tips for writing chevening essays

Part 2: Applying for the Chevening Scholarship (Essay Tips)

Updated: Oct 14, 2020

This serves as Part 2 of the Chevening Tips, in the event that you would like insight in as far as what is Chevening and an overall insight on what is required to apply, kindly have a look at Part 1: Applying for the Chevening Scholarship (FAQ).

Applying for the Chevening Scholarship Series

Three Years a Charm: Becoming a Chevening Scholar

Part 1: Applying for the Chevening Scholarship (FAQ)

Disclaimer: Note that the advice given here below is my own personal opinion and not that of the Chevening Secretariat or the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office .

When applying for the Chevening Scholarship, you will be required to submit four written essays, each a minimum of 100 words and a maximum of 500 words.

Quick Tips on how to write your 4 Chevening Essays:

When writing your essays, use the STAR and SMART approach.

Ensure that you cover the bases in each of your essays, mentioning the most important elements.

Your essays have to be truthful, concise, and well-written.

Ensure that you tell a story when writing your essays, you can add bullet points to list achievements and highlight career goals however there should be a flow.

Ensure that any stranger can make out what you are trying to say, making it clear what you are talking about. When making references to data or situations from your home country, be sure to mention the country's name.

Refrain using words like our and their, and opt to name what you are talking about.

Use Grammarly to spell check your work and ensure that your grammar is correct.

STAR Approach - Derived from Muse

Situation: Set the scene and give the necessary details of your example.

Task: Describe what your responsibility was in that situation.

Action: Explain exactly what steps you took to address it.

Result: Share what outcomes your actions achieved.

SMART Approach - Derived from CFI

Specific: Well defined, clear, and unambiguous.

Measurable : With specific criteria that measure your progress toward the accomplishment of the goal.

Achievable: Attainable and not impossible to achieve.

Realistic: Within reach, realistic, and relevant to your life purpose.

Timely: With a clearly defined timeline, including a starting date and a target date. The purpose is to create urgency.

Four Essay Topics

Leadership and Influence

Chevening is looking for individuals who will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support your answer. - Question as per the Chevening Website

Using the methods explained above (STAR AND SMART Approach), ensure that you speak on the times you have depicted leadership traits, the leadership positions you have occupied and the times you have displayed a position of influence. These can range from managerial positions, leadership in organizations (NGO's included), or in your day-to-day life. In addition, you can touch on what leadership ambitions you have and how this ties back to your community.

It is important to ensure that the examples are impact-driven and not only for self-gain.

Chevening is looking for individuals with strong professional relationship-building skills, who will engage with the Chevening community and influence and lead others in their chosen profession. Please explain how you build and maintain relationships in a professional capacity, using clear examples of how you currently do this, and outline how you hope to use these skills in the future. - Question as per the Chevening Website

Writing your networking essay is primarily about showing clear examples of the relationships you have built, how they were established, and how you have managed to maintain them. In addition, highlight how these said relationships have been instrumental in your personal development and the work that you do. Ensure that you are able to glean from every example the skill acquired and how these skills will be useful to you in the future as a possible Chevening scholar. This essay, in essence, is to show that you have the ability to use the opportunities given to you in a tangible and impactful manner.

Career Plan

Chevening is looking for individuals who have a clear post-study career plan. Please outline your immediate plans upon returning home and your longer-term career goals. You may wish to consider how these relate to what the UK government is doing in your country. - Question as per Chevening Website

This essay provides an opportunity for you to layout an immediate 2-year plan, and a 5 to 10-year plan. Your plans need to be attainable and should speak to your ambitions as laid out in your career plan. The most important tip for when writing out your career plan, is to ensure that when you touch on your professional experience, it not be written as though it is a Curriculum Vitae but rather speaking on impact, journey, and career trajectory. You too are welcome to link your journey thus far, to how this informs your next career move, namely pursuing a masters degree. You should depict an understanding of what you want to do in the future, how this is tangibly attainable, and what your ambitions are long term.

Studying in the UK

Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses, and explain how this relates to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future. Please do not duplicate the information you have entered on the work experience and education section of this form. - Question as per the Chevening Website

Do not duplicate your career essay in this essay, however, you can link the information. You will also be required to list the three universities you will be applying to, the name of the courses at the said universities, and why you chose the particular university.

Tip: Depending on which course you intend to study, google the top-performing universities in the said field to inform your university choice. Then ensure that the universities you would like to attend are Chevening partner universities, before finalizing your list of your three chosen universities.

Bonus: I have asked three scholars who have managed to successfully be chosen for Chevening before to assist with proofreading 3 prospective scholars essays before submission. Kindly note that these will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis. This available to a total of 9 prospective scholars and no more. Only the 9 successful prospective scholars will be contacted. If you are not contacted, unfortunately, the 9 spots were already taken.

To get your essays proofread - please fill in the form at the link here .

(Available to ONLY the first 9 applicants)

Proofreading volunteer scholars (each reading 3 prospective scholars essays EACH)

Rosalia Shiimi - Rosalia holds a BSc Honours Degree in Geology and a Certificate in Investment Management from the University of Cape Town. She is currently the Acting Grade Control Geologist at Vedanta Zinc International’s Gamsberg Operation. She is a part of the 2021/2022 Chevening cohort, pursuing a Master of Science in Applied Environment Geology at Cardiff University.

Abel is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and former Head of Internal Audit. He holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science and Postgraduate Diploma in Internal Auditing. In addition, he too is a Section Chairperson and Branch Executive member in SPYL and serve on the NCCI Windhoek Trading Committee. He will be pursuing a Master of Arts in International Relations at the University of Birmingham.

Hilja Eelu - Hilja is a UCT molecular biology graduate and a previous recipient of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Fellowship. Having been awarded both the Chevening and Commonwealth scholarship, she will be pursuing the MSc Control of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine starting September 2020, thanks to the Commonwealth scholarship.

