personal essay workshop

Writing a strong essay can make a huge difference in job and college applications. Here are 15 online classes and books to learn how to do it.

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• Communicating ideas in a clear way is a crucial life skill no matter which field you work in.
• Writing personal essays can help perfect your storytelling and presentation skills.
• Below are 15 online classes, books, podcasts, and resources to start with.

Everyone has a story, but not everyone knows how to tell their story. One place to start is finding the perfect container for your experiences and insights. Enter: the personal essay. 

Well-crafted essays mark the difference between a meandering group of paragraphs and a clear, resonant idea. Almost every occupation can benefit from stronger communication, research, and persuasion skills — all of which can be sharpened from essay writing classes.

Think about the application prompts you've muddled through or the chances for publication you've felt too intimidated to attempt. The confidence to explore a topic, land on a perspective, and express it effectively is universally valuable, whether you're writing a personal statement for college, crafting a cover letter for a new job, or giving a presentation at work. 

The essay writing resources below range from 200-page books to eight-week online courses. Some require submitting original work to receive feedback, while others are prompts meant to inspire new ideas. 

15 essay writing online courses, workshops, and books to strengthen your storytelling skills: 

For the basics.

How to Write a Personal Essay (CreativeLive)

Joyce Maynard is a celebrated memoirist and personal essayist who knows what it takes to get an essay noticed for publication. In five hours of video instruction, students will learn how to identify ideas that could become pieces, how to build an outline, create an interesting character, and even end an essay to emphasize the final discovery. With a review rating of 100% from former students, this course is the perfect place to start your next essay. 

How to Write an Essay (edX)

This UC Berkeley class hones in on the hidden mechanisms of essays. The five-week course is more academic than creative, but ideal for those hoping to write with immaculate grammar and rigorous self-editing habits. The course (which is free to audit) provides both instructional videos and readings, and students will produce one essay as a takeaway from the class. 

Memoir and Personal Essay: Write About Yourself Specialization (Coursera)

Presented by Wesleyan University, this four-month specialization is instructed by four published essayists and memoirists. Through 16 writing assignments across four courses, students develop an approach to their own storytelling skills. And for those looking to take their writing out of the classroom, this course leaves you with a portfolio of work upon completion. 

"The Situation and The Story" by Vivian Gornick

Drawing on her experience from teaching MFA programs, Vivian Gornick challenges the writer to step back and evaluate their role in relation to the work. Are they the same person as the narrator? What details matter to the story? It's an invitation to look below the surface of life as it unfolds and ask questions of larger significance. The book is short, but explores diverse greats of the genre, from Joan Didion to Oscar Wilde. 

For coming up with ideas

Creative Writing for All: A 10-Day Journaling Challenge (Skillshare)

Seasoned journalist, novelist, and publisher Emily Gould only wants ten minutes of your time a day. In a 10-day course described as "perfect for writers and enthusiasts eager to rekindle creativity in a personal and artful way," she packs in countless creative prompts and revision tricks. It's great for writers who are crunched for time and looking to discover a new topic right under their nose.

The New York Times' Writing Prompts

This archive of questions inspired by the NYT's own stories is a perfect place to start, since jumping in can often feel like the hardest part. The Learning Network is targeted towards students, but the conversations following each prompt can be helpful for writers of all ages. After all, many essays begin as questions. Why not borrow some from the Times? 

Personal Essay Independent Study: Generating Fresh Ideas for the Personal Essay (Catapult)

Writing from life can make it difficult to be objective. What's interesting? What could become a full length essay? Led by essayist and editor Lilly Dancyger , this independent study is the perfect place to start coming up with fresh ideas. Self-guided, with three separate lessons ranging in topics from perspective to conversation, is an ideal fit for new writers looking to demystify the craft of storytelling via essays.  

"Writing Down the Bones" by Natalie Goldberg

The best writers are always avid readers and this book is a great start. With over one million copies sold and translations in 12 languages, it's hard to deny the creative jumpstart writers find from "Writing Down the Bones." The tone of the book is conversational and approachable, and it's full of compelling personal narratives and prompts. Goldberg integrates tenets of Zen meditation with writing in order to create what she coins a "Writing Practice." The practice includes self-interrogation, creating a specific space, and carving out time to read. 

For developing style

Creative Writing: Crafting Personal Essays with Impact (Skillshare)

Let The New York Times bestselling author and revered professor Roxane Gay inspire your writing to ask questions of deep resonance. Her one-hour masterclass is an insightful lesson on transforming your personal essay with cultural context. Learn how to take yourself (and your essay) seriously by expanding your story and connecting with the audience you want to reach. The class comes with a downloadable worksheet and links to additional resources. 

