Transcript Personal Essay

Personal Essay
Intermediate Writing Folio
The essay should be between 500-1000 words.
Outline plan- Monday 8th October 2012.
Draft One submitted- Monday 29th October.
Final Draft submitted- Monday 19th November.
Presentation
Word processed.
Or
Written very neatly in black ink.
What is a personal essay?
You write about an important event that has
happened in your life, or a significant
experience that you have had.
The focus is on your thoughts and emotions
about what happened to you.
Personal Essay: Marking Criteria
• How will I be successful?
• What is the SQA looking for in my
essay?
1. Describe what happened
An important part of your essay is where you
describe:
What happened.
When it happened.
Where it happened.
Who was involved.
Important!
Do not include details and descriptions of the
experience unless it is absolutely essential.
You are not just describing an experience you
had! You are describing and explaining your
emotions and thoughts about that
experience!
2. Personality
The essay must put across a sense of your own
personality.
You must describe and explain what you
thought and how you felt.
Emotions and thoughts= essential.
You should try to vividly describe your thoughts and
feelings.
• For example,
Instead of saying “I was very afraid”, you could say
“I felt a shiver up my spine. My mind was racing.
My mouth was dry”.
Instead of saying “I was really angry”, you could say
“My face turned red with rage. I ran upstairs and
slammed my door. I was like a raging bull”.
Task
Vividly describe the following emotions:
Excited.
Happy.
Lonely.
As well as vividly describing your thoughts and
emotions, you must also explain them.
Example
1) As I entered the water, a feeling of trepidation
washed over me like a wave.
2) As I entered the water, a feeling of trepidation
washed over me like a wave. When I was
younger I fell into the deep end at my local
swimming pool and had to be rescued by a
life-guard.
• 2) is better than 1) because I have explained
why I felt scared going into the water.
I have not only described my feelings. I have
gone into greater depth and detail about why I
felt that way!
Task
Write a short paragraph about the first time that
you sat an exam at school.
• Describe your thoughts and emotions.
• Explain why you felt that way.
Task
Working with a partner, read through the exemplar
essay very carefully.
Identify as many examples as you can of the author:
• Describing her emotions and thoughts.
• Explaining her emotions and thoughts.
Task
Based upon what you have learned today, write a
mini- essay (70- 100 words) based upon:
A time that you felt proud of yourself.
or
A time that you felt ashamed of yourself.
Remember to describe and explain your thoughts
and emotions.