How to Start a Scholarship Essay Introduction: Tips & Sample
A scholarship essay is to a scholarship-seeker what a business pitch is to a small company seeking investors. Starting a scholarship essay begins with an introduction; the introduction of the essay can decide whether it will be accepted or otherwise. Scholarship boards usually have hundreds, thousands, even of scholarship essays to review. As such, you need to secure your essay with an introduction that will pique their interest from start to finish.
Your scholarship essay introduction can be your essay’s key to winning the scholarship. Therefore, follow us as we take you through steps on how to begin a scholarship essay. https://mycustomessay.com/order-custom-essay.html
Ideas on the Best Way to Start a Scholarship Essay
There are several ideas on how to start a scholarship essay, and they all agree on one thing: scholarship essay introduction is essential. The best way to start a scholarship essay is, to begin with, a catchy introduction; what you’re catching here is the reader’s attention. A hooking introduction keeps your audience interested such that they cannot drop the essay until they’re done. The introduction of a scholarship essay gives the reader an idea of what to expect in the essay.
What Should Introduction for Scholarship Essay Include?
An introduction for scholarship essay occupies only one paragraph of the typical 500-word scholarship essay. That means you have a one-paragraph chance to get the committee’s attention on you and your goals. A scholarship essay introduction should include three things:
- The Hook: this is the first sentence of the introduction; it sets the tone for the entire scholarship essay. Use short, simple sentences; be concise, clear, and straight to the point. The first sentence of your scholarship essay gives the scholarship committee an idea of what the essay is all about.
- Short Background Information: provide your reader with the context needed to understand your essay topic and submission. You can start with the definition of key terms, a summary of the research you carried out about the topic or a historical or geographical context.
- Thesis Statement: your thesis statement comprises one or two sentences summarizing your overall submission. The thesis statement is the most important part of a scholarship essay introduction. The essence of the thesis statement is to assert your position concerning the essay topic you chose.
Scholarship Essay Introduction Sample
Growing up in a lower socioeconomic community has taught me two primary lessons that have led to my application for a scholarship.
The first of these is that education can make the difference between success and failure as much as between living and simply getting by. For this reason, I want to pursue a higher education that will not only make my family proud but will also afford me the opportunity to improve their quality of life.
The second of these lessons involves the amount of crime that is visible in the lower socioeconomic communities across the nation. While there are opportunities to pursue an education and to improve one’s financial status, many of these individuals either cannot or choose to not pursue these opportunities. Instead, they become desperate and fall into a life of crime. This leads to an unsafe and unhealthy environment for the vulnerable members of the community including the children and the elderly.
For this reason, I want to pursue a degree in criminal justice that will lead me to a career in law enforcement so that I can help to protect those within these communities.
What Should You Avoid When Writing Scholarship Essay Introduction?
Scholarship seekers make certain costly mistakes that ultimately cost them that particular scholarship. Below are some of the things to avoid when writing a scholarship essay introduction:
- Avoid big grammar: it may make you sound intelligent, but it only bores readers out. A good scholarship essay introduction should be natural, clear, and easy to understand.
- Avoid quotes in your introduction: the introduction should contain your words, not someone else’s. Instead, let your personality show in your scholarship essay introduction.
- Avoid introducing yourself in the introduction: you are introducing the topic, not yourself.
- Avoid making obvious statements such as “I want this scholarship opportunity”: it makes you sound desperate.
Helpful Tips on How to Start Off a Scholarship Essay
Below are some tips to guide you on how to start off a scholarship essay that would win you the scholarship:
- Be yourself; readers usually can tell when you are copying someone’s style and being authentic.
- Be intelligent, but don’t overdo it; don’t use vague and ambiguous words to convey your thoughts.
- Religiously follow the standard hook-background-thesis format for writing essay introductions.
- Take a look at essay introduction samples, especially those that won, and learn from the writing style; see why they won.
- Review your write-up as many times as possible; seek second, third, maybe even fourth opinions on it.
- Follow the rules set by the scholarship committee you are writing to – including the word count, number of paragraphs, and so on.
In conclusion, scholarship essays don’t get turned out without being read unless rules are flouted, for example, the word-count rule. Another thing that can cause a scholarship essay to be rejected is if the introduction is boring. How you start off a scholarship essay matters a lot; the fate of the essay is critically hinged on it. So the key to writing a winning scholarship essay is getting your audience hooked from the essay’s first sentence to the final word.
