Dr. Katherine SchmidtWOU Writing Center

fact opinion

observation response

summary analysis

Biology 101Document the processes of your lab experiment in a one-

page report.

Political Science 101Consider Merkley’s and Wyden’s work as senators. Who

has effected more change and why?

Psychology 101Examine how your past shapes your present: (a) analyze

your childhood, and (b) explain how it has shaped you into the adult you are today.

English 101Analyze Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.

Prompt:

Describe a challenge or obstacle you faced in the last ten years. What did you learn about yourself from this experience?

value experiences and accomplishments that do not get listed on a resume

talk to other peoplesimply reflect: what moves you?

freewrite timed writing remember: a first draft is never a

last draft

writing to learn versus

writing to communicate

Choose a few key points to develop.

Include concrete examples to illustrate your points.

Avoid braggy generalizations; instead, describe a specific incident to show your strength(s).

Think about including something that readers would remember, long after they’ve stopped reading.

Have any books, classes, or philanthropic encounters profoundly shaped and/or shaken your outlook?

Write from a positive perspective.

Always consider how your essay might fit with everything else you will be submitting.

Prompt:

Describe a personal accomplishment and the strengths and skills you used to achieve it.

Prompt:

Explain your career aspirations and your educational plan to meet those goals.

Not linear—it’s recursive and messy.

The best essays go through a series of revisions (10+ drafts). Get input from a number of sources: mentors, writing tutors, and friends. 

Stay objective. Don’t fall madly in love with your first draft, if you’re serious about earning scholarship monies.

People say that a picture equals a thousand words (yes, it’s cliché); however, reverse the idea as you read your essay: does your thousand words add up to one fabulous picture of you?

Top swimmers and runners often win by a narrow margin—perhaps by only one tenth of one second. With this in mind, remember that execution of detail can also make or break your scholarship essay score.

mixing up there and their: could this be a problem for your reader?

what about the following? I think the experience sucked.The experience challenged me.

Do not include excerpts from the dictionary—Webster is NOT worth quoting.

Do not use contractions (don’t), exclamation marks (!), and ambiguous pronouns at the start of sentences (it, this, these).

Do not write in second-person point of view (you) . . . ever. First-person POV (I), however, is completely expected.

Edit as if each mistake will cost you $20. Take advantage of your resources: we want

you to succeed.

Make time for writing. Make time for sharing. Make time for revising.