3 Easy Essay Tips to Keep in Mind

Keep these 3 tips in mind as you are writing your essays.

1. Be authentic

When writing your essay, stay true to yourself. Don’t feel like you need to put on a show or portray the type of person you think they are looking for in order to impress them. Instead, paint a picture of your true, authentic self. Ultimately, the reader wants to get to know YOU. Tell them about your passions, goals, and what you’ve learned, but make sure you’re telling your own story.

Don’t write the entire essay about the college or the scholarship. They don’t want to read about themselves. They want insight into who you are, what you’ve experienced, and how those experiences changed or shaped you.

2. Don’t be generic

Don’t fall into the trap of writing the same generic essay as other students. It is a simple but fatal mistake to make. While many scholarship essay prompts will ask you a cliche question, it’s important not to use cliches or generic answers when you write your essay.

Responses about “learning the value of hard work” or “finding your passion” are overdone and uninteresting. Instead, take the time to reflect on your experiences and share your unique insight. This will make yours stand out from the rest. Keep in mind, reviewers may have read hundreds or thousands of submissions, you want yours to make them stop and truly enjoy it – be different!

3. Proofread, proofread, proofread!

You want the reader to be able to easily read through your essay, without the distraction of spelling errors, typos, and out-of-order words. Not only is this distracting, it also tells the reader that you didn’t take the time to thoroughly proofread your work before submitting.

Don’t submit a first draft of your essay, or even a second. Triple-check for typos and spelling errors. The best way to do this is by proofreading your work multiple times and always asking others to help you proofread. Fresh eyes can often spot errors that you would never see.