Write a 1,000 to 1,500 word investigative essay that includes
research. You should go beyond “what you know” or simply telling “what
happened” and use this essay as an opportunity to explore and research
(investigate) a subject that matters to you—a subject on which you have
experience, have gathered enough information about, and have thought
about deeply enough to give you some authority over. Gloria Anzaldúa,
Eula Biss, and Samina Najmi do this in their essays.
Essayist Rebecca Blevins Faery writes, “The task then, of the writer, is to be present
in the writing, to connect in a personal way with the reader, without
being the subject of the writing. The writer sees questions, reads,
searches, observes, converses, wonders, and above all thinks. He
or she goes places, puts two and two together, pieces a quilt of
incident or evidence that reveals to readers a picture, with luck a new
picture, of the world, in all the particularity with which the writer
has experienced it. The nonfiction writer is a conveyor, a medium, a
lens.”
For example, Samina Najmi does this with her experience,
observations, and knowledge of Gaza. Her personal experience and the
information she provides work together to illuminate her argument: We
must consider the conduits of our information (stories), how those
things influence the ways in which we see ourselves and each other, and
how those conduits often don’t tell or show the whole story (or truth),
particularly in regards to marginalized people.
We’ll see Eula Biss do this in “Time and Distance Overcome” as she
investigates the history of telephone poles. We see her eventual
personal connection to the telephone poles and how this makes her
consider the subject of redemption, among other things.
Your essay should:
Do more than tell a story, it should make a point (or argument, if that helps) regarding your subject
Include narrative, reflection, and research
Use research in a way that illuminates both your narrative and message
Be rich in detail
Include a works cited page
As you can see, a lot of personal essays do not actually include the
sources the same way we see sources listed or used in a more traditional
academic essay. However, journals and publications often require
authors to provide their sources as they fact check prior to
publication. So, it’s just good practice to keep a works cited.
Remember, too, essays turned in for workshop must be “workshop ready.” This means your essays should be double-spaced, in 12 pt. Times New Roman font, with 1inch margins. Essays should be free of surface level errors (spelling, punctuation, and grammar). You may turn in an early draft, but it should NOT be a rough draft.
