How to Write a Scholarship Essay and Win a Scholarship

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How to write a scholarship essay
Table of Contents
  1. How to Write a Scholarship Essay and Win a Scholarship
  2. What Is a Scholarship Essay?
  3. How to Start a Scholarship Essay?
  4. Scholarship Essay Structure
  5. Introduction
  6. Body Paragraphs
  7. Conclusion
  8. Format of a Scholarship Essay
  9. Scholarship Essay Tips
  10. Scholarship Essay Assistance

Ok, you decide to go to college and want to get a scholarship. This is not only a bunch of money that can cover your educational expenses but also a recognition as one of the best candidates. But here’s an obstacle on your way – an essay. That is why you’re reading this text, aren’t you? If so, time to stop wasting time and proceed to the priceless knowledge of how to write a scholarship essay and succeed with it.

What Is a Scholarship Essay?

The scholarship essay is a piece of writing that should persuade a scholarship committee to admit you among the other applicants and give you their money. This task should express your personality, what you are most proud of, and why you fit the best to getting this opportunity.

By its format, a scholarship essay is a short text mostly similar to a 500 word essay. You’d have about 5 paragraphs to represent your ideas and convince readers of their significance.

How to Start a Scholarship Essay?

Starting a scholarship essay may be a real challenge for most students. But we've got your back. Simply follow the steps to make sure that your preparatory process goes smoothly. But you may be wondering, "Who can write my essay?" Here's a smart solution – entrust your admission paper to our experts, and they will handle all the job for you.

  1. Read the prompt

    One of the hardest parts of each task. We often think we understand what is to do without an actual and thorough reading of the prompt. If you don’t stick to the prompt, most likely you’ll have to pay for your studies from the evening part-time job income. Moreover, the prompt consists of what you need to write. Understand it literally and be honest as it is about your personality.

  2. Come up with a topic

    You have many things to tell about yourself so concentrate on the most corresponding to the prompt. Try to choose a topic narrowed down to tangible things like your goals, values, or dreams. You’re too young to write memoirs, so be concise and provide specific details.

  3. Brainstorm

    A little brainstorm would be a great choice before writing a scholarship essay. Note down different ideas even if they seem weird or inappropriate at first glance. Then choose the best and prepare to develop them in your text.

  4. Make an outline

    You may think this part of the essay is unnecessary and only takes additional time, but it’s vice versa. A complete outline will save much time spent on editing and rewriting. Having an essay outline gives you a framework, so you’ll hardly step outside these limits.

There is another option for those students who want to nail their admission. Hire an expert writer who knows all ins and outs about scholarship essay writing. Leave your 'help me write my essay' request along with other details and get a paper that will make you stad out. 

Scholarship Essay Structure

A scholarship essay looks like a 500-word essay and has a similar structure. It includes three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction

The introduction traditionally gives a needed background and states the thesis. Begin your text the way to catch the reader’s attention but avoid extreme statements. Although they’re quite catchy, your being impetuous is not a good sign for the committee members. Read our blog on how to start an essay about yourself. It has many similarities and common tips for this kind of task.

Look through this list of tips on how to start a scholarship essay that will help you stand out among other prospects: 

  • There must be a hook. You should spark the reader’s interest from the very first sentence.
  • Don’t start with a quote by famous people. A scholarship essay is relatively short to spend your words on other people. Also, it’s such a cliche.
  • Start with advice once given to you or real-life examples. Rather than starting with quotes by famous people, start with your quote. You may also mention some valuable advice given to you.
  • Start with a personal insight. As you remember, this paper is about you, your thoughts, values, and understandings, not the facts from books or history. 
  • Add a strong thesis. It is the basis of your essay, the starting point of the argumentation. Put your thesis statement at the end of the introductory part. 
  • Don’t write 1-paragraph gratitude to the organization for the opportunity. The college essay is short. Don’t waste the whole paragraph to express your appreciation for the opportunity to apply for a scholarship – better demonstrate why you deserve it.

Body Paragraphs

When you’re ready with the introduction, proceed to body paragraphs. As a scholarship essay is a short one, mind being brief with your arguments. There’s usually no actual word limit (though it varies and depends on the task) but try to reveal all statements in 3 body paragraphs.

This part allows you to reflect on yourself, describe significant or life-changing events that happened to you and showcase your worldview. As you cope with a scholarship essay, these stories should make a scholarship provider organization think that you’re Good Will Hunting and share their values.

Free tip: if you don’t share the scholarship organization’s values, think of choosing a more matching place to make an application.

Conclusion

The end of your essay is a conclusion. Believe it or not, here you’d need to provide a reader with a summary of what you’ve written before. But in a case of a scholarship essay, the conclusion needs to be as memorable as possible. There’s something more significant than a semester mark at stake so think of making some strong statements in the last paragraph.

The conclusion of a scholarship essay would most likely be an answer to why you deserve a scholarship. It may be written in different words, but the essence would be the same. On the one hand, the answer to this question depends on what you’ve told in body paragraphs. But on the other, you can strengthen the arguments with a witty and inventive ending.

Format of a Scholarship Essay

The last thing you need to do with your scholarship essay is formatting. This kind of paper doesn’t differ from the other academic essays, so sticking to the simplest and general instructions would be enough for your application.

Choose a classical sans serif font like Times New Roman. Pick a 12pt font size; use double spacing; set top, bottom, and side margins at 1 inch et voilà – the formatting of a scholarship essay is ready.

Odds are the scholarship organization will provide you with guidelines, including the formatting issues, so don’t forget to read it thoroughly.

Scholarship Essay Tips

There are so many words to say about writing a scholarship essay, and we want you to know all of them. For this purpose, here’s a special chapter with unmentioned dos and don’ts when it comes to a scholarship paper. Sometimes you can find quite obvious statements, but they could unveil from a different perspective.

You’d better do:

  • Start early
  • Promote yourself
  • Develop ideas logically 
  • Provide significant details
  • Clear, specific, concise writing, and be succinct
  • Describe how challenges help you become stronger
  • Proofread for grammar, stylistic, and punctuation errors
  • Describe the lessons learned that will help you in further life
  • Research the values of the organization that provides scholarship

Better don’t:

  • Tell fake stories
  • Unfairly generalize
  • Make extreme statements
  • Speak ill of other candidates
  • Say that you just need money
  • Use cliche stories and examples
  • Retell your whole autobiography
  • Repeat ideas you’ve already mentioned
  • Exaggerate by saying that it is your last chance
 

Scholarship Essay Assistance 

To increase your chances to stand up among numerous candidates, you may also ask writing experts for assistance. You can order writing help on our online platform 24/7. Our academic writers can answer all questions about a scholarship essay that made you confused. Be prepared and show the committee that you’re the best.