Tips and example of motivation letter for scholarship

There are many ways to get free study abroad scholarships. Even so, the terms and conditions they need are not much different, such as scholarship recommendation letters and motivation letters. A scholarship recommendation letter is a letter written by someone who has worked or mentored you directly, for example a teacher, lecturer, or supervisor, who can provide an assessment of your performance or potential. Because of this, recommendation letters generally contain an objective description of the experience and skills you have from another perspective.

Meanwhile, a motivation letter is a letter that contains an explanation of your motivation and qualifications so that you are eligible to receive a scholarship. Unlike a letter of recommendation, a motivation letter is made by yourself as a scholarship applicant.

In this article, we will not discuss examples of scholarship recommendation letters. Instead, we focus on how to write and examples of motivation letters.

Motivation letter is an important document. While not all scholarships require this letter but if you have the opportunity to include it at the time of application, make sure you do your best. The motivation letter you write for a scholarship is slightly different from the essay you may need to include when applying. This letter shows the quality of yourself so that the scholarship or university provider believes that you are the right person to receive the scholarship.

Broadly speaking, a motivation letter contains two general things, that are the reasons why you are the right candidate to get a scholarship, and what contribution you will make with the knowledge you have. In writing a motivation letter, there are several things you need to understand so that the letter has a clear structure and convincing content, including:

1. Follow the application writing guidelines

It may look simply, but you need to re-examine the guidelines for writing scholarship applications. Make sure that what you write follows the guidelines, starting from the format, length, and content. If the scholarship awarding institution doesn't provide specific guidelines, you can write it in a standard format such as text about half to one page long in Times New Roman or Arial font with a size of 12 points.

2. Knowing what you want to write

Before writing a motivation letter, you need to understand the outline of the letter. Don't let any part be missed.

• Mention the reason why you are applying for a scholarship abroad.
  Because this letter is intended for a scholarship, you need to state your reasons for choosing the scholarship by explaining your educational background and experience.
  If you have worked, done an internship, or participated in social activities, you can share these experiences to strengthen your reason for applying for a scholarship. With good delivery and flow, your scholarship application letter can leave a distinct impression on the assessor.

• Explain the reasons for choosing the major and the destination campus.
  In addition to the reasons for choosing a scholarship, you also need to write down the reasons why you chose a particular major and campus. For example, you have good public speaking skills, so this scholarship is intended to deepen and hone that knowledge. Things like this are what you should add as reasons for choosing your major and destination campus.

• Share your plan or contribution to the scholarship.
  In this section, you can focus on your mission, study goals, and what you want to achieve or plan to achieve through this scholarship. For example, you aim to get a master's degree in health scholarship with the hope of building a clinic in a remote area of Indonesia.

3. Focus on your strengths

When telling about your educational background and experiences, you also need to add things you are good at. Focus on personal strengths, not on challenges or limitations. In that way, you will be seen as someone who is able to understand the value of yourself and can use it for the plans.

4. Connecting between the desired majors and the scholarships applied for

The motivation letter must link your future plans to the scholarship you are applying for. This letter should provide the reader with an understanding that you are genuinely interested in studying a particular field, and that your choice will benefit not only yourself but also the scholarship provider and others. This can strengthen the reasons why you deserve the scholarship.

5. Write with your own personality

Everyone's interests, language style, and perspective are different. So, write your motivation letter in a way that reflects how you would speak to the assessor in real time. Write the letter as naturally as possible by providing interesting things about yourself that can make the letter different from others.

Ready to start writing your motivation letter? Before that, there is one more thing that you need to pay attention to. There are some common mistakes to avoid if you want to increase your chances of being accepted into your favorite courses or university on a scholarship.

• Do not copy other people's motivation letters. Seeing examples from the internet is not wrong. However, use that motivation letter example as a reference only and as a consideration what you need to write about.

• Making motivational letters too formal and will sounds too boring. Write sentences fluently and use words that reflect your true thoughts. No need to use complicated words or terms, just choose good diction and avoid repeating words.

• Not showing your enthusiasm to apply for a scholarship or to study in a particular major. This can be seen from the style of language you use in the motivation letter. If you really want to get the scholarship, you will write it in order, neat and detailed.

• Using an inappropriate font or format.

• Sending a motivational letter without reviewing its contents. Make sure you've checked spelling, content, and the relationship between each paragraph.

So far, you already know the tips on writing motivation letters. The next part, you will see the example motivation letter.

Motivation Letter Example

There are several types of motivation letters that you can write. However, below is an example of a motivation letter written for a scholarship application in the field of language and culture.

Dear Sir or Madam,

My name is [your name], and I am writing this letter to express my interest in a scholarship for a cultural studies programme. I’ve always been passionate about learning other cultures and how they influence people. Moreover, I am sure that this opportunity can enrich my future studies and help me reach my career prospects.

During my prior studies, I joined the student and local community which helped me develop social skills and experience a range of activities that support humanities. I have a great passion for meeting new people from different backgrounds, to know and learn about their culture. I believe this programme will provide me with a variety of tools to analyse how social norms are created, exchanged and produced in a cultural context.

As a student, I tend to think critically. Before saying something, I try to analyze and see the problem from various perspectives. In that way, it can be more structured and have a clear direction. My ideas will also be more easily accepted and appreciated by those who hear them.

Thank you for considering my application. Hopefully, I can get this scholarship opportunity and reach my future. I look forward to your positive response.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

After knowing tips and examples of motivation letters, you may still not be sure about what things need to be prepared for studying abroad. Or, you don't know where to start? Don't worry, IDP is ready to help you! At IDP, we have a counsellor team who are ready to guide you with your study abroad plan. Start from selecting majors and universities, searching for scholarships, until applying for visas, we will help you! So, what are you waiting for?

Start a free consultation with the IDP team now and make your dream of studying abroad come true!