Why is it so difficult to write about yourself? It should be easy, considering the fact that you know yourself better than anyone else. However, many students often struggle with assignments that require them to present their personalities and achievements. If you want to learn how to be objective and at the same time highlight your strong features, this article will answer all of your questions.
Students usually want to know the answer to this question: “How do I make an essay about myself stand out?” The answer is rather simple – you need to be genuine and let your unique qualities shine through your writing. If you are unsure how to do that, you can hire an assistant at a reliable writing service to guide you through the writing process. Here are some more practical tips on how to present yourself in academic writing.
Brainstorming and Finding Your Focus
Before you start writing, you need to understand the main goal of your piece. What do you want to achieve? Do you want the readers to remember you? Do you want to impress them with your life story? What specific qualities do you want to underline in your essay to meet the assignment requirements? If you can’t develop an interesting topic to focus on, free-write about anything that comes to mind related to the essay prompt. Then, you can identify what resonates most with the prompt.
Don’t try to cram your entire life story into one essay. First of all, it’s impossible. Second of all, you won’t achieve your goals doing so. Instead, pick a specific theme or message you want to communicate. For instance, you can write about overcoming a challenge, discovering a passion, or the impact of a particular experience.
Crafting a Captivating Introduction
If you want your essay to be memorable, you should pay close attention to crafting an attention-grabbing introduction. After all, it is the first thing the readers of your essay see. Consider using a hook that fits the topic of your piece the most – an anecdote, a surprising fact, or a thought-provoking question. Also, according to the rules of essay writing, you -can’t create a flawless piece without a clear thesis statement. Even in a personal essay, include a short thesis statement that reveals the central point you’ll explore.
Be Honest and Specific
Listing all your strengths and describing your achievements need to have a solid basis of specific examples. Don’t just tell the reader you’re a hard worker; include an example that shows your skills. Instead of writing straightforward statements about your stellar personality, you aim to help the readers make the desired conclusions themselves. To do that when writing your story, engage the reader’s senses. Describe sights, sounds, smells, and emotions to bring your experiences to life.
Be Vulnerable
Don’t be afraid to show some vulnerability in your writing. Sharing your struggles and imperfections can make you more relatable and human. After all, nobody’s perfect. It’s through our mistakes and failures that we improve our resilience and get a chance to jump even higher than initially intended. Focus on how these experiences shaped you or what you learned from them.
Highlight Your Accomplishments
You want to stay humble but need to list your achievements. How do you do that? When showcasing your skills or accomplishments, use numbers and factual examples. Did you volunteer for 100 hours at a local animal shelter? Did you lead a team project that resulted in a 15% increase in sales? Just ensure your essay does not turn into a CV and explain the significance of your achievements. How did these experiences develop your skills and contribute to your personal growth?
Leave a Lasting Impression
The best way to conclude your essay is with a forward-looking statement that hints at your goals, aspirations, or what you hope to learn from this experience. There should be a logical sequence in your essay. The past events and experiences shaped you into the person you are now. And now, this person is ready to meet new challenges and showcase their strengths.
Don’t Do This When Writing About Yourself
The list of practical tips would not be full without typical mistakes students make. Here are the things you should not do when writing an essay about yourself.
- Including clichés in your essay. If you want to impress your readers, you need to stay away from trivial phrases and generic stories. They do not describe your personality in any engaging way. Be original and choose experiences that genuinely connect to your essay’s topic.
- Dwelling on failures. Focusing on negative experiences too much will not get you very far. Instead, you should aim to concentrate on your resilience.
- You want to maintain a professional tone and avoid sharing overly personal details irrelevant to the essay’s goal. It is not an effective way to connect with readers.
- Lack of focus. Stay on topic and stick to your outline unless you want to make your essay messy.
- Weak conclusion. Don’t end your essay abruptly. Concluding paragraphs are as important as the introduction of your essay.
