Personal Essay Directions and Topics
Attached below, please find some sample essays!
There are two components to the essay:
1. The personal essay itself
2. Reflection on the essay
·Please include your reflection on the essay when you post your essay on turnitin.com
Put the reflection at the end of your essay
making it clear where your essay ends and your reflection begins
Essay will be graded on the following:
· Use of concrete, sensory detail
Employ four of the senses (if not all five)
Use of vivid, clear, directed imagery
· Strong sense of setting (using sensory details)
· Use of at least a small amount of dialogue to create a scene
For your essay, think 70% scene, 30% reflection/analysis
· Must have a clear sense of the relationship with the reader
Write to a specific person (e.g. think of someone specific as your reader, rather than someone anonymous)
· Must have some sort of conflict—can be with another person, a situation or with yourself
· Must be honest; don't try to sell yourself to me like you would in a college app. Personal essays are far more compelling when they reveal a person's flaws, uncertainties, misgivings, insecurities, etc.
· Demonstrate a personal investment in the topic (topic concerns your past or present life in some way)
· Something changes or is revealed in the essay
· Mechanics! As always, it’s crucial to spell words properly, get your grammar right, use words correctly, indent the essay properly, etc.
· 3 pages for personal essay (900-1000 words): NO MORE! (points will be deducted if you exceed the word count)
Please answer the following questions in your reflection on the essay:
Approx. 1 page reflecting on essay (250-350 words)
a. Describe the process of writing this essay: How long did it take you to begin the essay? Did you do several freewrites and then edit or edit as you wrote? Did you write in several chunks or all at once? etc
b. What are you proud of in the essay?
c. What was challenging about writing it?
d. How long did this essay take you to write?
e. What questions do you have for me?
Note: these topics are from a former year... may change!
Topics: (note: these are not topics for Breaking Free--new topics to be posted)
a) How has coming to College Prep changed you? What have you unexpectedly gained or lost coming here?
Because personal essays often require some critical distance, you might also consider how your middle or even grade school shaped you instead. What did you gain and lose as a result of this education?
b) Describe a moral dilemma in which you’ve found yourself. In other words, describe a time when two values you hold dear were in conflict with one another. In your essay, dramatize a particular moment, make a scene come alive.
As an example, think of the scene when Tambu feels conflicted between obeying Babamukuru and going to her parents’ wedding. Dangarembga creates a very dramatic scene with Tambu lying on the bed, dividing into two selves, as Babamukuru scolds her.
c) Describe a scene where a value you hold was in jeopardy
Another example from Nervous Conditions: when Nyasha comes in late from the party and punches Babamukuru in the mouth in an effort to preserve her sense of self. Underscoring Nyasha’s behavior is her belief that women are equal to men.
d) Describe a moment that made you realize a value that was important to you that you had not previously realized was so important.
Look at the scene where Tambu’s mother confronts Tambu at the end of the novel and Tambu begins to realize what she’s lost by becoming Anglicized.
e) Describe a complicated friendship, one which elicits strong, contrary feelings in you
Tambu’s friendship with Nyasha, for example.
f) Write about a childhood obsession.
g) Re-work your freewrite “I was not sorry when . . .” into an essay.
Consider this if the freewrite brought up an uncomfortable and/or shameful feeling or was challenging in some way.
g) Look through your free writes and responses for the class and see if there are two that you might link together/weave into an essay for the class. You might, for instance, weave together one of your more analytical responses with one of the personal writings. In the process of weaving the two together, the essay will take on a shape of its own; you will need to add/edit/and change the two exercises as you combine them.
h) Think about a time when you didn't understand your own motivation, where you did something and didn't quite understand why you did it. Write about that time.
i) Think of two different worlds or communities that you belong to. Could be school friends vs. home friends; family vs. school; two different cultures you belong to.
Are you a different person—do you wear a different identity in these two cultures? How do these two identities conflict? What is the cost or consequence of this conflict?
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Length:
3 pages for personal essay (900-1000 words): NO MORE! (points will be deducted if you exceed the word count)
Approx. 1 page reflecting on essay (250-350 words)
Due:
***Important: Please post your essay on turnitin.com
Class ID #: to be announced
Class password:
*** Please make sure to read and sign a copy of the creative writing contract.
Creative checklist: