Personal Writing
Personal Writing is one of the most important skills you will learn throughout the course of the Standard Grade. Not only do you have to write a personal essay as a part of your Folio, but you are also advised to write a personal essay in your final exam.
The good thing about personal writing is that it is probably one of the easiest activities you will be asked to do in English! You don't have to read a poem, a novelor a play, you don't have to remember any quotations or literary techniques, nor do you have to spend hours researching the topic on the internet or in books.
All you need to do is recall an incident from your past, think it through in as much detail as possible, and then write about it. In fact, you do not even need to betotally honest; you can embellish and exaggerate things for dramatic effect!
Personal essays are by far the best essays for you to attempt in the exam, as YOU are the ideal person to write about an incident from YOUR life. The events you write about actually happened to YOU, so no one can tell you it is right or wrong.
The skill in personal writing lies in your ability to make the essay interesting. In this unit, you will learn these skills and you should be able to apply them to any personal essay you write in the future: i.e. Int.1/2/Higher.
- Get to the point
Even though the events happened to you, you must remember to stick to the point. Plan out the event you want to discuss, think about the turning point in the essay, and then where it will end. It is easy to ramble for pages and pages about what you had for breakfast and why you decided to do the dishes etc. For that reason it is VITAL that you have a plan for the essay in your mind and that you know exactly where it is going.
It may seems obvious, but many people simply do not structure a personal piece - so ensure that your essay has:
* A BEGINNING
* A TURNING POINT/ A CLIMAX / A MAIN EVENT
* A CONCLUSION.
- Details
Details are very important in personal writing, they are what bring the story to life in your reader's imagination. However, you only need to provide details of what is important and moves the story forward.
Example:
It was the start of the summer holidays so I decided to go swimming with my
friends. We walked in to the leisure centre and we stood in line. The woman said
"Next.” I was next so I went up to her and stood at the counter. I took my purse
out of my bag and I opened it, I then looked for the right money. I didn't have
the right money so I had to give her a fiver. She took the fiver and then she
started to count out the change. Then she gave me the right change and I stood
and waited for my friends to pay. My friend was next. She opened her bag and
took out her purse…
This is an example of someone going in to too much irrelevant detail. None of that is important - and it is not very interesting to read! When you are asked to include details, it means descriptive and varied language that moves the events on.
Better example:
We stood outside the leisure centre as a wave of excitement washed over us. It
was the first day of the summer holidays and we intended to spend it luxuriating
in the pool and having a laugh with our friends. We bustled into the changing
rooms, having paid our way in for the entire afternoon ! It was a scorching hot day
outside, and the cool water was refreshing on our skin as we dipped our toes in
the pool.
This includes a lot of detail, but it is more interesting and it does not waste time on unimportant information. It moves the story on quickly, and gets to the point.
- Literary Techniques
While you do not have to discuss or dissect any literary techniques, it often makes your essay more interesting if you include a few techniques to improve the language.
You should consider the following:
Simile -I was as white as a sheet,
Metaphor - He was a cheeky monkey,
Alliteration - She weakly whispered that she was hurt.
Personification - The tree danced in the wind,
Onomatopoeia - The book crashed to the floor,
Oxymoron - It was a bitter sweet reunion,
Irony - The room was almost empty, this was going to be agreat party!
Extended Metaphor - (To stretch the metaphor over a whole sentence or paragraph.)
Life is a roller coaster, it has its ups and downs. When I walked in the room and saw them I felt as though I was plummetingthrough many turns, loops and dips.
Word Choice - Just think about the words you use, and why you might choose a different word. Rather than repeating the same word. Try to vary it.
‘I was happy' - 'It made me very happy' - 'It was a happy day’.
Instead say:
‘I was ecstatic' –‘It made me delirious' - 'It was a phenomenal day.' (You can use a
dictionary and a thesaurus.)
You do not need to include all of these in a personal essay, but if you think about
the words you use be assured that it will make your essay much more remarkable!
Task
In your jotter, give me an example of each of the techniques listed above.
For 'Word Choice' I want you to write 3 different ways of saying ‘I was sad.'
4 Thoughts & Feelings
A personal essay must have EMOTIONAL DEPTH; you must include thoughts and feelings and put some of yourself in to the work, otherwise the essay will be flat and boring and lacking any genuine feeling.
• Look at the following 2 passages. They both talk about the same situation, however one has no thoughts or feelings included - the other is full of the writer's emotions.