David Sedaris Teaches Humor and Storytelling (MasterClass)

No one writes humor like David Sedaris . With 10 bestselling essay collections under his belt, there's hardly a more qualified teacher. In his MasterClass, he explores how to pull meaning out of the mundane, how humor helps us move through the dark subjects of our stories, and how everything depends on an attention-grabbing opening. Prepare to learn, laugh, and be charmed for over three hours of his beautifully shot video lessons.

Begin with the Body (Skillshare)

Chelsea Hodson's essays have been described as, " anchors for the themes  —  identity, sexuality, loss  —  we so often see reflected back at us ." In under 45 minutes, you'll be inspired to examine a strong starting point for any essay — your own body. Plus, Hodson's demonstration of her editing process in real time and analysis of other creative works leaves you with no excuse but to, as she says, "write without expectation." She also occasionally offers feedback on essays submitted through the class.

For practice and feedback

8-Week Personal Essay & Memoir Writing (Sackett Street Writers)

For writers with some experience or an essay ready to be workshopped, writing workshops like Sackett Street 's are an excellent option. This particular class is taught by published author Anna Qu , exploring the responsibility of nonfiction writing while learning literary techniques to create a compelling story. On top of Qu's guidance, the comradery with fellow students, even online, can lead to new perspectives and creative inspiration through in-class writing prompts.

"Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" by Anne Lamott

Few books reign supreme when it comes to authors' favorites "books on books" like "Bird by Bird." Lamott's down-to-earth, homespun advice on life and writing has sold over a million copies. Simultaneously practical and profound, the book leans on the basic tenet that the most important practice is sitting down every day and simply writing. As Lamott writes: "One of the gifts of being a writer is that it gives you an excuse to do things, to go places and explore. Another is that writing motivates you to look closely at life, at life as it lurches by and tramps around."

Memoir Monday (Substack)

Every Monday, a collection of the best essays published the previous week on sites like Granta, Longreads, and Literary Hub are mailed directly to your inbox. A monthly reading series, plus interviews with notable authors provide a dose of inspiration and a curated look at up and coming work. 

WMFA Podcast hosted by Courtney Balestier

" Writing can be lonely work ," and this podcast sees conversation as a combatant to that problem. Writers across all genres and walks of life are interviewed by writer Courtney Balestier , and talks range from craft practices to book recommendations. There's also a minisode (around five minutes) on a single topic, like paying attention or restraint, released every other week. The conversation continues in a monthly newsletter featuring links, news, and recommendations. 

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Stanford Online

Personal essay workshop: taking inspiration from the masters.

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Stanford Continuing Studies

The personal essay allows us to take a small moment of life and use it as a portal into deep questions of human experience. No wonder the genre is in a moment of high renaissance! In this course, we will approach the personal essay the way painters approach their discipline: by first analyzing, then “copying” our forebears. To accomplish this, as a class, we will devote one full week to closely reading short essays by such diverse writers as Grace Paley, Ann Daum, Dinty Moore, Terese Marie Mailhot, and James Baldwin. The following week, you will draft one “imitation”—an original work that borrows a published writer’s structure or style—for feedback from your classmates and the instructor. By week six, you will have written three personal essays. Then, for the final month, you will tap your own personal mix of influences to produce an essay that will be workshopped by the entire class. Along the way, you will learn to mine your richest material, make the most of thought-provoking images, and craft endings that resonate. By “imitating” the masters, you will, paradoxically, find your unique voice.

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Women's Personal Essay Writing: A Workshop

Course details.

• Location: Online
• Duration: 9 weeks
• Times: Evenings
• Cost : $945

Next Start Date:

January 21, 2025

About this Course

We write to be seen and to see the world anew. In this generative writing workshop taught by the award-winning author, journalist and essayist Kristen Millares Young, you’ll practice the art of crafting a compelling personal essay. You’ll master the steps toward becoming a published essayist, including how to generate ideas, develop drafts, offer and receive constructive feedback, revise your own work, pitch and submit to editors, and build and sustain a writing community.

We’ll read and discuss essays by Elissa Washuta, Melissa Febos, Ada Calhoun, Jane Wong, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Gloria Anzaldúa, Audre Lorde and Elizabeth Rosner. Then you’ll write in response to timed, instructor-designed prompts based on these writers’ works. You’ll leave our time together with two workshopped essays that are ready for submission.

