Guide to writing scholarships (v2)

 I made some improvements to the last one. Here you go. As I say, "You lose by the real rules, when you play by the false rules."

  1. There is a gradient, from challenge to solution, in a scholarship story:
  • That which serves to point out a challenge,
  • That which serves to show the oppressions of the challenge,
  • That which shows what motivates the protagonist to overcome it,
  • The moment the protagonist gains (or uncovers) the permanent resolve to overcome it,
  • That which serves to show how the protagonist overcame it, 
  • How the protagonist, or his situation changes from accomplishing it,
  • The benefits the protagonist experiences or the indications it was right solution,  
  • The takeaway he shares with the reader, his belief inferring from the benefits it is the right thing to do.
  • Suffering > Uncovering of strength > Overcoming problem with strength > Enlightenment?
  1. Here, we detail structural elements that intend to both accomplish the above, and accomplish incidental other purposes.
  • Visualized exposition. Put the scholarship-reader in your eyes, and make him experience what you have.
  • Detailing. Used in statements, or as part of VE, to show the reader you really were there, by offering specific details.
  • Relatability. To be similar to the reader's experience of life, through correct insertion of detailing.
    • The reader, placed in his shoes, if he witnesses enough good-doing, will pick you precisely because "he" did good in your shoes. 
  • Takeaway. Used at the end, to clarify to the reader the current state of the (Challenge>Solution) plot.
  1. What do we need to do?
  • Friendship: The best applicants are like friends, who you know are going to do good things.   
    • Familiarity: The reader should feel he understands your personality (your motives, your challenges, and what you plan to do based on those).  
      • This is why takeaways are so useful, they mirror "serious conversations" and let the reader gain quickly a sense that when you drop the cover of detailing / visualizing, you are really talking from the soul.
    • Suffering: The reader should feel your suffering (visualized), as it helps ignite his empathy (suffering > empathy). 
      • Helps goodness seem realistic for your character, makes quality seem greater (because clearly you had more against you). It is wise to make Quality a result of Suffering, so that being competent doesn't look like bragging.
    • Underdog: Your character should gain his competence / virtue throughout the progression of the story, preferably as a result of suffering or challenge.
      • Never be a braggart, always be the humble David against the Goliath of the world.
      • You should start your story, and remain in your personality, relatable to the reader's perspective.
      • Your successes should be communicated in a fashion to not make the reader feel inferior. You could brag about how you got national on the spelling bee, or simply how grinding the practice was to get there.
    • Relatability: Your character should live similarly, have similar thoughts & philosophies, have similar experiences, and be generally alike to the reader's personality. The reader should not have to squish their feet putting on your shoes.
    • Hook: Make the story appear something more than it is at the first sentence or two. Then, humorously scale it down to the true story.
    • Friend-talk: Exposition done in a friendly fashion to the reader, as if you know him. Good for relatability / empathy.
  • Can-do-it (Competence): Establish a precedent for your ability to accomplish what you set your mind to, to endure suffering, to overcome challenges, etc. 
    • This is the purpose of every masochism-honor club, sports, etc, as it shows you are a competent individual, who has a precedent for managing their life well, by being able to handle the addition of these further difficulties.
  • Will-do-it (Virtue): Establish a precedent for having previously acted virtuously. 
    • Suffering is useful here, because it provides a plausible reason why you would want to be virtuous. 
    • A scholarship giver is a ethical universalist, who wants to do the most good for society at large. The ultimate goal is to make the reader think that you are the person who will do the most real good (will actually do it times competence times amount of good times people) in the world, and thus award you. 
  • Realism: Does the world feel real? This is slightly distinctive from Relatability because the reader may not be able to relate, but if it feels "real" that is also workable.
  • In shortest: You must be the most sympathetic, convincing, competent, and most effectual way for the scholarship to make the world a better place.

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