The 3 Steps to Success by Veronica

The 3 Steps to Success by Veronica - December 2017 Scholarship Essay

"If you plan ahead, create an outline, and stick to your deadlines, you will have created a perfect project." These directions are easier given than followed, written than submitted to, and spoken than listened to. Again and again, my teachers have given me these instructions; again and again, I have failed to deliver on even simple projects. These teachers have given me far more opportunities to redeem myself than I deserve or take advantage of. After years of not taking my educative responsibilities seriously, it is time to learn to follow this valuable life advice by utilizing them for school projects.

If you want to make a good project, you need to plan ahead. Without a clear idea of your topic, you will be lost without a direction to return to when working on the body of your project. A simple way to explore your topic is to find a clean sheet of paper or open a new word document and ask yourself the following questions: Why are you working on this project? What are the smaller tasks you will need to complete along the way? Are you already familiar with your topic or will you need to conduct some research for additional data? If it is a significant or personal project, consider asking mentors for their opinions and advice. Use these questions and their answers to grasp an awareness of the core of your project—what it is supposed to be about and how you can personalize it to complement your strengths.

After you understand what your project will demand of you, craft an outline. Rather than having to tackle some colossus, vague idea, you will be able to start working on smaller, accomplishable tasks, resulting in more and better work. Whether for science, music, or philosophy, planning the beginning, middle, and end of your project will build the bones that can be filled later. When I have not had a transparent plan for working on an assignment, I get stuck with “writer’s block” and yield inferior content. However, when I both grasp the why and the how of a project, I am able to accomplish the required work easily.

Once you have a clear idea and a broken-down outline, set some deadlines and stick to them. A deadline for your outline, a rough draft, and a polished copy of your project are good benchmarks. Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to complete each planned segment of your project, but leave yourself enough time that you do not need to scramble at the end to meet the assignment’s due date. Adhere to discipline; if you need to, share your plans with someone you can trust to hold you accountable, and if you do miss a self-imposed deadline, do not become overly discouraged and continue on. The most important part of achieving anything involves simply working towards your goal, and projects are no exception.

After completing these three preliminary steps, you are likely to find that most of the heavy lifting of the project has already been done! Through brainstorming the heart of your topic, you have laid a foundation for your work and creating a clear outline will direct your actions. Adhering to deadlines ensures that your project will be completed in plenty of time. These steps are not just for school assignments; they can be adapted to use in any situation, providing valuable life skills that you will return to again and again in your professional and personal careers. Since I have made the mistake in the past of letting opportunities pass me by, I want to encourage others to learn from my mistakes. I hope that using these three tips will help others to create excellent content that will only improve our world for the better.