Essay Contest: How to Write a Winning College Essay | Real-Life Tips from a Competition Winner

nts Writing an essay or article for a college competition is not easy. Thousands of students may participate in it. Moreover, if you win the contest, it can be a matter of pride for you and your parents.

Before I explain the nitty-gritty of it, let me take you back a few years.

I had just passed my +2 examination in Commerce with a first division and around 65% marks from an Intermediate Council board, not CBSE or ICSE. As a commerce student, people and my friends expected me to be more interested in accountancy and commerce. However, I was different. I was more inclined towards writing.

Winning an Essay Competition

One Sunday morning, I came across an advertisement from a Multimedia Design School.

The school had launched a nationwide essay contest on the topic, “Multimedia Is the Future.”

There was no specific eligibility criterion. All school students above Class 5 and college students were eligible to participate. I got excited immediately.

I cannot explain my nervousness, excitement, and the constant construction of sentences in my mind. Though I was eager to participate in the contest, I was also losing confidence.

How could I, with my broken English and a non-CBSE/ICSE background, participate in such a nationwide essay contest?

But my late mother thoroughly inspired me to participate.

I agreed, and it took me a couple of days to write an essay of around 700 words for the contest. My parents suggested me I use A4-size sheets. I still remember that it was a two- to three-page essay. Next day, I simply dropped my envelope containing the essay and a cover letter into the office box that had been kept specifically for this purpose.

How I Got The Call From Xplora?

A couple of weeks later, I received a letter from the Multimedia School inviting me to come to its school hall on a specific date.

I had no idea why they had invited me. Anyway, I took a rickshaw and went there.

As the announcements began—from consolation prizes to runners-up and other awards—I was feeling extremely tense. I was not sure whether I had won anything at all.

To my utter surprise, when they announced the first prize, I was literally gasping for breath. I was overwhelmed with happiness.

“And the first prize for this essay contest goes to Atish Home Chowdhury.”

It was the first prize I had ever won in my life.

I did not know how to react.

I was immediately invited to the stage to speak a few words. With my broken English, I first tried to calm myself and then spoke about the importance of multimedia and animation in today’s world.

I still remember how hard I had worked on that essay. There was not a single grammatical mistake in the essay. However, there were a couple of mistakes in my follow-up speech after I won the nationwide essay contest.

This is not a story. I can still show you the certificate that I received. I still preserve it like gold to this day.

What I Learned from Essay Contest

That experience taught me an important lesson.

Your background does not necessarily determine what you can achieve.

At that time, I was neither from a prestigious school nor particularly confident about my English. Yet I participated and gave my best effort.

Had I decided not to participate because of self-doubt, I would never have known what I was capable of achieving.

The contest also taught me the importance of preparation, persistence, and believing in yourself even when you feel underqualified.

Tips for Writing a Competition-Winning Essay/ Article

To be honest, there is no hard-and-fast rule regarding essay writing.

Ideally, you should first prepare an outline of your essay. Visualise the points that you wish to highlight and organise them logically.

Since it is an open competition, your article should be as complete as possible. I would advise writing at least 500–600 words so that you can cover most of the important points.

Whatever the topic may be, do not just highlight the problem. Try to present a meaningful solution as well.

Write an Essay Like We Humans Do

Write short and concise sentences. Avoid grammatical mistakes as far as possible. Use simple words that most readers can easily understand.

Create multiple subheadings to explain your perspective clearly and help readers follow your ideas. And please don’t write like AI Chat Bots or Tools!

Most importantly, practise. Writing essays regularly improves both your confidence and your ability to express your thoughts effectively.

Conclusion

Do not worry too much about the result.

Sometimes we perform our best, yet the outcome is not entirely in our hands. What is in our hands is the effort we put into preparing and participating. So, if you have an opportunity to enter a college or essay competition, do participate in it.

I wish you all the very best and loads of good luck.

(By: Atish Home Chowdhury)