Personal Essay Assignment: Choose a Topic or Respond to One of Four Prompts

Assignment Instructions

Write a personal essay responding to one of the prompts on the next page, or a topic of your own choosing. These prompts are meant to generate ideas/inspiration, but they are not a list of requirements—you may use certain aspects of them and depart from others.

As this is a personal essay, your tone may be less formal than a literary/academic one. There are no requirements for structure (eg: no strict introduction or thesis), and you are encouraged to be as creative as you like. Correct spelling and grammar are expected, although conversational phrases or idioms may be relevant to your piece. Consider elements of style, as well as the sort of literary
conventions used in fiction and poetry (tense, symbolism, metaphor, etc.).

Your essay may be narrative-driven, or structured in a less chronological way. As one model, you might look ahead to the strategies Jo Ann Beard uses to craft her voice & narrative in “The Fourth State of Matter” (your topic won’t necessarily be as serious), or consult some of the personal essay samples I’ve added to our handouts section.

750 to 1000 words (slightly longer is fine).

Times New Roman, 12-point font, and double-spaced.

Include full name, student number, title of this course, date, and a title.

Uploaded to UR courses as a .docx or other common word processing format.

If citing secondary resources, use MLA style (see pg 110 of EDaD).

Literature is often interested in engaging with, or responding to, other forms of art, especially with regard to how they differ from the written word.

Choose a work of art from another medium—such as visual art, music, film, or an art object—and write a personal essay about this piece. Your response might be anecdotal, describing your encounter with the artwork. It might be nostalgic or invoke memory—the art may signify particular events or people to you. Your essay could also be analytical, describing what you find interesting about the piece or how it makes you feel. Choose a piece you find compelling or evocative.

Another prominent genre of literature is travel writing—that is, literature motivated by places, journeys, or a desire to occupy a new space. Choose a personal experience with travel, and write an essay portraying or responding to this. Consider not just where you were going, but why? Who did you meet, and what did you see? How did you feel in this different environment? Did you learn
anything? Were there any internal changes as a result of your new surroundings? This prompt may include experiences of studying abroad or immigration.

A certain recurring theme we will see in stories this semester is one of decisive change. Characters sometimes encounter situations or events that challenge their understanding of the world or their life, and they are then forced to resist it or adapt to it. Choose a moment in your life, large or small, when a moment of change presented itself to you. How did you respond to this situation?
Did the change come about through your own intentions, or were you forced to make decisions based on something outside your control? Have you changed as a person due to this challenging moment (negatively, or positively)?

Write on an original topic (something that gives you enough material).