sample personal essay leaving cert english

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) 2020: Paper 1 Section II Composing
• Back to the question >

7. Write a personal essay in which you celebrate friendship, and reflect on how you have been influenced by the unique and diverse personalities of your friends.

Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It is not something you learn in school. But if you have not learned the meaning of friendship, you really have not learned anything. Muhammad Ali said that. He learned who his friends were when he was sent to prison for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War. Even though he was the greatest boxer in the world, a tough, strong, wealthy man, he still needed his friends to keep going. But what is a friend? What is friendship and why does it matter?

Put simply, f riendship is a relationship of mutual affection between two people. Friends offer each other companionship, the ability to be oneself and express one's feelings to others, the opportunity to make mistakes without fear of judgment from friends. Friends care for each other, help each other, trust each other. What do we value most in our friends? Their loyalty, perhaps, but there are many different kinds of friends. Some friends are thrown together because of a shared location or interest, some friendships thrive despite great distances, some friendships lead to marriage, some survive multiple romantic relationships. True friends are forever.

Where do we find our friends? Friends are everywhere; you just have not met them all yet. When we are small children our friends are those people who live near us or whose mothers are friends with ours. For small children friendship is about playing together but over time we learn to share, and we learn empathy from our friends. I met Carina when I was only two. Our first photo together features her holding me in a scarily tight embrace. We met because our mothers were friends. They liked to spend time together so we got to spend time together too. Maybe we learned from them how to be friends. Certainly, we are still friends today even though virtually the only thing we have in common is our friendship. Carina is not at all like me. She is athletic and vigorous and cheerful while I am quiet and anxious and bookish. We remained friends even when Carina’s mother moved her back to her home town in the depths of the bog. To date, our friendship has endured different schools, different interests and different addresses.

What makes Carina such a great friend? That's easy; she is the mirror of myself. Where I am quiet, she is loud. When I am tired, she is full of energy. I like to read and reflect, while Carina likes to march about doing things. I always worry whether I am doing the right thing, while Carina assumes that if she has got it wrong, she will sort it out later. We are two halves of the same girl. We do different things and live in different places but nothing can change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side. We will always be friends because our roots will always be tangled.

Carina is the greatest force for change in my life. Whenever I wonder or doubt myself, it is always Carina who tells me to go for it. It was Carina who encouraged me to put down on the CAO application my most challenging course. It was Carina who made me join this club or enter that competition. Carina is all energy and fire and some of the energy is lent to me whenever I talk with her. Without her, I would be very quiet, very unadventurous and very alone, probably.

When Carina moved away, I was inconsolable. I thought I would never have a best friend again. In secondary school I was afraid to talk to anyone. They all seemed to know each other and they laughed and talked together with ease. I hid in the corners and did my work and waited for the bell to go home. Carina was furious when she heard. ‘The truth’, I confessed, ‘is that I don’t think any of them want to be my friends’. ‘Well, you won’t know if you don’t try’, Carina urged and she insisted I speak to someone the following day. ‘Ten of them might have no interest in you’, she told me, ‘but it’s all about finding the one who does,’

Thus, it was Carina, really, who found Grace for me. Had Carina not impelled me, I would never have spoken to the beautiful creature who haunted my class with such an air of calm confidence that it had never occurred to me before that she, too, was lonely. I chose her really because she was the one person who was sitting alone that morning in the classroom. I dared tell her I was lonely and knew nobody. Our friendship was born at the moment she responded ‘What! You too? I thought that I was the only one who felt that way!’ After fifteen minutes Grace knew more about me than anyone else alive. We recognised in each other a kindred spirit, a common bond. We shared the same interests, the same values and the same anxieties. We hardly had to tell each other what we thought of this and that, for we already knew. We were immediately best friends and we still are today.

Grace has lived my life intimately every day in school and every day of the holidays. We are lucky, or perhaps unlucky enough, to live in an era when we are forever connected by the internet and so we share everything that happens in our lives the moment it happens. For a long time, we were so intimately bound together that people thought we were sisters. We wore the same clothes in different colours, styled our hair the same way and bought the same foods for lunch. We loved to be the same yet different. It was reassuring and comforting to know that we were not alone; we were together.

