Personal Writing
Personal Narrative
Personal narratives are often one of the first types of writing that you do. You write about
yourself and experiences that you have encountered, read, or heard about. You can
become much more engaged when your write about yourself in personal narratives
because you are the expert on the topic of your life.
When you write stories from your own experience, you already have a plot.
Your job will be to make the story interesting - as interesting for your reader as it was for
you when it happened. Lots of description, lots of action, and lots of dialogue will help
your reader feel what you felt.
Personal Memoir
History or record composed from personal observation and experience. Closely related
to autobiography, a memoir differs chiefly in the degree of emphasis on external events.
Unlike writers of autobiography, who are concerned primarily with themselves as subject
matter, writers of memoir usually have played roles in, or have closely observed,
historical events, and their main purpose is describing or interpreting those events.
As a literary genre, a memoir (from the Latin memoria, meaning "memory") forms a
subclass of autobiography, although it is an older form of writing. Memoirs may appear
less structured and less encompassing than formal autobiographical works as they are
usually about part of a life, often a public part, rather than the chronological telling of a
life from childhood to adulthood/old age. Most memoirs are written from the first person
point of view.
Gore Vidal, in his memoir Palimpsest, adds another clarifying point for separating
memoir from autobiography. He writes that "a memoir is how one remembers one's own
life, while an autobiography is history, requiring research, dates, facts double-checked."
It is more about what can be gleaned from a section of one's life than about the outcome
of the life as a whole.
Personal Essay
In a personal essay, you share a story from your life and your current thoughts about it.
You are to answer the question: “How has this situation affected me?” Your reader
wants to see depth of your thoughts and fair reasoning, as well as enthusiasm and
devotion to your field of study. A good personal essay is an effective essay. It reveals
both factual and personal aspects of topic. Your perspective audience expects you to
construct and prove your point of view on some definite subject with the help of the
acquired knowledge and experience.
Personal Expressive Writing
Uses 1st person point of view – I
Includes Narrative Story
Includes Reflection from the Writer
PERSONAL
NARRATIVE
PERSONAL MEMOIR
PERSONAL ESSAY
Focuses on a singular,
significant event
Focuses on the
significant of a
relationship with a
person, place, animal, or
object
Focuses on a central
idea
Has details that explains
and emphasize the
experience
Reflection is added with
the details that
emphasize the
importance of the event
Uses details to
emphasize the
importance of the
relationship
Uses reflection and
details so that the reader
can see the value of the
relationship
Uses events from the
writer’s life to add details
and to explain
Uses facts and details to
back up writer’s idea and
thoughts on the central
idea
Uses broad reflection
and specific details tied
to the central idea
Think about…
An achievement or accomplishment that you are most proud of. Why do you consider it
an accomplishment?
An obstacle or challenge you have overcome. How did you overcome it?
A skill or hobby that makes you unique from many of your classmates. How did you
develop it?
A time in your life when you tried hard but failed at a task/job/challenge. How could you
have been more successful?
A personality trait or characteristic that you have discovered about yourself. Would your
family and/or peers say they notice this trait in you?
A book, movie, or work of art that you enjoy(ed). What attracted you?
Something that really bugs you, ticks you off. Why is it a big deal to you?
The best advice you ever received. How has it helped you?
A role model, hero, or heroine of yours. Why do you admire that person?
An event that has directly influenced your approach to life. Why and how?
A favorite/significant childhood experience. Why is it still important to you?