Having completed step one of the scholarship essay process , you should now have a rough idea of what you want to include in your scholarship essay. This includes your goals, important life experiences, research experience, diversifying features, spectacular nonacademic accomplishments, financial need, etc. At this point, you should also have an idea of what impression you want to make on the scholarship committee.

Now you must now consider those topics which will allow you to put your important personal characteristics and experiences into a coherent essay. While most scholarship essays allow great latitude in topic selection, you must not forget to answer the questions that were asked of you. Leaving a lasting impression on an individual who reads on average 50 essays a day will not be an easy task, but EssayEdge has compiled some guidelines to help you get started.

• Does your topic describe something of personal importance in your life. Can you use vivid personal experiences as supporting details?


• Is your topic a gimmick? In other words, will you construct your scholarship essay in iambic pentameter or make it funny? A word of caution. Be very careful if this is what you have in mind. It is strongly recommended that you do not proceed in this manner unless it is explicitly recommended. In almost every instance, this type of essay is poorly constructed and is not acceptable to a scholarship committee. There is nothing worse than not laughing or being amused at something that was written to be funny or amusing.


• Will your topic simply serve to repeat the information already listed on your application? If so, pick a new topic. Don't mention GPAs or standardized test scores in your essay if they are already mentioned elsewhere. Most committees already have this information beforehand.


• Can you supply vivid supporting paragraphs to your essay topic? If you cannot easily think of supporting paragraphs with concrete examples, you should probably think about choosing a different essay topic.


• Can you answer any questions asked of you completely and fully? Can you address and elaborate on all points within the specified word limit? If you plan on writing about something technical, be certain to back up your interest and not merely throw around big scientific words. Unless you can convince the reader that you actually have the life experiences to back up your interest in neurobiology, the reader will assume you are trying to impress him/her with shallow tactics. Be certain that your writing is directed to the scholarship officers and that you are not writing over their heads.


• Can you capture the reader's interest from the first word? The entire essay must be interesting, considering scholarship officers will probably only allot a few minutes to reading it.


• Is your topic overdone? In order to determine this, use EssayEdge's 100 free application essays to help you. But keep in mind that even if your topic is overdone, this is not necessarily a bad thing. A unique or convincing spin to an overdone topic can have a big pay off.


• Will your topic be a turnoff to a large number of people? If you write on how everyone should practice your religion, how wrong or right abortion is, or how you think the Republican or Democratic Party is evil, you will not win the scholarship or aid award. The only thing worse than not writing a memorable essay is writing a scholarship essay that will be remembered negatively. Stay away from specific religions, political doctrines, or controversial opinions. You can still write an essay about George Bush's influence on your life, but express understanding that not all intelligent people will agree with his policies. Emphasize instead Bush's influence on your life, and not why you think he was right or wrong in his political decisions.


• In this vein, if you present a controversial topic, you must acknowledge counter arguments without sounding arrogant.


• Will a committee member remember your topic after a day of reading hundreds of scholarship essays? What will they remember? What will they remember about you? What will your lasting impression be?

After evaluating your essay topics with the above criteria and asking for the free opinions of EssayEdge editors, of your teachers or colleagues, and of your friends, you should have at least 1-2 interesting essay topics. Consider the following guidelines below.

1. If you are planning on writing a scholarship essay on how you survived poverty in your homeland, a family member's suicide or kidnapping, or your immigration to America from Southeast Asia, be careful that your main goal addresses your own personal qualities. Because something unfortunate has occurred in your life, does not mean that you should win a scholarship. You don't want to be remembered as the pathetic applicant. You want to be remembered as the applicant who showed impressive qualities under difficult circumstances. It is for this reason that a scholarship essay related to these types of topics are considered among the best. The only way to write a good essay is to use the horrible experience as a lens with which to magnify your own personal characteristics.


2. "Diversity" is the biggest buzzword of the 1990's. For this reason, so many applicants are tempted to declare what makes them diverse. However, simply saying you are an African-American, gay or lesbian female will not impress the scholarship committee in the least. While an essay incorporating this information would probably be your best topic idea, you must finesse the issue by addressing your own personal qualities and how you overcame stigma, dealt with social ostracism, etc. If you are a rich student from Beverly Hills whose father is an engineer and whose mother is a lawyer, but you happen to be a minority, choosing to write an scholarship essay about how you dealt with adversity would not be a smart move. You must be able to vividly demonstrate your personal qualities, interests, motivations, etc. Instead, specifically address how your diversity will contribute to the realm of campus opinion, the academic environment, and the larger society as a whole.


3. Don't mention any weaknesses unless you absolutely need to explain them away. You want to make a positive first impression, and revealing a drinking, drugs, or partying habit defeats your goal. EssayEdge editors have read more essays on ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) than we would ever have imagined. Why admit to weakness when you can instead highlight your strengths?


4. Be honest, but not for honesty's sake. Unless you are a truly excellent writer, your best, most passionate writing will be about events that actually occurred. While you might be tempted to invent hardship, it is completely unnecessary. Write an essay about your life that demonstrates your personality.

Even seemingly boring topics can be made into exceptional scholarship essays with an innovative approach. In writing your scholarship essay, keep in mind your two goals: to persuade the committee that you are extremely worthy of receiving college assistance and to make them aware that you are more than a GPA and a standardized score, that you are a real-life, intriguing personality.