Additional Reading Material

Essay Tips from the Reading Committee of Chevening

Essay Examples

Writing an effective networking essay

My Application for Chevening Scholarship

Chevening Leadership Essay

How I won the Chevening Scholarship - Part 2: Writing your Essays

From One Powerhouse to another

Twitter - @MavisBraga

Instagram - @MavisBraga1

Facebook - Mavis Elias

Website - www.mavisbraga.com

Writing Chevening Essay: Breakdown Those 4 Questions

Writing an essay for Chevening scholarship was not an easy task. But surely, we need to invest our time to write, revise and polish it. The whole writing process took me 1.5 months, but let’s not use this as a standard as anyone can have different situations.

In this post, I’m going to breakdown each question and share how I answered my Chevening essay. It is surely not the perfect one, but I’d like to share what I think essential when answering those four questions. I also did a mentoring program for Chevening applicants 19/20 and some of my mentees were accepted! Having said that, I’m sure there are some of my tips that you can use.

Disclaimer. This post does not reflect on the Chevening Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and its partner organisations. This story is just my experience and personal thoughts working on Chevening’s essay.

Without further ado, let’s go through each question.

Leadership and Influence

One of the common thoughts that most applicants have about leadership is the position; the title. I would say, no. The title is a legitimation that you have the power to lead, but beyond that, I think the most important thing that Chevening really look is the impact of your leadership. They are also looking for a potential leader. So, it does not matter if you don’t have a Manager, Head, Leader, etc in your resume as long as you can showcase your influencing and leadership skills by giving examples.

Before start writing, think about what leadership accomplishments that you had. List all down and select two to three examples that gave great impact and made you learn the most. Each question only allows 500 words hence we really need to be careful to choose which experience to be put in the essay. If you can, try to put examples in different cases and environment to show that you have a range of leadership experiences.

As I already mentioned in the previous post about general tips for writing Chevening essay, it is important to give an introduction. Although this is just a suggestion, if you’re unsure where to start, you can try with what you believe about leadership or a brief about what kind of leader you think you are. After that, you can link to your leadership experiences, supporting your statement about the leadership that you write in the introduction. Build an engaging introduction is also crucial to make the panel stay reading your story. Remember, they read thousands of essays, at least you want to keep them engaged with your essay.

In my case, my first sentence in the intro was: I believe that the leaders are not born, but made through a process of hard work. I then supported this statement by briefly telling several experiences during high schools and how it has been forming me primary wisdom about leadership. However, this is not my highlight of the leadership experience that I want to tell the panel. Hence, I used a linking sentence such as I apply this wisdom to excel my role in current employment, but my training is never complete. The linking sentence could also serve as a bridge to the next thing I have on my plate and build the story’s flow.

Then, I wrote two examples of my leadership experiences which are happened in my office using Situation, Task, Actions, Result (STAR) structure. Read about this here . I would say give more portion for “action” because the more specific and detail you give, the more panellist know you hence more room to asses you.

I wrote one success story about my experiences in leading an early-stage start-up company. When you write a success story, make sure that you’re really specific about what you did, what steps that you did differently to achieve the goal? Did you face challenges? How did you overcome the challenge? Did people doubt you? How did you convince them to finally follow your leadership? I wrote about making an unpopular decision which I deemed a huge challenge; I should do it otherwise it won’t do any good for the company. From this story, I took an angle on the lesson learned and how it contributed to mature my emotions.

When you write about result, if you can, give a quantifiable result to justify the impact. However, the bottom line is to justify your impact. Tell them that there are people who benefited from the projects that you led — it could be personal or organisational.

Another thing is to mention your lesson learned. What you learned from each experience that contributes to your personal development. I personally think this is critical to show that you’re a human and a growing person. We all know that leadership is not a one-day skill, it takes years to sharpen it hence mistakes are okay to be mentioned as long as you can turn the “angle” into supporting your story.

Finish the essay with a closing paragraph which amplifies Chevening’s role in developing your leadership skill. What is your aspiration, in regards to leadership skill, if you were accepted as Chevening scholar? State this briefly and do the same for the next 4 questions.

I would say that the networking question was a bit difficult for me to elaborate. Why? Because again, Chevening is looking for someone whose networking skills could create an impact. So, in my opinion, it’s not about showing off how big your network is or how often you attend networking events, instead of how you use your network to create a greater impact.

Using the same approach as in question 1, answer the question by STAR structure. Started by an introduction, get into the main body and finish with closing.

In my case, I was using my exchange program to South Korea during undergraduate study as a chance to meet new friends — where one of that friend was playing a great role of me working at an early-stage startup company, a place where I highlighted my leadership skills in the first question. The company is obviously has been a place for me to create an impact on the team and communities. For instance, a collaboration opportunity with external media to provide cross-content and it would give us huge traffic for the website.

Emphasise the impact you’ve created because of the networking you did. Give two to three networking skills and experiences that you have and again, be detail. Highlight that the impact is not only beneficial for you, but also for another side that you network with.

In the closing, you should elaborate Chevening’s role in your networking skills, you can try to relate how Chevening would expand your networking and how will you use Chevening networking if you were accepted as Chevening scholar.

Studying in the UK

While questions about leadership and networking are more to dig your skills and capability in becoming a potential future leader, in my opinion, questions about studying in the UK and career plan are crucial to showing your cause, passion and how do you stay true with that. This can be a very critical part that would differentiate you from other applicants I guess, as I would say that Chevening is looking for people who would serve and build their community. So, it is important to answer the last 2 questions coherently.

To make your essay coherent, try to answer these questions as a base for you to answer questions number 3 and 4.

What is my passion/concern?
What problems do I want to solve?
How will I solve the problems?

