Writing Scholarship Essay (Part 2)

Step 4: Writing a Strong Thesis Statement with the Main Idea of the Essay

The thesis statement is the main idea of what you are going to write about in your paper. A scholarship essay differs slightly from the academic essay. The thesis in your scholarship essay should cover your main statement and provide a strong argument why you deserve a scholarship. Make sure that your thesis is located somewhere in the first part of your paper. It must not be the last sentence of your introduction, but it definitely should be somewhere at the beginning.

For instance, you can arrange your thesis as follows, “My profound knowledge and extensive practical skills gained during education appear to be a perfect match with your company mission: to bring a change in the contemporary world and make it better. This sentence will guide your writing and will assist you in arranging your paper in a logical way. You should remember to restate your thesis at the end of your essay to highlight one more time the main idea of your writing.

 

Step 5: Start Writing

Since you already have some parts of your paper completed, you should organize them in a proper way. You should add some sentences in each part to unite different points in one paper. The beginning of the essay is crucial and it should grab reader’s attention. Make sure it is interesting and reflects you knowledge and experience, described in detail further in the essay.  

For instance, “I see a sunny and fresh morning outside, most of my family members and my peers are still sleeping, but I have already awakened to get involved in a new world I could only dream about before. This is my first day in the organization, where I am going to spend my summer holidays. I worry a bit, but at the same time I am sure that I will cope with my task since I worked hard to get this position and to ensure that I will cope with the professional responsibilities in this organization”.

Step 6: Proofread and Edit

Only writing, revising, rewriting, and proofreading papers for several times can lead to outstanding results. Having written separate elements of a paper, a good writer will try to compose everything in one paper and will add what is missing to ensure smooth and logical flow of information. Further, a good writer will revise the paper making sure that the statements are correct, the ideas do not skip, and the whole paper has good and balanced structure. Both grammar and content require special attention since a paper will not be ideal if it contains mistakes. Here are some tips of advice on how to edit your paper:

  • Always be yourself and make certain that your voice is heard in your essay. The committee does not know you and you should confirm that having read your essay, they will be able to create some positive opinion about you. Remember, the committee will see falseness in your paper and will not accept it. Be fair and open.
  • Pride for personal achievements should not become an incontrollable arrogance. Make sure that you can balance your modesty and still manage to point your accomplishments. Do not exaggerate anything as lie will be noticed and it will spoil all the impression from your essay and you.
  • Check the essay guidelines and double-check that you have fulfilled all the aspects required by the college authorities. Usually, these guidelines are strict and rather formal and refer to font and the number of words. The committee may not consider the papers, which do not correspond to these formal requirements.
  • Describing your accomplishments, guarantee that you highlight the skills and knowledge you have gained, highlight your experience.
  • Do not forget that you are writing an essay, not some scientific work. Therefore, there is no need to use terms and complicated words, which you do not fully understand. Try to use vocabulary adequate to your specialization and to your level of knowledge. Impress with ideas, not with the ability to use vocabulary of terms.
  • Remember, that each your sentence should carry meaning as only in this case the committee will read your essay till the end. This is exactly what you need. Don’t try to fill out the word count, you should better fulfill each your sentence with unique meaning adding something new in each statement as only in this case the committee will wish to read more and more of your writing.
  • Verify your goals comply with the mission statement of the scholarship committee. Also, ensure that each of your ideas you further discuss in the essay gets the reader back to this mission. Still, do not copy the mission word for word.

Step 7: Ask for a Feedback

It is usually difficult to see personal mistakes. Therefore, it can be a good idea to give your essay for reading to your parents, teachers, and classmates. However, remember, that you can receive valuable advice only from those, who already have an experience in college admission process and can really be helpful. Having looked through the comments, make sure that you ask your reader the following questions:

  • Was grasped your attention and did you want to read it till the end?
  • Was anything confusing or unclear?
  • Did you notice any grammar or stylistic mistakes?
  • Could you see my voice in the essay?
  • Would you accept my essay?
  • What would you do in a different way?

Having gathered all the ideas and comments, revise your paper again following the feedback you have received.

Step 8: Enhance the Final Paper

Having accomplished all the previous steps, you are ready to provide the final draft. It is better to proofread it in a day or two after you have completed your writing. It will help you have a fresh look. Check not only grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, but the flow of ideas and vocabulary.