Editing Your Scholarship Applications

Overview

Many scholarships require students to demonstrate their eligibility through a written application. For this reason, it’s important that you develop the specific writing skills required to create competitive applications and that you learn how to avoid common writing mistakes. Developing strong writing skills will help you to communicate clearly, and accurately, when making your scholarship and financial aid applications. In this chapter, we specifically focus on elements of planning and proofreading that you should consider while you outline and edit your applications.

Learning Objectives

• Describe how to effectively approach drafting a scholarship application, from brainstorming ideas and outlining a structure, to making technical edits.
• Discuss how to implement editing techniques (e.g., changing passive voice to active voice).
• Apply the essential skills for writing scholarship applications.

Keywords

#EditingResources #SkillsAndExperiences #SupplementaryDocumentation #TimeManagementResources

Structuring Your Scholarship Application

Your written piece must have a clear focus and answer the application prompts directly. Brainstorming and planning your response will be crucial for developing a focused and relevant submission. Use the Writing Checklist below when you’re drafting an outline for your scholarship application.

Once you’ve clarified the ideas you want to discuss, you can create an outline and then a draft.

To Include or Not To Include, That is The Dilemma!

To develop a strong submission, you must meet the goal of the application’s question or prompt. A big part is choosing which information to include.

For example, imagine the scholarship prompt asks you to discuss an achievement you’re proud of. The goal of the submission would be to skillfully highlight your strengths and valuable experiences through the discussion of the accomplishment. Your discussion would provide insight on what you’ve learned from the experience, and how you will apply that in the future.

Technical Issues

Experiencing technical issues can be very stressful. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent them. Watch the video below to find out more. [Transcript]

Editing Guidelines

Editing is the process of reviewing written work to make it as straightforward as possible. There are many different types of editing, ranging from substantial and structural editing, to copyediting and proofreading. Editors Canada provides a useful summary of the different types of editing on their website.

In this section we will discuss how to review your work for conciseness, clarity, inclusive language, grammar, and punctuation.

Language Inclusivity

Language is a powerful tool that has the potential to cause harm. Being intentional and mindful about the language you use in your writing can help to ensure that all individuals feel respected, valued, and represented. You’re in a position to create a more welcoming and accessible environment for readers from diverse backgrounds, fostering a sense of belonging and understanding. Demonstrating a commitment to fairness and social justice, using inclusive language promotes empathy and cultural sensitivity. The words we use can contribute to a more inclusive society where diverse human experiences and identities have the space to be acknowledged and respected.

The American Psychological Association provides guidelines for inclusive language in writing on their website. The Government of Canada also has a Canadian-specific resource for inclusive writing.

Conciseness

Scholarship applications usually have a maximum word or character count, and getting your ideas across within those limits can be difficult. If you’re over the maximum word or character count, editing for wordiness and considering more concise phrasing can help you to stay within the required length. It will also help you to communicate more clearly and effectively.

If you’re below a minimum word or character count, don’t just add words to your sentences for the sake of adding words. Wordiness can lead to confusion for readers, so instead, focus on impact over volume. Make sure any words you add provide substance.

To edit for wordiness, try reading your sentences aloud. Do they flow naturally? If you read them to someone else, do they understand what you’re trying to say? Consider how you would say that thought aloud and explain it to someone – use that conciseness in your writing as well. Split more complex ideas into multiple sentences if the sentence gets too long, or if the point is lost.

To help you identify wordy sentences and understand how to edit them effectively, review the below examples.

Notice how the edited sentence in the first example used more direct language, while the edited sentence in the second example combined related ideas.

Active Voice vs Passive Voice

Active voice and passive voice describe the focus and style of writing. They affect the tone and flow of your written work. Active voice often leads to direct and clear writing; it also helps to reduce wordiness. However, it’s important to consider the purpose of your written piece when deciding which voice to use (Kramer, 2023).

Active voice is when the subject of the sentence performs the action. You should use active voice in most formal academic writing, research papers, and scholarship applications. Passive voice is when the main focus of the sentence is the recipient of the action. Use passive voice when the agent performing the action is unknown, or the information is unimportant.

Review the examples below to better understand the distinction between active and passive voice. Try to think about how each example could be rewritten in active voice before flipping the card to see our suggestion.

Since scholarship applications are often constricted by a word or character count and the reviewing committee doesn’t know you, strive to use an active voice wherever possible. This will help reduce your application’s wordiness, ensure your ideas are expressed clearly, and center yourself as the active subject. Since passive voice tends to downplay the role of the agent (you), don’t shy away from using personal pronouns (I/me/my) in your submission, unless a scholarship’s instructions specify not to use them.

Modifiers

Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that provide additional information about another word in a sentence. Adverbs and adjectives are common modifiers (Kramer, 2022).

Modifiers can also be in the form of a phrase or a clause. For example, in the sentence “The snake, that we found in the garden, was yellow and black,” the clause, ‘that we found in the garden,’ is the modifier.

The placement of modifiers is important to providing contextual information that can enhance the clarity of your application. Using modifiers appropriately is important when striving to create strong written work, such as competitive scholarship applications. They can be overused in two ways.

With that being said, using modifiers to provide the reader with more information can be valuable. Modifiers can allow the reader to understand better what you’re trying to say and enhance your explanation of your experiences and/or qualifications. However, be intentional about when you use them and critically evaluate if they are helpful, or if they are unnecessary or repetitive. For more information, Queen’s University SASS has a detailed resource on modifiers and how to use them.

