Most scholarship applications require an essay as part of their requirements. Scholarship essays persuade the scholarship committee that you deserve to receive the award. So, it is essential for you, as you are planning to apply for a scholarship, to learn how to write an application essay for a scholarship.
In this article, you will learn the best tips on how to write an application essay for a scholarship that will make your essay capture the scholarship committee’s mind.
Scholarship Application Essay Tips
As you know that your essay is the key that opens the mind of the scholarship committee and convinces them that you are the best candidate for the award. These essay tips for scholarships will help you with convincing essays.
Read the scholarship essay question and instructions clearly:
Before you start on any given essay topic, you must read the prompt before writing as you need to understand what the question asked before providing answers to the question correctly.
Research the donor to understand the objective of their scholarship:
Many organizations that award scholarships have a mission statement, and individual donors are often given the scholarship in memory of a loved one. Maintain the perception of the scholarship provider’s essay topic so that you can understand and appreciate the scholarship program.
Get to understand what the scholarship committees are asking of you:
Ensure that you know the word limit and page requirements before you start to put down your thoughts.
Grab the reader’s attention by beginning with a hook:
Develop an opening sentence in your essay that can “hook” your readers. Don’t start your essay with a quote, a dictionary definition, or a generic cliché. Make what you have to say original, and show that you have something to say.
Use simple writing skills and vocabulary:
Make your essay simple and clear to read. Don’t underrate the importance of good writing skills. Use proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Keep your scholarship essay descriptive but concise:
As you get into your main paragraphs, remember that you are telling some story. If your writing is watery and gives little detail, you are less likely to demonstrate your point.
Use the “show, don’t tell” method, as it is a helpful way to keep your writing interesting and descriptive. Don’t go overboard with your descriptions. Be thorough, but don’t let that encompass the point of your essay.
Put quality in your writing and steer clear of slang words, excessive punctuation, and text language.
Be creative and stand out:
Let your scholarship essay bring out your strengths, uniqueness, and personality. Be unique with your writing style to write a compelling essay.
Emphasize your strength:
Scholarship essays often ask you about a hardship you’ve overcome. Avoid making the mistake of writing about the difficulty you had been through; instead, focus on a main event or experience which tends to read as more powerful and one that you’ve overcome.
Sell yourself:
Your essay is a ground to share your accomplishments. Don’t just list all of your best qualities and achievements to justify why you deserve the scholarship award; remember to strike a delicate balance.
Be brief with your “thank you.”
Avoid filling your essay with appreciation and applause for the opportunity. Use your character and word distributions to answer the prompt thoroughly instead.
Your personality, commitment, and virtue should come through naturally in your writing. You don’t need to add a lengthy “Thank you for reading this essay” at the end of your essay.
If your thank you can’t fit in the essay without bloating due to the word count, you can write a thank you letter after receiving the scholarship.
Pause, proofread, and revise:
Take a walk from your work to clear your mind and then return to it. You’ll discover your essay with fresh eyes, which will help you take it to the next level.
It’s also a good idea to hand off your work to someone else you trust for feedback. Assign a trusted peer, teacher, or friend to help you do this, and be open to their suggestions for improvement.
Give yourself enough time:
It is recommended that you give yourself at least two weeks before the deadline of an essay to brainstorm, draft, and revise your essay to have a better chance to edit errors, typos, and places for improvement.
A well-planned essay has a much higher chance of winning than the one you crank out last minute.
Write a powerful conclusion:
The importance of a powerful beginning and ending should not be ruled out when writing an essay. The end of your essay is the last thing your readers read, therefore is the last thing the reader remembers.
Read your scholarship essay aloud:
Reading aloud will allow you to detect mistakes you may not have noticed in your first edits. It also helps you get an understanding of the essay’s flow. When you read your scholarship essay out loud, ask yourself if there are parts that sound bizarre, forced, or out of place.
Be ready to submit your scholarship essay: Before submitting your scholarship essay, double-check that your spelling and grammar are correct, that you answered the essay prompt in the best way, and that you met the word count as stated by the scholarship committee.
What Not to Include in Your Scholarship Application Essay
Having taken you through how to write an application essay for a scholarship, let’s talk about what you should avoid including in your essays.
- Avoid dropping famous inspirational quotes.
- Refrain from using common, overly simplified words that people are used to all the time in your essay.
- Don’t discuss the scholarship opportunity in high school sayings and banalities.
- Avoid using any vulgarity or curse words in your essays.
- Refrain from treating your scholarship essay as a platform to discuss a trending topic.
- Avoid the use of emojis and funky fonts. Don’t turn your scholarship essay into an art experiment. Instead, keep it professional!
- Avoid making harmful declarations about the future and taking unnecessarily strong stances on topics.
- Don’t talk unkindly about anyone in your essay, especially hypothetical applicants who think you are more deserving than others.
- Avoid writing a complete autobiography of your life.
- Don’t go beyond the word limit stated by the scholarship committee.
Outline of A Scholarship Application Essay
Here’s an outline you can use to format your scholarship essays easily.
Your essay application must contain three essential parts:
- The Introduction
- The Body
- The Conclusion
The Introduction:
Start your essay with a hook—an exciting extract of the story you wish to share to address the writing prompt.
The Body:
Ensure that your body contains at least 2 to 3 paragraphs where you share relevant details of the story—explaining how it conveys the aim of the prompt and makes you a good candidate for the specific scholarship. Don’t forget to talk about things scholarship committees are looking for, like leadership skills in school activities, your academic and career goals, why you’re specifically applying for this scholarship, etc.
The Conclusion:
Summarize your essay by reiterating your interest in the scholarship and showing how the story you’ve shared exemplifies your readiness for college.
Final Note
You need to learn the essential tips on how to write an application essay for a scholarship to enable you to write a convincing, captivating, and outstanding essay among thousands of others.
These scholarship application essay tips listed above will help you have a good essay result. Ensure that your essay contains the three crucial parts of essay writing.
One good thing about these essay tips for scholarships, you can use them continuously as you keep applying for scholarships.
Don’t forget to read the guiding rules and requirements and understand the essay prompt before testing your literary creativity.
Now is the time to show the world your potential by writing an essay that helps you win the scholarship committee’s heart.
Good luck!