How to write a motivational letter
Hey you!
You decided to apply for some of the BEST Courses and you are ready for this unique and unforgettable experience? We are glad to hear that!
Before that adventure starts, you need to write a Motivational Letter and answer the questions organisers prepared for you. But the question is – what is exactly a Motivational Letter? How can you make sure that it’s gonna be interesting for the other students that will read it and make a decision based on it?
A Motivational Letter is a document where you describe yourself and your personal motivation to be part of BEST Courses, and it plays an important role in the selection process! As writing a Motivational Letter can be a challenging endeavor, prepared some guidelines that can help you to get the most of it! You will find some tips and tricks, which not only will prepare you to write a good Motivational Letter, but also increase your chances of being accepted.
Before we start, we will remind you about a few things: don’t hesitate to be personal and original, and don’t forget that your Motivational Letter will be read by other students from the organising Local BEST Groups!
Let’s start!
Where to start?
Before applying to any event, read the information on the web page and survival guide carefully. Make sure that you know which kind of event it will be and what type of participants the organisers are looking for.
Moreover, remember to follow mandatory rules as:
- Use only Latin Alphabet since our servers won’t recognise other characters.
- Write your motivational letter in English
Step 1 - Be personal and original
When writing a Motivational Letter, you need to present yourself in the best way possible. Your aim is to show to the people that are reading your letter what makes you special and unique, and prove to them that you are the type of participant they are looking for.
As organisers of a course, people will be looking for participants that are not only interested in the academic part of the course, but also in social activities that would be included in the event and require participants’ attendance. This is not something mandatory, but the organisers will take into consideration if their participants also know how to have fun in these kinds of activities and social encounters.
So what can we recommend you to do?
Shortly – be creative! Your Motivational Letter will be just one of many that organisers’ gonna read, and you need to find a way to make it stand out from the crowd! Choose the format that’s gonna present who you are in the best possible way: be a poet and write a song, be a writer and write a short story… But, what about jokes? They are more than welcome! But don’t force them with no purpose. Remember – be yourself all the time!
Step 2 - Academic knowledge
If you want to make sure that your Motivational Letter is going to be successful, one thing you should not forget about is to show your interest in the Course topic. Before you start covering this aspect of the Motivational Letter, don’t forget to check the academic complexity and the rest of the academic information of the event.
But what should you write about?
You need to show the organisers your enthusiasm and your own curiosity over the topic of the course they prepared, and how it will help you in your future development (future career/ personal business/ your university studies, etc.). Think about all the skills, achievements, education that makes you the perfect participant for the course and focus on all the benefits they will get by choosing you. Write about what impressed you about the topic and why you want to get more knowledge about that subject.
But once again, don’t write just the obvious facts – try to make it interesting and fun to read!
Step 3 - Interest about the country
Another important step when writing your Motivational Letter is to show interest about the country and city you are going to travel to. If you know something about their culture, traditions or history, you can write something about it.
Also, if you have a specific place in mind that you want to see from that city, you can start by writing in your Motivational Letter how excited you are about the fact that you are finally going to visit that place.
You should research the city in which the Course is going to take place. Mention typical places you would like to visit and what parts of the culture captivate you the most. It is highly recommended that you also mention food from the country you would like to try as well as what activities you are thrilled to participate in to get to know the culture better.
It is important that you showcase the value you can provide to the Course culturally. You need to represent the diversity from bringing your country to the host’s. In that way, you can make sure organisers know you care about the cultural aspect of the event and you are an asset to the diversity among other participants and will fit in just right.
As a final remark, originality is very much appreciated. All these suggestions are, needless to say, general guidelines. Please feel free to include anything else you might consider of importance! Take the ones you want, ignore the others, but in any case, use your own imagination and style and be creative! If you need any assistance, do not hesitate to contact the Local BEST Group of your university, they sure can give you some advice on the Motivation Letter.
