lc english personal essay sample

The Leaving Cert personal essay is a well loved and virtually permanent feature of Paper 1 (here is some evidence ).

It belongs in the 100 marks Composition section, the single biggest chunk of the English exam.

What is the personal essay?

It calls for a confessional, introspective tone.

Do you like the sound of these questions:

• Remember those times when you did not say what you really thought or felt. Why didn’t you? How do you feel about it now?
• How would you feel about a terrible event of your past if it happened today?
• What did you learn about building family relationships based on the experience of your parents and grandparents?

You get the message – this is serious life stuff! The Leaving Cert personal essay may be one of the only times you truly get to be yourself in a standardised exam.

The marking scheme allows us to interpret the term “personal essay”’ liberally, potentially even entirely or partly as personal (first person) narratives.

How to do well in the personal essay?

Reading such an essay, you should get the feeling that you are learning someone’s deeper thoughts and reflections. It shouldn’t feel like an opinion piece in a newspaper.

Even though a certain stream of consciousness quality is usually acceptable with these essays, remember that clarity (the P of PCLM) always gets priority .

By reading the correct and H1 sample essays below, you will learn how much to write, what kind of themes come up again and again and how you may be able to differentiate yourself from the crowd.

‘To live is the rarest thing in the world, most people just exist.’ – Oscar Wilde

Personal essay: pleasures particular to you for Leaving Cert English #625Lab

• Post author: Martina
• Post published: April 18, 2019
• Post category: #625Lab / English / PCLM / Personal essay

Write a personal essay on what you perceive to be the pleasures particular to you. #625Lab. Corrected by an experienced examiner, graded as 83/100 with feedback on how to improve…

Personal essay: a time in your life in which you felt you were treated unfairly for Leaving Cert English #625Lab

• Post published: March 22, 2019

Write a personal essay on a time in your life in which you felt you were treated unfairly. #625Lab. Corrected by an experienced examiner, graded as 79/100 with feedback on…

Personal essay: moments of insight and revelation for Leaving Cert English #625Lab (Divorce)

• Post published: September 23, 2018
• Post category: #625Lab / English / Personal essay

Write a personal essay in which you reflect on moments of insight and revelation you have experienced. (2017) #625Lab. Theme: divorce. Some parts of this essay are outstanding, but it…

Personal Essay: Uncertain about what you want for Leaving Cert English #625Lab

• Post published: April 23, 2018

Write a personal essay in which you reflect on an occasion in your life when you felt uncertain about what you wanted. #625Lab. Wonderfully reflective, revelatory personal essay dealing with loss.…

Personal essay about significant endings for Leaving Cert English #625Lab

• Post published: April 7, 2018

Write a personal essay about your response to an ending, or endings, in your life that you consider significant. (100 marks)   Stellar stuff via #625Lab. If you want to send…

Personal Essay: Moments of Insight and Revelation for Leaving Cert English #625Lab

• Post published: February 25, 2018

Write a personal essay in which you reflect on moments of insight and revelation you have experienced (2017). This is a good attempt at a personal essay showing a lot…

Write a personal essay about one or more moments of uncertainty you have experienced #625Lab

• Post published: February 15, 2018

This essay below is a beautiful exemplar of the genre of personal essay, full of cathartic confessions, teenage going on middle-aged angst and some incredibly deep insights and lessons learnt.…

Personal Essay: Experience of Dramatic Arts for Leaving Cert English #625Lab

• Post published: November 9, 2017

Write a personal essay about your experience (as a performer and/or audience member) of the dramatic arts; plays, musicals, concerts, comedy etc. (2010) You may also like: Complete Guide to…

Leaving Cert English Personal Essay: Irishness #625Lab

• Post published: October 1, 2017
• Post category: #625Lab / English / Personal essay / Too long

“The shoes of Irishness fit me well.” Write a personal essay in which you explore your sense of what it means to be Irish. (2001) This is a good essay…

Leaving Cert English Personal Essay: Pretence and Unvarnished Truth #625Lab

• Post published: September 18, 2017

“Let’s stop all this pretence and tell each other the unvarnished truth for a change.”   Write a personal essay in response to this statement. (2006) This is an essay…

Leaving Cert English Personal Essay: Useless Clutter #625Lab

• Post published: September 10, 2017

The village shops in Sara Baume’s novel contain a “surplus of useless clutter”.  Write a personal essay in which you reflect on the “useless clutter” that is a feature of…

Write a personal essay on the tension you find between the everyday treadmill and the gilded promises of life

• Post published: June 5, 2017
• Post category: English / Personal essay

Write a personal essay on the tension you find between the everyday treadmill and the gilded promises of life. (2013) Themes: social norms, choice, philosophy, religion ‘To live is the…

Leaving Cert English Personal Essay: one or more moments of uncertainty you have experienced.

