what is a personal essay supposed to be about

How to Write a Personal Essay: The Ultimate Guide

In this article, we’re going to show you how to write a personal essay from start to finish. We’ll walk you through the whole process, from picking a topic to submitting your finished work.

Whether you’re writing an admission essay or a college application, your main task is to show the reader who you are as a person. This means you’ll be writing a lot about yourself. However, it can be difficult to know how much to reveal. Too little information and the reader won’t see you as authentic or three-dimensional. Too much information and the reader won’t see you as relatable or identify with your experiences.

See also: Difference Between Paraphrasing and Summarizing

If you want to create a stellar personal essay, you need to understand what makes a great one. But before that, let’s first answer the question, “What is a personal essay?”

What Is a Personal Essay?

A personal essay is a short piece of non-fiction in the form of an essay. Most often, personal essays are autobiographical in nature and written in the first person where the writer recounts a story about something that happened in their life, describes an event, or explains an opinion held by them.

By their very nature, personal essays are usually descriptive and written from a particular point of view which is sometimes subjective rather than objective. This means that the writer of a personal essay is required to tell a story about something that happened, but in doing so, they also use the piece to reveal something about themselves.

The crucial thing to understand about a personal essay is that it is not an objective account of the events that are described. Instead, a personal essay is all about the writer’s own feelings and emotions and how they experienced and processed the events that are taking place. The way in which the writer feels and reacts to the events of their life is used as a means to reflect their own personality, character, experiences, and history.

Personal essays are not as formal as other forms of writing such as college papers or research papers that are based on factual research and require a formal, objective tone. Instead, personal essays have a more relaxed approach to their writing style and tone. The writer of a personal essay is not required to be as structured as a writer of a research paper and there are usually fewer rules about the format of the piece.

However, this does not mean that personal essays can be written without putting any thought or effort into their writing. A good personal essay requires just as much effort and thought as any other form of writing. The only difference is that the writer has more freedom and flexibility in the style and tone of their work which allows them to explain things from their own perspective and tell a story from their own point of view.

How to Write a Good Personal Essay

Start with the right topic.

The first step in writing a great personal essay is picking the right topic. As we mentioned, your goal here is to reveal yourself as a person. When choosing a topic, pick one that allows you to show the things that make you who you are. You want to choose something that really interests you because if you’re not interested, neither will the reader. You also want to make sure that the topic is broad enough to allow you to write about it at a reasonable length.

As an example, let’s say you decide you want to write a personal essay about how you learned to play the piano. This could be a good choice for a topic because you could write about how you got started, what you had to learn, and what pieces you’ve played over the years. The topic is broad enough that you’ll have plenty to write about.

Start with a Hook

The next thing you need to do when writing a personal essay is start with a hook. This is the first sentence of your introduction and its main purpose is to grab the reader’s attention right away. One way to do this is by presenting an unexpected or surprising statement. However, you don’t want to make it too outlandish because then the reader won’t believe you and will stop reading.

Another way to start with a hook is by asking a question. Research has shown that readers tend to respond better to questions than statements. This is because questions demand answers and the reader will feel the need to read on in order to find out the answer.

In any case, your hook needs to do its job which is getting the reader interested enough to keep reading.

Craft an Interesting and Engaging Body

Once you’ve hooked the reader, it’s time to reveal more details about yourself in a logical sequence. In other words, it’s time to write the body of your essay. The trick is to pick up the topic you introduced in the hook and explain it in more detail while also weaving in other relevant details about yourself.

As you’re writing your essay, it’s a good idea to think about the types of questions a college may ask you. For example, if you’re applying to Harvard and they ask you to write a short essay, they may ask you, “What are you passionate about?” This is basically asking you what your interests are. If you were to apply to Harvard with the topic of piano playing, the answer to that question would be something like, “I’m passionate about the piano because it has been a big part of my life for many years. It allows me to express my emotions when words fail me and I find great solace and happiness when I’m able.”

This is what you want to do in your body paragraphs. Reveal information about yourself in a logical sequence while also incorporating details about your topic. The more specific you are, the better.

Write a Powerful Conclusion

Once you’ve covered all the main points you want to make, it’s time to wrap things up with a conclusion. This is where you can simply restate your main point or you can relate it back to other things you’ve experienced in your life. For example, if you wrote about playing the piano, you may want to relate it to how it makes you feel or how it has impacted your life in some way.

