CHARACTERISTICS

OF
A PERSONAL ESSAY
PERSONAL ESSAY
Short work
Nonfiction essay
Authors opinion or insight based on
personal experiences
Purpose of Personal Essays:
To make others aware of the topic.
SOME ELEMENTS OF A PERSONAL
ESSAY
Purpose
Structure and Chorological Order
Central Idea
Supporting Details


PURPOSE
Why was the text written?
The author conveys information about
his/her life.

STRUCTURE AND
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
Structure is the arrangement of the text.
The author has a specific plan for writing
to ensure his/her readers understanding.
Chronological order or sequences of
events in a time order. Telling things in
chronological order helps readers to
understand how the ideas are linked
together.
CENTRAL IDEA
The main point or message an author wants to
communicate.
Sometimes this is directly stated.
Sometimes readers must figure it out based on
what the author has written.
Questions to ask when determining the central idea:
Who or what does the author tell most about?
What does the author seem to think about that
person or thing?
What overall idea do the details in the selection
support?
SUPPORTING DETAILS
These are facts, opinions,
examples, anecdote, etc. that the
author provides to clarify his/her
point for the reader.