My ultimate advise for this part is don’t write more than 50% for the courses and campus rank. Write more about you: your passion, area of expertise, problems found in your field and what is your vision — which supposed to be related with your expertise area. Think about why taking a master study in those three sp ecific courses and universities is going to help you to achieve your vision. This information is really helpful to link and congruent your story in the question no.4 (career plan).

In my case, I used a fact that the growth of digital start-up in Indonesia has been astonishing recently but it is not followed by the success rate of a startup. If you want to use a fact, don’t forget to put the source. I outlined that the major problem was startup founders mostly great in building products yet tend to ignore other managerial skills such as people development, sales and finance (again, I put source). I then linked this statement to my personal experience working in an early stage start-up company where I had limited experiences or skills which happens to be a similar situation like startup founders. Hence, a degree in innovation and entrepreneurship would give me a balanced set of technical skills and knowledge in building early ventures.

From previous paragraph, I answered three basic questions to outline my background. Who am I? — A start-up early employee, what is my passion? — early venture development, what problems do I want to solve? — the high rate of startup failure rate and how will you solve it? — a degree in innovation and entrepreneurship by Chevening scholarship as one of stepping stones and followed by action plans that I will write in the question no.4

After outlining the “background” story about you, you can write the three courses. Highlight the reason why you choose them, it can be the campus ranking, curriculum, or professors/projects. I chose Warwick University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship because of the curriculum, the final project worth 50% of the final grade in which devoted to developing the business innovation carefully. The school also placed the second rank of best Entrepreneurship master degree in the UK, after Oxford. My second choice was Imperial College and the third was the City University of London.

By the way, another advise choosing the school, besides research the course and its curriculum, do find out about the whole campus. Think about the facilities, clubs/societies, opportunities, the lifestyle (or living cost), nearby attractions, the city it’s located, etc. Ask current students about living in your designated campus, how do they like the campus and its surroundings? How about life after campus? I’m saying this not because I dislike Warwick University, instead, the campus has its own art centre and biggest sports centre in Coventry — which is realllly cool, but I would say Coventry itself doesn’t have many attractions to offer. But for the bright side, that really helps me to focus on my study and save money (it’s true!); it forces me to travel to other places more often hehe. I would share my travel stories in other posts. Coventry also not too far from London and Birmingham, the two biggest cities in the UK. It’s easier for me to jump on opportunities in UK startups scene.

Career Plans

One thing I always shared to Chevening applicants who asked me to proofread their essay is: make a clear plan and breakdown into short term, mid-term and long term goal. Ensure each breakdown is contributing to your long-term goals if that makes sense? This way, it shows that you know how to get there. In my case, I wrote for immediate plans (2 years after study), the next 5 years and beyond 5 years. Make sure that your career goals are answering your concern and supporting your passion (stated in question no.3) which forms a more congruent essay.

As you need to relate your career goals to what the UK Government do in your country, you need to research. This might be different in every country and it might change year by years. You can start the search from the official UK’s government website ( http://gov.uk/world/name of country/news). Research thoroughly and try to link what you can contribute through your career goal.

Another thing to highlight is state how Chevening is one of the paths you would greatly benefit to take you to your future goals. How would you apply things you got from Chevening (the scholarship, the network, the education, the international friends) in your future career path? In my case, I outlined that I would use network from Chevening alumni to open access for mentors who can guide and share expertise to founders in establishing a new business.

As this is the last question, end the whole essay with a strong “punchline”. Keep elaborate Chevening, you can try to summarise outlined your aspiration by being a Chevening scholar. In my case, I mentioned that I still have to acquire deeper knowledge in innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as expanding my network to collaborate together in solving the problem. I acknowledged that from previous experiences, I gained valuable lessons in networking and leadership, however, I believe it’s still not enough. I then closed with thus, by being a Chevening scholar, I believe I would be (fill in the blank).

I hope this article helps you! I also want to highlight that this is just my personal experience and thoughts, it might be not relevant for different courses; many of my Chevening friends pursue a course that I don’t know it exists 😀 (but that’s what I like about Chevening: they acknowledge that future leaders can contribute in any field). Lastly, write the essay with all your heart, write what you feel right and true. Good luck, keep fighting and believe in yourself!

Published by laurensiairma

ESTJ; my stories are on my own perspective. View all posts by laurensiairma

61 thoughts on “Writing Chevening Essay: Breakdown Those 4 Questions”

[…] breakdown of each question is posted here. However, there are some important points I want to point out when you work for Chevening […]

Thank you! That’s really inspiring!

what a magnificent breakdown kak, terima kasih 🙂 *udah pinter cantik pula idamaannnnn huaa

Haha thank you! Goodluck!!

Thank you so much! My leadership essay exceeds the word count of 500, will the reading committee consider my application? this is my biggest concern, please leave me a reply if you know about the issue.

HI Mohammad, I think it will be best to stay at 500. Panellists read thousands of essays, they probably do skimming reading and you don’t want to leave them uninterested if your story is too long. It’s our challenge to make our essay is engaging and effective within 500 words. It’s hard indeed, but just be direct and straight to the answers asked in the questions. Hope it helps.

Thanks a lot for your all your tips! I’m glad I bumped into your blog. I have a tiny question related to essays 3 and 4: when I write about the efforts of the UK being made in my country, do I need to cite/quote the, let’s say, the FCDO and put their reference somewhere? I’m wondering since I think the link itself would take away many words out of my 500 word count. Or is there a specific format I should stick to? Thanks once again!!

Hi Mitch. When I cited the source, I just write “according to xxx research in 2015 (for example)..” and then put the whole link in the footnote. Actually there’s no specific format about citing (As this is not academic essay) and I guess this format worked well. Hope it helps!

Amazing guidance, many thanks for sharing this with us confused youths. I am working for an educational Facebook page in Vietnam (which works to aid scholarship applicants in their process and is currently having over 41 000 followers). May I translate this entry into Vietnamese and share it on my page? I will credit you with this link and send you the draft before publishing Thank you in advance,

Hi Anne, thanks for reaching me out. Yes, sure you can 🙂 Please head to my Instagram @laurensiaimce and dm me. Thank youu!

