Personal Essay

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Personal Essay

A personal essay is a short composition that deals with a subject drawn directly from the writer’s life. Tackle a personal essay just like you would tackle a research paper—break it down into manageable tasks.

Task 1: Requirements

Make sure you understand what your teacher expects of you. Review all of the information you have about the assignment and verify that you can answer the following questions. If you don’t know, ask your teacher.

Are you required to do your personal essay on a particular topic?

When is your essay due?

Is there a requirement for length?

Task 2: Topic

Select a topic for your personal essay. You might write about an experience that moved you, a person you admire, or the qualities that make you a good candidate for admittance to a particular college. If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, look through an old photo album for pictures of people or events that helped to make you the person you are today. Example: Last year you decided to try out vegetarianism. You liked the principle behind it, and saw the health benefits as an added bonus. It turned out being a vegetarian was harder than you thought it would be. After two months without eating meat or animal products, you caved in and ate a bacon double cheeseburger. You decide to write a personal essay about your experience.

Task 3: Working thesis statement and objective

Every essay begins with a working thesis statement—that is, a main point. Your job is to come up with a main point, then use your essay to support it. Tip: A good working thesis statement for a personal essay

Tells the reader something about you

Is interesting to you and your audience

Is a complete sentence summarizing your position

1. Make your topic and main point into a complete, opinion-based sentence. This becomes your working thesis statement. Example: You have already selected a topic—your experience as a vegetarian.

You remember how committed you were when you first began but how quickly you missed eating certain foods. Vegetarianism just isn’t the right choice for you. That’s your main point.

Now put your topic, main point and objective together:

My experience as a vegetarian/not the right choice for me

Next, make it into a sentence:

My experience as a vegetarian taught me that a vegetarian diet isn’t the right choice for me.

2. Make sure your thesis sentence expresses your topic and your point accurately, and that it tells the reader something about you. If necessary, fine tune it.

3. Define your objective—that is, what you intend to accomplish with your essay. Example: You intend to use your essay to explain what your experience with a vegetarian diet taught you about yourself. You’d also like it to reflect your personality. You’re funny, and you found the experience humorous. You’d like your personal essay to convey your sense of humor.

Task 4: Outline

With your thesis statement and objective in place, it’s time to organize your ideas—that is, to outline your essay.

1. Put your thesis statement at the top of a sheet of paper and list the points you intend to make. A strong essay needs at least three supporting points. Example:

My experience as a vegetarian taught me that a vegetarian diet isn’t the right choice for me.

It was a pain! I had to cook my own meals because the food mom prepared for my family almost always included animal products.

There was too much homework! I had to research daily protein requirements, find alternate sources of protein, and then figure out how much of each source to eat to ensure I stayed healthy.

I just love meat! I especially love bacon—the way it tastes, the way it smells, and the sizzling sound it makes in the frying pan.

2. Read through your points and consider the order in which they appear. Does the sequence of your points work? Could your essay be stronger if you presented your points in a different order? If necessary, rearrange your points.

Task 5: Body

Writing the body of your essay can be a formidable task, but it doesn’t have to be if you let the tools you’ve amassed—your thesis statement, your objective, and your outline—do the heavy lifting for you.

1. With your outline as a guide, turn each of your points into a paragraph using facts and personal experiences to support that point.

2. Once you’ve fleshed out the bones of your essay, go back and connect the paragraphs into a cohesive narrative. Be sure to use strong topic sentences as transitions between the paragraphs. Your goal is to make clear to the reader why you presented the information in the order you did.

3. Read through your essay with a critical eye. Does each topic sentence clearly summarize the point of the paragraph? Does the sequence of your paragraphs work?

4. If time permits, take a break. Put your essay out of sight for a day or two and forget about it. This way your eye and your perspective will be fresh when you next review the essay.

Task 6: Final thesis statement

It’s common to get sidetracked while writing. Occasionally, you’ll discover that what you’ve written deviates from your original premise. This is OK. It’s why your original thesis statement is called a working thesis statement.

1. Reread the body of your essay. As you do so, ask yourself: “Did I make my point?”

2. If the points you’ve made don’t support your working thesis statement, refine it. You can broaden your thesis statement, narrow it, or restate it altogether. Just be sure that your final opinion-based statement is supported by the facts and arguments in your essay.

Task 7: Introduction and conclusion

The introduction and conclusion reinforce the key points you make in your paper.

1. Use your introduction to state your main point—that is, your thesis statement—and briefly describe what your essay is about and the points you intend to make. Your introduction should also grab the reader’s attention and make them want to read on. Including a surprising fact or anecdote about your topic can help grab attention.

2. Use your conclusion to summarize the points you made in your essay and the arguments that supported them. Don’t restate your points exactly—your goal is provide a sense of closure and to leave the reader with a final perspective on your topic.

Task 8: Final draft

Put the final touches on your essay. Don’t be tempted to skip these steps—nothing detracts from a good essay more than grammar or spelling errors.

1. Run a spell check on your essay and fix any problems.

2. Read your essay from start to finish, the same way your teacher will. Fix any grammar mistakes or other errors you find.

3. Once you’re satisfied that your essay represents your best effort, get a second opinion. Ask a parent or other trusted person to read your essay critically and to give you feedback. Make any changes you think necessary.

4. Read the essay one last time to make sure you didn’t introduce any new errors.

5. Finally … hand in your essay.

Congratulations!