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Essay #1:
Self-Inquiry
UMSL
ENG3100/Section M01
Explanation: In honing our writing skills, we simultaneously fine tune our critical thinking processes. In
the scope of this course, we begin by investigating the most basic of questions of critical analysis: How
do we know who we are and how does self knowledge influence the ways in which we decide how we
know what we know? In searching for the answer(s) to the first part of this question, we have read
essays and discussed various means of knowing ourselves including identification of self through the
physical body, our relationships to others, and even through our languages and literature.
Another method we’ve used in discovery of self is the exploration of other people’s means of knowing
who they are. That is, we have read the essays of various authors who depict the ways in which they
define themselves. In so doing, we are reminded of similar discoveries in our own lives.
The next step in knowing who we are is writing about our identities and/or the discovery process
thereof. As in contemplation, writing results in discovery; it reveals answers. You may believe that you
have thoroughly analyzed the self when you begin your essay only to find that you discover even more
in the process of writing. Thus, writing, like its counterpart critical analysis, leads to discovery— leads to
the knowledge of who you are. Ironic, no?
Assignment: Write a coherent, 5 – 7 page scholarly essay that explores some aspect of your identity,
thereby showing your readers who you are. Your essay should be well-developed, maintain a narrow
focus (i.e., create a theme regarding one aspect of self-identify), adhere to APA format, and it must
demonstrate that you possess the writing skills of an upper division college student.
In essence, by reading your essay, your audience should be able to ascertain who you are and how you
arrived at that identity.
Method: In writing the Self-Inquiry essay, you will first, like the authors you have read thus far this
semester, contemplate the reasons you have become the person you are today. Questions you may
consider include the following: Does some physical advantage or disadvantage create my perception of
self? Or, is my relationship to society more influential? Did my religious upbringing, my career
experiences, my cultural barriers/advantages, etc. create my Self. Perhaps I belong to a group, by choice
or by birth, that determines who I am? Perhaps moving from one region of the country/planet to
another helped me realize how influenced I was by the colloquial expressions and other language
variances that had been my norms? What significant events changed my life—forever changed how I
viewed the world? Or, has some seemingly small, insignificant incident invoked my identity? Am I my
culture? Where do my cultural self and my individual self divide or merge? What are the lenses through
which I view the world?
After you have contemplated your Self, you will begin drafting your essay. You may use any of the
rhetorical modes and/or other writing methods/techniques of your preference in constructing this
nonfiction essay. You may also want to review the essays we’ve read in this course to see how other
authors approached this assignment. Note not only their subject matter, but their tone, techniques
(metaphor, repetition, etc.), voice, etc. You may wish to use similar techniques or style in your essay.
Also, remember to employ the revision method of writing: RE-VISION means seeing it again so that you
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make content changes to improve the essay. It means trying to “see” the essay as a reader does in order
to clarify, delete, expand, etc. various parts of the essay in order to convey the meaning you intend.
Last, edit for correctness, paying particular attention to common and/or major errors such as
pronoun/antecedent agreement, parallelism—or lack thereof, shift in perspective, verb tense shifts,
sentence fragments (unless intentional for emphasis), run-ons, etc.
Evaluation:
Focus:
Your essay clearly focuses on self-inquiry. In particular, you develop a
thesis or a theme that explains a particular aspect of your identity
and your essay supports that thesis and/or remains on that theme
without undue digression.
Format:
Your essay is typed, double-spaced, in APA format. You may use Calibri
or Times New Roman font, 10 or 12 point.
Correctness:
Your essay is “clean,” free of major errors in grammar, punctuation,
spelling, usage, etc.
Coherence:
Your essay is well-developed. You communicate your points clearly.
Your writing is refined and displays writing proficiency at the upper
division collegiate level.
As always, should you have questions or concerns about this assignment, please feel free to contact me.