A personal essay, in the broadest sense, is a written composition which contains information and personal opinions about a specific individual (usually famous and influential individuals). It is one of the most common essays given as an assignment to students of different levels · A personal essay is a piece of creative non-fiction in which the writer reflects on his or her personal experience in a meaningful way. The most important question the personal essay answers is: So what? To answer “So what?” your essay can: Teach a lesson; Tell us more about the human condition; Make the audience feel understood; To do any of those Author: Melissa Miles Mccarter · While everyone’s writing process differs, there are a few general guidelines to keep in mind when drafting your essay: Create an essay outline. Drafting a personal essay outline first can help you lay out the main points and tone of the Start with your intro. Include your hook, state your thesis, Estimated Reading Time: 4 mins
How to Write a Personal Essay: Step-by-Step guide at KingEssays©
Sign in. Nov 5, · 8 min read. Introductions are hard. They can make or break a personal essay. Called the hook, the introduction grabs the reader and draws them in. When you write an effective beginning to your essay, you set the tone for it, starting a personal essay. Your opening is the first step to engaging the reader.
And a great portion of the introductions were not effective. But, I also had the opportunity to help many hundreds of students improve their writing. Knowing the elements are important in creating an awesome introduction. A personal essay is a piece of creative non-fiction in which the writer reflects on his or her personal experience in a meaningful way. The most important question the personal essay answers is: So what?
To do any of those things you have to inspire empathy, make the personal universal, and connect your experience to larger themes. Technique-wise, you have to remember you are telling a story. A good personal essay shows rather than tells. Elements that work include:. You have to keep the reader engaged and leave the reader satisfied. You can do this through:.
Finally, the essay has to have a clear beginning, middle and end. The first element of the essay that sets the tone and draws the reader in is the introduction. Augusten Burroughs: I Just Want to Live Unhappily Ever After. Augusten writes in his opening:. David Sedaris: Youth in Asia. David writes in his opening:. We were living in upstate New York, out in the country, and the dogs were free to race through the forest, starting a personal essay.
They napped in meadows and stood knee-deep in frigid streams, costars in their own private dog-food commercial. According to our father, anyone starting a personal essay tell that the two of them were in love.
Reggie writes in his opening:. Or at Washington Dulles International Airport, 1, miles from our cul-de-sac in Houston, where, starting a personal essay, at 8 a. The driver suggested that my sister Adaeze and I ride the shuttle with our bags while Mom and Dad follow in a taxi. Kristin Wong: The Biracial Bind Of Not Being Asian Enough. Kristin writes in her opening:. My great-grandmother was a widow and a landowner in China who lost everything during the Communist Revolution.
She was punished for her wealth, and tortured and robbed before she fled to Starting a personal essay Kong with her daughter to survive. Raquel Willis: Graduation to Womanhood: Navigating Trans Identity at a Southern College. Raquel writes in her opening:. If you noticed, all five introductions foreshadow the effective personal essay elements they are going to use, such as dialogue, imagery and unusual connections.
In all, the hook is a clear beginning to their story and it initially grabs us. Now, these are all good introductions, but a bad one can really turn the reader off. Today I am going to talk about an experience I had growing up. It was really important to me and should be important to you too, starting a personal essay. In this example, the author tells us, rather than shows, what she is going to do. They make no attempt to engage the reader and tell us nothing about what their personal essay will be about.
I tried to give a variety of authors who are famous and not famous, and who represent a good cross section of our culture. As you can see, they are all very different in style and content. But they have very clear elements that work. Hopefully, the five successful examples above will help you avoid the mistakes made in the unsuccessful example, starting a personal essay.
The personal essay can be one of the most fulfilling forms of starting a personal essay that you can do. But, remember there are certain tried and true elements that hook the reader in. Hopefully, these tips will make your next personal essay shine. Melissa Miles McCarter is a Mommy who writes on the side about family, mental health, pop culture, and more. Mommy who writes on the side about mental health, family, pop culture, feminism, and more.
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Get started. Open in app. Sign in Get started. Join a Cohort Write For Us New To Medium? Directory Patreon. Get started Open in app. How to Write an Awesome Personal Essay Introduction. Hook your reader with the opening to your personal essay.
Melissa Miles McCarter. Key things to remember A hook engages the reader. Your introduction sets the tone for the whole essay. The beginning of the essay is one of the most important elements. Thanks to Justin Cox and Jessica Jungton. Sign up for This Week In Writing.
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How to write a personal essay
, time: 8:49FREE 7+ Personal Essay Examples & Samples in PDF | DOC | Examples
A personal essay, in the broadest sense, is a written composition which contains information and personal opinions about a specific individual (usually famous and influential individuals). It is one of the most common essays given as an assignment to students of different levels · While everyone’s writing process differs, there are a few general guidelines to keep in mind when drafting your essay: Create an essay outline. Drafting a personal essay outline first can help you lay out the main points and tone of the Start with your intro. Include your hook, state your thesis, Estimated Reading Time: 4 mins · How to Start a Personal Essay Start your paper with a statement about your story, while at the same time catching the reader’s attention by making use of a hook sentence. It may be a suitable quotation, definition, fact or even an intriguing question. Don’t leave your readers in the dark by explaining the important things such as
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