Thank you so much for such an amazing and detailed information.

Dear Linos, Thanks for the kind word!

Thank you. Your insights shed bright lights on what panel really look for and what they expect. It is my first year applying for Chevening. The process itself offers so much excitement. I am a language teacher and want to develop myself as leader and influencer in education. Could I contact you directly to get help for my essays? thank you.

Hi Bekzod, yes you can head to my Instagram and leave me a dm. Thank you!

Thank you for this! Its a wonderful detailed and helpful article!

Thank youuuu!

Thank you so much Lauren, your posts has been really helpful. Please do you know if Chevening also supports for non partner universities

Hi Isaiah, they support non-partners too. If Im not mistaken, what makes different between partner and non-partner is the scholarship ratio between chevening and the sponsors (partner). For awardee, there wont be any impact.

priceless informaion!!!

Thank you 🙂

Thank you for this article Lauren, please can I send you a mail

Hello ! I am a student applying for Chevening . This is my first time. I have no IG or FB. May i have your mail ID? I request you to proofread my essays and offer feedback. Many thanks, M

Hi, please contact me via linkedin: Laurensia Irma Saraswati. Thank youu!

A very thoughtful article! I am also applying for Chevening scholarship this year. This article gives me a lot of insights into my essay

May I ask you to proofread my essays kak? Thanks a lot!

Regards, FM

Hi Faisal, thank you so much for reading my blog! I’m currently unavailable for proof read, so sorry! Good luck for your application!

Hi Abdibasid, thank you for reading my blog too! Good luck for your application!

Hi Laurensia, thanks for sharing this insightful article. Just curious in your opinion, is it better to write all three courses or can I just focus to one course only?

Hi Dee, so sorry for late reply. I wrote all three courses but I explained the first choice slightly more than other two. It’s because I really like my first choice and highlight what I need to study there. Hope this helps.

Hello Laurensia, I am beyond grateful to you for this detailed article!. I tried to reach out to you on LinkedIn but it seems that it’s not possible to contact you via instant messaging. I hope you get to see my request.

Hi Assia, yeah we connected through Linkedin right? 🙂

This is a beautiful guide, if followed carefully with a mother luck, one can get the scholarship I believe. Thanks a bunch

Hi James, thank you so much for reading my blog. Good luck!!

Wow ! Just perfect post. One of the best posts I have ever read about Chevening. Heartfelt thanks ♡♡

Hi Marwa, thank youuuu!!

Thank you so much for this, your guidance was invaluable!

Dear Akeyo, thank youuu so much for the kind words. Good luck on your application!

Dear Laurensia, This is the most flexible article i have ever read for Chevening application. I have a question regarding experience as i have more than 6 years of experience which is totaling 11,000 hours (35 hours / week). The minimum requirement is 2,800 hours but i want to know is there any upper limit. if i show the full 11,000 into my application. Would it impact or not? Waiting for your reply. Thanks

Hi Sagheer,

Thanks for reading my blog! As far as I know there is an upper limit, but I forgot what the number is. Btw, if the system already recorded that you have min. 2000 hrs of working experience, you’ll be okay!

Thank you Laurensia for your reply. Yes i checked Chevening website they said a range of minimum 35 to maximum 60 hours per week. So what i understand is that i can add maximum employers as far as the time spend per week at each employer does not exceed 60 hours per week.

Halo, Kak Lauren! What an inspiring article :)) Kak Lauren, would you please be my mentee for Chevening 🙂 I do really need someone to review my essay. Hopefully you can be my mentee. Thankyou in advance :))

Hi Ratri, Apologies for late reply. I’m soo sorry I’m currently unavailable for becoming a mentor neither proofread assistance 😦 Good luck in your application!

HeyLaurensia, Loved the the detailed article. I used the contents in your blog to edit my essays. Thank you so much.

Hi Maryam, thanks for your kind word! Good luck for your application!

Dear Laurensia, I am so excited to read your blog which has a completed information for potential applicants. I have question that i have worked more than 11,000 hours and if i want to show them in full does it have a negative impact on my application? Is there any Upper limit for working hours?

Thanks the insights

hello Laurensia, Thank you for this help! I want to ask if it’s okay to write UK in essay or we have to in full (united kingdom)? another qn is that, is there a problem when one chooses one course at all three universities or we have to choose three courses as well?

That was very usefull I think if this essey included some bullet piont can be more ataractive. Tank you .

Halo kak,… Ketika kita copas essay ke sistem chevening,sebaiknya antar paragraf diberi spasi (di-enter) atau tidak ya? Apakah hal ini mempengaruhi? Terima kasih

Apologise for very late reply. Aku dikasih paragraf dulu, supaya bacanya enak. Jujur gak tau mempengaruhi atau nggaknya, cuma at least buat akunya sendiri, aku jadi bisa baca lebih jelas. Hope this helps!

Hi Laurensia, thank you for such great tips on writing the chevening essay. I have been applying for chevening scholarship for the past 3 years and I am not shortlisted for interviews. I was wondering if you would be able to give me points on my essays? It would be great help for me. Thank you!

great explanation, really help me to start my essay! i’ll just bookmarked this, then

Thank you! Goodluck!

Hello, I am really glad i came across your blog. My questions are, I was given admission in only one University and that is the course i really wanted, can i just focus on that one course? I also want to know, what to know the most challenging stage for you. How long can the process of writing the essay take? Do i need someone to guide and coach me physically?

Hi Simon, thanks for reading my blog. I think, based on Chevening requirement, we still need to provide 3 courses. Perhaps you want to include similar courses in 3 different campus? Because as far as I know, if applicants can’t obtain the unconditional acceptance letter from the first choice, then they can submit LOA from the second choice.

