The Personal Essay assignment serves as an initial benchmark of your skills as a writer and critical thinker. This assignment tasks you with crafting a collegiate-level essay that stays within the realm of your own knowledge and experience, meaning there is NO research or consultation needed.
For this essay, you will work through the prewriting and drafting stages of your writing process in a narrative essay. The topic you decide on should be something you care about and the narration should be a means of communicating an idea that ties to your essay’s theme. Remember that narration is not an end in itself.
As for the overall theme of your essay, “Epiphany” means “a moment when you suddenly feel that you understand, or suddenly become conscious of, something that is very important to you.” For this paper, describe an epiphany of your own.
Is there a time you can recall when you suddenly realized something important? Some examples might be realizing a parent is not perfect, realizing a friend really isn’t a friend at all, realizing a certain lifestyle or activity you had been active in was actually not what you wanted to be involved in, or realizing that you actually have a great interest in something you used to think was dull or stupid.
Your essay should be real, combining genre aspects of both narrative and descriptive writing.
1. The essay should be 3-4 pages in length.
a. The minimum acceptable length is half-way down page three
b. The maximum acceptable length is at the bottom of page four
2. Organize the essay in a way that:
a. Establishes the situation (introduction)
b. Introduces the “complication(s)” (body)
c. States the lessons you learned (conclusion)
Make sure you:
a. Write about something you care about so that your narration is a means of communicating a larger idea.
b. Include characters, conflict, and sensory details.
c. Create a sequence of events or your “plot”.
d. Develop an enticing title.
e. Use the introduction to pull the reader into your singular experience.
f. Avoid addressing the assignment directly.
g. Let the essay reflect your own voice.
h. Avoid telling by making sure your essay reflects on why this experience is significant.
i. Using “Concrete” instead of “Abstract” wording can help with this.
ii. Instead of “awesome”, use something physical like “clear, bright, or deep”.
