I originally wrote this handout to help my WRTG 2090 students with their personal essays delivered in audio format.
Characteristics of Good Personal Essays
Here are some of the characteristics of “good” personal essays from our class brainstorming session:
- genuine and honest; reflects writer’s thoughts and feelings and what they care about
- makes a personal connection with readers
- follows some recognizable pattern of organization
- appropriate word choice (to your topic and your audience); not too formal or technical
- detailed and vivid descriptions; painting a picture (or “mental movie”) in the readers’ minds
- creative ways of describing events, places, etc.
- draws the reader in
- not overtly argumentative or one-sided
- explain why you hold the beliefs or opinions hold
From brainstorming by previous students:
- writer’s personal experience (and opinion or perspective) — in first person
- concrete details, vivid language, story telling techniques
- use specific examples from experience (rather than vague generalizations)
- making connections with the audience (imagination and emotion)
- authentic and engaged voice (cares about topic and inspires readers to care)
- clear structure and purpose (not rambling)
- extended stories from personal experience (examples from your life or friends/family)
- use examples to illustrate larger concepts (rather than discussing concepts in vague terms)
- some analysis of experience: what does it mean in light of purpose of essay?
- sense of closure: answer the “so what” question
Characteristics of a Good Audio Recording
- speak with confidence
- enunciate clearly
- speak slowly
Characteristics of a Good Writing in General
Rhetorical Awareness
- attention to audience and purpose
Overall Structure
- beginning, middle, and end
- overall main point, central idea, thesis
Paragraph Structure
- new ideas go in new paragraphs
- varied sentence structure
- transitions between ideas to create a flow
- topic sentence: within first three sentences; sometimes the last sentence; but never the middle
Support/Examples
- plenty of support for points and concrete examples to illustrate ideas
Style
- appropriate to the audience and purpose
