A
female
age
30-35,
*eShell
writes:Hey! :) Alright this is pretty basic. I'm writing an essay for a scholarship that I'm applying to. I need to know is it okay to write it in First Person? The topic of the essay is basically What is your greatest hurdle in life and how did you overcome it. It took me a whole day to figure out what to write, then when I had started to write it. I noticed that I was doing First Person. So is first person point of view okay? And could anyone give me any pointers on writing an essay for a scholarship? I would greatly appreciate it, after all I'm just a lousy senior in high school trying to get help for college! :D Reply to this Question
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male
reader, daletom +, writes (10 October 2010):
Since the question (as you reported it) was posed in the first person, I'd answer in the first person.
Pay attention to the answer from "HerLovelyWorld". If there are instructions, or if there is a paragraph introducing the actual topic, that material may give you clues about the preferred format of the answer.
Even if the overall viewpoint of your answer is first-person, don't make yourself the subject of every sentence!
Poor example:
"I noticed that . . .
Then I heard him say . . . .
I remembered a quote from a famous guy . . .
So I decided the best course of action was . . . "
Better approach:
"I noticed that . . .
Then, he said . . .
A famous guy once said something that seemed to apply . . .
Well, the best course of action was obviously . . . "
The second example still keeps you as the narrator, but directs attention to the whole situation, rather than focusing on you alone.
A
female
reader, MeShell +, writes (10 October 2010):
MeShell is verified as being by the original poster of the question They didn't say which kind of writing to use. SO I think I'm going to go with 1st person. :D Thanks you guys! :D
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A
female
reader, fi_the_tree  +, writes (10 October 2010):
 I think First Person would be very appropriate as the essay is about your biggest hurdle in life.
Maybe you could set the scene using Second Person (he/she and his/her) then follow on from that in First.
Thing about the hardest thing you ever had to do. What was it? How did you feel about tackling it? How long did it take to think about how you were going to tackle it? Did yo run into difficulties along the way? How did they make you feel? Did you ever feel like giving up? If so, why? If you did, what made you change your mind? etc etc etc...
Best of luck my friend...
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (10 October 2010): A part of me wants to say yes, as I wrote my final essay for a scholarship (English scholarship no less, lol) in first person. Are there no specific instructions to it? I know for mine, I was given strict rules to abide by. My original idea was to write my paper as narrator shedding light on the topic of "proudest moments in life." However, I then read that it had to be first-person point of view or bust.
If there are no instructions, I'd definitely go with first person. Mainly because it's generally the first "go-to" point of view the majority of the time, secondly because it's your paper for a possible scholarship. They're either looking for your opinions and/or life story, or they're looking for a story to determine how intellectual you are. You can pull off both with first-person.
Happy writing!
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