The most challenging stage while writing essay was connecting the dots. I had several leadership & networking experiences, but struggled to showcase which one to put in the essay(since I only have 500 words). I know what to study, but difficult how to link it with future career and past experiences. I got helped by a friend and together we dig down what should be included in the essay, what is not. The process itself was more like a journey to know more of what I’m good at and my aspiration is.

For guide and coach, it depends on you. If you think you really know what your passion is and have clear aspiration, then maybe no need. Sometimes coach/mentor helps to connect your dots, it is you who should discover the dot itself.

Hope it helps, good luck!

thanks a lot forthis great article Laurencia, I wanted to know how we can get the university admission ? in the website part where you can search the available courses , they don’t show them you have to write the name or the university or course ? thnks for your help

Hi Hamza, you can find the course & campus list here: https://www.chevening.org/scholarships/find-a-course/ the list has a direct link to the campus website.

thank you so much be blessed

Thank youu!

Hello Dear Laurencia,

I hope that you are doing well and that Eid passed in a good way for you and your family , how can I contact you please it’s urgent , thanks a lot I made comments in the past but you don’t respond

How to Write Winning Chevening Scholarship Essays

Updated: Oct 28

1. Introduction

2. The Four Essays

3. General Tips

4. Tips for Essay 1

5. tips for essay 2.

6. Tips for Essay 3

7. Tips for Essay 4

8. Closing Comments

Introduction

The Chevening Scholarship enables you to study a master’s in the UK for free. This is equivalent to a value of between $31,735 - $95,206 depending on where you fly from, what you study, and where you live.

Naturally, the British government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office receives thousands of Chevening applications every year (last year it was more than 70,000), so you will be competing against many other applicants, many of whom have very strong profiles.

In order to give yourself the best possible chance to win the scholarship, it’s important that in your four essays you convince the Chevening Reading Committee that:

you have strong leadership qualities and can influence others

you are able to build and maintain professional relationships

your chosen master’s courses will enable you to make a positive impact

you have clearly defined post-study career goals

you will be a valuable asset to the Chevening alumni network

most importantly, you’re worthy of this large financial investment

2. The Four Chevening Essays

A key part of your application process is to plan, write and submit four essays.

If the Chevening Reading Committee consider you a strong candidate for the scholarship, they will invite you to an interview to discuss your background and goals in more detail.

Each essay has to be between 100 and 500 words long.

The essays are on the four following topics with the four following sets of instructions:

Essay 1: Leadership and Influence

Chevening is looking for individuals who will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries.

Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support your answer

Essay 2: Maintaining and Building Professional Relationships

Chevening is looking for individuals with strong professional relationship-building skills, who will engage with the Chevening community and influence and lead others in their chosen profession.

Please explain how you build and maintain relationships in a professional capacity, using clear examples of how you currently do this, and outline how you hope to use these skills in the future.

Essay 3: University Course Choices

Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses and explain how this relates to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future.

Please enter new information and examples here and not duplicate the information you have entered on the work experience and education section of this form.

Essay 4: Post-Study Career Plans

Chevening is looking for individuals who have a clear post-study career plan.

Please outline your immediate plans upon returning home and your longer-term career goals. You may wish to consider how these relate to what the UK government is doing in your country.

3. General Tips

Essays 1 + 2 are mainly about your past and essays 3 + 4 are mainly about your future . Think of all four essays as telling a single coherent story about your past experiences, how they’ve formed you, the things you’ve achieved and how, by studying your master’s in the UK and becoming part of the Chevening network, you aim to become a future leader that is going to have a positive impact on your country and the wider world .

Your essays (especially 3 + 4) should primarily focus on one key humanitarian or development issue which you are involved with and are passionate about. Your key issue or area of interest may be something like:

- Business and Economics

- Education

- Environment and Climate Change

- Food Security

- Gender Issues

- Healthcare and Medicine

- Immigration

- International Relations and Diplomacy

- Law and Human Rights

- Peace Building

- Public Policy and Administration

- Social Development and Non-Profit Sector

- Technology and Innovation

You need to give evidence of leadership in this field, that you have made a positive impact, that your chosen masters’ courses and Chevening membership will help you have even greater positive impact, and that you have clear career plans for how you can solve problems in this field.

You may be interested in more than one area and, of course, many of these issues are naturally interconnected. As such, it’s Ok to explain this in your essays.

For example:

Your work in (1) rainforest conservation also gave (2) vulnerable communities dignified work.

Your work as a (1) human rights lawyer intersects with your (2) activism for gender equality

Your ambition to be a (1) policymaker will help (2) peacebuilding efforts.

Your experience in the (1) development in the agricultural engineering sector lead to your interest (2) climate change.

However, even if you mention interconnected issues, ideally your essays should still have a clear central focus on one - or maybe two main issues - and you definitely should avoid cramming several unrelated topics into your essay.

It ’s highly unlikely that you’re an expert in rainforest conservation, employment, human rights, gender equality, policymaking, peacebuilding, agriculture and climate change and that your mission is to solve problems in all of these areas. (I’m exaggerating, but you get the point!)

Basically, don’t throw in lots of random issues and causes just because you think that’s what Chevening want to hear. It’ll make your essays seem unfocused, confused and disingenuous.

Each essay has a maximum word count of 500 words, so make sure each sentence and each paragraph contains substance about you. Avoid writing generic things which anyone else could also write.

As such, don’t write long sentences or whole paragraphs making general points about your industry, your country, or how great the UK is - anyone could say these general things, it tells the Reading Committee nothing about you.

Instead, be highly specific about you, your actions, the lessons you’ve learned, the impact you’ve had, and the impact you’re going to have. Be concrete, be specific and provide evidence.

Compare the two following paragraphs from essay 3 (about course choices). Who do you think sounds like a more convincing Chevening applicant?

