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Personal Essay
Description
A personal essay is an argument or narrative that uses private experiences
to comment on a larger cultural issue.
Teachers may want to use this strategy as a follow-up to a detailed investigation
of a politically-oriented text. After students have reflected on the political
issue raised by the text, teachers should ask them to list all the ways
in which this political issue impacts their own communities. For example,
teacher Sandra Childs asks her students to list the various ways people
in their communities struggle with cultural ideals of beauty. Then, teachers
can ask students to share some of their listed items with the class so that
each student is introduced to new ideas and is pushed to think more imaginatively
about how the political issue affects them.
When the class discussion has ended, teachers should ask students to write
a free-form essay about one of the items on their own lists. Students should
be encouraged to describe their personal experiences in as much detail as
possible and to think about how their experiences have been affected by
the larger political question they are studying. If applicable, students
should use their personal experience as the basis of an argument or a proposal
for political action.
Finally, teachers should ask students to read their essays aloud. The class
can then spend time comparing the arguments put forth in various student
essays, noting how the ideas of others have affected their own perspectives
on the issues.
Benefits
When students use their own experiences to make arguments about larger cultural
issues, they recognize how the political questions they study affect their
lives. This encourages students to find connections between their private
struggles and larger political struggles, and they may find ways in which
they can join with others to create change.
By sharing these personal essays, students also learn to speak in public
about the ways political issues have affected their private lives. By encouraging
this kind of openness, teachers create a space for students to connect with
one another, to recognize their common goals, and to work together for positive
change.
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Authors
and Literary Works