Posts Tagged ‘ essay ’

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Fact number 1: A large percentage of scholarship applicants today fail in writing one of the most important stage in application: writing a good scholarship essay.

Fact number 2: You could be one of them.

But from these 2 facts, we can still arrive to a third one: there is still hope.

Yes, you can still write a scholarship essay that creates result.

Whether you are a writing guru or a high school slob, you can always write a good scholarship essay if you follow one basic writing secret (which of course is not a secret at all, it is just that few people follow this): simplicity.

Here are the tips in writing simple yet effective scholarship essay:

· Write as you speak.

“Thesaurusizing” your scholarship essay would have two effects: one, wrong use of terms will detract the purpose of the essay, and two, you probably will not pass. The thing is: keep it simple, clear and precise. Use words that are easy to understand like the words you use when you converse.

· Write interestingly.

Make sure you don’t bore your readers. Keeping up a lively essay would let your reader to finish your essay but make sure you still focus on the purpose.

· Tell about yourself

Since you are writing to ask a sort of “favor”, your reader would like to know more about yourself. Usually, most scholarship application would require you to pass an essay together with your resume. Write things about yourself that are not included on the resume.

· Keep it short

Write a short scholarship essay but it does not mean you omit important sentences that needs be addressed. Never be wordy on your essay. If you can pack your thoughts in the shortest possible terms, do so. It is better to read a 5-liner paragraph than a 10-liner that says the same thing.

· Do variations

If your first sentence starts with an “I”, the second sentence should be different. Be creative in writing your essay.

· Use active voice

Using active voice (sentences without the use of the word “be”) keeps reading continuous and interesting. Using passive voice on the other hand keeps the essay uninteresting and flat.

· Seek for opinion

If you have finished writing your essay, let others read it so that you get feedbacks. In this way, you can improve your articles more.

· Edit, re-edit and edit some more

Make improvements. Read your essay over and over again until you are confident that it is error-free.

There are lots of mind-boggling questions swirling around students’ minds, as they hold their pen and wonder what to write for a piece of paper called College Admission Essay. Some of the questions that bother them are the following: what is the style of writing they should adopt for this specific kind of essay, what is the tone to use, and what topic to talk about. The students are really interested in knowing what the admission officers would like to read in a College Application Essay. For them, hitting the bull’s eye with their College Application Essay will definitely increase their chances of admission to their desired university. Entrance to a top university is a tough competition that one has to outwit, outplay, and outlast everybody with their creatively written essay.

Writing one’s College Admission Essay is not the same as writing a research paper. This means that one’s essay should not be formulaic as though one is just stating facts about oneself. There’s a tendency for most admission essays to be boring and lifeless if one writes it in the form of research paper. The moment that the admission officers discover that one’s writing and essay is a complete drag, they are likely to miss the important details contained in the essay even though the credentials are excellent. The first thing an applicant has to remember is that Admission officers want the essay to be personal and imaginative. The next thing they have to take note of is how to write something personal without making it appear as a lifeless paper. The trick for this is to make the tone of the essay a conversational one. Since one is talking about his life, narrate it in a light humorous tone as though one is talking to another person like a friend. In this way, one will definitely get the focus and the hearts of the admission officers. People should freely express themselves. It is observed that the grammar is not given so much concern because the Admission officers are not reading an essay to find out if the applicant knows about subject-verb agreement. The application essays were created so that the Admission officers will know the applicant’s attitude and outlook in life.

The student’s goals in writing their College Admission Essay should always be to make it memorable. The applicant should ensure that the readers will peruse the essay from beginning up to the end. One can use witty catch phrases as well as funny stories and jokes as a springboard to start introducing one’s topic. Speaking of topics, it is best to stick with personal experiences rather than re-stating one’s resume or academic transcripts. Admission Officers are on the prowl to find unique personalities that will blend with the school’s standards and environment. They are after the authentic person behind the numbers and statistics i.e. grades. Another thing that the students have to remember in writing College Application Essay is to be original and individual. This means that their writing should reflect the unique individual creature that they truly are. Being creative and imaginative does not really have to be fictional. One’s admission essay should be true, honest, and most importantly sincere. The Admission officers can go beyond the beautiful words and detect if it’s true or not. Aside from that, Admission officers read thousands of essays, and they can’t recall everything they read. Thus, it is the applicant’s job to make a real impression on the reader. Make your essay fun and exciting. Don’t simply provide a lifeless detailed paper about yourself; instead show them colors and wonders of your personality.