Top 10 most common mistakes in writing a motivation essay

The essay is mandatory, and probably one of the most important parts of your college application. When your SAT scores are slightly off, it’s the essay that can still get you in. When the Harvard admissions committee considers several candidates with perfect scores and grades – it is the essay that helps them choose in favor of one or the other candidate. A well-written essay makes universities set applicants apart from the general stream of identical applications, and even grant huge (up to full) scholarships in order to attract a student specifically to their university. In no way should this part of the application be neglected.

Students who feel very responsible for their motivation essays do all their best to make a perfect one. In order to do that they write different versions of the letter, ask their teachers or friends to review them, or hire reliable edit my paper services to get professional help. 

To attract the admissions committee’s interest to your motivation essay, you should avoid the most common mistakes that applicants make.

Duplication of information that is already reflected in the academic resume

A motivation essay is a chance to show your personal qualities and desire to grow in your preferred academic direction. Therefore, do not emphasize once again your former victories and achievements, try to look to the future.

A dull beginning to an essay

Feel free to skip the long introduction of yourself at the beginning of the essay. It is much better to immediately describe some situation or circumstance that influenced your decision to study at this particular university. Try to avoid expressions like ” Being a child I was already fond of”, “Ever since I remember I liked…” and other clichéd phrases. According to the UCAS study, there are thousands of them every year.

Writing one essay for all colleges

This approach is fundamentally wrong because each university has its advantages that are worth highlighting in your motivation letter. Explore the website of the chosen college and find the key features.

A faceless narrative

Not every motivational letter sticks in the memory of the members of the admissions committee, the reason for this lies in a lot of superficial phrases, and impersonal writing. A good essay stands out from the rest of the essays by its uniqueness, truthfulness, and originality of the author’s judgments.

Unfunny jokes

Admissions officers have seen many jokers who want to be remembered for their scintillating sense of humor, but it is not always appropriate. A joke may seem harmless to the writer, but members of the admissions committee will call it offensive. Be aware that everyone has a different sense of humor, and, in the case of foreign universities, a different mentality. Therefore, it is advisable to exclude jokes unless you are an accomplished professional comedian.

The desire to write as much about yourself as possible

Allocate one paragraph to each topic to reveal more details. Emphasize information that is not in your academic resume.

Lack of text checking and editing

Before submitting, ask a teacher or hire the best writing service to check your essay to avoid embarrassing typos and mistakes. You should not rely entirely on the Spell Checker feature of your computer. Even the most interesting motivation letter is set aside if the committee members find mistakes in it.

Writing an essay a few days before the deadline

Don’t try to write a motivational letter in one attempt. You need to devote enough time to writing a motivation letter. Try to write several options, then compare them and choose the best one. Set it aside several times to come back to the text again after a short break, when you are sufficiently rested and distracted. Read the text of the letter aloud, and ask someone close to you to be an audience and a listener.

Demonstrating someone else’s accomplishments

Under no circumstances assign to yourself qualities and merits that do not really exist. Be yourself, and include your positive attributes, hobbies, and hopes for the future. In a personal interview, committee members may ask about an invented hobby or achievement, and you’ll have to get out of it…

Incomplete disclosure of the topic

When writing a motivation essay, it is recommended to adhere to a certain structure of the text, i.e. disclose each paragraph step-by-step. Otherwise, instead of a well-organized essay, you’ll end up with a chaotic text that won’t be of interest to the admissions committee.

To conclude

Give your writing enough time and attention – then the result will not only be a successful admission but probably a new assessment of yourself and your professional path as well. The task of the applicant – is to show that he/she chose a particular master’s program for a reason, clearly understands its role in his professional development, and strives to master this particular program. And to confirm that he/she has all the necessary knowledge and skills to master it.