<p>Do the principles of writing good college essays also apply to scholarship essays? I would assume so, but some sources claim that 95% of the essays are discarded immediately after reading the essay (I think this is a scare estimate, though). Is there anything special I should keep in mind when writing scholarship essays.</p>
<p>Murasaki -</p>
<p>If you are entering an essay contest for one of the big scholarships, then the odds are so overwhelming that even discarding 95%, the remaining 5% would be a huge task to get agreement from the judges on so many essays.</p>
<p>Probably the same college essay rules would apply. BUT, I have a theory that for smaller scholarships with few applicants, a different rubric applies: These are people who (I surmise) do NOT read hundreds and hundreds of essays and thus have not "seen it all." I think that (my opinion only - not gospel) that the first paragraph should bring people into the essay much like an opening scene of a movie: to supply tension that keeps the person reading.</p>
<p>This is over-simplistic, but did you ever notice how each chapter of a successful suspense novel ends? With a hook that won't let the reader stop and put down the book. The last paragraph kind of leaves you hanging wondering what will happen next.</p>
<p>So (again, my simple opinion), for a HUGE scholarship think of needing to write great literature. For a smaller (e.g., local) one, think suspense novel. For example, for something as mundane as highlighting your work at a senior center delivering turkeys for Thanksgiving (I'm making this up as I go), the first paragraph would be something like:</p>
<p>I rang the doorbell for the third time. There was no movement from within the apartment. I had called from the Senior Center from where I had left not a half-hour earlier. I had attracted attention from the apartment across the hall. I could see the light changing in the small peephole in the door; someone was watching me. I began to worry. Many of the people I help are very old and frail. Had this one had a problem and could not open the door? Had she fallen and needed help? I bit my lower lip as I waited. I rang the bell one more time, but there was still no apparent movement behind the door. What could I do....?</p>
<p>Then do not say what happened next until the last paragraph. Meanwhile, the "middle" of the essay is something like, "I began working at this Senior Center in 2005, enjoying the task of delivering turkeys to those unable to get out or to those without families to visit.... blah, blah, the details....</p>
<p>Then, in the last paragraph, go back to the suspenseful situation:</p>
<p>The door across the hall suddenly made a loud click as the lock was unlatched. It slowly opened, and the woman I was looking for stepped out. The crisis was solved. She had just been across the hall visiting her neighbor. She saw the frozen turkey in my hands and her immediate, beaming smile made me remember why I loved these deliveries.</p>
<p>Anyway, that was kind of maudlin, but you get the idea.</p>
<p>Lots of people disagree with me on this, but it also provides a way to get started on an essay, especially if the topic is boring.</p>