Millions of high school students apply for college every year. Every year, at least one of those colleges asks students to write a leadership essay. While you may have never served as a manager, fought against injustice, or led a rebellion, you have some leadership qualities. After all, Daenerys Targaryen, one of the most outstanding fictional leaders, didn’t think she was much of a leader at first either.
The purpose of the leadership essay is to highlight those qualities and demonstrate to you—and your readers—how you can be a mother of dragons, breaker of chains, and master of essays. So, for the time being, stop looking up to other people and start seeing yourself in a new light. If you’re still not convinced, I’ll help you dig deep and write a leadership development plan essay that will undoubtedly set you apart from the crowd.
What Exactly Is a Leadership Essay?
In short, an essay on leadership aims to accomplish two things:
- Describe leadership
- Demonstrate how you are a leader.
The best way to do this is to list characteristics of successful leaders and show your reader how you demonstrate these characteristics. Leadership essay examples will generally be very different from the essays you’re used to writing for class. Leadership essays concentrate on your personal qualities rather than literature, authors, or literary devices.
Most likely, your first (and possibly only) encounter with a leadership essay will be when applying to a university or for a scholarship. It may appear unfair because you haven’t had much experience writing these types of essays, but that’s why I’m here. Let’s take a closer look at how to write a leadership essay.
Elements to Consider When Writing a Leadership Essay
You can start writing a leadership essay now that you have a general idea of what it is, right? First, let’s review a few things to remember as you write. These elements will assist you in staying on track and finding inspiration to impress your readers.
• Write about personal leadership essay examples
When some students hear the word “leadership,” they’re inclined to think this essay is similar to or the same as a hero essay. But hero essays focus on other people. Leadership essays are all about you.
• Be truthful
The goal of any leadership essay is to tell the admissions committee more about you. Yes, you can (and should) be creative in your essay, but don’t lie about your identity or accomplishments. Wait until you get to the brainstorming stage if you don’t feel like you’ve accomplished anything. Ideas will begin to flow.
• Do not include a leadership skills essay that you do not intend to explain later
Your definition of leadership should not come from a dictionary. Instead, consider your leadership abilities and list them so you can explain them later in your essay.
• Leadership essays are not like other types of essays
They are not required (but may) to use the five-paragraph format. They’re a little more casual, almost like a story. You can explain your leadership skills with a single story or with different examples for each skill. In any case, make sure everything flows logically together.
• It is acceptable to write in the first person
This isn’t formal writing. You’re also talking about yourself. Writing in the first person makes it more personal.
How to Write a Leadership Essay About Yourself Examples
I know you’re eager to get to the good stuff. So, to get you started right away, here are all the specifics on how to write a leadership essay.
• Brainstorm
Before you start thinking about the specifics or structure of your leadership essay, you should learn a little bit more about your leadership qualities. Brainstorming techniques are ideal for identifying your leadership characteristics.
Consider any leadership positions you’ve held, such as being the leader of a group project or sports team, a position in a school club, or demonstrating leadership among younger siblings. As long as you work with others, you can turn almost any experience into leadership experience.
Remember that being a leader does not require you to be someone’s superior. For the sake of illustration, assume that Khaleesi was writing a leadership essay. Her ideas could include the following characteristics:
- Fearless
- Loyal
- Just
- Stand up for what I believe in
- Kind but tough when necessary
Has difficulty making a list? Read what other students have said about their leadership in these sample essays.
• Outline
Once you’ve decided on your leadership qualities, it’s time to start organizing them and planning the structure of your essay. Do you intend to write a single story or provide several examples?
Whatever the case, you’ll need an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The main distinction is what you do with the body paragraphs.
Daenerys’s outline might look something like this:
Introduction
- Hook
- Thesis assertion
Freeing the Unsullied
- I am loyal and will stand up for what I believe in.
- I have punished/killed slavers and vowed to free enslaved people worldwide.
Rescuing baby dragons from the House of the Undying
- Courage and determination
- Ignored distractions such as the Iron Throne and Khal Drogo’s hallucinations to save dragons
Seized command of the Dothraki people
- I used diplomacy whenever possible, but I was firm when necessary.
- I killed leaders plotting to harm me and arose from the ashes unharmed—for the second time.
Conclusion
• Leadership essay introduction
On the outline, you’ll notice that I have a hook and a thesis statement under the Introduction section.
A hook is a technique for capturing your readers’ attention and enticing them to continue reading. Unlike your teacher, who must read your essay to give you a grade, admissions staff are not required to read anything they do not wish to read. So make sure your introduction captures their attention and draws them into your essay.
Starting at the climax of your story is one of the best ways to write a hook. This demonstrates the excitement of your essay and piques readers’ interest in how you arrived at that point. Other hooks could include quotes or setting up your story from the start.
A thesis statement informs the reader about the topic of your leadership essay. In this context, it’s simply a synopsis of your leadership essay. You can be more creative in this essay than others, so experiment a little to see what works for you.
As I stepped out of the burning hut, I imagined myself leading the Dothraki across oceans and to the Iron Throne, where I would reclaim my rightful place as ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. While there are many types of leaders, truly great leaders have loyalty to their subjects, courage and determination in the face of adversity, and the ability to know when to forgive and punish. I developed these characteristics during my rise to Khaleesi and beyond.
Can you spot the thesis statement?
That’s right, Daenerys’ thesis statement outlines the leadership qualities she’ll discuss in the body paragraphs (loyalty, courage and determination, and balancing forgiveness and punishment).
• In the body of your paragraph, tell your story
In the body of your essay, emphasize your leadership qualities and how they relate to the anecdote you mentioned in the introduction. You have some leeway in organizing your essay, but here’s a tried-and-true method.
• In the second paragraph, provide some context
In the second paragraph, give some background information about your anecdote. For example, if you began your essay by describing being pressed to reveal the source of a newspaper article, explain your role as an editor. How did you obtain it? What did you consider to be crucial in this role?
• Return to Leadership in the Third Paragraph
Bring the focus back to leadership in the third paragraph. Make sure that you are concentrating on a leadership quality that you possess. The quality you select should be directly related to the anecdote you’re telling. If the editor is pressed to reveal sources, you could return the emphasis to integrity. What is the significance of integrity? What makes someone a good leader if they have integrity?
• When writing this paragraph, make it personal
It would be best if you made it personal in the fourth paragraph. Why is this quality of leadership so important to you? Is it connected to your core values? Do you have a personal statement or long-term goal for this quality?
• Create a Strong Leadership Essay Conclusion
Another critical component of your leadership essay is the conclusion. These are the last words your reader will hear about your leadership and writing abilities. Make this section of your paper count.
Bring it back to the leadership values while personalizing it. Describe in one or two sentences how your leadership aligns with your values and how you demonstrated your leadership in a specific situation. Discuss what you’ve discovered.
Finish with a final, inspiring sentence. What will you do differently in the future due to what you’ve learned about leadership and yourself? Use parallel structure to give your words even more impact.
• Revise Your Leadership Essay
Take some time to revise your essay before submitting it to a review board or other audience. Here are some pointers:
- Think of your essay as a first draft.
- Read the essay aloud to yourself. Don’t get attached to anything in it; it may change a lot before it’s finished. Any areas where you pause or stumble over words should be revised.
- Have a trusted friend, teacher, or parent read your essay and provide feedback. Include the feedback you select.
Conclusion
A good leadership essay, like “about me” and other personal essays for assignments, must feel genuine and relatable. It should be focused and well-organized as well. Continue to work on your essay until you are satisfied with it. You’ll end up with a piece of writing you’re proud of.
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