Are you struggling to find inspiration to write up a winning scholarship essay?
Do you feel totally frustrated because of so many essays and assignments that you had to complete up to now? But this one is totally different…
Are you afraid of making a mistake that can cost you a scholarship?
If so, take a deep breath. You need to know that you are not alone. Thousands of students feel the same when they apply for a scholarship.
Some of them even turn to professional scholarship essay writers online to make sure their papers are matchless.
In this blog, we’ll point out 8 most common scholarship essay writing mistakes. Hopefully, it will help you avoid them while composing yours.
Mistake #1 – Lack of Clarity and Consistency in Writing
A lot of students face this issue. Keep in mind that if your writing is convoluted and unclear, it can probably be the reason why your essay may look boring for the committee members.
Keep your writing simple and straight to the point. Address the questions you need to highlight in a clear and precise way. Make sure you express your ideas logically and consistently.
Mistake #2 – Missing the Deadline
This is another stumbling point for many students. Procrastination is the main reason for missing scholarship essay deadlines. Be smarter than others. Start crafting your paper as soon as possible.
In most cases, it can take you more time to write a good essay than you may think. Especially this one can take more time because your scholarship is at stake. If you think it’s possible to write it in 1 hour, think again.
Mistake #3 – Formatting Issues
Formatting styles are the source of many issues for a lot of students. They can make you feel confused. However, you need to take your time to understand their requirements. Then you need to tailor your paper to the standards specified in the given style.
Mistake #4 – Failing to Structure the Essay Properly
If you don’t want your essay to look like a medieval manuscript, you should use paragraphs. Keep in mind that each paragraph shouldn’t be bigger than 4-6 lines. Make sure your scholarship paper is appealing to the eyes and easy to read.
Mistake #5 – Going over the Word Count
They give you the word count along with other instructions for a reason. If you exceed it, you take a risk of violating the requirements for a scholarship contest.
That being said, the committee can and probably will ignore your essay if it contains more words than it should. Thus, be very attentive when it comes to the length of your paper.
Mistake #6 – Overdoing with References and Quotes
Of course, you need references and quotes in your essay. They boost the credibility of your writing and make you sound like a well-versed expert.
However, don’t use them too much. It will have a negative effect on the overall paper and how readers perceive it. If to be more specific, don’t use more than 2-3 quotes and references in your scholarship essay.
Just keep in mind that it’s not a dissertation. It’s not a research paper. It’s an essay. So, the number of sources and quotes should be small. Sometimes you don’t need them at all. It depends on the instructions.
Mistake #7 – Using Passive Voice in the Essay
Do you want your essay to be more appealing and easy-to-read? Avoid Passive voice. Avoid it at all costs. Once you finish your paper use a special tool like Hemingway app to boost the readability of your writing.
It’s a very intuitive and effective online editing tool. Just paste the text of your essay there. In a matter of seconds, it will show you exactly what you need to fix in your paper.
This tool is amazing. It’s free and very efficient. It shows the readability score of your writing. The less the score, the better. You need to aim at hitting 6 and lower grades.
A pro hint: to boost the readability of your writing, use simple sentences with 5-10 words in each sentence.
Mistake #8 – Turning in the Essay Without Editing It
Many students turn in essays without proper editing. That’s a huge mistake. Make sure you have enough time for double-checking everything in your paper from typos and grammar issues to punctuation and word choice.
Before you get down to editing, take a break (24 hours is the best).
Use online editing tools like Grammarly or Language Tool. Even Google docs underline some of the most serious errors.
On top of that, give your essay to your family members and peers. They may help you indicate some extra things to fix in your writing.
Conclusion
Now you are aware of the most common mistakes that students make while writing their scholarship essays. Use this knowledge to your advantage. Implement the tips from this blog post right away to increase your odds of getting a long-awaited scholarship.