Peace and Order

his will help the reader tget the overall meaning of the story. By the end of this article and in addition tthe previous one, you have got an idea about the different types of essays and when tuse each of them. ee you in other posts. ire Eng. Yousri Abd El Rahman on oDesk. Everyone has heard the saying "Write what you know."Personal narrative essays allow you ttake this advice tthe extreme, since the point of one of these essays is twrite about your own experience. hat doesn't mean that you have thave something earth-shattering or epic twrite about; however, it alsdoesn't mean that you should create a work of fiction loosely based on a story from your life. It doesn't have tbe that hard or that complicated.he truth is, any essay about your everyday life or your ordinary past can be a great personal narrative essay, if you write it well. In order twrite a great personal narrative essay or college essay, especially if you are writing one for the first time, remember that writing it is a learning experience. You will need tdthings differently, and think about things differently, while writing this kind of essay. First -- and most obvious -- is the fact that you can use personal pronouns, such as "I," "me," "we," etc. Although these pronouns are not supposed tbe used most formal essays, it is expected that you will use them trecount your own experience. Dnot try tkeep your language or pronoun use overly formal when you are writing a personal narrative, because if you do, the entire thing will sound stilted and weird. Use natural language, but keep it polished by staying away from slang or jargon. As you write the essay, imagine that you are telling your story tyour grandmother, and that she has never heard it before. Your language should sound natural and normal, and anyone should be able tunderstand what you're saying. In that same vein, remember that anyone should be able tread your essay and have it make sense. Dnot assume that the reader already knows about you, in any way. Assume that the reader knows nothing about you or about the story you want ttell. If you really grasp this idea, you will see the importance of including detail in your writing. In a personal narrative essay, details are especially important. hey make the difference between a simple list of events, and a personal story. o, whatever event or experience you are relating in the essay, dnot leave it in bland, choppy sentences, like "I woke up. I got dressed. I went tschool. I went tclass." Details tell the reader whyou are, and they make the essay easier tread. Don't just say that you woke up; instead, tell the reader how you were feeling when the alarm went off, and that you hit the snooze button a few times. Every bit of detail that you add tyour essay creates depth and interest. Your inner world of thoughts and feelings is just as important tthe essay as the actual events that took place, smake sure that you don't leave it out. Now, a word of caution is necessary. ometimes, when given the suggestion tinclude details and tdescribe everything carefully, some writers will goverboard. For example, student writers may include excessively long lists of adjectives in their descriptions of minor things, they may try tuse analogies or comparisons that are grandiose or inappropriate, or they may use large vocabulary words incorrectly. he problem is that these excesses get in the way of a reader whis trying tunderstand your essay or follow your story. If they come across a big word that you have used just for the sake of using a big word, what will stick in the reader's mind is your error, not the story you were trying ttell. o, when you write a personal narrative essay, don't gta special effort tuse bigger words, include more adjectives, or use artful metaphors. nly include those details that actually shed light on the idea you are trying texpress, or the personal story that you are trying ttell. If you find yourself stuck, and you don't know what twrite about or how tdecide which details tinclude in your narrative, remember that any essay must have a main idea, or a theme. In a personal narrative essay, you might write about an experience that taught you something, an experience that opened your eyes tsomething new, or a particularly memorable time or event.Even if you are given an essay prompt, take that topic and find something relating tit that is important tyou.hen, tell the story of your experience, and try texplain tthe reader why that particular thing is important, and why it matters tyou.here are a variety of ways that a personal experience could be important, and they don't have tbe historic or big. If you care about something because it was surprising, sad, instructive or short-lived, that is enough. ne of the great things about writing a personal narrative essay is the fact that you -- and the things that are important tyou -- are enough. o,when you are faced with the task of writing a personal narrative essay example, don't panic. Don't stare at the blank page and worry about how much of it you have tfill. nce you have found something that you care about enough twrite about it, the blank space will fill itself. Instead, focus on writing about something that matters tyou, and explaining tthe reader how you felt, what happened, and why it matters. Be yourself and include enough details tmake the events real, but don't try ttack on words or ideas that you wouldn't normally use.If you remember these things, you can turn an event from your ordinary, real life inta beautiful essay. In general, an essay is structured in three parts -- an introduction, the body, the conclusion. hink of the introduction as a single paragraph designed tintroduce the thesis statement. ften persons build an introductory paragraph before having developed an effective thesis statement indicating less than the most effective organization of thinking about the topic of a paper! In this article, using an example thesis statement, the development of an introductory paragraph for an actual essay assignment is described. In a cultural diversity class the author had an assignment twrite an essay t"...review a current article that discusses or illustrates the portrayal of some aspect of cultural diversity in U..society." ne current article which appeared tmeet the assignment directions concerned black officers in the U.. military -- it illustrated an aspect of cultural diversity in U.. society. the general topic of the proposed essay became "A review of a current newspaper article that discusses black officers in the U.. military illustrating an aspect of cultural diversity in the U.." his statement of the general topic of the proposed essay serves as the basis for the first sentence in the introductory paragraph. he first sentence of the example introductory paragraph