Pre-Writing: Video Resources

Pre-writing, as you may well guess, refers to the process of preparation that takes place before you begin writing your first draft. You will find that dedicating a little bit of time to the pre-writing phase (rather than just diving in heads-first to your first draft) will help you develop fuller, better organized, and more cohesive essays. Minding the pre-writing process will also help you save time later, during the editing phase, as you will avoid writing sloppy or ill-planned essays. The following is a list of a few pre-writing steps, in addition to a few helpful videos. Some of these videos are a bit dry, but all offer great advice, I promise!

Brainstorming: see my post “Subject Matter” for general topics which will help get you started on the brainstorming process. Here is a helpful video that provides some ideas for brainstorming strategies:

Organization: you want your essay to read like an essay, not a list of brainstormed ideas! So, you will want to organize your essay around a central concept or idea (See my post “Sample Gilman Essay #2: Spain” for a great example of a well-organized essay). You will also want to think about the progression and flow of your essay—write up an outline for your essay so that you can be sure there is a logical progression from one idea or topic to the next. Here is a nice video to help get you thinking about the organization of your essay (you can consider a scholarship essay as an informative essay about yourself):

And here is a goofy video that will help you use transitions to organize your essay and create a smooth flow for your writing:

Considering your audience (determining your tone): I recommend you check out my post “Style” for more advice on the best tone to use for your scholarship essay. The questions that you must answer at this phase of your writing: why am I writing? Who am I writing for? See this video for help answering these questions:

Subject Matter: What to Include

Use this list to brainstorm ideas for your scholarship essays.

The following are a few categories to help get you thinking about what to include in your scholarship essay. I recommend brainstorming answers to all of the questions listed below. You can then look back through your responses and decide which ones will make for the most compelling and cohesive essay.

Some advice about brainstorming: don’t hold back! The point of a brainstorm is just to get as many ideas on the table as possible. Don’t self-edit or worry about details while you are brainstorming—just jot down whatever comes to mind. You will have plenty of opportunity to polish and edit later.

1.       Unique or influential life experiences

Examples: Did you move around a lot as a kid? Grow up in a non-traditional household? Have you lived or travel extensively abroad?

2.       Career goals

What type of career are you interested in pursuing? How do your current activities and plans for the scholarship funds play into these goals?

3.       Academic interests

What is your major? Why have you chosen this major? Are you studying any foreign languages?

4.       Diversity

Examples: What is your racial/ethnic/religious heritage? Do you have a disability or face unique challenges? Do you come from a historically underserved population? How have these factors impacted your life and your goals?

5.       Desired outcomes

Why have you decided to apply for this scholarship? What do you hope to achieve using the scholarship funds? What do you hope to get out of your study abroad experience?

Remember that your goal is to show your readers what makes you you and demonstrate that you are the best fit for the scholarship.