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Personal Essay Writing
What is an essay?
An essay is a relatively short piece of prose (i.e. sentences and paragraphs, not poetry) non-fiction (i.e. true) writing expressing a writer’s thoughts about a particular topic. Some of the different forms of writing (text) we will be studying during this course will be: Graphic (pictures, Narrative (stories), Summaries (main Idea), Expository (informational), and Opinion (persuasive)
Write a personal essay in response to a quotation that you strongly agree with or disagree with, something that you find provocative, powerful, inspirational, moving, brilliant, insightful, creative, or witty. It could be something said by a famous historical figure, politician, writer, philosopher, poet, or novelist. It could be a quotation from a song or something said by a friend or relative. In your response, you may draw upon material you have read, or things you have learned from personal experience or study, or the media, but all information must be in your own words.
Write in complete sentences organized logically into paragraphs of related sentences with effective transitional words or phrases in between to connect your thoughts. Include an introduction and conclusion. You may use first-person pronouns
(i.e. I, me, my, mine), but do not use informal vocabulary or spelling
This diagnostic piece of writing will be used to assess your strengths and needs as a writer.
Length: 1 pages (approx. 250 words - typed)
Some Quotations to ‘get the creative juices flowing’
On Life
“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”
We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves”
“It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually.”
“Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone.”
“Maturity: Be able to stick with a job until it is finished. Be able to bear an injustice without having to get even. Be able to carry money without spending it. Do your duty without being supervised.”
On reading and writing
"There's many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher. -- Flannery O'Connor
"I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." -- Mark Twain
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them." -- Mark Twain
"I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I write and I understand." -- Chinese Proverb
“The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think.” --James McCosh
“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all of the miseries of life.” -- W. Somerset Maugham