It’s also a good idea to briefly mention any other interests you may have had and what you’ve learned from those experiences as well. For example, maybe you tried swimming when you were younger but quit after a year.

You could mention that in your conclusion by saying, “Although I didn’t stick with the swim team for very long, I did learn how to tread water which has come in handy on holiday cruises with the family.”

This is relevant to your interests because it shows a) you have diverse interests, b) you’re a hard worker (treading water isn’t easy!) and c) you learned a new skill which will come in handy in life.

The conclusion is important because this is your last chance to make a good impression on the admissions officer reading your application. You want to end on a positive note so they remember you more favorably than other applicants.

Get Someone Else to Read It

After you have gone over your essay a few times, show it to at least one person other than the people you live with. If you can, find someone in your field of study and see what they think. Their advice will be especially helpful if they know exactly what is being asked for in the statement. They may even tell you that your statement is perfect and doesn’t need to be changed!

Proofreading and Editing

The final step to writing a great essay is proofreading and editing. Never pass anything out without double-checking for spelling and grammar mistakes. Be especially careful with your school name and your name, as these are the most common mistakes applicants make on their statements.

You may feel like your statement is done and ready to turn in, but taking an extra day or two to proofread will always be worth it in the end. After all, this is your best chance to show the committee who you are. After you’ve given your essay some time, read through it again making changes as you see fit.

This may involve changing specific words or phrasing, re-ordering sections, or cutting out unnecessary information. Whatever you do, don’t be too perfectionistic with this process. You don’t want to torture yourself by spending hours staring at a blank word document screen because that will only cause unnecessary stress.

Common Mistakes in Writing Personal Essay

Telling, not showing.

It is very easy to lapse into “telling” instead of “show don’t tell.” Stories should be immersive and engaging for the reader. The writer should try to put the reader into his or her own body so that the reader can see, hear, smell, taste, and feel what the writer is describing.

For example, instead of writing “I cried,” it is better to write, “Tears streamed down my face.”

Instead of “I was sad,” it is better to write, “I sunk into myself and felt all the sadness in the world weigh me down like an anchor.”

Instead of writing, “He laughed,” it is better to write, “The boy laughed uproariously at something his friend said, his eyes shining with delight.”

Unnecessary Details

The best stories need only a few details to tell the story. Readers can use their own imaginations to fill in the rest. Readers tend to become impatient when they have to wade through too much-written information before getting to the story. If every detail can’t be interesting, then at least try to put in a few humorous or exciting details.

Writing More than Two Pages

This is a common mistake because people don’t know what a page looks like. It is very easy to go over a page if you are not used to writing on paper, and it is very easy to go over two pages if you are not using a word processor. It is also common for people to reduce font size in an attempt to make the essay fit on the page. This makes the text harder to read and also can be used as justification for turning down your application. The most common reason personal statements are turned down is for going over the limit. A secondary reason is that the writing is too small to read.

Starting with “I”

The personal statement is about YOU, but it is not supposed to be all about you. Remember that there are other applicants and yours needs to stand out from everyone else’s. The best way to do this is to NOT make it all about you. Your opening sentence should be something like, “Playing with my sister was one of the highlights of my youth.” This instantly makes your application different from everyone else’s. If you start with something like, “I have always loved to play the piano,” someone else could easily start their statement with, “Playing the piano has been a lifelong passion of mine.”

Start your sentence with something that no one else can use, and make sure that whatever you start with is true. You don’t want to lie or stretch the truth in your personal statement. This is supposed to be an example of who you are, and lying on your application is never a good idea.

Complaining

Many people try to use their personal statements as a way to complain about their life. For example, “My dad was never around, and my mom had to work all the time so I had to look after my little sister.” Admissions counselors have heard stories like this one too many times to count. It isn’t interesting and doesn’t tell them anything good about you. They hear about emotional and physical hardship all the time. Let’s try to come up with something better, “I had to sometimes watch my sister when I wanted to play ball with my friends, but I learned the importance of responsibility and had a lot of fun playing with her.” Including something about your family in your statement is a good idea, just don’t dwell on the negative.

