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! 🍀
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Chevening application criteria
Excel in your Chevening application with our guide to the Chevening application criteria.
In this section
We break down the four key criteria you will be asked about in your Chevening application: leadership and influence, networking, studying in the UK, and career planning. You will need to submit an essay on each of these four areas in your Chevening application form .
Read on to discover how you can effectively showcase your strengths and boost your chances of success.
Leadership and influence:
Chevening is looking for individuals who will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. To excel in this area on your application form:
- Use recent examples: Highlight recent professional experiences that showcase your leadership skills.
- Demonstrate your influence: Describe how you gained and maintained influence in past roles, focusing on the outcomes rather than listing responsibilities.
- Connect the dots: Link your leadership traits to your study plans and post-study goals.
Networking and relationship-building:
Chevening values individuals with excellent professional relationship-building skills, who will engage with the Chevening community and lead in their fields. To stand out:
- Be specific: Discuss specific networks you’ve tapped into, as well as your networking skills.
- Show your achievements: Highlight what you’ve accomplished through networking.
- Engage with Chevening : Explain how being a part of the global Chevening community will help you drive positive change.
Studying in the UK:
To be chosen for Chevening, you must demonstrate why you chose your master’s courses and how they align with your past experiences and future goals. To impress:
- Make connections: Explain how all three of your chosen courses relate to your background and aspirations.
- Be original : Avoid copying from university websites or relying solely on rankings for your course choices.
- Focus on course content: Emphasise the specific modules and assessments that will help you achieve your goals.
Career plan:
Chevening looks for applicants who have a clear and achievable post-study career plan. To score well on this criterion in your application:
- Set clear goals: Outline a realistic plan for your career after completing your studies in the UK, with specific, measurable objectives.
- Leverage the Chevening experience: Discuss how your chosen course, the Chevening experience, and the Chevening network will help you reach your goals.
By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a standout Chevening application. Good luck!
Further guidance
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