Three accomplished guests — New York Times-recognized editor Margot Kahn Case, Salon TV critic Melanie McFarland and Welcome to the Writer’s Life author Paulette Perhach — will share their paths and expertise with you during interactive lectures and discussions.

Designed For

Those interested in writing and publishing personal essays and adding new ideas to our social discourse.

See Requirements

• Requirements

Admission Requirements

The course is open to anyone looking for a safe space to write and share personal essays.

Time Commitment

Including time in class, you should expect to spend about seven to nine hours each week on coursework.

English Proficiency

If English is not your native language, you should have advanced English skills to enroll. To see if you qualify, make sure you are at the C1 level on the CEFR self-assessment grid . To learn more, see English Language Proficiency Requirements – Noncredit Programs .

International Students

Because this offering is 100% online, no visa is required and international students are welcome to apply. For more information, see Admission Requirements for International Students .

Technology Requirements

• Access to a computer with a recent operating system and web browser
• High-speed internet connection
• Headset and webcam (recommended)

Completing the Course

To successfully complete this course, you must fulfill the requirements outlined by your instructor.

What You’ll Learn

• How to shape a basic concept into a viable essay 
• How to revise a first draft into an effective structure
• How to provide, collect and apply feedback in the revision process
• How to foster relationships with editors and pitch your work to publications
• How to publish and promote your work

Get Hands-On Experience

• Develop submittable drafts of two personal essays
• Craft pitch letters that are ready to send to editors 

OUR ENROLLMENT COACHES ARE HERE TO HELP

Connect with an enrollment coach to learn more about this offering. Or if you need help finding the right certificate, specialization or course for you, reach out to explore your options .

Women's Personal Essay Writing: A Workshop

Approved by the UW Department of English

Learning Format

Online With Real-Time Meetings

Combine the convenience of online learning with the immediacy of real-time interaction. You’ll meet with your instructor and classmates at scheduled times over Zoom.  Learn More »

Course Sessions

January 2025 noncredit, january 2025 — online, application deadline.

Applications are open until Tuesday, January 07, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, or until the course fills, whichever comes first.

APPLICATION STEPS

This course has an automatic acceptance process. Once you complete the application and pay the application fee, you’re in. See the steps below for more details.

You’ll apply to the course on MyContinuum, our student app. MyContinuum helps you seamlessly manage the enrollment process and more.

S TEP 1: REVIEW REQUIREMENTS

Before you apply, carefully read the admission requirements on the  Requirements  tab above. In the application, you’ll be asked to confirm that you meet these requirements.

If you have any questions, or want to make sure this course is right for you, reach out to Enrollment Services at  [email protected]  or 800-506-1325.

STEP 2: APPLY

Complete the online application on the MyContinuum app. You’ll need to create an account first. If you already have a UW NetID, choose that option. Otherwise, sign in with a Google or Apple account.

Apply Online

STEP 3: PAY THE APPLICATION FEE

Next, pay the $50 nonrefundable application fee through MyContinuum. Your application is not complete until you pay this fee.

AFTER APPLYING

Once you’re accepted, we’ll ask you to complete a questionnaire on MyContinuum to help us learn more about you. Then you’ll get details about how to register for your course and pay your course fee.

To ensure your spot in class, we recommend that you register by the priority registration deadline, which is four weeks before class begins. After that time, we may release your seat to another student. The final registration deadline is two days before the course starts.

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Kristen Millares Young

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NONCREDIT COURSE

You'll earn 3 continuing education units (CEUs) for successfully completing this course. Learn more about noncredit options .

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Upcoming Online Personal Essay Writing Courses

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Unscheduled Courses

These online writing classes don’t currently have a next session on our calendar, but will soon. If you see a course you’re interested in, use the “I’m Interested” button to let us know, and we’ll follow up with you when the course is on our calendar next.

Want to reach us or our instructors with questions about our online writing courses? Contact us at [email protected] , or visit the contact form .

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Let It Rip: The Art of Writing Fiery Prose

You'll write prose that gets folks so hot and bothered they won't be able to put it down, even if it isn't about sex.

Let’s Get Personal: The Art and Craft of the Personal Essay

Draw inspiration and material from your life experiences or “real life” people you know to craft compelling, publishable personal essays. With author Margo Perin.

Make Your Prose Sing

With leslie lawrence.

Enrich your prose with techniques from poetry. Bring paper and pens; leave with a better ear and lots of ideas about how to make your prose sing.

