6 Tips for Writing an Awesome Scholarship Essay

6 Tips for Writing an Awesome Scholarship Essay via Pexels.com 1. Proofread, proofread, proofread. If you dont proofread through your work the scholarship committee is going to think you rushed through the application. We all know time is money, so if you did indeed rush through the scholarship essay writing process, at least make it look like you didnt. The last thing these people want to read is misspelled words, incorrect usage of commas, and subject-verb disagreement. 2. Set yourself completely apart. Youve probably read this tip if youve done any kind of research on writing a killer scholarship essay. But this is truly the best advice I can give you. Everyone has a story to tell. And the people with the money  want to hear that story.  They want to know what it took to get through high school (walking uphill both ways kind of stuff). They want to know how sick your mom got, and how you became her primary caregiver while you were a sophomore, and thats why your grades in math are a little below average. Tell  your  story in a way that sets you apart from all the other applicants. Its your opportunity to show how much you deserve this scholarship money. 3. Portray your message in a unique way. Everyone begins their essay as to why they want to become a teacher with, Ive known ever since I started Kindergarten that I wanted to become a teacher. And then they go on to talk about how much they like being around children, specifically whichever age group theyre hoping to work with in their career. After a scholarship committee reads about 15 of those same essays, theyre tired of them! Theyre looking to award money to creative individuals, with passionate voices in their writing. Theyre looking for a student who can portray a message like no other. Maybe youre better at writing poetry, rather than prose. Maybe your mind is better with music. Whatever it is show it off. Tell your story, speak your mind, in a way thats different from the rest of the crowd. 4. Give yourself time for multiple drafts. Aside from creating a rough draft and going through the editing process multiple times, youre going to need some breather days. My teacher used to call these days the days that you wouldnt touch a draft of a paper. Youd sleep on it for two nights without doing anything to it. Coming back to your work with fresh eyes will always give you room to improve your work. 5. Get multiple opinions on the final copy. When your best friend is the only person who reads your scholarship essay, the feedback you receive is going to be a little bit biased. You should make sure you get multiple opinions on your final copy. Give it to both of your parents, your teachers, your friends, etc. Anyone you trust to give you good feedback is a good source! 6. Choose a catchy title. Reel your reader in from the first line of your essay by creating a title that will really speak to them. You want them to read your title and say WOW. I cant wait to read this. The tone of your essay will be set with your title. So choose carefully. Why I Want to Be a Teacher The Best Day of My Life My Dog, Sam All of these examples above are titles of papers you wrote when you were in middle school not when you were trying to win money from a group of people. Put more than five minutes of thought into your title and choose something that will really connect with your audience. As you begin writing (or editing) your scholarship essay, remember to keep in mind who your audience is. Remember that youre writing to a group of people who have no idea who you are. You need to grab their attention from the title and take them on the literary journey of a lifetime. Intrigue them. Persuade them. Show them why youre worthy of this scholarship. Good luck!