Scholarships

There are some scholarships and schools that require students to write an essay on a prompt (or choose from a list of prompts). Writing essays can feel a bit tedious at times, especially when you have to write more than one. Here is some advice on writing essays for colleges and/or scholarships.

1. Create an outline

Have an introduction, meat of the prompt, and conclusion. It's like a sandwich.

Introduction: Set-up to what you are writing about

Meat of Prompt: What you are writing about 

Conclusion: Relate back to the introduction and wrap-up what you are writing about 

Some sandwiches will be meatier than others, but this is the basic form of essay writing.

2. You don't have to start at the beginning

When writing out your outline, or even the essay itself, you don't have to start at the first word of your introduction. Write what comes to mind, then rearrange it and edit it later. You can always add the introduction and conclusion after writing the meat of your prompt.

3. Second pair of eyes

It is recommended to have a friend, family member, or teacher look over your writing and help with edits. It helps a lot to have a second pair of eyes to make sure all the typos and grammar are correct, and also to make sure your essay makes sense and flows well. Programs like Grammarly are also helpful for this as well.

4. Similar prompt?

If you have 2 essays that have a similar prompt but are at completely different places, don't reinvent the wheel. Take your initial essay, create a copy, and make edits to that essay to match the similar prompt. It saves a lot of time and effort, but make sure you still get that second pair of eyes on it.

5. I have multiple prompts, I don't know which one to choose

Start writing the meat of the prompt for each prompt. When you find the prompt that speaks to you the best, choose that prompt and write to completion on that prompt. 

6. Break it into chunks

You don't have to write the whole essay in one sitting. For most cases, walking away and coming back to your essay can be very helpful when thinking of ideas and making edits to your writing. What may have sounded good two days ago may not sound as good now and needs edits.