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On Common Ground

A Personal Essay Workshop for High Schoolers

 

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

–Soren Kierkegaard

 

In this class, high school students will prepare to confidently tell their own stories in writing. We will read essays and short prose by a variety of acclaimed writers and discuss their treatment of several core themes of the personal essay genre, including but not limited to the following: 

• Describing one’s core values

• Telling a formative story from one’s childhood or adolescence

• Explaining the importance of a favorite activity 

• Interpreting the work of a favorite writer or artist

• Closely observing and describing real-life details

• Asserting an independent opinion 

• Playing with innovative forms and approaches

 

Weekly prompts will be provided, and students will collaboratively workshop one another’s writing. Students will be encouraged to submit writing to contests as appropriate.

 

While we will pay particular attention to essay lengths and topics that connect to the college applications students will soon have to write, our goal will not be to generate a single Common App essay. Rather, we will seek to develop students’ skills and confidence to write impactful personal essays throughout their academic futures and beyond.

 

Reading syllabus will include: Jamaica Kincaid, David Foster Wallace, Yiyun Li, Wole Soyinka, Bill Bryson, Annie Dillard, Lydia Davis, Hilton Als, Joan Didion, and others.