In high school or university, students often must prepare an essay about themselves. But they do not always understand what information to include in a personal narrative and what is better to omit. That is why we gathered together typical mistakes and prepared several recommendations on how to write this type of paper. For more free personal narrative examples and basic guidelines with tips, see this material.
How to Write a Personal Narrative: Plan and Advice
Writing an essay about yourself can cause particular difficulties: students do not always understand what kind of work the teacher wants to see. Usually, teachers give students such assignments to think about their inner world, life goals, principles, and priorities. When preparing a narrative essay, students typically make one of two mistakes:
– provide insufficient information;
– write too voluminous work with unnecessary details.
To avoid these mistakes, we recommend using the following personal narrative structure:
– Basic personal data (name, age, place of study);
– A few words about different parts of life (study, future career, hobbies, family, etc.);
– Introspection (positive and negative qualities and character traits);
– Principles and values (life attitude);
– Prospects (goals and plans for the future).
These pieces of advice will help you write an excellent personal narrative:
- Always start a detailed or short essay about yourself with personal information (indicate your name, how old you are, where you study). If you have a cherished dream or goal, you can also display it initially.
- Focus on positive things (what you love, what you do well, what talents and inclinations you have).
- When analyzing your character, try to be objective and not write outright lies (if you are constantly late, you should not mention innate punctuality).
- Write about real goals and give reasons for them (not “I want to learn all the languages of the world,” but “I would like to master Japanese and Chinese languages, because I am attracted by oriental culture”).
- Avoid common phrases and clichés in your work: it will be better if the teacher sees your author’s style in work and not a copy of examples from the Internet.
Personal Narrative Examples
Personal narrative examples are easy to find on the Internet. They can be used as a guide, but you should not rewrite the parts related to your principles and goals: teachers often check student work for plagiarism.
Have a look at the following personal narrative example:
“I believe that a narrative essay is an excellent opportunity for a student to analyze him or herself, unique features character and make a short story. I’ll start with a presentation: my name is Anna, I am 18 years old, and I am a Faculty of Foreign Languages student of the Texas National University.
I am a 2nd-year student specializing in French Language, Literature and Culture, because it is one of the most popular languages of international communication. Since childhood, I was attracted by an interpreter’s profession because this specialist helps people of different cultures communicate and understand each other. I am also fond of theatrical art: not only do I attend performances, but I play in amateur performances.
The main feature of my character is sociability. I am an open, cheerful and optimistic person. Sometimes I am too impulsive, but I try not to forget prudence and be more organized.
My life motto is a Henry Ford’s quote, “Time doesn’t like to be wasted.” I try to use every minute with profit: I study, attend trainings and webinars, read, watch exciting movies, spend time with friends and family. I think it’s much more productive than just indulging in dreams or worrying about failure.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree, I plan to for the master’s degree and work in parallel. I want to get a job in some cultural institution, in the department of international relations. I believe that I can be helpful there and at the same time do what I love.”
This text can also be used as an example of a narrative essay for a school student, adding the information about which higher educational establishment he/she plans to enter.
If you still have questions or doubt that you can prepare a personal narrative yourself, contact wr1ter.com. Its experts excel at any written work, from an essay to a term paper.
