The Best Guide to Writing a NHS Essay

Adam Huler
4 min readMar 12, 2021

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Have you been looking for a proper guide to writing a national honor society essay but haven’t been successful in finding one? This step-by-step guide is intended to help you write a national honor society essay for your application.

Basically, the process of writing a national honor society (NHS) essay can be divided into three parts:

  • The introduction (clearly revealing your uniqueness)
  • The body (describing your contributions and motivations)
  • And a conclusion (restating your uniqueness, contributions, and motivations).

It is important to realize that over 1 million students take part in NHS activities. NHS not only identifies students with accomplishments, but those that go an extra mile to develop themselves through community service and school activities.

A Checklist To Help you In Writing your National Honor Society Essay (NHS essay)

  • Firstly, Clearly define why you are writing your NHS essay — your goal.
  • Take time to formulate a thesis statement for your NHS essay.
  • At this point, give a narrative which best describes your character and personality.
  • With this in mind, explain how studying and other activities play a role in strengthening your character.
  • Secondly, list some activities which you have participated in while studying.
  • For example, have you volunteered in community service before? Describe those achievements.
  • Thirdly, talk about your leadership skills and why you feel you are a leader.
  • Describe any activities that demonstrate your leadership abilities in school.
  • Lastly, talk about your academic achievements and participation in academic societies.

Basic Tips To Guide you In Writing your National Honor Society Essay (NHS essay)

  • Try not to copy common cliché written by other students and be original as possible.
  • Ensure you have a letter of recommendation from a mentor, it adds more weight to your NHS essay..
  • Talk about the society and why it inspires you.
  • Include some excellent books you have read and drawn inspiration from.
  • Since you are only human, talk about your weaknesses . However, pair your weakness with a positive to emphasize on your strength.
  • Try to be succinct and avoid fluffy words which can make your NHS essay boring.
  • Make sure to check for grammatical errors and awkward sentences.
  • Before submitting your NHS essay, have a group of friends review and recommend some changes to your essay which could help in making it stand out from the rest.

Writing the Introduction for your NHS Essay

As with any essay, you need to have a defined direction on what you will be writing about. Introduce yourself (in first person) as a high school student without exaggerating about anything. To that end, clearly demonstrate how you stand out from the crowd.

To hook your intended reader, show off your academic achievement while maintaining a serious tone. With that in mind, talk about your leadership skills as it gives merit to your application. For instance, describe how you were able to use your leadership skills to solve issues in your school.

Concurrently, express your interest in the society by clearly informing the reader how you got interested. Is it the service, volunteer work, or the scholarship and opportunities which attracted you to the society? This creates a positive attitude and informs the society of your awareness of what they expect from you.

By the same token, you can talk about your short-term and long-term goals. This way, the reader knows you are worthy of membership and you are focused on benefiting from the society. It is equally important to ensure your thoughts are well organized to demonstrate a proper flow of thought.

Writing the Body for your NHS Essay

Now that you’re done writing your introduction, you can pick one or two long term or short-term goals and elaborate on them. For example, what strategies do you intend to use to achieve the academic goals that you have set for yourself? Mention how you intend to excel in your academic pursuits.

Next, expand on your leadership skills and show how the society will help you to achieve your leadership goals. Moreover, describe your character as a leader and the areas you feel you need to improve on. Show why you think the society gives an opportunity to learn from other leaders.

Without reservation, talk about how the school environment provided you with a platform to enhance your leadership skills. This shows the reader how you are a valid example of a leader. Furthermore, highlight an activity you and your society or family participate in to demonstrate your service to humanity.

Don’t forget to talk about your involvement in extra-curricular activities. Show how you are an all-rounded students as this portrays a healthy academic and co-curricular balance to the reader.

Writing the Conclusion for your NHS Essay

Finally, this is where you give reassurance that you are the best and your application should be considered. Do not introduce new points at all. Instead, restate what you have already expressed in the body of your NHS essay. A few pointers to concluding your NHS essay:

  1. Create a lasting impression to the reader of who you are as a student. With this purpose in mind, ensure your NHS essay reads like a statement from a determined and focused student. Remember to be confident in your word choice but at the same time being courteous through using appropriate language.
  2. Restate your commitment to the society and how you will abide by its honor codes. Additionally, acknowledge how it would be an honor to become a member. However, do not exaggerate and be simple in your explanation.
  3. Lastly, ensure there are no grammatical errors. Also, proofread to see that you are only restating your achievements and accomplishments. Remember to read through your NHS essay to ensure its presented in a well thought-out format.

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