1. It was my first day at the new school. My mum took me to the head teacher's room
and then we went upstairs so I could join my new class. I was told to sit beside a
boy at the window.
- I’ll never forget my first day at the new school. As my mum and I climbed the stairs
to the head teacher's room I was trembling from head to toe.
"You don't need to hold my hand so tightly” laughed my mother. I looked up at her
smiling face. I was scowling. After all, they had wanted to move house, not me!
She and my father had dragged me away from the places and friends I had known,
and forced me to step in to the unknown.
The head teacher was much younger than the one at my old School. She seemed
friendlier too. Speaking in hushed tones, she led my mother and me up another
flight of stairs to a corridor that was surprisingly quiet. We stopped at a door. The
head teacher gestured to the teacher within, who waved back and approached us
smiling. She was young, with short red hair and a pale freckled face. She opened
the door and two dozen sets of eyes were examining us from inside the
classroom. Or rather, examining me.
I stared at my feet until my mother tugged at my hand. "Right Jennifer, time for me
to go." She beamed brightly at the two teachers and then suddenly she was
backing off down the corridor.
My new teacher led me into my new classroom. She glanced swiftly around the
class then told me to sit beside a boy over at the window. Like the others in the
class, the boy had been staring at me; but now as I approached him, he turned
away as I sat down.
There is no doubt that the second version has more depth. It includes the girl’s thoughts and feelings, as well as interesting details which carry the storyforward.
Task One
Looking at the following list of emotions:
Nervous
Angry
Tense
Lonely
Worried
Jennifer feels all of these emotions at various points in the story.
For each of them, find a quote from the passage that indicates the feeling.
e.g.
Nervous - "I was trembling from head to toe."
Task Two
Answer the following questions.
- What does Jennifer's mother say to her in paragraph 2 that shows us she is very
nervous?
- What phrase in the same paragraph tells us that Jennifer was doing something
new?
- What are the differences between the head teacher at her old school and this
new one?
- What phrase in paragraph 3 tells us that the head teacher and the mother are
speaking quietly?
- Jennifer tells us that the corridor was "surprisingly quiet." Why do you think
She mentions this?
- Her mother "beamed brightly." What technique is this? Why is it more
interesting than saying, 'her mother smiled?’
Task Three
Write a BRIEF PARAGRAPH about a time you were nervous.
Remember:
Get to the point & explain why you were nervous,
Include your thoughts & feelings.
Include details.
Include at least 3 different literary techniques.
5 Beginning & End
The Introduction and Conclusion are very important and they must be strong. As with 'Get to the Point' you must be sure to structure your essay and have a clear idea of where it is going -
for this reason it is vital that you have an interesting and attention grabbing Introduction and Conclusion.
For example:
"Hey you!" my mother shouted, "Get up out of your lazy bed!" I rubbed my eyes and tried to focus on the alarm clock. It was so early that it hadn't even gone off. My bedroom door squeaked open as I looked up to my mum's fuzzy face through my sleep filled eyes.
"C'mon you,"she smiled, "we're off to Spaín today!"
"That’s right I forgot, "I grinned. I could hardly contain my excitement!
Is much more interesting than:
I woke up very early as my mum woke me. I was very happy as we were going to Spain that day.
The same idea applies to a conclusion. Whether it is in class when you have time to re-draft, or in an exam when you only have an hour or so - you should think about how your essay will end.
Don't run out of time and end it abruptly, or just let it fizzle out leaving the reader thinking 'So what ?' or 'Is that it ?'
Good Example:
I couldn't quite believe it was over. The past few weeks had been sea and sun filled, and I’d made so many new friends. I sighed deeply as I trudged up the aeroplane steps: turning round l took one final look at the country I had embraced as my home for two glorious weeks. Slumping in to my seat I glanced out of the window and smiled. In a few hours I would be back in Sunny Glasgow and boring normality, but for as long as it had lasted, what a blast it had been!
Is a more detailed and descriptive conclusion than,
Bad Example:
It had been really good and now it was over. I got on the plane back home. I was very sad.
All in all, a personal essay is the best type of essay for you to tackle in an exam, and it should be the easiest way to get a good Grade for a Folio piece. However, youmust put in some effort to make it is varied and interesting as possible. Don't just retell events; use the ideas above to make it something special!
copy into your JOTTER
A personal essay should do the following:
l. Get to the point
2. Include interesting details
3. Use different Literary Techniques
4. Describe Thoughts & Feelings
5. Have a strong Beginning & End.