There are exceptions to every rule. If your parents are crazy and abusive or you have an illness that prevents you from living a “normal life”, then it might be a good idea to list this information. However, be aware that few circumstances are so severe that you should even consider this option. If your father left when you were three and you never saw him again, there is no need to mention this. If your sister was severely disabled and required around-the-clock care, it isn’t necessary to mention that either. Keep your statement positive and upbeat. Highlight the benefits you have received from your experiences, not the emotional trauma.

In general, if you are unsure if you should include something, do not include it. This is especially true for anything concerning the family. Your goal is to have the reader like you, not think less of you.

Being Pretentious

There are a few applicants every year who attempt to sound smarter than they are in the hopes of impressing the committee. Do not try to sound like someone you are not, or you will end up lying and making yourself look bad. If you do not know the meaning of a word, do not use it. If you cannot think of a phrase other than, “I think…” then try not to use it. The best way to sound smart is to BE smart.

Strive to have your writing be as close to perfect as you can. You will need to use proper English grammar and spelling. You don’t need to fill your statement with big words, but if you are going to use a big word, make sure you know what it means!

For example:

• Don’t use: I am blessed with having multilingual abilities.
• Do use: I have multilingual abilities.
• Don’t use: His ineptitude at providing appropriate care to his patients was the reason for many untimely deaths.
• Do use: He was inept at providing appropriate care to his patients, which was the reason for many untimely deaths.
• Don’t use: She was an accomplished traveler who had journeyed to most of the known world.
• Do use: She was a traveler who had journeyed to most of the known world.

You should be aware that some words simply sound stupid when you use them a lot. Some examples include: utilize, specific, and viable. If you use these words in your statement, which you might, then try to mix them up with their synonyms.

Not Proofreading

After a story or essay is complete, it is very important to read it over several times to catch any spelling or grammar mistakes. It can help to read the writing out loud in order to catch any mistakes that aren’t noticeable just by reading it in your head. Never send an essay out without checking for mistakes!

How to Structure a Personal Essay

A personal essay contains 3 basic sections: the introductory paragraph, body paragraphs, and the conclusion.

Introductory Paragraph

The first thing you’ll want to do here is to catch the reader’s attention. You should try to do this in one of two ways:

1. Provide an Anecdote (Short Story)

For example, “The first time I ever sang in front of people was when I was 7 and in the Thanksgiving pageant at my elementary school. I remember I was supposed to sing “Softly and Tenderly” but I couldn’t remember the words and I got so nervous that I blanked out and started singing the alphabet instead.”

2. Provide a Startling Fact

For example, “Although I’ve always wanted to be a doctor since I was little, I’m ashamed to say I’ve never been very good at science. In fact, my grade in biology was the only C I ever received until this semester when I got a C- in human anatomy .”

Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs should make up the majority of your essay. Since you’ve already crafted the introductory paragraph, you know something interesting about yourself. Now it’s time to back it up.

Try to include at least two or three interesting facts about yourself and don’t be afraid to get creative. This is your chance to shine so don’t be afraid to step outside the box!

The conclusion is the final thing the admissions board will read before making their decision so you want to leave them with a positive last impression. To do this, simply summarize your strongest qualities.

For example, “I may not have done everything I’ve set out to accomplish but I’ve learned that I’m resilient and can figure things out as I go. For this reason, I believe I’ll be successful in college because I’m always willing to try new things.”

