Tips on How to Write Scholarship Essays for College
Many different types of scholarships are available for students to apply and receive. However, often to win the scholarship an essay must be written about a specific topic. Learning how to write "great" scholarship essays can be beneficial with the costs of education going up. Knowing tips to write good scholarship essays will help to create essays that judges will be pleased to accept.
The first step in writing best scholarship essays is to follow directions. Now, that sounds simple, but many students fail to follow these simple directions such as margins, spacing, or style. Often simple things such as using only white paper for essays. Many students think that colored paper will get more attention than using white, but often judges prefer white paper.
Read what the requirements for the essay are before starting. What is the topic? Always answer any questions asked for the essay. Do not write about topics the essay does not ask for. Read the directions and get a mental picture of what the essay is asking. Some essays will want to know about your favorite book, movie, or hobby. The purpose of this essay is to see what you enjoy doing besides studying. It also allows the judge to see how well you write. Another question that may be asked is what was the most difficult time in your life and why. This does not mean that you have to tell a tragedy. The purpose is to see how well you write not necessary to see how tragic your life has been.
Other types of questions asked on scholarship essays have to do with personality traits, extracurricular activities, and your dreams. Remember the purpose of these essays is to see how well you can express yourself in words.
A great way to begin writing a scholarship essay is to brainstorm. What do you know about the question? What do you know about the topic? Make a list of topics you know or possible answers to the questions.
Next, create an outline. An outline is like a roadmap that allows the writer to know where he/she is going. The introduction should include an attention-grabber and a thesis statement.
Some simple mistakes made in writing custom scholarship essays are spelling, punctuation, and grammar. A scholarship essay should never be sent without proofreading the essay. Ask a friend to read the essay. Read the essay out loud. Rewrite it at least three times. Let's look at some of the mistakes that are made. Often students write fragments instead of whole sentences. Reading the essay out loud will catch this type of mistakes. Are commas used where they need to be used or not used where they do not need to be used? Do you have subject-verb agreement? Check simple spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors before making the final copy of the scholarship essay.
Always have a thesis statement and have main topic sentences. Another common problem in writing scholarship essays is failing to use transitions. Transitions connect one paragraph to the other. A "great" scholarship essay has a thesis statement, main topic sentences, and transitions.
Go through the essay searching for repetition of words. Use a thesaurus to replace words that are repetitive. Find words that mean the same but are different.
Writing a scholarship essay begins with reading the directions and brainstorming. Make an outline and then begin the first rough draft. Ask a friend or family member to read the essay. Correct any mistakes. Read the essay out loud. Rewrite the essay. Remember to always follow directions. This will achieve a great scholarship essay.
