Staring at a blank page and a life full of stories? Here is how to write a personal essay: pick one focused experience, tell it as a scene, and state what it taught you in a single sentence.
For the wider picture, read our writing and language basics and then come back here for the personal essay itself.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Steps in a simple narrative structure | 8 steps |
| Lesson to state | One sentence |
| Story scope | One scene or one focused experience |
| Point of view | First person |
| Usual tense | Mostly past tense |
These figures come from the guides at The Write Practice and Davenport University Library Guides. Advice and conventions can change, so check the sources before you rely on them.
What a personal essay actually is
A personal essay recounts an experience from your own life and gives it a point. The Write Practice guide stresses that it is not your entire life story, but a small slice of life that was significant, as that guide explains.
Writers.com adds that nearly all personal essays show a transformation in the writer that comes from the experience being described. That change is what turns a memory into an essay, as the Writers.com guide puts it.
Most personal essays share a few traits:
- A first-person point of view
- Vivid descriptions of people, places and moments
- Emotional resonance, so the reader feels why it mattered
- A message, lesson or insight you took from the experience
You may see the terms personal essay and personal narrative essay used for the same thing. Writers.com treats them as often synonymous. The good news is that this kind of essay does not require research, because you already know your own experience.
Choosing a topic that fits one scene
The most common mistake is aiming too wide. A topic like “my childhood” cannot fit in an essay, while a single afternoon on a school field can. The Write Practice suggests a story from your life built around one scene or one focused experience.
If you feel your life is too ordinary, the same guide disagrees. The experience does not have to be flashy or newsworthy; it only has to have changed you or helped you see yourself or the world differently.
These prompts from The Write Practice can help you build a short list:
- Tell us about a moment that left a mark, physical or emotional.
- Think about the activity you love most and list its most memorable moments, such as a first time, a success or a failure.
- Recall a time you won or lost, or felt you did, when the experience was as gratifying as the outcome.
Then look for a unique angle. The Davenport guide contrasts a generic claim that your mother influenced you most with a specific person and a specific lesson, such as a high school math teacher who taught that goals are within reach. Specific beats general almost every time.
Structuring the story in eight steps
You do not need a complicated plan. The Write Practice guide offers a simple structure with 8 steps that moves from a problem to a lesson, as its author lays out.
- Begin with a character (you) in a setting with a problem.
- Show who else is there and why, using sensory details.
- Show how you try, and possibly fail, to solve the problem or reach the goal.
- Repeat the try and fail cycle as needed, with dialogue and details that make each scene vivid.
- Build to a crisis point, the moment a decision is presented, and think about what you stand to gain and lose.
- Write the climax, the choice you made or the high point.
- Write the denouement, what happened as a result of that choice.
- Finish with a few sentences explaining the significance of the experience.
Not every essay needs every step in full. A short piece may compress the middle, but the shape of problem, attempt, choice and meaning still holds.
Opening your essay
Some assignments ask for a formal introduction; if yours does, write one. Otherwise, the same guide prefers to jump in with the story and grab the reader from the first line.
A strong opening shows a person in a place with a problem. Davenport’s guide makes a similar point: a hook with a specific moment draws readers in better than a general statement of passion.
Keeping the essay focused and ending well
Focus is what separates an essay from a ramble. Davenport’s guide tells writers not to go off on tangents and to make sure everything relates to the point they are trying to make.
If you are writing for a publication, a quick outline helps. The Institute for Writers advice is to tighten your focus when an outline shows you cannot cover everything within the designated word count, as that article says.
Writers.com notes that personal essays include a thesis statement and a conclusion, even though they tell a story. If you want to sharpen that central idea, our guide on how to write a thesis statement shows how to phrase it.
For the ending, you do not have to summarize the story or repeat the lesson over and over. Connect the story to its meaning, then turn toward the purpose of the essay.
Davenport’s guide gives similar advice: do not simply state what you have already said, but explain how the experience helped you learn, grow or change.
How personal is too personal?
Many writers wonder where the line sits. The Institute for Writers points out that writing about your own struggles may be cathartic, while writing about someone else’s without getting their approval first may make them uncomfortable or angry.
The same article adds that there are potential legal issues in writing about matters another person may prefer to keep private. If you have doubts, it suggests consulting an attorney, which is outside what a writing guide can answer.
A practical habit helps here. Ask yourself who else appears in the story, and whether you would be comfortable if they read it.
Revising and sending it out
A first draft is for getting the story down. The Davenport guide separates drafting from revising and editing: draft for content first, then reread to meet your reader’s needs, and only then check spelling and grammar.
Use this checklist before you call it finished:
- Is the point of view consistent from start to finish?
- Is the tense consistent? Personal essays are mostly written in the past tense, since they usually cover past experiences.
- Does every scene serve the central idea?
- Have you read it aloud and cut what drags?
- Have a couple of people proofread it and suggest changes to the content?
Surface errors distract from an honest story, so a read through our notes on common grammar mistakes is a useful last pass.
If you plan to submit, follow the publication’s guidelines. The Institute for Writers lists topics inappropriate for the publication, topics written about frequently, and exceeding the designated word count among the quickest routes to rejection, according to its article.
Frequently asked questions
Should a personal essay be written in the first person?
Show answer
Yes. Personal essays are written from your own point of view, and the Davenport guide recommends the first person and consistency in point of view and tense throughout.
Do I need to do research before I start?
Show answer
Generally no. The Write Practice notes that a personal narrative does not require any research, since you are drawing on your own experience.
Should I start with an introduction or with the story?
Show answer
If your assignment requires an introduction, write one. Otherwise, jumping straight into a scene with a character, a setting and a problem is a strong way to hook readers.
Is a personal essay the same as a personal narrative essay?
Show answer
The terms are often used as synonyms. Writers.com treats them that way in its guide, and both describe a true story from your life that carries a lesson.
