5 Steps to Writing the Perfect Personal Essay

Introduction

Are you preparing for a personal essay and do not know where to begin? Well, you are in the right place. This article will guide you in writing a near-perfect essay. Go through all the steps and learn how to nail an essay that will grab your teacher’s attention.

Find Inspiration and Ideas

It is common to be confused when deciding about a topic. It would be best if you look for inspiration and diverse ideas that will get your brain running. Search for examples of personal essays. However, do not get tempted to copy phrases or ideas from them. Once you go through all the examples, start jotting down points that you want to include in your essay. Do not hold back as this is just the brainstorming part. It is okay if the ideas are not connected. However, keep in mind that personal essays are autobiographical. Please do not write anything untrue to spice it up or add weight. You can take help from your parents and friends, who can tell you more about your personality, along with suggestions. These points can then be added to the essay. You can also take help from EssayWritingService by looking at some sample essays.

Create an essay outline

Once you have decided on the idea and the points that you are going to include in your essay, you will then have to move on to the essay writing steps. An essay outline is essential to have flow and coherence in the essay. Always remind yourself that an essay has three main parts: Introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Most of the time, there are three body paragraphs. They are more than enough for a personal essay.

For the introduction, always start with a hook or an attention grabber. It can be a quote or an incident. It will help in grabbing the reader’s interest as it will make them want to read more. The body paragraphs will be used to inform the readers about your topic. Every paragraph should be different and should have its idea. The conclusion should give an overview of what you have written. It is never a good idea to introduce or say something new at the end as it is intended to wrap things up and sum up your topic. The personal essay outline method will keep you focused and will give you direction. In this way, you will not deviate from the topic.

Write the Body, Then the Introduction

When you are following the steps to an essay, never skip this step. It is truly a lifesaver! Once you have developed the outline, you will then begin writing the actual personal essay. Start by writing the bulky body paragraphs. Try your best to develop coherence and maintain flow in them. It not only helps you in getting done with the difficult part first but also helps in writing a fantastic introduction. You can pick out the essential ideas from the three main body paragraphs and include them in your introduction. It will ensure that all the body paragraphs are in line with the introduction.

Use Your Vocabulary

Just as I told you earlier that you should never copy someone else’s work or ideas, try to be 100% unique so that your essay can stand out among all. It would be best if you use your vocabulary. Do not use overly optimistic adjectives about yourself. It is because you should not lie in your essay. Your choice of words will determine the overall theme of the essay. Always remember that each word counts and matters. It is one of those personal essay tips that, when skipped, can result in essay rejection.

The language you use in the essay should be well suited to the topic or the main idea. Use powerful words that help in making your ideas clearer to the reader. An example of this can be of say, “As a child, I used to carry my briefcase and pretended to be a CEO of a company,” rather than saying, “I used to carry briefcase as a child.” The former shows the person’s interest in becoming a CEO, whereas the latter does not. The second statement is vague. I mean, every child can carry a briefcase around the house. Include all your senses in your writing and be descriptive.

Write the Conclusion

When you search for “how to write a personal essay,” the steps that show up do not always emphasize the conclusion. It is one of the primary reasons students get fewer marks on their essays, or their essays end up being rejected. Students underestimate the power of the four to five strong sentences that help in ending your essay. Your conclusion brings closure and sums up your thoughts. It is the last chance that you get to impress your reader. Just like you start strong by writing a compelling introduction, you must finish strong as well. You must reinstate the purpose or the main idea that you are writing about in your essay. The best way of doing it is to summarize all the points from the body paragraphs and write them in sequence.

Bonus Tip:

Since we are talking about personal writing, I wanted to tell you about a crucial step. Do not sit back and relax after writing an essay. This Bonus tip will make a massive difference in the outcome.

Always Proofread

After you write your conclusion, now comes the time to proofread your work as your work is still incomplete and needs some final touches. Always start by checking the order of the paragraphs. Read your essay outline to see if the sentence structure is correct. Check for grammatical and spelling mistakes. Punctuations make a huge difference. Incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence, so look out for such mistakes. You can also get a fresh perspective by asking someone to review your work.

In this way, you can get honest feedback if any idea is not working or if there are any errors that you have missed. You can also fix the flow of the paragraphs and add words to make your ideas more transparent. A lot can be done in this step, so I would suggest that you never miss it. You can use it for all kinds of essays and assignments. It helps in making your work shine.

Conclusion

Writing a personal essay can be a real challenge, as you would not know where to begin. However, by going through all these steps and the bonus tip, you can become a pro. So, when you are writing an essay, use this article as a guide for producing an excellent piece of work.

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