Introduction. The personal essay : a creative equivalent to the five-paragraph essay -- Essays. Narrative essay : the stories we tell ; Lyric essays : inviting the reader in ; Fact vs. truth : what our experiences mean ; Reduction and style before content : making people into characters and learning to leave material out ; Campus narratives, short responses, and non-narrative responses -- Techniques. What makes the personal essay tick : a look at narrative-lyric balancing ; Not just another English essay : making space for creativity in personal writing ; Maximizing creativity in the personal essay ; Other compositional considerations -- Some final thoughts -- Appendices. A1. Essay questions you might see -- A2. Strategies for brainstorming personal material -- A3. Matching essays with applications -- A4. Timelines for applying -- A5. Organizational charts -- A6. Teacher recommendations -- A7. Interview with an Ivy League interviewer -- A8. Interview with a Stanford student-athlete alumnus -- Easy being green online.
Summary
Using real-life examples "Is It Easy Being Green?" moves away from a strictly academic point of view, and uses creative writing techniques-memoir/personal essay genre in particular-to teach students how to write engaging and effective application essays.