The London School of Economics is famous for its high-quality education and global reputation, offering a wide range of courses and top-notch academic guidance, allowing students to collaborate with world-class scholars. Graduates are highly regarded in the global job market, and the university offers extensive career support and internship opportunities with local businesses, enhancing employment prospects. Additionally, the university provides a variety of clubs and activities, and the rich campus life combined with London's cultural and entertainment offerings makes the learning experience dynamic and enjoyable.

The Environmental Policy and Regulation MSc at LSE with its emphasis on both policy design and interdisciplinary work would give me the tools to navigate environmental law, economic development and global governance. The core module Environmental Regulation: Implementing Policy is appealing on a number of levels, as I would like to further improve my ability to design effective policy while taking into account the concerns of diverse stakeholders. Further, in Economic Development and the Environment, I would like to hear the perspectives of other students from the global south while also contributing my own insights from my own experience. I am also keen to learn from professors such as Charles Palmer and Dr. Kathy Hochstetler, as the former is an expert in sustainable forest management and the latter is an expert in interdisciplinary approaches to environmental policymaking.

As you can see, the first paragraph is very general and could be written by anyone. The second paragraph is much more concrete and specific and tells us more about the applicant, why they want to study that particular course and why they deserve the Chevening scholarship.

As well as being concrete and being specific, when talking about your past, you need to provide evidence and examples to support the points you’re making.

Show, don’t tell!

Compare the two following paragraphs from essay 1 (about leadership). Who do you think sounds like a more convincing Chevening applicant?

Throughout my life and professional career, I have always been cognizant of my potential to convince, guide, and inspire individuals towards new possibilities, ensuring their focus and motivation to lay the groundwork for collective success. Consequently, I define myself today as a dedicated, comprehensive, and enthusiastic leader who, in addition to extensive experience, vision, and conviction, has successfully inspired others to dream, learn, and achieve more, thus facilitating collective transformation.

In 2015, in collaboration with a local charity, Fundación Goles por la Paz, I managed a project which aimed to provide education to children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods in my city. In the first 3 months of the project, using the charity’s contacts, I persuaded 8 volunteer teachers from the city’s best private schools to give free classes on Maths, English and Nutrition. With these free classes as a proof of concept, I then secured 75,000USD in funding from the state of Santander’s education department, and then allocated this money towards building a learning centre in which the children can receive their free classes. Not only do these children now have greater access to high quality education, but this project has been used as a point of reference for two other projects in the region.

Notice how the first paragraph could be written by anyone and it’s just them telling us how they’re a great leader and that they’ve done great things, but in the second paragraph the writer is showing us how they’re a great leader and that they’ve done great things by telling a simple story with a clear example.

These essays are about YOU, so don’t talk about what you did collectively as part of a team, using the pronoun ‘we’; instead, use the pronoun ‘I’ and talk about your individual contribution.

Write a plan for each essay before you start writing. Get some of your main thoughts down on paper, keep the strongest ones and discard the weaker ones, then try to put your ideas in a logical order which flows.

For each essay, include a short intro which summarises the main points your essay will develop; include body paragraphs which follow the STAR, PAR, or SMART formats (more on this later); finish each essay with a short closing paragraph.

Draft, redraft and edit - all in a separate document (not directly on the Chevening platform; you can paste it in there in November before the deadline!)

Get support from personal statement/scholarship application experts and/or former Chevening Scholars. However, application experts can give you feedback and teach you how to write the essays, but they can't write them for you. Likewise, although many Chevening Scholars will provide hugely valuable input about their application process and their membership to the Chevening network, many of them won the scholarship because they had strong profiles, not because they are expert essayists. J ust because they won the scholarship themselves doesn’t mean that they will be able to teach you how to write winning essays.

It’s important that your essays are well written but it’s most important that they’re clear, coherent and convey your strengths as an applicant. They don’t have to be beautiful works of literature. The Reading Committee is more interested in your personal substance rather than your essay writing skills. I have read scholarship-winning Chevening essays which I didn’t think were very well written in terms of language and structure (they weren’t bad, they just could’ve been better!), but the content itself was very impressive - the applicants were clearly talented, ambitious people who had made, and were going to make, a big difference to their countries.

Don’t plagiarise other Chevening essays (or anything in here). You will get caught and you won’t win the scholarship. Also, remember, your essays are about YOU, nobody else.

In writing your essays, be proud of your achievements and believe in yourself. Even if you don’t win the scholarship, you’ll find it highly satisfying to see the amazing things you’ve achieved all presented in a short, compelling autobiography!

Start with a short intro which outlines what your following paragraphs will be about. For example:

Throughout my academic and professional journey, I have consistently demonstrated leadership and experience in various capacities, including as a student, political activist, public officer, and consultant.

Don’t start by giving a definition of what leadership means - neither from the dictionary nor a personal definition. The Reading Committee wants to know how you demonstrate leadership and influence, not what you think it is.

Write 3-4 main body paragraphs giving examples of how you’ve demonstrated leadership and influence. Each paragraph should focus on telling one particular story about one particular achievement/experience. It’s better to write 3-4 well developed paragraphs rather than a long ‘shopping list’ of achievements with no elaboration.

Use the S T A R ( Situation , Task , Action , Result ) method to structure your main body paragraphs. For example:

In 2015, in collaboration with a local charity, Fundación Goles por la Paz , I managed a project which aimed to provide education to children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods in my city. In the first three months of the project, using the charity’s contacts, I persuaded eight volunteer teachers from the city’s best private schools to give free classes on Maths, English and Nutrition. With these free classes as a proof of concept, I then secured 75,000USD in funding from the state of Santander’s education department, and then allocated this money towards building a learning centre in which the children can receive their free classes. Not only do these children now have greater access to high quality education, but this project has been used as a point of reference for two other projects in the region.

