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Scholarship Essay
The helpful hints here are organized around the Four Broad Steps of the Writing Process which is as follows:
Prewriting—everything you do to prepare to write
Drafting—writing “what you think” and “why you think that” in detail with examples
Revision—improving content, structure, and continuity (logical progression of ideas)
Proofreading & Publishing—eliminating bothersome mechanical errors
What is Your Purpose?
With any writing project you undertake, it is important to determine your purpose. In the case of a scholarship
essay, the purpose is to convince (persuade) the committee to select you as the recipient of the scholarship
award—and to do so over many other qualified candidates.
Who is Your Audience?
You have to remember who your audience might be when crafting a scholarship essay. It is likely that the
committee is made up of college administrators, faculty, graduate students, and/or student ambassadors.
Typically, the committee is college administrators and faculty. Since this is a fairly “unknown” audience unlike
the students in your history or English class, you need to consider them and what they would expect in your
writing.
To do this, conduct an “audience analysis inventory.” By answering the questions below, you can get a better
understanding of who your audience might be which will ensure that you utilize the appropriate vocabulary and
tone in your essay:
What do you know about the audience’s age, gender, and education?
What does the audience already know about the essay/essay question(s)/prompt?
What are the audience’s expectations in an essay?
What information will interest the audience?
What in my personal history mu st I explain to the audience?
The Application Question(s)/Prompt
A clearly written scholarship question or prompt will ask that you perform a task well. That task will be
communicated in the main verb: for example, explain, compare, or discuss. Once you are certain you have
identified the main verb, you can begin to write your essay with confidence.
Typical verbs you might find:
Explain: make clear; tell “how” to do; tell the meaning of. Explain how life hardships have impacted
your character.
Describe: give an account of; tell about; give a word picture of. Describe an experience in which you
had to overcome an academic challenge.
Discuss: talk over; consider from various points of view; present the different sides of. Discuss the
difficulties facing college students today.
Justify: show good reasons for; give your evidence; present facts to support your position. Justify why
you are the best candidate for this scholarship.
EX: Describe your most meaningful achievements and how they demonstrate your leadership ability, your
contributions to public service, and your long-and-short-term goals as well as how your education has
contributed to who you are today.