Example of a Good Personal Essay

Sometimes, when I talk to my little brother, Connor, he looks at me as if I have all the answers. Little does he know, he’s right. As the oldest sibling and the only girl, I have often found myself to be a motherly figure in our relationship. When Connor first started school, I would often help him with his homework. On more than one occasion, I would encounter teachers who told me to let Connor learn through failure. They claimed it would help him in the long run. I, of course, never listened. Instead, I would do his homework for him and the next year, when he started school at a different school, his teachers didn’t know him as well and didn’t realize he wasn’t applying himself. While Connor was coasting in school, I was working hard in mine. I wanted to become a doctor more than anything and knew I needed good grades to get there. I worked hard in school and rarely had time to have a social life. While most of my friends were out partying on the weekends, I was at home studying. After I had gotten accepted to medical school, Connor threw a huge party. I wasn’t able to attend, of course, but after I saw all the pictures, I realized how much I missed out on in high school. It made me sad to think about how I couldn’t have gone to my own high school party because I would have been studying biology instead. Still, I pushed on. I went to medical school and pushed myself even harder than I had in college. My classes were difficult and the studying and exams took a toll on my physical and mental well-being. It got to a point where I no longer wanted to go to medical school, but it was too late to quit. By then, I was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and all I could think about was earning money as a doctor. I graduated from medical school and became a family doctor. Two years after graduating, I moved and began working in the emergency room. The hours are terrible and the patients are worse, but I manage. I still haven’t had time to settle down and have a family of my own. Sometimes, I feel as if I missed out on the best parts of being a kid because I was always studying. Other times, I’m thankful I didn’t waste my youth doing irresponsible things. Either way, I think about Connor and how he looked at me with awe in his eyes. I know I’m doing the right thing. I always have.

Making a personal essay is a lot of work, but well worth it in the end. When your essay is done, you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment and relief that you got the task completed. Remember that you don’t have to follow all of these steps exactly as they are written here. You can change or skip around as you see fit.

What matters most is that you take the time to get to know yourself better and articulate that in your own words. The more “you” that comes through in your personal statement, the better chance you have of standing out from the crowd. Good luck!

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• Essay Writing Guides

Guide How to Write a Personal Essay for a High Score

Writing a personal essay is a meeting with readers where you need to share your thoughts and feelings. In such a document, you become the main character of your story and talk about your life experiences. However, before you begin creating your story, you must familiarize yourself with some rules on how to write a personal essay. When writing a personal essay, you must invite readers into your inner world and give them a chance to understand you more deeply.

You can tell one or several life situations that significantly influenced your worldview and changed your view of various things. You must use every word in your document to describe your feelings, thoughts, and meaningful moments. In this article, we will review the basic steps of writing a personal essay, outline the structure, and provide a high-quality example to help you create a successful thesis for a personal essay.

Practical Tips on How to Write a Personal Essay

Having received a written assignment from a teacher, many students wonder how to write a personal essay. Writing a document is much more straightforward than it might seem. To do this, you need to familiarize yourself with some tips from experienced specialists and move on to creating a masterpiece:

• Choose a suitable topic. First of all, you need to choose a topic that is truly interesting and important to you.
• Be as sincere as possible. Readers often appreciate honesty, so don’t be afraid to share your feelings, even if they seem vulnerable.
• Create an essay structure. One of the most important parts is the structure. Be sure to break your essay into an introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Be specific. Remember that detail brings life to your essay and provides readers with a clear understanding of your topic.
• Give preference to visualization. An excellent option to improve your essay is to show your feelings through dialogues, descriptions, and experiences instead of just talking about them.
• Edit and proofread. If, during the process of creating a personal reflective essay, you notice that the text contains errors or typos, be sure to remove redundant words, check the grammar, and try to make each sentence as clear and expressive as possible.

With these tips, you can create a high-quality personal essay that will be interesting and understandable to readers. Read each prompt carefully and think about each step before moving on to the writing process.

What Is Personal Essay and Why to Write It?

Before you start writing, you must find out what is personal essay. The personal essay is a unique form of expression that allows students to share their thoughts, emotions, and life experiences with readers. The primary purpose of the personal essay is to connect with the audience on a deeper and more personal level. This writing serves as a vehicle for students to communicate their perspectives, life lessons, and unique journeys.

Thanks to this, readers are introduced to personal essays to better understand the author’s inner world, where they can resonate with their life situations. At its core, a personal narrative essay is a piece of literature that helps students talk about their lives, allowing readers to witness personal growth, challenges, and triumphs.

