{"id":186,"date":"2021-09-25T12:38:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T16:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/?p=186"},"modified":"2025-10-09T15:11:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T19:11:52","slug":"researched-personal-essays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/researched-personal-essays\/","title":{"rendered":"RESEARCHED PERSONAL ESSAYS"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the researched personal essay, students use their own personal experience – as frame, motivation, or a source of evidence – to explore a scholarly topic. They\u2019re asked to contextualize, complicate, or illuminate their own experience using research: statistics, theories, ideas, literary works, or other referenced materials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such pieces may<\/span> \u201ctake the form of a personal narrative, a good way to ensure the article you are writing is based on your own thoughts and experiences. But there\u2019s no reason your article can\u2019t also include reporting, interviews, research, data, charts, graphics, and so on. A special word about personal essays: the best ones are built on a foundation of facts. These are not meandering stories. They have a clear thesis, near the top of the article, that provides an anchor for every word that follows. The question to ask yourself is: Which of the above components advance the story you are trying to tell in the most evocative and effective way?\u201d <\/span><\/i>according to the former online publication <\/span>Quartz.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Methods<\/b><\/p>\n

Students are presented with a scholarly topic relevant to the course, then asked to bring their own personal experience to bear in order to illuminate the topic. Students may adapt a previously written academic essay (from earlier in the semester) into a personal essay, adjusting tone, audience, argument, etc.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before writing, students should read effective examples of the genre, analyzing aspects such as how the writer begins their piece, how they maintain the personal connection throughout, their tone, how they employ research and facts, and the role of the writer as a character.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students should be encouraged to employ extensive research in service of their topic, and their essay should employ a works cited list. They should further be encouraged to use their personal experience not as personal catharsis or creative expression, but as a literary device to connect their reader to their topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students could produce essays like these for a class blog (see module <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>), run on WordPress or another platform. First-years could be encouraged to submit their work to the Jacobson Center\u2019s competitive archive of exemplary first year writing, <\/span>Smith Writes<\/span><\/a> (see examples below). Many online blogging platforms and publications can also provide homes for this kind of essay: <\/span>Substack<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Medium<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>The Millions<\/span><\/i>, or <\/span>Slate <\/span><\/i>are possibilities, alongside dozens of genre-specific sites like <\/span>Outside Online<\/span><\/i>. Literary journals that publish nonfiction are additional options (<\/span>Granta <\/span><\/i>being among the most prestigious of the genre).<\/span><\/p>\n

Examples<\/b><\/p>\n

Professional<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

An English professor might ask students to write an essay such as <\/span>this one<\/span>, in which the writer contemplates her personal fascination with fashion, and how classic literature reflects fashion\u2019s value in our lives:<\/span><\/p>\n

A Matter of Survival: On the Value of Fashion in Literature<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Additional professional examples from Smith faculty & staff and other writers:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n