Personal Essay
An element of a strong personal essay
Some options:
•Have a powerful opening that makes the reader want to keep reading.
•It will not be too short or too long and will flow from one idea to the next.
•Its structure will be clear and easy to follow.
•Your own writing voice and personality will be evident in the writing.
•The essay will include fresh, lucid, and varied or thoughtful word choices.
•It will include sensory details that paint a vivid picture/ experience, without overwhelming the reader.
•The final sentences will satisfactorily conclude the essay (this does not mean that the ending has to be 'good' or 'positive', but means that the reader should feel like the essay has been wrapped up).
A context where someone might be asked to write a reflective essay
Who is a book reviewer/ journalist/ editor for a collection/ doctor/ teacher/ business person/ case worker/ etc?
The strongest form of argumentative essay
What is a polemical essay?
The aim is to state and take up a strong view for or against a particular idea or position. Usually, these types of essays are reserved for subjects which evoke both passion and emotion, and which, critically, could be agreed with or disagreed with.
Often seen in political speeches/ but also in various op-eds and other forms, too
The first author (in English) to call his writing "essays"
Who is Michel de Montaigne?
"that shiver of self-recognition"
Who is Lopate?
One of Jane Allison's different narrative forms
What is: Meander, spiral, explode, cellular, etc.
One thing you learned about reflective essays
What is [fastest wins]?
An essay designed to garner support from readers regarding a specific belief or cause
An advocacy essay (a call to action, raising awareness)
Bonnie's office
Where is von Zedlitz 909?
'Wolf Man'
Who is Ashleigh Young?
A way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books. They have been kept from antiquity, and were kept particularly during the Renaissance and in the nineteenth century.
What is a commonplace book?
The presence of the "I" in a reflective essay
What is: n a spectrum: sometimes extremely present, sometimes less so. Bonus if they give examples.
One thing Bonnie has said about citation and essays
What is [several things]?
The golden rule for workshop
What is "what happens in workshop stays in workshop"?
'Crying in H-Mart'
Who is Michelle Zauner?
A narrative style that tries to capture a character’s thought process in a realistic, often very impressionistic way.
What is "stream of consciousness"?
In a reflective essay, evidence needs to...
What is support the author's reflections? Bonus: what kind of evidence?
Methods of putting yourself in conversation in your writing
What is "Yes/ No/ Okay, but/ And yet..."?
What is content/ argument?
'Firefly'
Who is Aimee Nezhukumatathil?
"I wrote it because I wanted to show the strangers who shared those experiences that they were not alone. I didn’t write a memoir in order to free myself, though in the process I did.”
Who is (Melissa) Febos? Or: 'In Praise of Navel-Gazing'
Offer a definition of a reflective essay
What is (something along these lines)?: Writing a reflective narrative enables writers to not only recount experiences but also analyze or explain how they’ve changed, learned lessons, formed opinions, and so on.
A reflective essay is a type of writing in which the essay writer describes an experience or event that they observe or examine. The word “reflective” means that you look back to the past and analyze them from the present. This essay is about the personal writer’s opinions (or reflections) concerning certain subjects.
A convincing polemical/ advocacy essay must have a....
What is an audience/ main claim/ evidence that supports its claim/ etc?
One thing that Bonnie said about AI and essays
What is [quite a few things!]?
'Ancient Green'
Who is Robin Wall Kimmerer?