Friday: Writing Strong Personal Essays

To Start:

• Identify and reflect on your top three core values.
• Think of someone influential in your life, who helped instill those values in you.
• In your starter document, tell me about them:
  • ​Who are they?
  • How have they influenced you?
  • How did they demonstrate the value(s)?
  • What did would they say about the value(s)?

Classwork:

• Notes on What Makes a Strong Personal Essay
  • Hint: Read this! These notes are fair game for a quiz next week.
• Critique of This I Believe model essays:
  • "Accomplishing Big Things in Small Pieces"
  • "The American Dream Lives on"
  • "Essentials to Happiness"
  • ​"The Real Me"
• In small groups, discuss:
  • What is the authors belief?
  • Is it a narrative or a memoir?
  • Does the author have an authentic voice? Why or why not?
  • Is this a coherent narrative? Why or why not?
  • Does this piece have communal relevance? Why or why not?

Homework:

• Finish starters for this week.
  • If you are deep and thoughtful, it's okay if you have fewer than five formative experiences, or don't answer every single question about your influential person.
  • If you answer with the bare minimum you won't get credit, even if you do list five experience or answer every single question.
• Retake your syllabus quiz, if needed.
• Get your syllabus signed, if needed.