Writing to Win
When it comes to financing your education and making it affordable you have to be strategic about how you pay for school. Whether you are going to a private high school, undergraduate university, or graduate school getting a degree from these institutions comes at a price.
This is where scholarships can save the day easing how much debt you take on. Scholarships are essentially FREE Money and help in cutting down costs for you. BUT, you have to put in the work when it comes to completing applications. Most of the time you will have to write essays for scholarships on top of sending other documents like transcripts and letters of recommendation. Writing an outstanding essay is not hard you just have to figure out where to start. I’m going to reveal the top 4 things you need to know in order to succeed in your essay writing and win a scholarship!
Tip #1: Read & Research the Question
First, read the question out loud to yourself at least 3 times to hear what they are asking of you. Many times you will come across questions like this from scholarship essays:
- Tell me about a time you overcame a challenge and how it impacted you?
- In 500 words or less explain to me why you deserve this scholarship?
- What are your goals or dreams in life? How will this scholarship help you achieve that?
- Who inspires you and why?
Some of the questions you come across may be more complex and my advice for that is to Dig Deep and write in detail about your experience. Also, research a little bit about the company or organization, that is awarding the scholarship. Lastly, write your introductory paragraph and start with an attention grabber in the first few sentences to capture the judge’s attention.
Tip #2: Be Authentic In Your Writing
When telling your story be true to yourself and write about what you experienced because each person’s story is unique. Be authentic in your essay and let your personality shine through in your writing. Sometimes it can feel as if the story needs to be enhanced or exaggerated to make it seem more exciting to the judges who are reading it, but more often than not it comes across as unreal. So again tell your story, sometimes with scholarships, they will want interviews with finalists and if chosen, they will want you to elaborate more about what you wrote in your essay.
Tip #3: Write Your Draft, Then Come Back
Write a draft of your essay, so whatever you are feeling in the moment write about it. After you complete your draft rest for the night, take a break and watch some Netflix, or make one of your favorite meals in the meantime. Come back the next day and make your final revisions. I would say nine times out of ten you are going to think of some new ideas you want to add or change the wording in some sentences to make it sound more elevated. You should continue revising your essay until you feel that it is totally complete.
Tip #4: Check For Grammar and Spelling Errors
Even the greatest writers make mistakes, which is why it is important to look over your essay before you turn it in. Sometimes there are grammar or spelling errors in an essay because we are constantly revising it. Grammatical errors can be a make it or break it when it comes to you being selected as a finalist or winner. To help you with that you can use Grammarly, a software program that assists in helping you catch these errors before you submit anything. You can utilize the free version of Grammarly to help you with your essay writing or the premium version if you need a bit more hand-holding.
Bonus Tip: Download Essay Guide
I hope these tips help! You can also download the guide below to keep with you when writing your essay. *Disclaimer: article may contain affiliate links, I may receive a small commission from purchases made. Thank you for supporting WrightFashions as this allows me to continue to put out valuable content.