Punctuation

Pay attention to your punctuation use to ensure you’re producing high-quality writing. Below is an overview of many punctuation marks, their function, and examples. While editing your applications, ensure you use punctuation appropriately and consistently. Punctuation is a tool that can enhance your writing; when used correctly, it helps you to better convey your main ideas (Grammarly, 2024).

The Finishing Touches

Editing can be a large and overwhelming task. To make it more manageable, it can be helpful to edit for just one of these topics at a time. If you do this, you’re less likely to miss errors. Once you have completed several rounds of editing, it could be helpful to have someone else complete a cycle of editing for you too. Once the editing process is complete and you feel confident, you can submit your application!

Check Your Learning

Before you proceed, take a moment to review some of the content you’ve learned so far.

Glossary

Active voice
A direct and clear writing style where the subject of the sentence performs the action.

Adjectives
A word or phrase that describes the attributes of a noun.

Adverbs
A word or phrase that describes the attributes of a verb.

Apostrophe
A piece of punctuation with several uses (see the ‘Apostrophe’ section above), but which is generally used to indicate either possession or omission (e.g., of letters or numbers).

Colon
A piece of punctuation with several uses (see the ‘Colon’ section above), but which is generally used before introducing information (e.g., a list or explanation).

Comma
A piece of punctuation with several uses (see the ‘Comma’ section above), but which is generally used to indicate a pause.

Dash
A piece of punctuation used to emphasize a point or add additional information.

Double quotation marks
A piece of punctuation used to indicate a direct quote and is used when referencing titles of books, movies, TV shows, or songs.

Editing
The detail-oriented process of making changes to your writing piece, such as to address wordiness, grammar, and punctuation.

Exclamation mark
A piece of punctuation used at the end of sentences when the writer wants to indicate that the sentence is associated with a strong feeling (e.g., excitement).

Modifiers
Words that provide additional information to your sentences (e.g., adjectives, adverbs).

Omission
The absence or exclusion of something.

Parentheses
A piece of punctuation used to add information to your sentences.

Passive voice
A style of writing where the focus of the sentence is the recipient of the action.

Period
A piece of punctuation used to mark the end of a sentence.

Question mark
A piece of punctuation used at the end of sentences that are posing a question.

Revising
The process of making structural changes, shifting the focus, and adding or removing ideas to your writing piece.

Scholarships
A type of financial assistance to help pay for post-secondary education that you don’t have to pay back.

Semicolon
A piece of punctuation used to combine two brief ideas that are related into one sentence.

Single quotation marks
A piece of punctuation used to indicate dialogue within a larger quote.

Wordiness
When sentences have more words than are necessary, making them confusing or unclear.

Word reduction
The process of editing your sentences to remove unnecessary words and rephrasing them to be more direct and clear.

Transcripts

Video 6.1 transcript: [Narrator] “Ever felt like pulling your hair out when your work mysteriously vanishes? Or, worse yet, when you accidentally submit the wrong version of a document? We feel you. But luckily, there are a couple of ways we can prevent that from happening. Let’s start with the basics: file naming. How many times have you made a “final version” of a document, only to make more edits and rename it the “final final version” of a document? And repeated this process until you no longer know which final version was the actual final version? Sounds confusing? That’s because it is. Try using a more systematic approach and put the document name along with the date and the document stage, such as draft, or a number to distinguish versions. Now that you know what’s actually in each of your documents, let’s move onto helping you find where they are. If your desktop looks anything like this [image of files clustered randomly across the desktop], looking for the file you need might feel like a bit of a treasure hunt, which could be exciting but not when you’re stressed. Use folders to separate and group your files based on shared categories. For example, you might have a folder for your college or university. You can then add separate folders for other important categories, such as administrative information, like your offer of admission, as well as folders for each year you attend. You could then have separate folders for each of your courses under each year. You could do something similar for categories like resumes and scholarships. You might also find it helpful to have an archived folder for each category, which relates to the file naming we’ve already covered. If you’re working on a document and need to make major changes but don’t want to delete any work in case you want to reference it, archive it. Duplicate your file, change the old file name to “archived,” and move the old files to the archived folder. Update the new file according to your new naming conventions. If you need help staying organized, utilize tools like our Notion for seamless file management! Worried about your laptop crashing and losing files? Back up your work on either a hard drive, or platforms like Google Drive or OneDrive. This will also let you easily access your files from anywhere and protects your documents in case your computer or device is damaged, lost, or stolen. You can also make sure to never lose progress again by enabling auto-save or using CTRL-S to save your work as you go. Submitting an application online? Save your answers in a separate document. This helps protect against accidental tab closures or webpage refreshes. It also lets you draw on inspiration from past answers when applying to future scholarships. Applying for scholarships is stressful for many reasons, but hopefully by using these tips, tech issues won’t be one of them. [Return to Video 6.1]

References

Grammarly. (2024). Grammarly’s complete punctuation guide. https://www.grammarly.com/punctuation

Kramer, L. (2022, July 18). What are modifiers? How to use them correctly. Grammarly. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/modifiers/

Kramer, L. (2023, April 25). Active vs. passive voice: What’s the difference? Grammarly. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/active-vs-passive-voice/