Next-Level Creative Nonfiction: Elevating Essays, Memoir, Travel Writing & Literary Journalism

With wendy call.

Elevate your memoir, travel writing, literary journalism, & lyric and personal essays.

No More Excuses! Four Weeks to Finish and Submit Your Personal Essay or Short Memoir

Join us for this insightful four-week “get the writing done” program, give and receive thoughtful comments from your fellow writers and the instructor, and enjoy heaps of encouragement and writing wisdom along the way.

Observing What’s Vivid in Prose and Poetry

With marc olmsted.

Learn how to spotlight beauty through fresh, vivid, and surprising language, in this four week mindfulness writing course.

Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Memoir , Novel , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story , Stage and Broadcast

Oral Storytelling Techniques for Writing Flash Nonfiction

With corey rosen.

In this class, you'll harness the power of oral storytelling to craft exceptional pieces of written nonfiction.

Ordinary to Extraordinary: Turning Everyday Experiences into Poetry

Only 1 seat left!

No experience is too small or mundane to serve as a foundation for extraordinary poetry and short fiction.

Creative Nonfiction , Personal Essay , Poetry

Overcome Writing Anxiety: Boost Your Storytelling Confidence in Four Short Weeks!

"Who are you to want to write?" Someone great, that's who! Politely ask Mr. or Ms. Fear to step aside while you sign up for this fun, freeing and functional adventure.

Scene Study: Strengthen Your Writing with Compelling Scenes

With susan pohlman.

Great stories are constructed with great scenes. Immerse your reader in your stories by learning the ropes of scene development.

Secrets & Confessions: Writing Deeply Personal Nonfiction

In this fully anonymous class, we will write and share the secrets we hold closest to our chests, and turn those secrets into compelling creative nonfiction. 

Shape Your Stories: Write Five Styles of the Personal Essay

Craft powerful nonfiction essays! By exploring five exciting essay forms, you'll learn to bring the stories of your life alive on the page. 

Story Lab: The Story-Subplot Connection

Subplots are key to maintaining narrative pace and tension in a story. Drive your story forward with this deep dive into the elements of good storytelling.

Stringing the Beads: Craft Your Personal Essay

Harness the freedom of the personal essay in this 4 week course, where we'll shape our ideas, thoughts, and obsessions into compelling nonfiction pieces. 

Style and Sense: Bring Your Writing to Life

With john gottberg anderson.

How do we transport our readers to vivid worlds? In this course, learn the skills that evoke the senses and bring your writing to life.

Tales From The Memory Palace: 6 to 250 Word Memoirs

If you want to be an in demand storyteller in the digital age, you need to get in, get out and get going. In this "short" four-week memoir writing adventure, you'll learn to scope out, swoop down and snatch up important memories from your life then speed write them into miniature masterpieces.

Techwashed!: Writing with AI, Data, and Surveillance

Raise a mirror against society's relationship to technology in this two part workshop series where we will learn how to write about tech.

Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Live Workshop , Memoir , Novel , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story

Telling the Stories Your Body Holds: Writing and Shaping Strong Personal Essays

Telling your food story, with hannah howard.

Let's write at the kitchen table together, as we explore using food as a lens to tell our stories.

The Chronology of Mind: From Journal to Poem or Prose

With barbara henning.

Gather material through writing and experimenting with journaling, researching and taking notes to develop into poems or prose works.

Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Memoir , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story

The Heart Remembers: Writing About Loss

With charlotte maya.

How can we organize grief and loss into language? Honor your feelings and write moving essays in this heart-centered creative nonfiction class. 

The Literary Essay

The soundtrack of your life: writing about music, memories and mix tapes.

In a song inspired class, write several essays about the music that has moved you through life: the emotions, the relationships, the events, the outcomes.

The Surprising Sentence: Honing Your Prose Style

With jessie roy.

Great sentences stack up into great stories. Learn how to hone your style and voice at the most basic unit of writing, the sentence, in this workshop.

These Fragments: From Journal Pages to Personal Essays

Learn to harvest the raw creativity of journaling into inspired, publication-worthy personal essays.

Toying with the Truth: Writing the Personal Essay

Experiment with creative nonfiction forms and find the best way to tell your personal stories. Write a short piece each week, and choose one draft to polish. 

Word Flashes & Eye Snapshots: Sketching Your Life Awake

For any writer wanting to root writing in vision and vision in the body: for poetry, fiction, essay, memoir & pleasure.

Write from the Untamed Mind: Find Your Voice

With susan vespoli.

