Guide to Writing a Winning Scholarship Essay

By Gloria Kopp

With over two billion dollars available in private scholarships and the cost of tuition soaring, it only makes sense to submit an essay in the hope of funding your education. However, to stand a chance of winning that scholarship, you will need to make sure your essay stands out from the crowd.

1.      Make Time

Realistically you will need three weeks to properly plan, write, and proofread. Your essay will be between if you’ve written it with a clear head, rather than stressed out and rushing.

2.      Tailor Your Authentic Self

Sounds complicated, right? You need to be your real self, write honestly about your passion, and your real personality will shine through. However, make sure you really are answering the question, and bear in mind your audience – find a life experience or subject that you can write about, that is also relevant to your sponsor.

3.      Planning is Essential

The importance of the whole planning process can’t be overstated – from the mind map to a well thought out structure, you should plan for every single stage of your essay, and the result will be a well thought out, easy to read, clear piece. You should bear in mind the question the whole time – unpack it and figure out exactly what they’re asking you and why, and make sure you answer it. A fantastic essay is worthless if it doesn’t answer the question.

4.      Us Online Writing Tools

Seriously, when you live in the internet era, it only makes sense to take advantage of it! Advice is available in a variety of forms, and the following websites can prove to be super helpful:

• Essay structure – this is awesome for when you are full of ideas, but are struggling to get them to make sense on a page.
• Assignment help has great free online study tools, tutorial videos, as well as a community of thouthands of people who can all share advice and experiences, plus a section on college and career articles.
• Writing Center has some awesome resources on how to make your writing stand out
• Hemingwayapp this is a really easy to follow analysis that color-codes problems in your essay like the passive tense, adverbs, and overly long sentences. It can help guide you into stronger writing.
• Readability Score also analyses the complexity of your writing, and helps you to make it more clear and concise.
• UK assignment offers online writing, editing and proofreading consulting for both students and educators. Besides, it regularly features helpful study guide and tips for its readers.

5.      The Introduction Matters

The whole of the essay is important, but you could easily lose your reader in that first line. Be strong, specific, and direct. No stating the obvious! The introduction should be a brief explanation of your content, while you can use the body to really tell your story and show them why you are the best candidate for the scholarship.

6.      Two Heads Are Better Than One

This old adage holds very true – while you should proof read and edit until you are completely satisfied with your essay, handing it over to a parent, family friend, English Teacher, or anyone in school who works in college admissions can provide a fresh new perspective, and offer some great notes on how to take your essay from good to great.

There really are amazing resources and support networks available, and by utilizing them correctly, you can be sure to have an unforgettable essay that will win you a scholarship.

 

Author’s bio:
“Gloria Kopp is a web content writer and an elearning consultant from Manville city. She graduated from University of Wyoming and started a career of a creative writer. She has recently launched her Studydemic educational website and is currently working as a freelance writer and editor. Read her latest blog post here.”