You will be asked to write a six to eight Personal Essays based on our assigned readings or other issues that have come up in class. There will be a specific prompt given for each essay that you will respond to. These will be provided on the Class Schedule for each assigned essay. 

The most important aspect of a Personal Essay is that it be personal, and that it uniquely reflects your own experiences, background, and beliefs. Given that focus please do not use automated writing / AI tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, CoPilot, etc. at any point in developing your essays. Do not use them for brainstorming ideas, do not use them for writing, and do not use them for polishing or correcting your work. This policy is further explained in our Syllabus. 

Each Personal Essay should be at least 500 words long. Please compose your essay entirely using Google Docs. Do not start your document somewhere else and then cut and paste it into Google Docs, or type it in after writing it somewhere else. Start with a blank Google Doc and compose your essay there. Your essay must show a complete version history in your Google Doc that shows the process by which you developed this essay. You may use the spelling and grammar checker available in Google Docs, please do not use any other tools in developing or checking your essay. 

You will turn in the URL for your Google Doc to Canvas. Please make sure that you have the file permissions set on your essay to allow anyone with the link to view. Any comments I make about your essay will be in Canvas, so I do not need edit or commenting permission. 

Personal Essays will be graded on a 5 point scale, where one point is awarded for each of the following : 

1. Your essay is personal, and could really have only been written by you.  

2. Your essay is engaging, and not boring to read. If you are bored when writing the essay, it will be boring to read, so please find a direction for your essay that is interesting for you to refect on and write about.  

3. Your essay follows the guidelines described above and is focused on the given prompt. 

4. Your essay is specific and does not rely on being vague or using a lot of generic content. It reaches our 500 word minimum without padding or repetition.

5. Your essay is relatively clear and easy to read. This does not mean perfect, just that it is understandable and coherent. 

Personal Essays submitted 1 - 24 hours after the deadline will automatically lose 1 point (of a possible 5), and will then lose another 1/2 point per full school day they are late.