Join Susan in two writing circles each week: intimate spaces for writers to free-write together, saying yes to whatever shows up, followed by group read-arounds. These writing sessions are spontaneous, intimate, freeing, and transformative.

Write Your World: Express Your Creativity through Article Writing, Blogging, and Essays

Writing circle workshop: writing for happiness, healing, and health (monday/friday).

Expressive writing can be a powerful elixir for what ails you. Learn and practice tools for writing expressively, including two virtual writing circles each week, turn raw writing into poetry or prose, and come away with a better understanding of how writing can lead toward wellness.

Creative Nonfiction , Fiction , Lifestyle and Wellness , Memoir , Personal Essay , Poetry , Short Story

Writing Circle Workshop: Writing for Happiness, Healing, and Health (Tuesday/Saturday)

Writing place in creative nonfiction.

In Creative Nonfiction, place is a character in itself. Deeply explore a narrative and a place of your choosing, and make weekly progress on your essay or memoir.

Writing the Body: A Nonfiction Craft Seminar

The weird and wild body is a rich site of exploration in creative nonfiction. Explore the questions, stories, and lessons your body holds in this seminar with Margo Steines.

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Welcome to Write The World Workshops: Writing Camps and College Essay Courses

Open Programs

Complete your college essay online course & college essay review service.

Journey through dozens of prompts, videos, and resources to explore and reflect on YOUR story, in YOUR own words. You’ll walk away with a fully drafted, stand-out Personal Statement in hand, as well as a plethora of writing resources for college and beyond.

With Write the World’s College Essay Review, you’ll have a college essay editor on your side – anytime, anywhere. Submit drafts to our team of Expert Advisors for review, and receive fully personalized, multi-page reports within 48 hours.

Virtual Summer Writing Camps 2024

About write the world.

Write the World is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 2012 at Harvard University, dedicated to equipping teenagers with the confidence and competence to change the world, one word at a time.

For over 10 years, Write the World has reached and improved the writing of over 101K+ teens and educators from 125 countries. We’ve empowered young people to develop their voices, refine their editing skills, and publish on our global platform. We pride ourselves on offering a supportive environment that prizes self-expression, safety, and privacy for young writers aged 13–19.

Our students access opportunities for recognition through our blog, online journal, and free monthly writing competitions that feature noted guest judges such as United States Inaugural Poet and Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman ; former speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama  Sarah Hurwitz ; and United States Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky.  

We created Write the World Workshops & Services to further inspire young writers to express themselves, write in a variety of genres, and boost their confidence. Our intuitive writing process and curricula are designed to develop teenagers’ writing and critical thinking skills, and empower young writers to become global citizens and succeed in school, career, and life.

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Our on-demand  Complete Your College Admissions Essay Online Course  guides Juniors and Seniors through a step-by-step roadmap toward college essay success and develop standout essays. We also continue to offer our popular  College Essay Review  services, where students receive a comprehensive feedback report within 48 hours and have a college essay editor on their side – anytime, anywhere.

Our  virtual creative writing camps  also return every summer, where students (ages 13-19) experiment with the written word, try their hand at new styles of writing, and work with notable professionals to create pieces they’re proud of from the comfort of their home.

We look forward to writing with you!

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Join our newsletter below for workshop updates , new blog posts, and more!  Please also check out our College Essay Online Course and Review services.

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We are on the lookout for partner educators, counselors, schools, and consultants, “write the world taught our students the essentials of writing a college essay in an efficient, student centered, and supportive way. our students left this workshop with more confidence in their writing and a sense of ease regarding their essay. the small groups and 1:1 guidance from wtw advisors allowed for our students to comfortably open up and connect themselves to their writing.”.

–  Genesis T., Partnership with TRIO Talent Search | GEAR Up Massachusetts , Lowell High School 

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CNF 23 W — Personal Essay Workshop: Taking Inspiration from the Masters

Rachel howard author, textbooks for this course:.

Gotham Writers

Personal essay writing.

Personal Essay Writing is an Intensive, meaning it happens in a short time span (1 day in NYC, or 2 days on Zoom). The course includes a mixture of lectures and exercises. It’s open to writers of any level. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.

What do you think about X or Y or Z? And how have your life experiences informed your views on these topics? That’s the essence of a personal essay: viewpoints filtered through the lens of your personal experience. Any topic goes, from the ridiculous to the sublime.

Unlike the stiff essays you may have written in school, these should feel personal , imbued with your unique voice and observations. Here you’ll learn techniques for crafting personal essays and how to market your work.

