Crucial skills every student know before writing a Scholarship essay

We know soon it is the season where the race to apply for your dream college begins. You have to win against so many applicants for your favorite scholarship that will set your course for a successful life. But scholarship essays, as crucial as they are, are equally tough as well. Especially if you have to write a winning essay.

 Here are 7 skills that you need to know before you write one:

Adhering to the essay methodology 

There is no hard and fast rule that you should always follow certain guidelines and if you do not, your piece of writing would not be even considered for anything worthwhile; but the point here is that if you follow certain principles of essay writing, you will have a higher chance of impressing the readers, in this case, those who have to decide the status of your scholarship. So using tried and tested methods will come in the clutch because it will create a well-known flow. 

Choice of Topic       

People often overlook how important this skill is when it comes to the decision that might set a course for a more fulfilled life. The topic of your choice will determine how passionate you are about your writing. The more passionate your piece is, the more emotional it will be; the more emotional it is, the more impressive it will tug on the readers’ heartstrings and impress them. Also, the topic you are more passionate about is also the topic which you usually know more about. It is simple logic; what draws you towards itself will obviously make you research more about that particular thing. So be cautious in choosing your topic.

Brainstorming

You will have to be left with this skill to write a good and impressive essay. Brainstorming here is just not about what topic to choose; it’s also about how to present that particular topic. Presentation matters a lot. Remember that they have tons of applications and scholarship essays coming to them regardless. They have to choose an application that stands out amongst others. 

You have to be creative in your presentation. You will have to brainstorm to create a hook for your essay that will keep the readers engaged as well as provide them with a unique point of view on the topic of your choice, something that had not come across before they picked your essay up in their hands. 

Balancing the golden triad

If you are fond of writing essays, you must have heard of the following terms- ethos, pathos, and logos. These three are the modes of persuasion. If you look at it, when you are writing a scholarship, you are attempting a top-tier persuasion. You are genuinely persuading them to give you a scholarship, persuading them to take care of your collegiate expenses, at least a part of them. Any fine essay will have a balance of the aforementioned aspects of persuading an audience or readers. 

Building Ethos means building your reliability in front of your audience by invoking your own experiences and views around the topic. 

Logos is when you bring up facts and figures, basically back up your content with what they, your audience, know for a fact is true and can be trusted.

Finally, invoking pathos appeals to the emotional quotient of your audience so that they are moved by what you have to put. This along with the above two aspects to back your emotions up, will set you up as someone reliable in the eyes of the audience. 

Every good essay has a delicate balance of these three and you need to learn it.

The show, don’t Tell

This is one of the trickiest, yet the best, and the most effective trickery of any writing. Be it a story, essay or an article; in order to engage your readers in a way that invokes their emotions and makes them engaged with the content, you have to ‘show’ them, not tell them.

The difference is simple, when you tell people things in your writing, it is hearsay, but if you ‘show’ them whatever you are trying to tell, they will definitely feel it. It is a straightforward principle of visuals empowering words.

This skill is a tough nut to crack, and not everyone is able to nail this home. But if you do, it is a guarantee your essay will stand out among the lot. 

Selling themselves, but not overselling

We hope you do not take this in literal terms. Just do not go around slapping a price tag to yourself. 

Jokes apart, it is a fact that you somehow have to prove yourselves to be better than the rest of them. It is an analogy of people buying something in the market. When you go to buy a dress, you have a tremendous amount of options right? And you always select the one that appeals most to you. 

The same principle is at play here, they will select the one who offers the most appealing set of overall personalities according to their criteria. In your essay, you have to be subtle in this.

You will have to cleverly show them what you are capable of and at the same time, refrain from being overt in your approach because it will tick them off the wrong way and they might confuse it for baseless bragging and over-confidence. 

Proofreading

You have to ensure that your scholarship essay is concise, yet comprehensive enough that it does not feel unfulfilled and half-hearted with incomplete points. You have to invoke a sense of satisfaction and intrigue that comes with it. 

Keep in mind to read your essay over and over so that you can make it the way you want it to be.  

With the skills out of the way, if you feel you do not have the required time or skills to write a scholarship essay that will put you higher up on the pedestal of applicants, there are so many websites that can help. Websites like TutorBin have a student-friendly framework that enables you to have deft ways written by experts in the field with zero percent plagiarism and a commitment to deadline. 

Good luck!

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