Reading a Personal Essay

You've probably written many personal narratives over the course of your schooling, but this may be your first personal essay. Instead of focusing on one brief event in your life, you will focus on a series of events over a longer period. As a result, you'll need to be selective about what events you report, and you'll need to tie them together so that they create a clear narrative arc. You can get a sense of how to do so by reading another student's personal essay.

Reading a Student Model

Read the following personal essay, in which Carson reflects on a winter of discontent and the surprising creative outlet that he discovered. Note how he zooms in to specific events with description and dialogue before zooming out with transition sentences to show the progress of time. Click on the side notes to see the different features of this personal essay.

Warm-Up for Personal Essays

What is your very first memory? Was it splashing in a bathtub with little plastic boats, or sharing a cookie with the kid who lived next door, or seeing a reindeer in a holiday parade? People say that your very first memory says a lot about who you are. Why? Because the experience meant something to you at the time and still means something to you now—since you've held onto it all these years.

In fact, the reason we can't remember our earliest years is that we hadn't yet begun to develop what psychologists call autobiographical memory. You probably learned to walk when you were very young but have no memory of it. That's because you didn't start to fashion a mental narrative of your life until you were about three years old. At that point, you started remembering experiences because they helped to explain who you are. Your very sense of self is tied to the memories you have and the stories you tell about them.

You can explore an especially important period in your life by writing a personal essay.

What Is a Personal Essay?

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A personal essay is a narrative about an important time in your life, showing how it shaped who you are. Instead of focusing on just one event, a personal essay relates a number of events over an extended time frame, weaving them together into a "story of you." It won't be enough just to put details in chronological order—first this happened . . . then that happened . . . and afterward this other thing. . . . Instead, you need to show the significance of each event and build them into a narrative arc. You'll learn how in the coming lessons. First, though, you can warm up by imagining you have a time machine.

Thinking About Your Past

In the book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, chronic overachiever Hermione Granger uses a "time-turner" to jump back in time and attend a second class while her first self was busy studying in a different class. Now imagine that you have your own time-turner—but you won't be using it to attend classes.

Also, your time-turner works a bit differently. It takes you back to relive three months of your life. You don't watch yourself from the outside. You experience everything again, only this time with your memories of the future riding along. What time period would you choose? Why?

You can use a cluster to explore possible times. Think of "seasons of your life" (approximately three months) and write down at least three such time periods. Then explore each season by adding images, thoughts, actions, and sensations. Use this student cluster as inspiration:

Editing for Comma Usage

A comma creates a slight pause, gently separating the idea that comes before from the idea that comes after. This little separation help readers understand how words relate to each other. For example, a comma can show a reader how two or more adjectives work in front of a noun.

To Separate Equal Adjectives

Use a comma to separate two or more adjectives if they modify a noun in an equal way. Do not use a comma if the adjectives modify the noun in an unequal way.

How can you determine if adjectives are equal or unequal? Use one or both of these simple tests:

• If you can switch the order of the adjectives and they still sound right, they modify equally and need a comma.

  I have a challenging, difficult job.

• If the word and works between the adjectives, they modify equally and need a comma.

  I have a difficult and challenging job. I have a difficult, challenging job.

To Set Off Introductory Clauses and Phrases

Use a comma after an introductory clause or a long introductory phrase. The comma helps the reader know when the introduction is over and the main part of the sentence is beginning. If an introductory phrase is very short (three words or fewer), the comma is optional.

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

Start your analysis with a lead that gets readers' attention and introduces them to the piece of literature you will analyze. After your lead sentence, you will develop a paragraph that ends with your thesis statement.

1. Name the work and author and summarize the main conflict.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor tells the story of a young girl who learns how to fight discrimination and injustice.

2. Quote something interesting a character said.

Cassie Logan will never forget something her dad once told her about the land they own and live on. “All that belongs to you. You ain’t never had to live on nobody’s place but your own and long as I live and the family survives, you’ll never have to. That’s important. You may not understand that now, but one day you will.”

3. Provide a historical fact about the work.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was one of the first young adult books to not shy away from life's harsh realities.

4. Ask an interesting question.

How can you stand up for yourself in an unjust society?