Whether you seek to write about things major or minor, stimulating or tickling, we’ll show you how to write personal essays that do you proud.

By the end of the day, you'll have a working definition of what a personal essay is and how to write one.

Ruth Eichacker

A personal essay is similar to a memoir; both incorporate elements from the writer’s life. But a personal essay focuses more on the viewpoint, and a memoir focuses more on the story. Gotham also offers courses on Memoir Writing and Essay & Opinion Writing , which includes personal essay, among other forms of viewpoint writing.

Upcoming Classes

This course gives an overview of the basics of writing personal essays. Course components:      Brief lectures      Writing exercises

Topics:      What is a Personal Essay?      Finding Topics      Merging the Personal and Universal       Structure      Voice      Getting Published

Note: Content may vary among individual classes.

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The art of writing the personal essay

Choose a start date

• Taught: Sun, Daytime
• Time: 10:30 - 16:30
• Dates: 16 February 2025 - 16 February 2025
• Location: Online
• Dates: 01 June 2025 - 01 June 2025
• Tutors: Yvonne Singh

Course Code: HW504

• Dates: 16/02/25 - 16/02/25

Duration: 1 session

Choose a start date  

Download form & post

Any questions? [email protected] or call 020 4582 0415

Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.

What is the course about?

This course explores the key considerations when writing the personal essay in relation to tone, perspective, language and structure. This is a live online course. You will need: - Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome. - A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone if you don't have a computer. - Earphones/headphones/speakers. We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.

What will we cover?

- What kind of experiences lend themselves to the personal essay. - Establishing tone and perspective in the personal essay. - Using language and structure for effect in the personal essay.

What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...

- Select material from their personal experience for use in an essay. - Experiment with using tone or perspective for effect in the personal essay. - Experiment with using language or structure for effect in the personal essay.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This is an introductory course but an understanding of basic language techniques used in creative writing would be of benefit.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

You will be a taught through a mix of tutor instruction, writing exercises general discussion of approaches, issues and skills in pairs, groups or as a class. There will also be some analysis of example essays written by a range of authors. All writing courses at City Lit will involve an element of workshop. This means that students will produce work which will be discussed in an open and constructive environment with the tutor and other students. The college operates a policy of constructive criticism, and all feedback on another student’s work by the tutor and other students should be delivered in that spirit. For classes longer than one day regular reading and writing exercises will be set for completion at home to set deadlines. City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit .

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

Please bring writing materials with you.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

City Lit runs a wide variety of autobiographical writing courses. For further information please browse our website. All students are invited to join us at Late Lines , our regular performance night for City Lit writers. Students are also encouraged to submit their work to Between the Lines , our annual anthology of creative writing. For the latest news, courses and events, stay in touch with the Department on Facebook and Twitter .

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Kristen Millares Young

Telling your story: a personal essay workshop.

This speaker is available for both in-person and online programs. 

Our life stories are a means for connection—a tender offering in a troubled era. Part reportage and part reflection, personal essays can reveal hidden truths about ourselves, our families, and our societies.

In this interactive and generative writing workshop, Kristen Millares Young will help participants tell their own stories. Available in English and Spanish, each hourlong session will begin with a one-page reading to inspire group discussion, followed by timed prompts that guide individual writing sessions. By weaving together community narratives, we can craft a vision for our future that includes hope and the capacity for unexpected change.

Cuenta Tu Historia: Un Taller de Ensayo Personal

Nuestras historias de vida son un medio de conexión: una oferta tierna en una época convulsa. En parte reportaje y en parte reflexión, los ensayos personales pueden revelar verdades ocultas sobre nosotros mismos, nuestras familias y nuestras sociedades.

En este taller de escritura interactiva y generativa, Kristen Millares Young ayudará a los participantes a contar sus propias historias. Disponible en inglés y español, cada sesión de una hora comenzará con una lectura de una página para inspirar la discusión en grupo, seguida de indicaciones cronometradas que guían las sesiones de escritura individuales.  Al tejer las narrativas de la comunidad, podemos diseñar una visión para nuestro futuro que incluya la esperanza y la capacidad de cambios inesperados.

Kristen Millares Young (she/her) is a journalist, essayist, and author. Her novel Subduction was a Paris Review staff pick, winner of Nautilus and IPPY awards, a finalist for two International Latino Book Awards, and Foreword Indies Book of the Year. She is also the editor of Seismic , which was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. Kristen was the researcher for the New York Times team behind “Snow Fall,” which won a Pulitzer. She is a former Hugo House Prose Writer-in-Residence and currently Seattle University’s 2023 Distinguished Visiting Writer. She is also a book reviewer for the Washington Post.

