Personal Essay Writing Tips

You are invited to contribute by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. To guide you through this process, consider these suggestions:

Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching – it can even be funny – but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words. That’s about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.

Name your belief: If you can’t name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on a core belief, because three minutes is a very short time.

Be positive: Please avoid preaching or editorializing. Tell us what you do believe, not what you don’t believe. Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.” Make your essay about you; speak in the first person – “I”.

Be personal: Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. Read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

“Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent.” – Edward R. Murrow

Extra credit: record your essay as an audio podcast and upload it to your blog.

Personal Writing Prompts

Write a personal essay in response to one of the following:

  1. Most of us have been in a situation where we made a promise that for one reason or another we were unable to keep. When were you disappointed because someone made you a promise that they failed to keep? Or when did you break a promise that you made to someone else?
  2. All of us are works in progress with a long way to go before we reach our full potential. In what skill or area are you still working to make progress?
  3. Our society uses the word hero in many different ways? How do you define hero, and who is a hero in your life?
  4. We all tend to judge people by their appearances, even though looks can be deceiving. Have you ever prejudged someone incorrectly based on their appearance or has someone ever prejudged you unfairly based on how you look?
  5. Everyone has problems or challenges to overcome. What obstacles are you proud to have faced and conquered?
  6. There is a famous adage: “To err is human, to forgive divine.” When did you feel divine because you were able to forgive someone for their mistake? When did someone act divine by forgiving you when you were wrong?