Dos and Don’ts for Personal Essay Writing
Students in the final year of their school might have already started worrying about their college admissions and how well things will go for them for higher education. Some of them might have also started applying for some colleges, with the ones who have already begun circulating their fill-up applications for students. From attending orientations to surfing colleges both online and on-field campus, there are many things lined up in the process that are necessary for them for their college application.
Another most crucial thing that they cannot resort to avoid is the personal essay writing aspect. Here, they need to submit an essay describing themselves and what they are willing to achieve in the future, based on which the college committee further elects them for the process. This is the main reason why students need to learn the art of writing a personal essay before they actually begin to write one for their application.
In more simple terms, personal essays are presented in the form of mere write-ups that describe the vital lessons from a student’s life and experiences. This makes them focus on the first-person aspect because the whole purpose here is to cater to their experiences. Personal essays are also a description of creative non-fiction stories. They are more conversational in nature that helps the writers build connections with their readers. So, the tone here needs to be more inspiring, uplifting, and motivational, where students are able to express themselves freely.
How to write a personal essay?
For writing a personal essay, you need to follow the below-mentioned structure as per your thoughts and experiences.
The topic
Students need to remember that there are no specific topics or fixed subjects for a personal essay. Personal essays are a mere reflection of the writer’s personal experiences. Hence, the topics here come from a wide range of areas. Students can either talk about their learning experiences at school, or their first day at school, along with the descriptions of turning points in their life, life-changing decisions, and other extracurricular activities that they indulged in during their school life.
The headline
Headlines are very clickable, so the writers must present them in a format that the readers find relatable. Here, they can speak of the universal truth that can help them fetch the attention of their readers at first glance.
The structure
Like other academic essays, personal essays also comprise an introductory paragraph, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Here, we have elaborated these sections in a more detailed context to help students compile their personal essays.
- Introduction
It usually includes a few sentences that can describe the personal introduction of the writer and is also able to hook the reader’s attention. It should not be more than two paragraphs and should share a personal statement. Students must avoid the use of cliches and famous quotes in this section.
- Body
This section is the longest one that usually comprises of three-long paragraphs. Here, students need to elaborate their main points and personal pieces of evidence and experiences they have witnessed so far in their lives.
- Conclusion
The concluding section holds a revelation of more profound truth. It also explains the aspect of realization of why students opted to write one for their applications. It comprises an independent paragraph that explains the moral of the student’s story.
Important tips to remember
Learning the format of writing and focusing more on the structure alone cannot help students excel in the field of personal essay writing. There’s more to this that they need to explore before they actually begin writing one for their application. Here are some important tips for them, which they should definitely follow for writing.
- Stay focused and be more specific
Personal essays are generally more descriptive in nature. So, if these descriptions are not that thought-provoking for the readers, then the writer here fails to grab their mere attention. In that case, they must be more specific with its content and should only provide necessary details with a description of real-life experiences.
- Keep your essay personal
We all know that personal essays are not something being more specific about the length and accurate format. But, there’s actually no harm in following a few guidelines for writing one. This is because the evaluators might be looking for such content that explains how certain incidents affected a person’s life or what was a person’s take on certain life decisions. Here, you don’t need to give a detailed narrative of your experience; rather, focus more on how it changed your outlook.
- Be more creative
Be emotional, be funny, or be creative; this is what calls for a personal essay. This will make your essays sound more attractive. So be as innovative as possible with your writing and experiences and focus more on your personal strengths and stick with them till the end.
So, this was all about the personal essay writing format and some crucial tips that can help students get admission to their desired colleges. Apart from this, if you ever need help regarding your academic assignments or projects, feel free to contact our online academic writing services for professional help and guidance.
