You will be asked to write five Personal Essays based on our assigned readings or other issues that have come up in class. The prompts for these essays will appear on our Class Schedule.

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 Gemini, CoPilot, ChatGPT, Grammarly, Claude, Jasper, DeepSeek, etc. at any point in developing your essays. Do not use them for brainstorming ideas, do not use them for notes and outlining, do not use them for writing, and do not use them for polishing or correcting your work. I am truly interested in your own thoughts expressed in your own words using your own unique voice and these tools obscure or eliminate that. If you need help with any aspect of your notes, outline, or essay writing, I urge you to consult with the UMD Writer's Workshop for high quality human assistance. 

Each Personal Essay should be developed and written completely within a single Google Doc. Your Google Doc should start with the preparation you do before actually writing your Personal Essay. This will include preparing notes from our source materials, and then organizing those into an outline that will make sure you are addressing all the elements of our essay prompt. Make sure you finish your notes before you start writing your outline, and then finish your outline before starting your Personal Essay. Do not start your notes, outline, or essay somewhere else and then copy and paste them into your Google Doc. If you are curious as to why we follow this process please see the more detailed explanation at the bottom of this page.

Each Personal Essay should be at least 500 words long. Given this brief length please do not include an introduction or conclusion that simply repeats content present in the body of the essay. 

If you would like to use a spelling or grammar checker you should use the spelling and grammar checker available in Google Docs. Please do not use any other automated tools in preparing your notes, outline, or 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 edit. This lets me see your version history which shows me the steps you followed from the start of your notes to the completion of your essay. 

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

1. Your NOTES are detailed and provide complete coverage of the source material. Your notes are in bullet point format and not written as summaries or in paragraph form. Your notes include all requested details such as page numbers, time stamps etc. depending on the source material. 

2. Your OUTLINE provides a clear roadmap for how you will write your essay. Your outline includes specific content that addresses all the elements of the essay prompt. Your outline follows a traditional itemized format and is not written as a summary or in paragraph form.

3. Your ESSAY is personal, and could really have only been written by you. This should be reflected in both the content and the style of your essay. You did not use any AI or automated tools beyond the spelling and grammar checker in Google Docs.  

4. Your ESSAY is specific and does not rely on being vague or using generic ideas. Your essay is above the minimum word count of 500 words 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. Your essay could be read and easily understood by someone who is not in our class.

Personal Essays submitted or modified after the deadline will be graded according to the Late Work policy in our Syllabus. Do not modify your essay after the submission deadline (or it will be considered late based on the date of the most recent edit).

Why Do Personal Essays Require Notes, an Outline, AND an Essay?

The Personal Essays that are assigned are designed to assess not only your final written essay, but also the information gathering, organizing, and thinking process that leads you there.

• The NOTES show that you actively and carefully engaged with the source material for the essay. 

• The OUTLINE ensures that your ideas are well organized and that you have a clear plan of how you will respond to each part of the essay prompt before you start writing.

• The ESSAY allows you to bring your ideas together and then interpret and reflect on them in a thoughtful and well-supported way using your own words and ideas.

The goal of these Personal Essays is to assess both your understanding of the material and the process by which you arrive at your conclusions, not just the final written essay. If you are unclear about any aspect of this process you are always welcome to consult with the UMD Writers Workshop about any aspect of creating your notes, outline, or essay.