How to Write a Personal Life History Essay
"Writing is about a blank piece of paper and leaving out what's not supposed to be there," says music legend John Prine. Although Prine is talking about songwriting, his credo is the secret to writing a powerful autobiographical essay. An autobiographical essay is a short nonfiction composition about your life---the key word being short. You can't include everything that's ever happened to you, so it's crucial to learn how to separate the meaningful from the mundane.
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Instructions
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Outline
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1
Choose a theme for your autobiographical essay. A clear theme such as "family," "heritage," "sports," "reading" or "overcoming fear" will make your essay cohesive and allow you to create dramatic tension.
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2
Create an outline. Using a pen, divide a piece of paper into three horizontal sections. Label the first section "childhood," the second section "teen years" and the third section "adult years." (Writers under the age of 17 will need only two sections.) In each section, write a chronological list of life events that pertain to your theme.
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Edit your list. To make your personal essay suspenseful, choose the events that hinge on a conflict, such an obstacle to be overcome or a choice to be made.
Write
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Describe an action. Write your introductory paragraph. You don't have to choose the first event on your list. Consider jumping into the action by describing a scene from your life. Hook the reader with a vivid, suspenseful description of a conflict. For example, you might begin your essay at the summit of a mountain or the edge of a high dive.
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Include sensory details. Write the body of your essay. Use your notes to guide your structure. If your first paragraph describes a scene from your life, you'll want your second paragraph to begin the story of how you got to that point. For example if your first paragraph describes a terrifying moment on the high dive, your second paragraph might begin: "I wasn't always afraid of the water. I grew up in the Oregon woods, where I spent the bulk of each summer at the river. I was the daredevil in my band of friends, and I never hesitated to swing on precarious rope swings or dive from rocks. All that changed in October 1985, when I was 10..."
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Write your concluding paragraph. In your conclusion, explain the ways that your theme has influenced your life path. Consider referencing the scene from your first paragraph.
Edit
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Read your personal life history. Underline any sections that seem boring, rambling or confusing. Remove paragraphs that don't enhance the theme of your essay. If nothing jumps out at you, try reading your essay aloud.
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Rewrite problem paragraphs. Remove or revise sentences that detract from the main idea of each paragraph. Eliminate wordy construction. For example, replace "we were in attendance at" with "we attended." Be specific. Replace vague words such as "I went" with action words such as "I drove," "I walked" or "I dragged my weary carcass."
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Ground your essay by adding descriptive details, locations and concrete dates. Check your spelling, punctuation and grammar.
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Tips & Warnings
Set the scene for each event in your story. Briefly describe memorable elements of each location in your essay.
When choosing life events that hinge on conflict, remember that conflicts can be external (a storm, an argument, a basketball game) or internal (a decision, a fear).
While writing about your life, remember how moments smelled, looked, sounded and felt. Add interesting sensory elements to your paragraphs.
Use specific nouns. For example, replace "car" with " '68 Dodge Charger." Details distinguish you from the crowd.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit dock 2 image by Lee O"Dell from Fotolia.com freefall from the sky image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com river image by narongkron from Fotolia.com
