your
introduction and conclusions more
than summaries? Did you find every
single grammatical error?
Editing takes time. Consider
reordering your supporting
details, delete irrelevant
sections, and make clear the
broader implications of your
experiences. Allow your more
important arguments to come to
the foreground. Take points that
might only be implicit and make
them explicit.
Have your Essay Professionally
Edited.
The application essay is too
important not to spend $50 for
its improvement. Editing houses
like EssayEdge at
http://www.EssayEdge.com
will significantly improve your
essay's style, transition,
voice, grammar, and tone;
EssayEdge will also make content
suggestions to ensure your essay
is unique and memorable.
For more tips, click
here.
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