Scholarship Writing Tips

(Full handout available here.)

Before You Start Writing:

Give yourself plenty of time for each essay! A rushed essay is noticed, and not in a good way. Make sure to note when the essays are due to not wait until the last minute. Remember, you are not only giving yourself time to read carefully the essay prompt, brainstorm, and write the essay, but also time to proofread, edit, and have it reviewed by someone else for feedback.

View each essay as an opportunity for a “nice paycheck” Remember that you are writing this essay to compete for money towards your education and future. Imagine it like working for a paycheck towards your education. For example, if there is a $1,500 scholarship that has three essay questions, and you spend

5 hours (2-hour brainstorming, 1- hour writing, 1 hour editing and reviewing feedback, and 1-hour final writing) and get awarded the scholarship you will have “made” $300/hr.

10 hours on your essays you will have “made” $150/hr.

The point is to spend time, energy, and effort on each essay, because the payout is better than most of any job.

Do your research and know your audience. It doesn’t have to be in-depth research (no need to go down the rabbit hole), but you will want to know about the foundation/organization that is providing the scholarship and at minimum the purpose of the scholarship and the mission of the foundation/organization. This will help when you are brainstorming how to communicate and what values to emphasize.

Get to know yourself! I know this sounds weird, but it can be helpful to create a list ahead of time of your values, strengths, insight to your character, community contributions, and resiliency factors (things within you that help you in difficult situations). Writing about oneself can bring up a mix of feelings. If you struggle to identify the positives, take time to reflect on yourself and ask family/friends/teachers/mentors/coaches, etc. Having a list created in advance can help as a reference guide when having to write about yourself.

Time to Start Writing:

Read the prompt thoroughly! Often scholarship essay prompts will have multiple parts to answer. Take your time to read thoroughly, highlight/underline/write out each specific ask of the prompt to help guide your writing in answering the prompt fully.

Free Write, Mind Map, Brainstorm. Give yourself an opportunity to let the thoughts flow freely. It won’t be your final draft so don’t stress it. This allows you to get your thoughts out to then organize. This is where the lists and examples can be noted so that later in your writing you can weave a story with specific examples connected to themes.

Create the outline to your essay. After organizing your thoughts and identified all parts of the prompt you can create your outline (it doesn’t have to be complicated). Consider this the skeleton of your essay where you write the parts you must include in an organized way and then adjust the writing for the story to be told rather than points made.

Next Steps:

Read Aloud Read aloud to yourself or to someone else. This can help you catch errors in your writing, listen for repetition and/or unnecessary wording, check your vocabulary, and ensure it is in your own voice. If it sounds “off” then try rewording.

Revise/Edit Make any edits or changes.

Request Feedback A fresh pair of eyes can be extremely helpful. Make sure to request with plenty of time before the deadline to give courtesy to the person proofreading and time to write your final draft.

Final Draft Let the writing begin! This is the draft you will submit with the application so make sure you follow the guidelines (i.e.. If it says double space- double space, if 500 words then 500 words only, etc.).

Remember to Include:

Be Authentic! The scholarship essay is a snapshot into who you are as a person, thus let your writing reflect you. Don’t try to use fancy vocabulary (although proper vocabulary and grammar are encouraged) or write in a way that is not true to yourself. If when someone you know was to anonymously read your essay and not be able to tell it is you, then it’s not what the scholarship review boards want to read.

Focus on a theme not just listing. Use the essay as an opportunity to tell a story. Most essays that simply list things are not moved on to the next phase in the process.

Show with specific examples and don’t overload each essay. Choose a solid example and share versus overloading your essay with broad or vague examples. Use specific examples and details to create a picture.

Maintain a positive tone. Maintain an optimistic tone. Be cautious of the pity me essay (in particular the 5 D’s: death, divorce, disease, drugs/addiction, dating/relationships) as scholarship reviewers are trained on how to spot resiliency and a positive tone vs pity and/or negative tone. That is not to say difficult times or tragedies did not occur. What the scholarship reviewers want to see is your resiliency and how you manage difficulties and adversities (because life is not always smooth sailing).

Be clear and concise. Be careful not to be too repetitive, too wordy, or vague.