• Post published: June 4, 2017

Write a personal essay about one or more moments of uncertainty you have experienced. Themes: social disadvantage, divorce, homelessness Note: this is a personal essay, but it has a plot…

Write a personal essay in which you describe a place that you consider beautiful

• Post published: February 1, 2017

Themes: religion, family Please note that we are apolitical. We just like good essays. This came up on the 2008 paper. This essay is on the short side of the…

Personal Essay: Not all problems are physical

• Post published: October 23, 2016

'Not all problems are physical'. Write a personal essay about your response to this statement in light of experiences your life that you consider significant. Themes: mental health, anxiety ‘It is…

Personal Essay: Moments of Uncertainty

• Post published: September 26, 2016

  Write a personal essay about one or more moments of uncertainty you have experienced.  Themes: sexuality, social conflict Candidates may adopt a variety of approaches (serious, humorous, anecdotal, discursive,…

How To Improve Your Grade If Your Teacher Isn’t Giving You Feedback

• Post published: November 3, 2014
• Post category: Durcan / English / Hamlet / Personal essay / Short Story / T.S. Eliot / Video

- How to write a strong introduction- How to craft impactful sentences- Common grammar, syntax and style problems- How to stay relevant to the question- Examples from Hamlet, Personal Essays,…

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• Jan 11, 2023

Writing a Personal Essay for the Leaving Cert: Tips and Strategies

Updated: Feb 17

Introduction to the Personal Essay

As a Leaving Cert student, you may be required to write a personal essay as part of your exams or coursework. A personal essay is a piece of writing that explores a personal experience, opinion, or belief. It allows you to express your thoughts and feelings about a particular topic and can be a powerful way to convey your personality and values to readers.

Choosing a Topic for Your Personal Essay

One of the key steps in writing a personal essay is choosing a topic that is meaningful and engaging for you. The best personal essay topics are often personal experiences or events that have had a significant impact on your life or beliefs.

They may also be issues or ideas that you are passionate about and want to explore in more depth.

When choosing a topic, it's important to consider your audience and the purpose of your essay. If you're writing a personal essay for a college application, for example, you may want to choose a topic that showcases your unique qualities and experiences and aligns with the values and mission of the college.

It's also a good idea to choose a topic that you feel comfortable and confident writing about. Avoid choosing a topic that is too broad or abstract, or that you don't have enough personal experience with to write about with depth and insight.

Tips for Structuring Your Personal Essay

Once you've chosen a topic, the next step is to organize your thoughts and ideas into a clear and cohesive structure. A typical personal essay will have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

The introduction should introduce your topic and provide some context for your essay. You might also want to include a thesis statement, which is a sentence that states your main argument or point of view.

The body paragraphs should support your thesis and provide specific examples and details to illustrate your points. Each paragraph should focus on a specific aspect of your topic and have a clear topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph.

The conclusion should summarize your main points and restate your thesis, and may also include a call to action or a reflection on the significance of your topic.

Tips for Writing a Strong Personal Essay

To write a strong personal essay, there are a few key tips to keep in mind:

Use concrete details and specific examples to illustrate your points: Rather than just stating your beliefs or opinions, use specific examples and details to bring your essay to life and make it more persuasive.

Use a clear and engaging writing style: Avoid using jargon or overly complex language, and aim for a clear and engaging writing style that is easy for readers to follow.

Use transitions to connect your ideas: Use transitional words and phrases to help your essay flow smoothly and logically from one idea to the next.

Edit and proofread your essay carefully: Make sure to revise and proofread your essay carefully to catch any mistakes or awkward phrasing. It can be helpful to read your essay aloud or have someone else read it to catch any errors.

Seek feedback and guidance: Don't be afraid to ask for feedback from a teacher or peer on your essay. They can provide valuable insights and suggestions for improvement.

In conclusion, the personal essay is a valuable opportunity for Leaving Cert students to express their thoughts and feelings about a personal experience.

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• Leaving Cert. English (Higher) 2019: Paper 1 Section II Composing
• Back to the question >

Preparation

Throughout your Leaving Certificate studies, be curious in all of your subjects. Read widely and write regularly. General knowledge, regular reading and writing will make you an interesting, articulate and quick-thinking student — three attributes that are necessary in responding to Leaving Certificate English papers.

Don’t stick to one style or one particular genre. Write in a variety of language categories:

• Information

Take care with your penmanship. Your writing must be legible and good handwriting will create a good first impression.

If you have built up a number of good written pieces, keep them for reference. You may well be able to utilise some of your ideas and techniques in the actual examination.

Read carefully what your English teacher writes about your written work. Re-write your work to improve it and learn from your mistakes.

This essay is worth a quarter of your entire marks for this examination. Its importance cannot be overestimated!

In the examination you should spend approximately one hour and twenty minutes on this section.

Remember you will be marked under the following criteria:

• Clarity of purpose (30%)
• Coherence of delivery (30%)
• Efficiency of language use (30%)
• Mechanics (10%).

