It is common knowledge that most persons find it difficult to draft the required documents for their scholarship application. The main purpose of this article is to show you easy ways on how to write a simple cover letter for your scholarship.
A cover letter and a motivation letter are not the same. What distinguishes a cover letter and a motivation letter is that a cover letter gives explicit examples of how your job experience and skills match the position or role you are applying for. Meanwhile, a motivation letter focuses more on your personality, interests, and motives for applying.
Follow these tips for easy ways to write a simple cover letter for your scholarship.
EASY WAYS ON HOW TO WRITE A SIMPLE COVER LETTER FOR YOUR SCHOLARSHIP
• Address your letter to a particular person
Addressing your letter to a particular person is common whenever you see a job ad or a PhD position ad.
Also, notice that it mentions the point of contact. For example, the professor’s name in case of a Ph.D./postdoc position. Mainly, address this person as written in the example, e.g., Dear Prof. James
• Express the purpose of your letter
Why are you writing this letter? How do you think your reader will know your intent if you don’t state why you are addressing the letter to him/her?
So, explain your objective immediately. See this example: ‘I am writing to express my interest in the Ph.D. position available at your research Corporation ’. You can begin with that.
• Use the language your reader will understand
This implies that you have to use the words which that person already knows and understands. For instance, use special keywords from their research.
What does this tell you? It means you have to get some information about this person before drafting your cover letter.
You should also make use of the key terms mentioned in the advertisement. This will make your letter resonate with the reader.
• Draft a clear and compelling cover letter
What do you think will compel your reader to read a letter of about 400 words and above? Let the cover letter have a smooth and persuasive ring, helping your reader easily flow from one paragraph to the next.
• Make it as concise as possible
Most people do not have the patience to read lengthy write ups. Some are too busy to even bother. Which means you have to keep your letter as concise as possible.
It is recommended that you keep it within one page and write in a straightforward manner. And also, do not use a sentence that is longer than 2 lines.
• Be specific
It makes more sense not to use a vague approach. Moreover, focus on the conclusion instead of the procedure. For instance, instead of saying, “i have research experience in big data”, perhaps it would be best if you said, ” my 2-year experience working in big data has resulted in 3 research papers”. How about that?
• Apply positivity to your writing
Be positive as you write. Do not complain or blame anyone or anything about your previous experiences. Most importantly, state how your skill and experience fit the advertised job you are applying for. Do not talk about anything bad that happened to you in the past.
• Proofread it! Proofread it again!
Nobody wants to read a letter filled with typographical and grammatical errors. Do make sure your letter is free from them.
To help you in this aspect, I recommend an online software tool called Grammarly; it will help you remove such errors.
• Do not copy what is in your Resume into your Cover letter
Your resume is only about you. In your cover letter, you link your profile with that of the role or position you are applying for. Therefore, focus on ascertaining this link instead of only focusing on your profile.
Do you know any more tips you can include? Please share in the comment section. With the above as your foundation, you are on your way to getting your reader’s attention and achieving the purpose of writing your cover letter.
Below are other scholarship documents you can learn for your scholarship application
• Best Motivation Letter for Scholarship Application (2022)
• Recommendation Letter for Scholarship Application (2022)
• Personal Statement for Scholarship (Personal Statement Examples)
• How to Write a Research Proposal for Masters and PhD
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