With time, some habits of human beings are vanishing. Habits like writing and reading actual physical books is becoming scarcer. With more and more technology being playing a major part in our lives, the feel of dealing with actual physical things is basically decreasing.
Same has been the case with essay writing competition or Creative Writing Contest. The charm is slowly fading away. But there are competitions which are being held online to motivate the younger population to at least engage themselves in a virtual event. There are rules and regulations also to keep the competitions in a bit of formal manner.
But the biggest question is how to write an essay, which can help us in winning a competition. For that there are a few steps which we can keep in mind.
Carefully read the rules and regulations of the competition
It is the first and the most important step. We should all take a proper note of the rules and regulations of the contest. It helps us in making it to the judgement list. It ensures that the essay we write are eligible to get into the list of valid entries.
Take a closer look at the format of the essay
It is important to carefully read all the rules for the format of the essay. It is necessary because it will help us in understanding the way in which essay will be accepted for entry. If we are required to submit a handwritten essay, then we should not waste our time in creating a soft copy of the essay.
Pay a careful attention on the topic of the essay
It is important that we stick to the theme or topic which has been provided for the essay. If we try to move away from the topic or point which needs to be focused on, then it will direct us into the rejected list of candidates. It is important to make sure that we try to explain the topic which is given and should avoid any unrelated explanations or matter.
Starting is very important
We all are aware that in any kind of writing, the first few lines shape up the destiny of the rest of the material and its popularity. So same can be said for an essay. If we frame the beginning of an essay properly, then it will definitely increase our chances of being selected for the prize. It also depends to some extent on the importance and the level of interest we have for the topic. If the topic is interesting for us, then the work we will do on the essay will be also good. But if it is not, then the results can be bad.
Avoid plagiarism
The huge number of articles and essays present online have compelled many of us to adopt plagiarism. It is the wrong way actually. We should try to express our own thoughts and imaginations, in our own words. Simply copying from the internet will make it even worse for us, as we are not aware of the mindset of the writer whose essay we are copying. So, its better to write an essay in our words with our own efforts and creativity.
Grammatical errors are a strict no
While framing our sentences, it is important for us that we take care of the punctuations and other grammatical errors. These are important because it can put a bad impression on the minds of the judges. Ultimately, it can also affect our chances of winning the competition.
Keep it simple
We should try to use simple words in our essay. It will help in keeping the essay interesting and meaningful. It will also be easy for people to understand your essay.
Understand the difference between an article and an essay
The first biggest difference between the two is the fact that there is no use of headings and sub- headings in essay. But that is not the case with articles. There is also no need of citations and references in articles. But it is needed in essays. Third biggest difference between the two is that articles are objective, but essays are subjective. Articles do not require a conclusion but it is compulsory in the essay.
Always proofread your essay multiple times
It is a big advantage if you proofread your essay. It helps in identifying the mistakes that you may have made while writing the essay. Do it multiple times, so that you can get rid of all the mistakes or errors.
Take the help of someone else
It is good to have someone to judge your essay. It is an advantage that you may have someone to proofread your essay. It can help you in identifying the errors through the other person that you missed.
Take care of the deadline
We should also try to avoid submitting our essays after the deadline. On the other hand, it is a good thing if we submit the essays well before the deadline.
Now after following all of the above steps, we can definitely increase our chances of winning an essay competition. Apart from the above points there will always be few steps which are specific to the person. These special steps depend upon the person and his approach. All of these points put together can definitely help us in winning some well-deserved trophies for our shelves.
By: Raunak Jha
