Writing Scholarship Essays

1
Writing Scholarship Essays

• Western Oregon University

2
Recognize Your Tasks

• fact opinion
• observation response
• summary analysis

3
Getting Started

• Two Mildly Contradictory but Equally Valid Bits
  of Advice
• Think about what you might say about yourself
  before you start writing start by brainstorming.
  
• Scribble down a list of your experiences and
  accomplishments. Do not limit yourself to resume
  items what stories do you share with family and
  friends? what events from the past still linger
  in your thoughts today? what has changed you
  recently?
• Talk to other people what would they include in
  your biography?
• Simply reflect what is important to you? what
  gets you excited or moves you to act? what
  threads form patterns in your life? what do you
  hope to accomplish tomorrow, next year, or over
  the course of your lifetime?
• Use the writing process as a vehicle for
  discovery.
• Consider writing several different drafts (i.e.,
  experiment).
• Once you have spent a good deal of time
  brainstorming, select one route and try mapping
  out the main points that would need to be
  included in a draft.
• Try writing a draft within a set time limit (like
  30 minutes), and read it later to look for gems
  (or diamonds in the rough).
• Remember that writing is recursive you might
  discover that the last paragraph in your third
  timed writing is the perfect first paragraph for
  your actual essay.

4
Content Some Helpful Tips

• What belongs in a good personal statement is
  unique to each individual. Nevertheless, here are
  some safe bets to make as you write your draft
• Choose a few key points to develop (three or four
  at most).
• Include concrete examples to illustrate your
  points (i.e., include anecdotes that illustrate
  you taking action in your world).
• Avoid braggy generalizations instead, describe
  specific incidents to show your strengths.
• Think about including something that readers
  would remember, long after theyve stopped
  reading.
• Have any books, classes, or philanthropic
  encounters profoundly shaped and/or shaken your
  outlook?
• Write from a positive perspective.
• Always consider how your essay might fit with
  everything else you will be submitting.

5
After Drafting . . . Comes More Writing

• The best essays go through a series of
  revisions. Get input from a number of sources
  mentors, writing tutors, and friends. 
• Stay objective dont fall madly in love with
  your first draft (remember your goal your
  writing sample may serve as the ticket to
  receiving a scholarship).
• People say that a picture equals a thousand words
  (yes, its cliché) however, reverse the idea as
  you read your essay does your thousand words add
  up to one fabulous picture of you?

6
Package CarefullyStyle Tips

• Top swimmers and runners often win by a narrow
  marginperhaps by only one tenth of one
  second. With this in mind, remember that
  execution of detail can also make or break your
  personal statement when the field is very
  competitive.

7
Formatting

• The goal of formatting is to make the format
  disappear. Thus, follow the directions for
  format, which will be included in the general
  instructions. When no instructions are provided,
  ease of reading should instruct your choices
• Font no larger than 12 and no smaller than 10.
• Margins one inch.
• Justification align left.
• Font Times New Roman or Arial (absolutely avoid
  funky fonts).
• Always type (or word process), even if the
  directions give you the option to Print Neatly.
  
• All top awards prefer ordinary white paper
  (seriously).

8
Punctuation Grammar

• Like road signs serve drivers who travel,
  punctuation serves readers who are navigating a
  text. Incorrect punctuation will lose your
  reader, and this is one situation where you dont
  want your reader to get lost.
• Allow for one space at the end of each sentence. 
• Allow for one space after a comma, colon, or
  semicolon.
• Only use colons and semi-colons when you know are
  using them correctly and effectivelyget help if
  youd like to use them.
• Always write in complete sentences.
• It is the passive voice that should be revised by
  you. You should revise the passive voice by
  placing the subject at the front.
• Subject-verb disagreement ruin ruins a sentence
  for most scholarship readers.
• Contractions are often considered too informal
  for scholarship essays (eliminate cant, dont,
  didnt, wouldnt, shouldnt, etc.).
• If you must artfully break the rules, do so no
  more than once or twice per essay.

9
Technique

• All scholarships value strong writing, which
  serves as evidence of your ability to communicate
  well and think clearly.
• Seek to eliminate, so to speak, empty and
  meaningless phrases however, transitional words
  and phrases are priceless because they show the
  reader how sentences and paragraphs relate to one
  another.
• Point of View use the first personal singular
  (yes, the teacher who told you never to use "I"
  was incorrect).
• Point of View avoid using second person singular
  and pluralit drives readers crazy!
• Avoid repetitive sentence structure, and vary the
  length of your sentences. The variations make
  prose sing.
• Scrutinize every word as you near the final
  draft. Edit as if each mistake costs twenty
  dollars.
• Avoid technical jargon when possible. Your
  readers are highly intelligent but not
  necessarily specialists in your field.
• Avoid table talk (this would include second
  person point of viewyou, slang, and informal
  words like guy instead of individual).
• Avoid narrative writing (i.e., telling a story).
• Including quotations from others is typically
  cliché (i.e., looked down upon).
• Your essay should read quickly and easily.
  Creating an ornate garden of fancy phrases and
  showy words is not your goal.

10
Your Scholarship Essay

• OSAPA SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
• Dr. Schmidt
• 2 copies of double-spaced draft due Wednesday, 15
  July
• SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY (500-word limit)
• This personal statement helps us become
  acquainted with you in ways beyond grades, test
  scores, and other objective data. While the essay
  should demonstrate your ability to organize
  thoughts and express yourself, the product should
  ultimately provide us with a written portrait of
  you as a thoughtful human being.
• ESSAY OPTIONS (respond to Prompt 3)
• Describe an encounter that demonstrates the
  importance of diversity to you.
• Describe how your personal background informs
  your education plans and career goals.
• Describe a personal challenge you have faced and
  the lessons you learned about yourself as a
  result of the experience.