By telling short stories like this, you can clearly: S: Describe the context (who/what/where/when)

T: Describe what you needed to achieve

A: Describe what action you took

R: Describe the results of your actions

You can also use the P A R ( Problem , Action , Result ) method to tell stories about your achievements and experiences.

Unlike many other countries, Colombia has no Forest Service to help with forest research , so I had to coordinate several different groups to fill this gap. I utilised the existing structure of the National Environmental System, managed a team of 15 highly talented professionals, and supervised various research institutes, herbariums and universities. By emphasising our shared goal of protecting the environment and encouraging the participation of rural communities and minority ethnic groups , I successfully convinced these institutions to work together. Also, as Colombia’s environmental sector has such limited resources, I worked out how best each entity could contribute to the project .

Here, the writer has:

P: Outlined the problem

A: Described what action they took

R: Described the results of their actions

Notice how both paragraphs use storytelling and specific examples to give the reader a clear idea of who the person is. Also notice how the ‘ situation ’ sections are quite short (anyone can describe the situation) but the ‘ action ’ section contains the most detail (this is the part that tells the reader most about you).

It’s important to make the impact of your leadership clear - just stating that you had an important position isn’t enough.

Chevening say it’s generally better to focus on achievements from your professional life rather than school or university (although I have read winning essays which make reference to experiences from school/university).

(Optional) End with a short closing paragraph which indicates how you will be a future leader as a Chevening scholar. For example:

My experience working for the local and national government has given me the chance to develop my skills as a leader in the field of immigration policy. Studying in the UK as a Chevening scholar would further enhance my profile as a political leader for when I return to Colombia. This stronger profile will enable me to have greater influence on fellow policymakers and so I will be better able to address issues relating to immigration and my country’s sustainable development.

(I say this is optional because you will be talking about your future plans in essays 3 + 4, and it’s important not to be repetitive/redundant)

Start with a short intro which outlines what your following paragraphs will be about.

From working with academics and politicians to financiers and farmers, I have learned that just as each individual has their own interests and disposition, all good professional relationships are based on communication, honesty, and shared vision.

As always, try to avoid making generic platitudinous statements about what you think about networking or how people make relationships in general. The Reading Committee wants to know how YOU build and maintain relationships in a professional capacity.

Write 2-3 main body paragraphs giving examples of how you’ve built and maintained relationships in a professional capacity and what positive impact you’ve achieved as a result of these relationships. Each paragraph should focus on telling one particular story about one particular instance of networking. It’s better to write 2-3 well developed paragraphs like the above rather than a long list of networking experiences.

Again, use the S T A R ( Situation , Task , Action , Result ) or P A R ( Problem , Action , Result ) methods to tell stories about how you build and maintain relationships in a professional capacity.

I work with people from every corner of Colombia, a hugely diverse country, and no matter somebody’s background , I find that sincere, transparent dialogue is the key to forming solid working relationships . Indeed, I currently lead a project with Arhuaco indigenous communities in northern Colombia , and over the past 8 years I have made connections which have allowed us to construct 5 food systems, implement cocoa crops and improve the life quality of 300 families who live in the region . To do this, I have had to gain people’s trust, manage expectations, mediate disputes between different stakeholders, and above all, listen to people so as to understand their needs, hopes and fears .

Notice how this paragraph isn’t structured strictly in the S T A R order, but that it still contains all four elements.

It’s not enough to say that you get along well with your colleagues or that you’re good at making friends. As per the instructions, you need to:

- Explain how you build and maintain relationships in a professional capacity

- Use clear examples of how you currently do this

- Outline how you hope to use these skills in the future .

Again, Chevening say it’s generally better to focus on experiences from your professional life rather than school or university (although I have read winning essays which make reference to experiences from school/university).

You may choose to focus on some of the following networking/interpersonal skills:

- Active listening

- Assertiveness

- Being reliable

- Being respectful

- Clear communication

- Conflict resolution

- Diplomacy

- Effective management

- Mentoring or coaching

- Mutual trust

- Social skills

In your closing paragraph, look to the future and explain how you plan to use the Chevening network, or other networks, to achieve your future goals and/or how you will contribute to the Chevening network.

If you haven’t already, you should contact other Chevening scholars who work in your field/who are from your country and, with their permission, you can mention that you have done this in your networking essay. This will show proactivity and demonstrate your networking skills.

Likewise, I am eager to collaborate with other Chevening scholars who are also driven to build a more sustainable future for the global south, and for the whole planet. Fighting climate change is always a collective effort, and technical experts have to cooperate and share their knowledge; moreover, in Latin American industry and politics, networking is everything. To this end, I have already made contact with current Chevening scholar, Pepito Pérez, an actuary who specialises in carbon credit markets, and I hope to work with, and be inspired by many more people like him.

However, you should try to form a genuine connection based on your shared background and interests rather than just doing it because you think it will look good in your essay!

6. Tips for Essay 3

Do your research about the university and the programmes you want to apply to. In your Chevening essays - and your personal statements - you’ll need to give clear, specific examples of some, or all, of the following:

- Modules you’re interested in taking

- Professors you want to work with

- Research projects you’d like to participate in

- Topics you’d like to write about in your dissertation

- Networking opportunities with teachers and other students

- Clubs and societies you’d like to join

Start with an intro which outlines what your following paragraphs will be about. You can outline a problem which you have identified in your country/field which you aim to solve with the expertise gained from your master’s.

In my experience in Colombia’s environmental sector, I have been consistently frustrated by two main issues. Firstly, to achieve our Sustainable Development Goals, we need to establish clearer and more immediately realisable policies; and secondly, we need to better understand the interconnectedness of the environment and other pillars of our country’s development. Clarifying environmental policy aims while simultaneously folding in other socioeconomic issues is no easy task, but I believe that my chosen courses, as well as the relationships I make with other academics, will give me the necessary formation to help me achieve this aim.

Even though you may be considering applying for fewer or more courses, you need to write about three masters’ course options in your essay.