1. Write a descriptive essay which captures a sense of the difference between dawn and dusk and celebrates both the beginning and the end of the day.

• Your essay must be descriptive. Concentrate on creating images and atmosphere for the reader. Consider a multi-sensory approach. Aesthetic use of language would be particularly effective in this task.
• Plan this essay carefully. Try to create a lively and engaging piece for the reader.
• Use figures of speech in your essay. This should create images for the reader.
• Consider how the landscape reflects the difference between dawn and dusk. What images are clear for you? How can you celebrate both the beginning and end of the day?

2. Write a short story, suitable for publication in a collection of spy stories, in which a librarian, a photograph and a chair are central to the narrative.

• You must write a short story. You can take a variety of approaches but generally, all short stories have a beginning, middle and end, have at least one character, and have some sense of tension, climax and resolution.
• Ask yourself questions to create ideas:
• Beware of creating an over-long timeline. You have limited space and time. It would be impossible to cover a character’s entire life in 2-4 A4 pages.
• Try to stick with 1-3 main characters.
• You have a long time to write this essay. Re-read what you have written to check it for mistakes.
• Create atmosphere and images for the reader — it will improve your writing.
• Your story must be a spy story. It must also involve a librarian, a photograph and a chair. These items must be central to the narrative.

3. Write a personal essay in which you reflect on what feeds your imagination.

• This title gives you the opportunity to take several different approaches but remember it must be a personal account. Your ideas should be at the heart of the essay.
• A personal essay should have a degree of personal reflection. You should not just tell a story or present a few anecdotes. You must personally reflect.
• Remember how you will be awarded marks in this section:
• 30% for clarity of purpose.
• 30% for coherence of delivery.
• 30% for efficiency of language use.
• 10% for mechanics.
• Your essay must show your reflection on what feeds your imagination. You might consider some of the following:
• Daydreaming
• Conversation.

4. Write a short story which captures the evolving relationship between two characters — one young and one old — as they travel in a strange land.

• See the notes on writing a short story in Question 2 above.
• Your essay must include the following:
• An old character
• A young character
• An evolving relationship
• Travel in a strange land.

5. Write a discursive essay about some of the items you think symbolise the values held by people of your age in Ireland in 2019.

• This is a discursive essay. You need to discuss what you think symbolises the values held by people of your age today.
• Ensure that you have strong views and that your essay is lively and interesting to read.

6. Write a personal essay in which you reflect on some of the places that have helped to shape and define you, and the significance of these places in your life.

• Think about the some of the places that have shaped and defined you. Can you describe them and say why they were so influential?
• Discuss the significance of these places.

7. Write a speech, to be broadcast online, for or against the motion: We are a self-obsessed generation.

• Consider the following devices:
• Reaching out to and directly addressing the audience.
• Rhetorical questions
• Vivid and contrasting imagery.
• Ensure that you show from the beginning of the task that it is a public speech. The examiner must know that you understand the genre.
• Thank your audience for their time and attention at the end of the speech.
• This is a debate speech, which has certain structures such as addressing the chairperson, adjudicators, etc.
• The speech will be broadcast online — consider how that may influence the text of your speech.
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Descriptive Essays

Up to recently, students felt relatively confident that they were choosing from amongst four genres in the composing section of the Leaving Cert English Paper 1 – you wrote a

• short story
• personal essay
• newspaper/magazine article or
• speech/debate

Occasionally you’d have the option to write a series of diary entries, but this has more or less disappeared from composing and is more likely to appear as a QB.

Anyway, descriptive essays have started to make an appearance on the paper, a fact which I am bloody delighted about! To my mind, they are a half-way house between the short story and the personal essay. If you’re good at descriptive writing, this is a great option to choose instead of the short story because you don’t have to worry about creating a plausible ‘plot’. As long as you can describe vividly, you can potentially get full marks here. With personal essays, you will often (nay should!) write in a descriptive way but you’ll also feel the need to reveal your personality; the essence of who you are as a person. So the descriptive essay is once again a less prescriptive option, because you’ve don’t have to worry about laying bare your soul.

For a full and detailed discussion of what exactly descriptive writing is and how to do it yourself, click on this post “ Language of Narration & Description “. Meanwhile, here are the two descriptive essay titles that have come up so far – they’re very open and very doable imho.

2013 Write a descriptive essay based on a variety of glimpsed moments.

2011 Write a descriptive essay about twenty-four hours in the life of a town or city.

Here’s a link to a descriptive essay I wrote a while back, called ‘ fragments from a lost weekend ‘. I deliberately used lower case letters in the title to try and reflect my sense that this was a series of throwaway fragments; and also perhaps the idea that my experience was minor and insignificant by comparison to what my friend suffered in losing her dad.

Some would argue it’s a short story; others that it’s a personal essay. I think it’s both and neither. I think ultimately I was trying to write a descriptive essay which would capture the void which gapes open in a person’s life when they lose a parent.

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