Unfortunately, there is no surefire method to writing a good scholarship essay. EssayEdge editors at www.EssayEdge.com will remake your scholarship essay into an awesome, memorable masterpiece, but each topic requires a different treatment method since no two scholarship essays are alike. However, they have compiled the following list of tips for you to use.

1. Answer the Question. You can follow the next 12 steps, but if you miss the question, you will not win the scholarship.


2. Be Original. Even topics which seem boring can sound interesting if approached creatively. If writing about a marathon you trained for, do not start your essay: "I worked long hours for many weeks to train for the XXX marathon." Consider using an opening like, "Every morning I awoke at 4:30 to sweat, tears, and blood as I trained on the running grounds of Central Park, hoping to break the record for the fastest runner."


3. Be Yourself The committee wants to learn about you and your writing ability. Write about something meaningful and describe your feelings, not necessarily your actions. If you do this, your essay will be unique. Many people travel to foreign countries or win competitions, but the feelings during these events are unique. Unless a philosophy or societal problem has interested you intensely for years, stay away from grand themes of which you have little personal experience.


4. Don't "Thesaurize" your Composition. For some reason, many students continue to think big words make good essays. While using big words is fine, they should only be used in the appropriate contexts, with complex styles. Hint: Think Hemingway.


5. Use Imagery and Clear, Vivid Prose. If you are not adept with imagery, you can write an excellent essay without it, but it's not easy. The application essay lends itself to imagery since the entire essay requires your experiences as supporting details. Appeal to the five senses of the scholarship officers.


6. Spend the Most Time on your Introduction. Expect the scholarship committee to spend 1-2 minutes reading your essay. You must use the introduction to grab their interest from the beginning. In some instances, you may even change the introduction completely after writing the body paragraphs.


7. Don't Summarize in your Introduction. Ask yourself why a reader would want to read your entire essay after reading your introduction. If you summarize the scholarship essay, there is no need for the scholarship officer to read the rest of the essay.


8. Create Mystery or Intrigue in your Introduction. It is not necessary or recommended that your first sentence give away the subject matter. Raise questions in the minds of the readers and convince them to read on. Appeal to their emotions to make them relate to your subject matter.


9. Body Paragraphs Must Relate to Introduction. Your introduction can be original, but cannot be silly. The paragraphs that follow must relate to your introduction.


10. Use Transition Applicants continue to ignore transition to their own detriment. You must transition within paragraphs and especially between paragraphs to preserve the logical flow of your essay. Transition is not limited to phrases like "as a result, in addition, while..., since..., etc." but includes repeating key words and progressing the idea. Transition provides the intellectual architecture to argument building.


11. Conclusions are Crucial. The conclusion is your last opportunity to persuade the reader and impress upon them your qualifications. In the conclusion, avoid using a summary since the essay is rather short to begin with; the reader does not need to be reminded of what you wrote 300 words before. Also do not use stock phrases like "in conclusion, in summary, to conclude, etc." Instead, consider using the following types of conclusions in the scholarship essay:


• Expand upon the broader implications of your discussion.


• Link the conclusion to the introduction in order to establish a sense of balance by reiterating introductory phrases.


• Redefine a term used previously in your body paragraphs.


• End with a famous quote that is relevant. Do not try to do this, as this approach is overdone. This should come naturally.


• Frame your discussion within a larger context or illustrare how the topic has widespread appeal.


• Remember, the essay does not have to include so much information that it can answer why a loved one died or why people starve in Africa; you are not writing a "sit-com," but should forge some attempt at closure.


12. Do Something Else. Spend a week or so away from your draft. Use the time to decide whether or not your topic and approach is worthwhile.


13. Give your Draft to Others. Ask editors to read with these questions in mind:


• What is the essay about?


• Have I used active voice verbs wherever possible?


• Is the sentence structure varied or do I use all long or all short sentences?


• Does the essay contain any clichés?


• Does the essay transition appropriately?


• Does the essay contain enough imageryand does its use make the essay clearer and more vivid?


• What is the best part of the essay?


• What is most memorable about the essay?


• What is the worst part of the essay?


• Which parts of the essay need elaboration or are unclear?


• Which parts of the essay do not support your main argument or are irrelevant?


• Is every single sentence crucial to the essay? This MUST be the case.


• What does the essay reveal about your personality?


• Could anyone else have written this essay?


• How would you fill in the following blank based on the essay: "I want to accept you to this college because our college needs more ________."



14. Revise, Revise, Revise. You are allowed a limited number of words, so use them wisely. If H.D. Thoreau couldn't write a good essay without revision, neither will you. Delete anything in the essay that does not relate to your main argument. Do you use transition? Are your introduction and conclusions more than summaries? Did you locate every single grammatical error?


15. Allow for your main topic to evolve. Do not assume your subject must remain fixed and that you can only tweak sentences.


16. Editing takes time. Consider reordering your supporting details, delete irrelevant sections, and make clear the broader implications of your experiences. Allow your more important arguments to come to the foreground. Take points that might only be implicit and make them explicit.


17. Have your Essay Professionally Edited. Your scholarship essay is too important not to spend $50 for its improvement. Editing houses like EssayEdge at www.EssayEdge.com will significantly improve your essay's style, transition, voice, grammar, and tone; EssayEdge will also make content suggestions to ensure your essay is unique and memorable.


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