I did not ever need to follow Grace or to imitate her; I just walked with her. I still do today but over the years our friendship has deepened and matured. We don’t need to be ‘twinnies’ any more. We already know that we are kindred spirits but we also recognise and celebrate our differences. My friendship with Grace has given me so much confidence because I always know that somebody will understand, that somebody will sit and listen, and care when I talk. Grace seemed calm and confident when I was nervous and afraid when we first met in school because Grace is calm, and patient. She did not panic when she had no friends in First Year because Grace trusted that she would meet some friends eventually. Grace knows the power of silence and calm. Grace would never have approached me, however, had I not spoken to her. If I were exactly like Grace, we might never have become friends,

Over the years Grace and I have grown as people. Perhaps we have given each other a safe anchor, allowing us to change and try out new things. We do not have all the same interests, yet we remain as close as ever, returning regularly to our safe haven, our friendship.

Grace is deeply involved in her church. I take credit for this because when she expressed an interest, I thought of Carina, and I pushed her to go and get involved. Her faith is a mystery to me, yet it is also inspiring. Just as she had the confidence to go and join a church, at least in part thanks to me, I went and started working, thanks to her. She wanted us to go on holiday together and to do that I needed money!

Through my job I have made another great friend, Vee. Vee is exactly the kind of person I would never have thought I would like. Vee is crazy, self-consciously so. She has ludicrous hair, which is a different colour every day. She wears makeup that draws an inordinate amount of attention to itself rather than enhancing her beauty. She dresses in the same way so that you notice her clothes, and not her face or figure. I never know who Vee will be from day to day. She remakes herself daily; she even named herself. Her parents quite reasonably called her Niamh but Vee remade it for herself.

Vee is arty because she loves art. She loves all art. She herself paints and has a remarkable knowledge of art from all periods but she also loves music, cinema, poetry... you name it. Vee has an opinion on everything arty, and likes to share it. Vee is in despair, quite theatrically, with most people in the world because of what dreadful philistines they are. She rails against this tendency daily. For her part, Vee spreads art around the world. She teaches children art, she paints, she posts her art on the internet. You cannot know Vee and not know about art.

They say that a friend is someone that knows all about you and still loves you. In Vee’s case, I had to know almost everything about her first before I realised that I loved her, despite herself. Vee is not an easy person to be around. When I first met her, I was a little afraid of her. She is so passionate that she is intolerant and frustrated. She frowns and shouts and gets offended easily. She is usually not talking to at least two of our colleagues. She talks about herself and her art almost all the time but her passion is infectious. She feels so deeply and cares so much that it is hard not to feel with her, to care too. I ride along with her on her adventures in art. Her great excitement when things go well, her deep despair when her art goes badly. Her fury when someone denigrates a great piece of art. The thrill she feels when she sees something wonderful.

Vee studies hard at school and works hard at our dull job, then she goes home and paints all night. She struggles into work exhausted most days and she certainly mentions it a lot. At work she often runs off to the toilets for fifty winks as she is saving her energy for her work that night. One day she memorably fell asleep in the storeroom. I don’t resent it. I glory in her madness. This is what Vee has taught me, more than anything else: the value of caring deeply about things and then doing something about it.

But Vee is not just a loud, obnoxious, opinionated show-off. She is also a loyal true friend. When I needed support at work, Vee was there. Vee also admires me and though she never tells me, she talks me up to everyone else. I often meet people who say ‘Oh you are Vee’s smart friend’. Or ‘I’ve heard everything about you. I believe you are very clever.’

Energetic, vibrant Carina, calm committed Grace and the passionate self-absorbed Vee, they all delight me and nourish me and make me better. I’m sure that in life I will meet many more friends and that they too will bring me joy. Friendship is such a wonderful gift and every friend brings something else to you. I believe that in your good friends you find a little piece of yourself that you never knew you had. Every friend brings a little more light with them, illuminating the world in a new and marvellous way.

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