How To Write a Personal Essay in 8 Simple Steps (With Tips) By Indeed Editorial Team

Related: How To Write an Outline




3. Choose your topic
The story or experience you tell should correspond to the message you want to convey. Your personal essay may tell a story of an accomplishment or triumph, or it may talk about how your experiences shaped your worldview or changed you in a significant way. Determine what you want to accomplish in your essay and choose a story that furthers your goals.
Examples:

• 
  Friend or relative who taught you a valuable lesson
  
• 
  A minor yet significant life or professional event
  
• 
  What lessons have shaped you
  
• 
  What is meaningful to you
  
• 
  How you are suited for a profession
  
• 
  How you've learned from past mistakes
  
• 
  Personal point of view on a current event or topic (diversity, inclusion, seclusion)
  

4. Consider your tone
When composing a personal essay, consider the feeling you want to describe or the atmosphere you want to create that lends insight into your personality. Your essay may be about a past experience and might be written as a look back at an event and how it relates to present circumstances. If you're writing about a current event, the essay may be written from a present point of view and the impact felt today. Depending on the tone of your essay, focus on drawing your reader into the story.
Examples

• 
  Past: "I am a second-generation American born to parents who taught me the value of teamwork and inclusion."
  
• 
  Present: "Today's educational opportunities have enabled me to accomplish more than I ever thought I would."
  

Related: How To Write an Effective Persuasive Essay in 6 Steps

5. Include a lesson or moral
Your personal essay has a central message or moral you are relating to the reader to demonstrate your abilities, qualifications or the strength of your character. Think about what you want the reader to remember about your essay and explain how, why and what your experience has taught you.
Examples:

• 
  Overcame a hardship
  
• 
  Rose above the competition
  
• 
  Identified with a culture or community
  
• 
  Became a leader
  
• 
  Learned from mistakes