What’s a personal essay?

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A personal essay is a piece of writing that addresses a given topic from the writer’s point of view, usually including a few examples from the person’s life to support the main ideas. It allows readers to get a sense of someone’s skills and personality, so some people see it as a type of interview. While it is similar to other formal documents in that it usually requires at least five paragraphs, the use of “I” language and acceptance of bias make it distinct. Many people have a hard time building one, but most of the problems authors encounter are avoidable or can be fixed.

Common uses

Many college admissions boards ask prospective students to write a personal essay as part of their overall application process. Commissions for scholarships, internships and competitions also often ask for them. Reviewers use them not only to get a general idea of ​​a writer’s history and philosophies, but also to analyze whether he is educated, creative, or experienced enough to distinguish himself from other applicants.

Party

Opinions on how best to write a personal essay vary, but typically you have an introductory paragraph that ends with a main thesis. Most use at least three supporting paragraphs and paragraphs, and an all-encompassing conclusion is also pretty standard. It is not necessary to write these parts in the order they will appear in the final draft, but when everything is put together, the work as a whole must flow well, moving logically from one idea to another.

Length
In general, a personal essay is one to four pages long, but ultimately the final length depends on the needs of the person or group requesting it. If an individual or organization does not place a limit on the duration, the general rule is still to be as short as possible, touching only the points necessary to clearly support the main concept of the work. Nothing should be repeated in the main body of the essay.

Stile
In contrast to other types of writing, a personal essay doesn’t require someone to be completely objective. Indeed, one of the hallmarks of the style is that the writer describes himself or something else using his own opinion, thoughts and ideas, often based on clear and honest examples from his own experience. An author usually constructs what he has to say in the first person for this reason, using statements like “I think” or “I feel” and words like “me” and “mine.” However, he may still respond to a specific question or request, such as “Describe a time when…” or “Explain why…”, so a lack of objectivity doesn’t translate into a lack of direction or focus.

Experts typically stress the importance of using the active rather than the passive voice for any of these documents. In the latter type of construction, the object of a sentence, which may be a noun or a noun phrase, appears as the subject. “Thomas loved the toy,” for example, is active, while “Thomas loved the toy” is passive. A personal essay written in a passive voice usually ends up being more verbose and the points don’t come across as strong, which is a bad thing considering reviewers usually want to see that the writer is sure of what he’s saying.
formatting
Most personal essays use Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting, although individuals or groups sometimes request a different format when it will make editing easier. Margins should be 1 inch (2.54 centimeters) around the perimeter of the page and lines should be spaced twice. The indentation is five single spaces or a tab stop. Some experts still recommend using two spaces at the end of each sentence, but this is no longer appreciated because the extra spaces take up more physical space. The standard font to use is Times New Roman 12.

Pitfalls
Even though these essays by definition contain some personal information and are supposed to “show” every point, many writers fall into the trap of including things that aren’t really relevant. The problem usually occurs because a person takes a more stream of consciousness or whatever approach to building. He might start writing about his high school friend who had a really cool car, for example, simply because he started talking about how hard it was to change a car’s oil for the first time. Taking the time to establish your main points and choosing specific examples that support each often helps keep focus and conciseness.
Another problem with these essays that can also result in the inclusion of irrelevant content and repetition is that, when given a page requirement, writers sometimes start “cramming”, looking for something else to say about their main points only. to make the length more acceptable. They focus more on this technical aspect than on their points being clear. In these cases, it’s usually better to add an entirely new point that supports the thesis rather than trying to expand on already well-expressed ideas.

Some people also lose a sense of their target audience. If someone is writing work for a university committee, for example, the tone should be somewhat professional and academic, even though the language should still show who the author is. Formality typically can’t go completely out the window simply because “I” language is allowed. A good tip is to have someone else read the initial drafts to double check what initial impression the reader gets from the content and how it is presented.

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