Writing Personal Essays: How to Shape Your Life Experiences for the Page (Hardcover)

by Sheila Bender (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Sometimes it is difficult to face the truth. It is even worse to write it down. Fortunately, this book shows how to interpret life's powerful memories, overcome the fear of placing private truths before an audience, and, finally, form those experiences into personal essays. Bender uses classroom-tested methods to help professional and amateur authors master eight classic essay structures, including description, definition, narration, and persuasion. In textbook format, each chapter begins with a student's first draft. Then Bender assigns a writing prompt called a "write question" followed by suggestions for modeling poetry, clustering, or timed "freewrites." Writers are encouraged to respond in three ways to their own first drafts: by repeating memorable phrases, reporting what feelings are evoked, and determining what else needs to be told. A final student draft is provided and critiqued to show readers how another writer worked through the same problems they are experiencing. Anyone wanting to submit work for publication will find helpful hints in the final chapter. This is a thoughtful, thorough book in a somewhat neglected genre. Bender's creative, yet practical methods would serve potential E. B. Whites equally well in the classroom, with a writing group, or at the kitchen table. Patricia Hassler

Product Description
A writer's manual which demonstrates how to put personal experiences down on paper, including advice on writing about important people, places and events in an original manner.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898796652
• ISBN-13: 978-0898796650
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #838,082 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Especially Useful for Critiquing Your Writing, July 21, 2000

By	cathmary (Texas) - See all my reviews

The author walks the reader through 8 basic types of essays, and provides writing exercises for each of those types. Where this book is most helpful, however, is in the critiquing of the essays written by one of the author's students. Ms. Bender shows you her process of critique in the samples of the student's first draft and second draft.

First, she singles out those "velcro words" (the nouns and phrases in the first draft essay that stick with her) -- and she encourages you to take your own note of your "velcro words". She then walks through her feelings as she reads the essay -- where she is intrigued, for example, or confused by the images the student uses. Finally, she shares this information with the student so that the student can choose to elaborate or minimize certain parts of the essay in a second draft, thus producing tighter writing and more polished images.

I find Bender's process of critique quite useful and relatively painless.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For all beginner writers., January 3, 2007

By	C. A. Schneiter (Largo, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have always wanted to learn how to write essays and this book is very good as a foundation type of book for essay writing. I recommend it highly.