Avoid just describing why the university is prestigious and the quality of the education will be good. Be specific about how the course will help you build on your previous experience and help you make a positive difference in the future.

You can also be open about weaknesses in your professional/academic profile that you would like to strengthen by studying a master’s in the UK.

As per the instructions, your course choices, and reasons for studying them, should have a clear connection to your background which you describe in essays 1 and 2. Moreover, the knowledge, skills and experience you talk about gaining in essay 3 should provide a platform for the future career plans you describe in essay 4.

While it is important to connect your courses to your future plans and explain how they will help you achieve your goals, remember that essay 4 is about your post-study career plans, so you need to save a lot of details for that essay to avoid being redundant and repetitive.

Although you can group the courses together and talk about them collectively and how they’ll help you make positive changes in the future, I would recommend writing a separate paragraph for each of the three courses.

Here is an example of a typical paragraph for essay 3.

The International Public Policy MSc at UCL is also a strong choice for my professional development for similar reasons. On top of the modules regarding governance and policy, I would also like to study Introduction to Quantitative Methods, as although I have always been interested in social sciences, my quantitative research skills are somewhat limited. The opportunity to gain competency in statistical analysis using R is incredibly valuable, as being able to analyse and interpret complex data sets will not only enhance my research abilities but also enable me to make evidence-based policy recommendations. I am also drawn to the Conflict Resolution and Post-War Development module, as promoting peace and understanding post-war challenges are crucial in the Colombian context.

Notice how in this paragraph this Chevening-winning essayist demonstrates:

- A connection to their past

- A weakness they would like to address

- Specific detail about modules they’re interested in and why

- How studying those modules will help them solve specific problems in their country

Before you start writing, you should really think about what your post-study plans are. If you have really thought about them carefully, then this will come through in your writing.

To guarantee that all 4 of your essays tell a clear and coherent story about your past and your future goals, your post-study plans should connect back to essays 3, 2 and 1.

You may have mentioned your future plans in the previous essays, but in essay 4 you can go into greater detail about the positive impact you plan to have in your country in your future career as a Chevening scholar.

In order to write post-study plans which convince the Reading Committee that you are a worthy investment for the Chevening scholarship, your plans should be ambitious, but they also need to be specific, concrete and achievable.Or, in other words, they should be S M AR T ( Specific , Measurable , Achievable , Relevant , Time-bound ).

Upon completing my master’s degree in Public Policy in the UK, I plan to return to Mexico to work as a Policy Advisor in the Secretariat of Economic Development. Specifically , within the first year , I aim to lead a team to develop and implement a strategic plan to reduce youth unemployment in Mexico City by 10% over the next three years . This will involve collaborating with local government agencies, educational institutions, and private sector partners to create targeted vocational training programs and entrepreneurship initiatives. By 2027 , I aspire to advance to the role of Director of Policy Development, where I will leverage the skills and knowledge acquired through my Chevening Scholarship to influence the national economy. This position will not only allow me to contribute to Mexico’s economic growth but also establish me as a leading figure in public policy within Latin America .

(for these purposes, specificity, achievability and relevance are all red, as it’s quite hard to identify those things with two out-of-context paragraphs)

While it might not be possible to give exact times and measurements for all of your plans, you should avoid being vague or unrealistic.Consider organising your main paragraphs in terms of short, medium and long term goals. This will make them more S M A R T , and they will be more compelling in terms of your projected life story.

If possible, you can connect your career goals with some of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. ( https://sdgs.un.org/goals )

You should also research what humanitarian/development work that the British government is doing in your country. You can find that here: https://www.gov.uk/world/ yourcountry /news (Just replace ‘ yourcountry ’ with your country)

You should end the fourth essay on an optimistic, constructive note which emphasises the positive impact you could have as a Chevening scholar in your chosen field and in your country.

By leveraging my connections in the agricultural sector and the public sector, I believe I can make a great difference to families living in vulnerable regions. Moreover, with the financial knowledge that I gain from studying in the UK, and with the support of regional partners the Chevening community, I will be better equipped to ensure food security in the north of Brazil.

8. Closing Comments

To sum up some main points:

Tell clear overall stories about who you are, how effective you are as a leader, influencer and network builder.

Support these with mini-stories with clear, tangible, specific examples and make it clear the impact you have had as an individual.

Make it clear that you’re passionate and knowledgeable about a specific field and that you want to make a positive change in your country.

Demonstrate that you’ve done your research about your chosen degree courses and how they can help you make an even greater impact in the future.

Show that you’re ambitious and hungry to make a difference in your post-university career as a Chevening scholar, and show that you’ve made realistic plans about how you can do this.

Persuade the Reading Committee that you would be a worthy investment for the British government and that by spending that money on you - an outstanding individual, you will be a valuable member of the Chevening network, and will drive positive change in your country, in your area of expertise and in the wider world.

If you would like any further help with your Chevening essays - or with IELTS Preparation, feel free to get in contact with me at:

✉️ [email protected] - 📱 +57 305 3584276 🌐 Henry Jones

Best of luck with your application! 🍀

IMAGES

Tips on How to Write Chevening Essays
CHEVENING ESSAY TIPS (all 4 essays!)
LEADERSHIP ESSAY with examples
Chevening Essay WRITING TIPS!
Tips for Chevening Essay Questions, New
STUDYING IN THE UK PLAN ESSAY ( With Examples ) TIPS & STEP BY STEP WRITING

VIDEO

Chevening Scholarship Essays
How to Begin Your Journey with Chevening Scholarship? منحة شيفننق من اين ابدا؟
Chevening Essays For 2025 study Part #1
How to submit a strong Chevening Scholarship Application #chevening
Chevening Scholarship: Why Study in the UK & Career Plan Essay Tips!
Chevening Scholarship 2025-2026: Step-by-Step Application Guide for International Students #uk