personal essays

1.news stories that make your blood boil or get you laughing out loud
2. if you’re writing about the “small” personal occurrence, put it in a context that gives the reader insight to both the small moment and the wider perspective. 

3.write as evocatively as possible. employ all the senses. using sight comes naturally to most writers; push harder to convey ideas and images through sound, taste, touch, and hearing. 

in a personal essay you have the freedom to think what you like on a subject, but your reader should go away with a good idea of why you feel that way.

the hook is the device you use to get your reader’s attention. it’s the doorway through which you welcome and orient them to the piece.