Chevening Scholarship in The UK

What Makes a Good Chevening Essay Content?

 

Writing is the exercise of a bright mind

Essay is the perfect platform for that

Dari email yang masuk lewat alamat surat elektronik di survivingukmasters@gmail.com maupun alamat pribadi atau Twitter, pertanyaan soal esai mendominasi. Mohon maaf untuk manteman yang meminta bantuan sekedar proofread atau edit esainya – saya agak kesulitan mengatur waktu memenuhi permintaan Anda semua. Ini agak hiperbolik sebenarnya karena saya tidak sesibuk itu, tapi juga agak betul karena saya punya beberapa kewajiban lain. Supaya adil dan semua kebagian, saya akan tuliskan di sini beberapa poin kunci tentang esai yang menurut saya paling penting.

Yang perlu saya garisbawahi sebelumnya ada dua: pertama, menulis adalah hal personal. Gaya dan kepribadian akan mempengaruhi cara kita menulis. There’s no wrong or right, cuma mungkin cocok atau tidak dengan selera kita. Yang saya cantumkan sebagai contoh di bawah ini, semata-mata cara saya menulis. Tidak dimaksudkan untuk ditiru apalagi di-copy paste, cuma sekedar memberi ilustrasi. Dua, semua contoh dalam artikel ini fiksi belaka ya, karangan ngawur saya saja. Jadi sekali lagi, do your own homework and check your facts.

So let’s start. Di bawah ini adalah elemen yang menurut saya penting dalam sebuah esai yang bagus.

Personal Story

It needs to be compelling. It needs to have a strong narrative. But it also need to be truthful. Semua orang benci tulisan bertele-tele dan sebaliknya, semua orang suka cerita yang menerbitkan inspirasi dan semangat. Cara paling umum untuk menggugah muatan-muatan semacam ini adalah dengan menggunakan kisah yang bisa diidentifikasi orang lain – tidak mesti pernah dialami orang lain, tapi orang lain paham bagaimana merasakan sentiment sejenis. So while it’s personal, it’s also relatable.

Misalnya Anda mengincar studi Masters di bidang renewable energy. Anda bisa tuliskan pengalaman pribadi yang berkait dengan latar belakang bidang itu.

I was already seven when our house first received electricity service. We lived only 10 km away from capital Jakarta, but our family was so poor to register for electricity subscription that we had to be content with the use oil lamps, yes the kind that Aladdin used in the story, or candles – depending on how much money our parent made during the day. I would huddle near the candles to do the homework ……

Dari pembuka semacam ini Anda lihat bahwa alasan studi ke UK dengan bidang yang Anda minati itu sangat spesifik dan pribadi. Dan dari sejarah yang personal itu Anda ingin menjadikannya sebagai sarana untuk menjadi solusi buat orang lain juga.

… I want to highlight how energy is a human’s right just like food or housing. To fulfill the need for energy is thus to acknowledge basic human needs. No more children should be denied the opportunity for doing homework or playing or simply enjoying the night without risking to jeopardize her/his sight for too much squinting….

Drama, surprises, emotional joyride

Sama seperti kita suka film Hollywood yang menegangkan, drama Korea yang mengharu-biru dan bahkan Pengabdi Setan yang bikin jantungan, unsur drama dalam esai adalah bagian yang penting. Umpamanya Ciki, drama ini mecin yang buat rasa jadi bikin ketagihan (maaf Ciki, that’s how you stand for me). Pembaca suka kisah-kisah yang punya twist dan kemudian membawa akhir bahagia.

Dalam kolom leadership qualities misalnya:

Ten years after, from a house without electricity I was very lucky to receive a university education. I was eager to learn and greedy for knowledge. I experienced a rush of excitement every time a certain class was about to begin. And I realized how privileged I am to enjoy this. And soon I started my own classroom for the less-advantaged children around my house. We all have electricity now in our shabby cramped houses, thank God for that. But still, energy is a big part of average household expenses. Kids often went to school hungry, because money needs to go for electricity or gas for cooking. Stationeries were always a luxury because, again, money needed somewhere else. The good thing is, we moved on…

Anda bisa lebih jauh mengelaborasi peran-peran karitatif dalam esai leadership seperti ini.

Benang merah, kontinuitas

Dalam skema esai aplikasi Chevening beberapa tahun terakhir, esai dibagi dalam empat bagian; leadership qualities, networking skills, study direction dan career plan. Untuk memberi gambaran yang holistik dan ‘menjual’, Anda perlu menggunakan empat kolom terpisah ini sebagai palet tunggal. Jadi meski dibagi-bagi dalam tema-tema spesifik, ke-4-nya mesti nyambung dan kalau dibaca akan memberi pesan kuat tentang siapa diri Anda, bagaimana latar belakang Anda, apa kualitas terbaik Anda, mengapa Anda memilih bidang study tertentu dan apa korelasinya dalam jangka pendek (pasca lulus) dan panjang (say 10 years after). Kesimpulannya setelah membaca, Anda adalah kandidat unggulan yang layak dapat beasiswa.

Misalnya untuk esai bidang studi pilihan.

Indonesia is blessed with abundant sources of energy but fossil fuels will soon run out of its course. Alternative energy however, is practically new, barely untapped and promises the potential to meet the high demand for future needs. The question is of course: do we have the political will, financial means, and technical skills to match the needs? I would confidently say, yes, because there is simply no other way to raise to this challenge. The crucial part is to convince those in power and making the policy that this could indeed be the make or break of our future. The last six years I spent in the coal industry have convinced me that action needs to be done now or otherwise we will only spend so much more for energy but also for so far less on impact on result and worse environment. Having a degree in this particular field will enormously benefit that cause….

Content: data, technicalities, strive for accuracy

Always do your research. Jangan malas cari-cari informasi seputar hal yang Anda mau tulis. Dekati tema/studi pilihan Anda sebagimana seorang wartawan/peneliti profesional mendekati target subyeknya. Cantumkan statistik, data pembanding, angka dan ukuran lain yang bisa membantu menegaskan poin Anda.

Misalnya untuk poin networking skills/what would you do with Chevening network:

To quote a Royal Society research Indonesia’s best opportunity lays with alternative energy in the form of both natural and non-natural sources be it solar, geothermal, or nuclear. Current untapped resources is estimated to worth at least US$100 trillion dollars and potentially could grow if processed into a hefty US$1000 trillion. I would argue that both government and private sectors would really need to sit together to work this out. The good thing is, Indonesia has some very bright people on the subject – some of them, unsurprisingly, were educated in the UK. Being part of this distinguished group of people will not only benefit myself personally or professionally, but also would enable all parties concerned to collaborate on whatever platform available to further the renewable energy agenda. I really look forward to build a network of energy concerned Indonesian professionals in order to push for an end result that’s beneficial to a wider public of Indonesian future…

Dan seterusnya. Dan seterusnya. Jadi kira-kira begitu ya. Do send your thoughts on this. Tell us your experiences with essay writing. Semoga membantu.

Foto dari Flickr

Dewi Safitri adalah penerima beasiswa Chevening 2014-2015. Kontak melalui Twitter di @s_ukmasters dan @pendekarsilat11

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