Young lives in Seattle.

Kristen Millares Young (ella) es periodista, ensayista y autora. Su novela Subduction fue elegida por el personal de Paris Review , ganadora de los premios Nautilus e IPPY, finalista de dos International Latino Book Awards y Foreword Indies Book of the Year. También es editora de Seismic , que fue finalista del Premio del Libro del Estado de Washington. Kristen fue la investigadora del equipo del New York Times detrás de “Snow Fall”, que ganó un Pulitzer. Es ex escritora residente en prosa de Hugo House y actualmente es escritora visitante distinguida de la Universidad de Seattle en 2023. También es crítica literaria para el Washington Post .

Young vive en Seattle.

For more information on how to book a speaker, please contact Sarah Faulkner at (206) 682-1770 x101 or by email .

Get the latest news and event information from Humanities Washington, including updates on Think & Drink and Speakers Bureau events.

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Memoir and Personal Essay Two-Sunday Workshop

Get your creative juices flowing with this focused weekend workshop that helps you jump-start work on several new pieces of creative nonfiction writing.

What you can learn.

• Complete exercises and writing prompts to spark your creativity and generate new ideas
• Begin several new pieces of creative nonfiction in class
• Learn tools for continuing progress on your writing once class ends

About this course:

Summer 2024 schedule.

Enrollment limited to 20 students; early enrollment advised. Visitors not permitted. Internet access required.

This course meets in person at the designated class meeting time and location. Students must be present at the course meeting time as each student’s final grade may include scores for participation. Please inform your instructor if you will miss a class meeting. You are responsible for any class information you missed. We suggest you arrange with a fellow classmate to share their notes when feasible.

Internet access required to retrieve course materials.

Fall 2024 Schedule

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• Colleges & Universities

Essay Workshop for Students

If you’re an educator or event organizer for an institution, hosting an essay workshop for students in 2024 is a great way to cover several topics and share important information with students. . When students are preparing for college or graduate school, they’ll benefit from reviewing more than just standard essay formats, college essay introduction examples or understanding the importance of error-free work. While a college application may contain several components, a personal essay is an opportunity for each student to stand out, but it’s something that many students struggle with! An essay workshop, hosted by a professional service at your institution, can provide students with an exciting opportunity to learn and thrive when writing future essays!

Note: If you are a university, business, or student organization representative and want to partner with us, visit our partnerships page .

Article Contents 13 min read

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 10 students, 100, or even 1,000 who potentially interested in attending an essay workshop, there are plenty of ways you can organize and execute a successful essay workshop for students who plan to attend or already matriculated at your institution! Essay workshops for students can be organized internally or offered externally through university partnerships . If you’re unsure as to how many of your students would attend a workshop, you can consider explaining the benefits to students, and striving to make your workshop inclusive and enticing for all, even those who feel they’re already great essay writers. Essays are an inevitable portion of many post-secondary programs, and learning how to craft well-written personal essays, as well as how to write an effective statement of intent , and how to approach college essay topics can be overwhelming for students…and counselors/faculty! Nevertheless, this knowledge is required for most admissions processes, as well as in general for those students who are unsure of their future academic path. A workshop is a great, organized and exciting way to present valuable information to your students.

Interested in organizing essay workshops for your students? Partner with BeMo's university students benefits program. Students have access to top admissions experts and coaches who can provide free, unlimited academic support, including essay writing workshops. Learn more on our university partnerships page.

• For most, essay skills are not inborn, but are learned through practice, and through acquiring proper guidance and feedback! Whether you’re a high school counselor or department head who is looking to host a workshop to help your students prepare for post-secondary, or, you’re in a position to host one at a college or university, know that many students will benefit from learning more about essays.
• Essays come in many shapes in sizes, and knowing how to properly structure and format an essay is a great life skill for your students to have, even if they aren’t sure if an undergraduate degree or any additional higher education is in their future. For students who are planning on attending an undergraduate program , or, who are currently attending one, essay workshops can help them understand admissions essays, and other essays that may be requested as a part of the admissions process to specific programs, such as nursing , law , medicine , and graduate school .
• Attending an essay workshop can help students organize their application process, and give them the necessary tools and confidence they need in order to craft a well-written, engaging admissions essay. Many may not have previously had the opportunity to access tools that are intended to help them perfect their essays, nor may they have had the chance to receive feedback, or even learn how to properly write a personal essay that speaks to their character and strengths, and appeals to the admissions teams.

