How to Write a Personal Essay Easily

Students and applicants are often asked to write personal essays. To write it correctly, you need to know certain rules. In this article, we will tell you how to write a personal essay correctly and what the requirements are for this work. We will also share an example of such a paper.

What’s a personal essay? It is a literary work in which the student talks about themself: their life, interests, beliefs, goals, and achievements. In this text, the student usually shares their thoughts, emotions, and impressions, as well as trying to show their uniqueness and individuality. A personal essay can be written in various genres and styles but always reflects the personality and character of the student.

Telling about yourself can be a decisive factor in determining how your reader connects with you. It is important to understand that this paper should not be just a formality, but a real tool for attracting the attention of the admissions committee, teachers, professors, or employers.

What Are Personal Essays?

Many students ask themselves, “What are personal essays?” when they get such assignments. Simply put, it is a paper about yourself. All people are unique individuals, but not everyone can describe themselves concisely and colorfully. How can you tell the world about yourself using just a few sentences? To make your essay engaging, you can include the following aspects:

• Your family
• Your character traits (including positive and negative qualities)
• People you communicate with (friends, classmates, etc.)
• Your hobbies and interests
• Your dreams and goals in life

Learning how to write a personal essay is not an easy task. When composing such a text, it is necessary to avoid simply listing facts about yourself; it is important to make it lively and interesting so that others can understand what thoughts and dreams you live by and what kind of personality you exhibit.

Where a Personal Essay Can Be Useful

An essay about yourself can be useful in the following cases:

• When applying for participation in a competition or scholarship, where you need to present your personality, achievements, and motivation.
• When entering an educational institution or applying for a job, where you need to write an autobiography or a motivation letter.
• When participating in an interview for work or study, to tell about yourself and your goals in more detail.
• For participation in various conferences, seminars, or events, where you need to present yourself as a speaker or participant.
• For publication in essay collections or literary publications, where you can share your thoughts, experiences, and views on life.

In general, a personal essay can be useful in any area where you need to present yourself and your ideas.

Personal Essay Format

In high school or at college, students are often asked to write personal essays. Not all of them understand what needs to be included in such an essay: what information should be presented, and what is better to refrain from adding. We will provide several recommendations on how to write a personal essay with the right format.

When writing an essay about yourself, many students often make one of two mistakes:

• They provide insufficient information
• They create too large a work with unnecessary details

Writing a personal essay can cause certain difficulties, since not all students understand what kind of work their teacher wants to see. Usually, such tasks are given to make the student think about their inner world, life goals, principles, and priorities.

Here is a plan for writing a personal essay:

• Basic personal data (name, age, place of study)
• A few words about different areas of life (studies, future career, hobbies, family, etc.)
• Self-analysis (positive and negative qualities and character traits)
• Prospects (goals and plans for the future)

In order to avoid these mistakes, we present the personal essay structure.

How to Structure a Personal Essay

Introduction

You can start your personal essay with a vivid scene or a surprising detail if you want to grab the reader’s attention. You need to introduce the purpose of your paper clearly.

Main body

In the main body, talk about your education, work experience, professional skills, and personal qualities. Structure the information so that it is easy to read and understand. Use subheadings and lists to highlight key points. This will help the reader quickly find the necessary information and evaluate your professional qualities. 

Conclusion

State why you want to study at the educational institution or work for the company, as well as how you see yourself developing within it. Emphasize that you are ready for new challenges and are ready to contribute to the educational institution’s or company’s development. State that you are open to discussing details during the interview and are ready to answer any questions the admission committee or employer may have.

What Should a Personal Essay Include?

Personal Information

Start with a brief introduction about yourself: name, age, city of residence. This will help the employer immediately understand who you are and where you are located.

Education and Qualifications

Describe the education, courses, and training that you have completed. Indicate what skills and knowledge you have acquired and how they will help you in your study or work. If you have diplomas or certificates, mention them. Talk about your academic achievements if they are relevant to your professional activities. This may include participation in scientific conferences, the publication of articles, or participation in student organizations.

Work Experience

Tell the reader about your work experience (if you have any), starting with your most recent job. Include the company name, as well as your position, responsibilities, and achievements. This will help the reader understand what experience you already have. Specify what projects you led, what tasks you solved, and what results you achieved. Don’t forget to mention your contribution to teamwork and interactions with colleagues.

Professional Skills

Describe your key professional skills. Mention what you are particularly strong in and how these skills will help you in your new job (if you are writing an essay for a job application) or in an educational institution. If you have specific skills, such as knowledge of software or foreign languages, be sure to mention them. Highlight your strengths and explain how they can be useful to the employer or educational institution. For example, if you have project management skills, tell the reader how you successfully completed a large project.

Personal Qualities

Tell the reader about the personal qualities that will help you in your work or at an educational institution. These may be qualities such as responsibility, communication skills, the ability to work in a team, etc. Give specific examples that confirm your personal qualities. For example, if you say that you are sociable, tell us about a situation when you successfully resolved a conflict or established interaction between people.

Goals and Motivation

Describe your career goals and motivation. Explain why you want to study at this educational institution or work for this company and how you see yourself developing within it. Indicate which disciplines, tasks, or projects particularly interest you. Explain how you plan to develop professionally and what steps you have already taken to achieve your goals. This will help the reader understand that you are serious about long-term cooperation.

Tips for Writing a Personal Essay

Here are some brief recommendations that will help you write an essay about yourself:

1. Think over the idea of ​​the paper. Formulate the thesis and decide how you will prove it.
2. Don’t get hung up on the introduction of your essay. If you can’t get your thoughts together, start writing from another stage, such as the main body, and then move on to the conclusion and introduction.
3. Focus on the positive aspects (what you like, what you are good at, your talents and abilities).
4. When analyzing your character, try to be objective and avoid writing lies (if you are constantly late, you should not mention your punctuality).
5. Write about your real goals and justify them (don’t write “I want to learn all the languages ​​of the world,” but “I would like to master Japanese and Chinese because I am attracted to Eastern culture”).
6. Be sure to finish writing the essay clearly and with positive accents.

How Do You Write a Personal Essay? Sample

There are a lot of examples of personal essays available on the Internet. They can serve as a guide, but it is not recommended that you simply rewrite them exactly, especially those that relate to your own goals and principles, since teachers actively check students’ work for plagiarism.

Personal Essay: An Example for Students

I believe that writing an essay about yourself is a great opportunity for a student to engage in self-analysis, allowing them to review their character traits and write a short narrative. Let me start by saying that my name is Elizabeth. I am 18 years old, and I am a student in the Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

I am studying Spanish in my second year in the Faculty of Foreign Languages because it is the most popular language in international communication after English. Since childhood, I have been attracted to the profession of a translator, since they help people of different cultures exchange and understand each other. I am also interested in theatrical art: I not only attend performances, but also take part in amateur productions.

My main quality is sociability. I am an open and joyful person, a sanguine type. Sometimes I am too impulsive, but I try not to forget about prudence and being organized.

My life motto is “Time abhors being wasted.” I try to avoid empty hours and even minutes: I study, attend training sessions and webinars, read, watch interesting films, and spend time with friends and family. In my opinion, this is much more productive than just dreaming or experiencing failures.

After I finish my bachelor’s degree, I plan to enroll in a master’s degree and work at the same time. I would like to find a job in a cultural institution, specifically in the international relations department. I believe that I can be useful and do what I love.

By following these guidelines, you can create a compelling and memorable personal essay that will help you stand out from others and attract the attention of your readers.