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!
^Back to Top
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:
- Have
you selected a topic that describes something of personal importance in
your life, with which you can use vivid personal experiences as
supporting details?
- 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.
^Back to Top
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 http://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.
- Don't
Summarize in your Introduction. Ask yourself why a reader would want
to read your entire essay after reading your introduction. If you summarize,
the 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:
- Expand upon the broader implications
of your discussion.
- 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:
- What is the essay about?
- 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 clichés?
- 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?
- Allow for the evolution of your
main topic. Do not assume your subject must remain fixed and that you
can only tweak sentences.
- 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.
 EssayEdge.com Admissions Essay Help - Put Harvard-Educated Editors to Work for You! View 300 free sample admissions essays!
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