A scholarship essay is bound to feel daunting. You’ve got a blank page in front of you; you have one shot, and you want to impress the scholarship selection committee. Don’t panic. There is a simple trick for starting a beginning that leaves the reader wanting to find out what happens next: start with something that makes the reader want to keep going. If you’re struggling to get started or pressed for time, LastMinuteWriting.com offers fast essay writing help tailored to your needs. Their services are particularly useful for students looking to write unique scholarship essays under tight deadlines.

To get going, you could start with a short story about yourself, drawing on an experience that somehow relates to your topic or your reasons for wanting to study the field (or why you want to be considered for the scholarship). It could be something that happened to you that gave you an idea about your chosen field, or something that proved a major influence on your goals. This might be opening a small hatch in the side of a fishing boat at sea, the first time you realized the importance of being green, the smell of a dying woman, or the way your hand felt in a glove too small – each one of these could be a story.

Setting the Tone

When writing the introduction of a scholarship essay, consider using online personal statement services to refine your narrative and make a lasting impression on the selection committee. Your opening sets the stage for what comes after, so aim for something in between ‘formal’ enough to show you take the application seriously and ‘personal’ enough to let your authentic voice emerge. Clunky affected language or overly academic constructs are unhelpful – instead, strive for a tone that’s confident, sincere and true to who you are as an individual. 

And for that matter, what is the scholarship and organization you’re applying to specifically interested in? This may seem like a bland exhortation to do your homework, but it’s important. Research their values and mission, and find ways to connect those values to yourself in your opening, without pandering or being insincere.

Connecting Your Opening to the Essay Prompt

While a strong opening is crucial, it is just as imperative that your introduction directly addresses the essay prompt. Many students craft an opening paragraph that could work for just about any scholarship essay. After all, the prompt says, ‘Describe a challenge you have overcome,’ so why not just come up with almost any generic introduction that relates to overcoming a challenge? Write an opening about how all challenges can teach us to be better, more empathetic people once confronted and conquered. However, almost all prompts also add the qualifying phrase, ‘What does this challenge mean to you?’ It’s vital that you start your response to that question immediately in your opening paragraph.

Here are common scholarship essay prompts and potential opening strategies:

Essay Prompt	Opening Strategy
Describe a challenge you’ve overcome	Begin with a vivid description of the challenge
Why do you deserve this scholarship?	Start with a specific example of your achievements
What are your career goals?	Open with a moment that inspired your career path
How will you make a difference?	Begin with a brief story of a time you helped others
Describe a leadership experience	Start by setting the scene of a specific leadership moment

Revising and Refining Your Opening

After you’ve written that first draft of your opening, take time to revise it. Read it out loud to see how it sounds and if it feels stilted. Ask yourself if it really says what you want it say about you and if it sets up the rest of your essay well.

Don’t be afraid of writing multiple variants of your opening and then choosing the strongest one. The best opening paragraph for your draft might very well be in paragraph 5 of your first draft. Move things around and experiment until you find the right opening. 

After all, the opening of your scholarship essay should be your chance to stand out, not blend in. By opening with a strong story, question or claim that is personal, relevant and intriguing, you will ensure that you have the strongest possible start to your essay – and that you’ll have a greater chance of triumphing in the writing that follows.