How to Create a Clear Structure of a Personal Essay

To create a high-quality essay of any type, you must adhere to a clear plan to help structure your thoughts and make the text more understandable for readers. Creating a clear structure of a personal essay is necessary to convey your story and attract audience understanding effectively. Below, we will provide a step-by-step guide to help you create a well-organized and consistent structure:

• Introduction. The key is to hook the reader, which can be done by starting with a compelling anecdote, a thought-provoking question, or a relevant quote to grab attention.
• Thesis. Next, clearly state the central theme or message you want to convey in your essay, which will help set the tone for the entire work.
• A summary of the essence. Once you have created a strong thesis statement, you need to provide the background or context of the story briefly.
• Chronology. Try to organize your events and thoughts in a logical sequence.
• Visualization. Make your story strong by including dialogue, sensory details, and descriptions. Try to engage the reader’s senses to immerse them in your experiences.
• Description of your thoughts. While writing a personal essay, you need to pause to share thoughts, emotions, and ideas related to the experience you are talking about.
• Culmination. It is necessary to create some tension to make a personal essay as emotional as possible.
• Conclusion. This section should summarize the results and name the main points.

Following these steps, you can create a well-structured personal essay that effectively tells your story and resonates with your audience. Be sure to take every step into account, and you will likely be able to write a compelling story that will succeed.

Tips for Writing a Good Personal Essay

Writing a good personal essay requires a combination of storytelling, self-reflection, and practical communication skills. Below, we will provide some tips to help you cope with this task:

• Choose a topic that is meaningful to you personally.
• Be sincere and write from the heart.
• Start with a strong introduction that grabs the readers’ attention.
• Formulate a clear thesis.
• Use descriptive language to draw readers into your story as much as possible.
• Take breaks from the story to reflect on events and share your thoughts.
• Create your essay with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
• Add dialogue to your essay to bring your story to life.
• Provide sufficient detail, but try to be concise.
• Connect your essay to broader topics that may interest readers.
• Be sure to review your essay and edit it if necessary.
• Get feedback from colleagues or friends.
• Conclude your essay with a firm conclusion that supports your main message.

Using these tips, you can create personal essay formats that tell your story and engage and resonate with your readers.

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Creating successful personal essay outlines.

It is important to remember that creating a successful personal essay outline is critical to organizing your thoughts and delivering a coherent and compelling narrative. Below, you can find a guide to help you create an effective plan:

• Introduction. This section aims to grab the reader’s attention, provide brief context to set the stage for your narrative, and clearly state the main idea or topic of the essay.
• Body paragraphs. Here, you need to start with the first event or experience, provide story details, and involve the reader as much as possible. Additionally, in this paragraph, you can talk about several events chronologically.
• Climax. If your story has a climax or turning point, create tension leading up to that pivotal moment.
• Conclusion. This is where you need to summarize the key events and thoughts from your essay. Be sure to end with a strong closing statement that will leave a lasting impression.

Remember that your personal essay outline is essential to creating a masterpiece. Feel free to tweak and adapt as you write, leaving room for creativity and spontaneity in the storytelling.

How to Create a Conclusion for a Personal Essay

Creating a compelling conclusion for a personal essay is essential to making a lasting impression on the reader and reinforcing your story’s central idea. Here are the steps to help you write an effective conclusion:

• Summarize the key points.
• Restate your thesis.
• Think about the story that was told.
• Connect to the introduction.
• Leave a lasting impression.
• Connect your narrative to broader themes or universal experiences.
• Avoid introducing new information.
• End on a positive note.

It’s important to remember that the conclusion is your last chance to make a lasting impression on the reader. Try to craft this piece thoughtfully, ensuring that it reinforces your essay’s main idea and leaves the reader with a sense of completion and reflection.

High-Quality Example of a Personal Essay

If you received an assignment from a teacher to write personal essays and need help with how to do it correctly, this is not a problem! First, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules and tips that will help you do this successfully, and then read the example of a personal essay to understand how it should look. Below, we will provide a fictitious letter created for illustrative purposes. However, personal essays should be based solely on real stories and experiences.

«Journey Inside»

The sun was setting, casting a warm golden light on the horizon as I stood on the edge of a cliff, contemplating the twists and turns of my life. The wind whispered stories of the past, and I couldn’t help but reflect on the transformative journey that had brought me to this precipice.

My story begins in a small town where the days seemed long and the dreams even longer. I was an ordinary child with an extraordinary imagination, hungry for adventure beyond the familiar streets. Little did I know that the most incredible adventure awaited me deep within my soul.

The turning point came during my freshman year when I was lost in a sea of new faces and challenging coursework. The initial excitement soon gave way to a feeling of vulnerability and uncertainty about my place in this vast and competitive world. Amid academic pressure and societal expectations, I embarked on a journey of self-discovery.

