CHEVENING : Leadership and Influence essay

Summary

This video tutorial guides viewers on crafting a compelling Chvening scholarship leadership and influence essay. It advises avoiding common pitfalls, such as excessive use of quotes and vague examples, and emphasizes the importance of clear, quantifiable personal leadership experiences. The video breaks down the essay writing process into steps: understanding the prompt, selecting a relevant theme, making bullet points, and constructing a draft. It also provides examples of strong and weak introductions and suggests using the STAR technique for body paragraphs. The tutorial aims to help applicants demonstrate their potential as future leaders or influencers.

Takeaways

• 📝 **Leadership and Influence Essay**: The video focuses on guiding applicants to write an effective leadership and influence essay for the Chevening scholarship.
• ✏️ **Personal Statement Importance**: Emphasizes that the personal statement is central to the scholarship application and requires a clear demonstration of leadership skills.
• 🏗 **Breaking Down the Question**: Advises to break down the essay prompt to understand the requirements and stay on track while writing.
• 🚫 **Avoid Common Mistakes**: Warns against using quotes and definitions of leadership, instead urging applicants to focus on personal experiences and clear examples.
• 🎯 **Theme Selection**: Highlights the importance of selecting a consistent theme that aligns with the examples and the field of study.
• 📋 **Bullet Points**: Recommends creating bullet points for the introduction, body, and conclusion to structure the essay effectively.
• 🌟 **STAR Technique**: Introduces the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique for elaborating on leadership experiences in the essay.
• 🔢 **Quantify Achievements**: Stresses the need to quantify achievements to provide depth and volume to the examples given in the essay.
• 🔍 **Problem Statement**: Suggests using a problem statement in the introduction to engage the reader and set the stage for the essay's content.
• 🏆 **Winning Essay Tips**: Provides tips on how to write a winning essay, including starting strong, using compelling examples, and finishing with a strong conclusion.
• 💪 **Encouragement**: Ends with encouragement, reminding viewers that while writing an essay can be challenging, it's not impossible to achieve.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the Chevening scholarship essay?

The main focus of the Chevening scholarship essay is to demonstrate the applicant's leadership and influencing skills, showcasing how they meet the requirement of being future leaders or influencers in their home countries.

What is the minimum and maximum word count for the Chevening leadership essay?

The minimum word count is 100 words and the maximum is 500 words.

Why is it important to avoid using quotes and definitions of leadership in the essay?

Using quotes and definitions of leadership can take up valuable space in the limited word count and may not effectively demonstrate the applicant's personal experience and individual contribution to leadership.

What is the significance of selecting a theme for the essay?

Selecting a theme ensures consistency in the examples used and that they remain relevant to the question and the field of study the applicant is pursuing.

How can breaking down the question help in writing the essay?

Breaking down the question helps the applicant understand exactly what is required and keeps them on track while answering the essay, ensuring that the response is focused and relevant.

What is the STAR technique mentioned in the script?

The STAR technique is a method for structuring responses in essays or interviews, standing for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. It helps articulate leadership examples and influencing skills by detailing the context, task at hand, actions taken, and the results achieved.

Why is it advised to start the essay with a strong introduction?

Starting with a strong introduction captures the reader's attention and sets the tone for the essay, making it more impactful and memorable.

How can the applicant use a problem statement in their introduction?

A problem statement in the introduction can be used to highlight a current issue in the applicant's industry or field of study, which they aim to address through their leadership and the skills they will gain from the Chevening scholarship.

What is the purpose of making bullet points during the essay writing process?

Making bullet points helps the applicant organize their thoughts and ideas, providing a structured outline for the essay and ensuring that the content remains focused and relevant to the question.

How can the applicant quantify their achievements in the essay?

The applicant can quantify their achievements by providing specific numbers or statistics that demonstrate the scale and impact of their leadership and influencing skills.

What is the importance of concluding the essay strongly?

A strong conclusion reinforces the applicant's main points and leaves a lasting impression on the reader, tying back to the introduction and emphasizing the significance of the Chevening scholarship in their future leadership journey.