A personal essay assignment requires students to write a 550-800 word essay about a life experience and how it relates to the reader. The essay should have a clear structure with an introduction that includes a thesis statement and topic sentences that advance the main idea. Body paragraphs should use examples and details to develop ideas that clearly relate to the central point. Proper grammar and APA formatting are also important. The suggested topic for this diagnostic essay is about the student's decision to return to school and the benefits they expect to gain from earning a degree.

1. A personal essay is about a life experience, person, or object
that has significance to you and that you tell to an audience for
a reason. The Ashford Writing Center provides a helpful
overview of Personal Writing (Links to an external site.)Links
to an external site., which reflects the type of essay you will be
writing for not only the Practice Essay, but your Final Essay as
well. Use one of the ideas for a personal essay that you came
up with in the “Generating Ideas for Writing” discussion. Your
essay should stir readers into thinking about and remembering
their own experiences. The essay should be 550 to 800 words in
length. This essay does not require incorporating any external
sources. For more information about how to write a personal
essay, please review the major elements that define personal
essays in Chapter 6 of Essentials of College Writing, which
include character, plot, purpose, action, and point of view. You
may use first person and may incorporate dialogue (using
quotes) if appropriate. Keep in mind that your essay is about
connecting the story to your readers to expand their own
reflection on a life experience. The essay written for this
section is diagnostic in nature. As such, you will receive a
grade based solely on whether or not you submit the assignment
and that it meets the minimum word requirement. Your essay
will not be used to place you into classes. Your instructor will
use this essay to provide you with assistance tailored to your
needs. When reading your essay, your instructor will look for
the following features • Structure – The consistency with which
the writer identifies and maintains the essay’s main idea. Two
main points of structure include the thesis statement and topic
sentences. • Thesis Statement – Emphasizes the main point
proven in the essay. The thesis usually occurs early in the
essay, most ideally as the last sentence in the introduction. •
Topic Sentences – Occur near the beginning of each paragraph.
They state what the paragraph proves and advance the main idea
conveyed in the thesis statement. • Development – How the

2. writer uses details and examples to evolve ideas throughout the
essay and sequence of ideas presented in the essay. All of the
ideas within the essay should clearly relate to the main point. •
Style – How writers chose to express themselves. Elements of
style include word choice, sentence construction, and clarity.
Style elements can vary according to the audience and purpose
of the writing. • Grammar – The instructor will evaluate your
essay for common grammatical mistakes that can often affect
the overall quality and clarity of your writing. Note: Your
essay should be 550 to 800 words in length and formatted
according to APA style as outlined in the APA Template
handout. Save your essay as a Microsoft Word document (.doc)
or rich text file (.rtf). Carefully review the Grading Rubric for
the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
Remember that the criteria will not affect your grade on this
essay, but it will likely apply to future writing assignments.
Finally, please note that you may use the subject for this
personal essay to write your Week Three “Personal Essay –
Draft” assignment and your Final Essay, which is due in Week
Five. If you opt to use this topic and some of this essay, you
must revise the parts of this essay you use based on your
instructor’s feedback and the Ashford Writing Center tutors.
PLEASE WRITE ESSAY ABOUT WHY YOU DECIED TO
GO BACK TO SCHOOL WHAT THE BENFITS OF GETTING
UR DEGREE WAS GOING TO MAKE IN UR LIFE.