It was a journey marked by late-night conversations with me, diary pages filled with inky confessions, and moments of quiet introspection in the campus garden. I plunged into the labyrinth of my thoughts, facing my fears, acknowledging my insecurities, and embracing the pure beauty of vulnerability.

As the semesters progressed, I engaged in activities aligned with my passions rather than society’s expectations. I discovered the joy of creative expression through writing and art, unlocking a reservoir of untapped potential. Every brush stroke and every written word became a testament to the power of authenticity.

Now, when I stand on this cliff and look at the sun sinking below the horizon, I see an end and a beginning. The journey within has changed me and illuminated the limitless possibilities that lie ahead. I carry lessons of authenticity, resilience, and the unwavering belief that the most authentic adventure is what we undertake to discover for ourselves.

In the twilight of the day, I step forward not with the trepidation of the unknown but with the confidence that comes from accepting my true self. The stars above twinkle approvingly as if acknowledging that the most profound journeys are those that lead us back to ourselves.

After reading this and other personal essay examples, you will be able to understand what it should look like and create an individual and unique letter that will be exciting and successful.

Suppose you have a question about how to write a personal essay. In that case, it is essential to remember that this type of writing is an immersion in your world and an exploration of the uniqueness of your own experience. The key to a successful personal essay is to talk about important moments in your life and what conclusions you draw. Be honest, sincere, and thoughtful, so your words take readers into a personal experience. Remember that your story is a part of you and a response for those ready to walk this fascinating path of self-discovery with you.

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6 Steps to Writing the Perfect Personal Essay

Personal essays are easy once you know how!

• Tips For Adult Students
• Getting Your Ged

• B.A., English, St. Olaf College

It is the first day of a new school year and your teacher has just assigned a personal essay. They have good reasons for this assignment—personal or narrative essays allow teachers to assess your grasp of language, composition, and creativity.

If you don't know where to start or feel overwhelmed by the open-ended prompt, this list is here to help you navigate the process from beginning to end. Writing about yourself is easy to do when you keep the key ingredients of a great essay in mind.

Find Inspiration and Ideas

You can't begin a personal essay without a topic. If you are stuck on what to write about, look to some of these sources of inspiration:

• Consult lists of ideas to get your brain thinking about the possibilities of your essay. Remember that a personal essay is autobiographical, so do not write about anything untrue.
• Try writing a  stream of consciousness . To do this, start writing whatever is on your mind and don't stop or leave anything out. Even if ideas aren't connected to each other whatsoever, a stream of consciousness gets everything in your brain on paper and often contains many ideas.
• Do a little research. Browsing through whatever interests you can really get the creative juices flowing and lead to small self-reflections. Grab onto any of these that you think you might want to write about.

Don't be afraid to ask your teacher what they are looking for. If you still aren't sure what to write about, go to your teacher for suggestions or a more specific prompt.

Understand the Composition of an Essay

Before you start writing, remind yourself of basic essay composition. Almost all essays are made up of three parts: an introduction, a body of information, and a conclusion. The five-paragraph essay is a common iteration of this and it contains an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. Use an outline, or general essay plan, to jot down your ideas before writing.

Introduction : Start your personal essay with a hook, or an interesting sentence that grabs your readers' attention and makes them want to read more. Select a topic that you know you can write an interesting essay about. Once you have a compelling topic, decide on the main idea you want to communicate and use it to capture your readers' interest in the first sentence.

After the hook, use the introductory paragraph to briefly outline the subject of your essay. Your readers should have a clear understanding of the direction of the rest of your piece from the introduction.

Body : The body of your essay is made up of one or more paragraphs that inform your readers about your topic, each paragraph accomplishing this in a unique way.

The structure of a paragraph resembles the structure of an essay. A paragraph contains an attention-grabbing topic sentence, several sentences elaborating on the point of the paragraph, and a conclusion sentence or two that summarizes the main idea. The conclusion sentence of a paragraph should also be used to transition into the next paragraph by smoothly introducing the next topic without going into too much detail.