Prewriting to Select a Work

Your teacher may assign a certain work of literature for you to analyze, or you may get to choose your own. If you need to choose between multiple works, create a chart to gather topic ideas. Then select the topic for your analysis.

Prewriting to Focus on Literary Elements

All fiction has a number of common elements: characters, plot, setting, and theme. You can ask questions about each element to gather details about the work you chose. You may need to reread portions of the work in order to fully answer qustions.

Reading a Literary Analysis

Before you begin working on your own analysis, it's helpful to read how another student analyzed a piece of literature.

Reading a Student Model

This sample focuses on the character arc of Junior from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. As you read the sample, pay close attention to how the writer describes changes in the character by citing examples from the text. Then consider how the writer connects those changes to larger lessons about life. Click on the side notes for a closer look at the key features.

Sample Literary Analysis

Warm-Up for Literary Analyses

What is the purpose of literature? That’s a BIG question. The ancient Roman poet Horace answered it in simple but powerful terms. He said literature should “instruct and delight.” Centuries later, novelists, poets, teachers, and scholars still invoke Horace’s words when creating and studying literature.

The feeling of delight is obvious when you get lost in a really good book. However, the instructional value of a story or poem is not always immediately evident. You have to read closely and critically to discover teachable moments. This is the main challenge of writing a literary analysis.

What Is a Literary Analysis?

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In a literary analysis, you explore one or more important features in a piece of literature. For example, you could trace how the main character changes in a story, or you could discuss how a theme develops. Analyses usually deal with the main elements of literature—plot, character, setting, and theme.

The lessons in this unit will help you learn from and delight in a book of your choosing. Your goal is to share something important that you have learned through your reading and analyzing. You should base the ideas in your analysis on specific evidence from the text. You will likely need to reread portions of the text to focus your ideas. Then you will present the results of your work in a carefully planned essay.

Thinking About Conflict

Let's face it: conflict is compelling . . . and not just the physical variety. Battling and defeating thoughts and feelings can be just as dramatic as fighting a group of ninjas. In literature, conflict fuels the drama, excitement, and suspense that make readers want to keep on reading.

Characters in literature tend to face both internal and external conflicts. On a micro level, characters commonly face at least one of these five types of literary conflict:

• Character vs. Self

Cody wants to try out for the school musical but worries that he’s not talented enough and that joining the musical might hurt his reputation. Cody battles with himself about whether or not to try out.

• Character vs. Character

Cody decides to try out. He faces off with Phil for a role. Cody and Phil are in conflict with each other.

• Character vs. Society

When Cody joins the musical, his friends on the basketball team shut him out, while the regular theater kids shun him for being a jock. Cody is in conflict with the social stereotype that athletes can’t be artistic.

• Character vs. Nature

During rehearsal, a tornado rips through the town. The cast members have to take shelter in the basement, while the auditorium is destroyed. Nature conflicts with Cody’s aspirations.

• Character vs. Fate/Supernatural

Ghosts of performances past appear to Cody, chanting, “The show must go on! The show must go on!” The supernatural creates a new set of obstacles.

Editing Common Comma Errors

In the last lesson, you learned how to combine sentences to improve the flow of your writing. In this lesson, you'll review how to avoid three common comma errors that can occur when you combine sentences.

1. Missing Comma in a Compound Sentence: When you combine two sentences (independent clauses) using a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet), always place a comma before the conjunction.

   Manuel gave swimming lessons to Sam, and Lupita coaxed him into the wave pool.

   Note: Without the comma, this compound sentence could be misread as "Manuel gave swimming lessons to Sam and Lupita . . .

2. Missing Comma in a Series: Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses, in a series.

   I want to thank my parents, Spock, and Serena Williams.

   Note: Without the final comma, this sentence could be misread as "I want to thank my parents, Spock and Serena Williams (the parents are Spock and Serena Williams?).

3. Missing Comma After Long Introductory Phrases or Clauses: Place a comma after a long introductory phrases or clauses before the main part of sentence.

   In the middle of the night, the neighborhood was usually very quiet.

   When I heard a thump and shout, the pounding of my heart filled the room.

   Note: Without the comma, the opening clause gets confused with the subject: "a thump and shout the pounding of my heart . .&nbsp."