Each paragraph should have its own idea that is closely related to the topic of the whole essay but elaborates on the main idea in a new way. It is important that topics flow logically from one to the next so that your essay is easy to follow. If your paragraphs are not related to each other or the main idea, your essay may be choppy and incoherent. Keeping your sentences concise also helps with clarity. Feel free to break a large paragraph up into two separate paragraphs if the topic changes or goes on for too long.

Conclusion : Close your essay with a final paragraph that summarizes the points you have made and states the takeaways. When writing personal essays, conclusion paragraphs are where you talk about the lessons you learned, ways that you changed as a result of your subject, or any other insights that were gained from your experience. In short: restate the ideas from the introduction in a new way and wrap up your essay.

Use Appropriate Voice for Essay and Verbs

In English grammar, there are many elements of writing that determine the quality of your work and voice is one of the most important. There are two types of voice: the author's voice and the voice of verbs.

Author's Voice

One of the things your teacher will be looking for when reading your personal essay is the use of voice in your essay, which is your own personal style of telling a story. They will be looking for features of your writing that make it unique, analyze the pacing of your essay, and determine how you establish your authority.

Because personal essays are works of nonfiction, your voice must be reliable. Other than that, you are free to play around with the delivery of your essay. Decide how formal or casual you want to be, how you want to keep the attention of your readers, how you would like your readers to feel when reading your essay, and how you would like your story to come across as a whole.

Voice of Verbs

Don't be confused—verbs have their own voice that is entirely separate from the author's voice. The active voice occurs when the subject of your sentence is performing the action or verb and the passive voice occurs when the subject is receiving the action.

The subject is italicized in the following examples.

Passive : An essay was assigned by Ms. Peterson.

Active : Ms. Peterson assigned a personal essay about summer vacation.

Generally, the active voice is most appropriate for personal essays as it is more effective at progressing a story forward. Using verbs in the active voice also tends to come across as more authoritative.

Be Consistent With Point of View and Tense

Personal essays are about yourself, so it is important that your point of view and tense be consistent with this. Personal essays are almost always written in first person tense, using the pronouns I, we, and us to tell what happened. Readers need to know what something was like from your perspective.

Remember that you can only speak to your own thoughts and feelings in first person tense unless you know for sure what another person was thinking or feeling and can quote them.

Personal essays are also written in the past tense because they describe something that happened to you, not something that is happening or will happen. You cannot speak confidently about experiences that have not happened or are still happening because you have not yet learned from them. Teachers will probably want you to write a personal essay to reflect on a real experience that taught you something.

Use Your Own Vocabulary

Just as you shouldn't lie when writing personal essays, you also shouldn't waver. Your choice of vocabulary can help you establish and maintain themes throughout your essay. Every word matters.

Your goal when writing a personal essay should be authenticity and you need to choose your vocabulary accordingly. Use the words that naturally come to mind when you are writing and don't try to be something that you are not. Your language should fit the topic and guide readers to interpret your writing in a certain way.

Here are some examples of how to choose the right words.

• When you are making a statement of opinion or fact, use powerful words that make your ideas clear. For example, say, "I ran like my life depended on it," rather than, "I ran pretty fast."
• If you are trying to communicate uncertainty that you felt during an experience, use words that convey these feelings. "I questioned whether or not it was a good idea," rather than, "I didn't know what would happen."
• Use positive language. Write about what did happen or what is rather than what did not happen or what is not . "I left room for dessert after dinner," instead of, "I hated dinner and couldn't even finish it."

Always be as descriptive as possible and incorporate all of your senses into your writing. Write about how something looked, sounded, felt, smelled, or tasted to help your readers imagine the experience for themselves. Use adjectives that support what you have described but do not use them to do the work of describing for you.

Edit, Edit, Edit

English grammar is tough even for native English speakers. Brush up on grammar rules before writing and revisit your work when you are finished to ensure that you have written an essay that you can be proud of.

No matter what you write, one of the most important parts of the writing process is editing . It is good practice to give yourself some space from your essay just after finishing it before you dive into editing because this can help you analyze your writing more objectively. A second opinion is always helpful too.

When editing, ask yourself these questions:

• Is the grammar/sentence structure of your essay correct?
• Is your essay well-organized and easy to follow? Does it flow?
• Is your writing on topic throughout the essay?
• Will your readers be able to picture what you have described?
• Did you make your point?
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