Essay workshops are a great way to help students prepare for both academic and personal/admissions essays that they may be required to write in their near future. Being able to understand, with confidence, what makes a great personal essay, and how to structure and write a compelling essay in general, is an invaluable skill that students can utilize through their professional and academic careers.

Workshops can be organized in a variety of ways, and can cover a lot of material in a short period of time. Whether you’re hoping to host a 3-hour workshop, or, one that spans over several days and includes several learning activities, your students will have the opportunity to acquire essay-specific knowledge and put what they’ve learned to practice. Workshops can also be self paced and virtual, should you and your students find this to be more effective.

A huge benefit of workshops is that they can summarize and teach specific pointers and tips in a short period of time. If your workshop is to be about general essays, or, admissions essays, for example, you can opt to only include vital information and the best tips. Prior to the workshops, students may have only acquired essay writing knowledge through English classes, educational material or online tutorials that often contain a lot of additional information. In your workshop, you can be specific, and offer your students a lot of value.

Workshops are also beneficial because they can help in instances where the number of students requiring essay help is greater than the number of supports, that is, teachers, faculty, advisors or counselors. If your student-to-leader ratio isn’t the best, a workshop is a great, efficient and organized way to provide all students with tools, resources, and experiences when individualized attention and private counseling isn’t always an option. And, if you decide to hire a professional service, such as BeMo Academic Consulting , to supply materials and conduct your workshop, you’ll be able to rest-assured that your students will be learning vital information from experts who have helped thousands of students, and who focus on academic and admissions essays, interviews, and applications every day. Workshops are a unique learning experience that add tremendous value, as well as an element of excitement! Students will be eager to learn skills through a new form of delivery, whether you decide to host an online workshop, one in-person, or, have a combination of self-directed and collaborative activities. You may also opt to offer follow up activities and resources to keep student’s motivated through their writing experience, and this is another reason why a professional service can benefit students and organizers alike Should students require additional support and attention, it can be arranged through the company you hire to conduct your workshop—either as an extended portion of the workshop, or, for a discounted rate for those who attended the initial workshop.

As mentioned above, your workshop may be hosted on an afternoon for a few hours, online, or, over the span of several sessions and include online and in-person learning materials! Deciding how you’ll host your workshop, and how often (this could be a bi-annual event, for example) can depend on whether or not you’re a secondary or post-secondary institution, and how many students you have in attendance.

Components of an essay workshop can include:

Student can be welcomed with a light hearted ice breaker to get them excited! It doesn’t matter if your workshop is a virtual, self-paced workshop, or an in-person one with a crowd present. Opening with a story or testimonial, or even asking questions to the students to get them excited about learning how to improve their essay skills is a great way to get everybody excited about the workshop. Then, jumping into providing them with an agenda, as well as an overview of the workshop’s intended goals and outcomes is a good way to merge into the important content.

2. Encourage students to work with their strengths, and identify their weaknesses

It’s important to understand, and ensure your students understand, that the skills they already have should be utilized, but that they should strive to recognize their weaknesses and work with them. The purpose of a workshop is to improve a skill, and in this case, these will be skills specific to essay writing. You may have students attending who don’t understand how to format and write an essay whatsoever, but more than likely (especially with post-secondary) students will be looking to improve their skills for a particular type of essay, such as an admissions essay that is a mandatory component of their college or graduate school application..

Writing a personal essay is confusing for many, and quite daunting. There is no thesis or thorough analysis necessary, but, the essay still requires structure. When writing about their lives, their intent, or their passion for a particular program, many students struggle to tell their story in a way that is formatted well. Personal essays still require a clear introduction, body, and conclusion, with a key ‘point’ or takeaway, such as a defining moment or important quality that is meant to be the focus of the essay. Asking students to make note of what their strengths are, and what their biggest weaknesses, or, concerns are about their current essay writing ability is a good way to ease into this topic. Understanding what areas need improvement early-on will help students hone in on specific portions of your workshop, and will encourage self-awareness and criticism, which is necessary for writing a personal college essay.

3. Review how to structure and format an essay

Formatting and structuring essays well is crucial, so even if you feel your students may already understand how to format, workshops should always review styles, formats, best practices, and the structure of the essay. This can be reviewed through a presentation, and/or through a handout or another self-paced reading material that students can refer to later on when they’re writing their essay. In general, students should be taught that, when focussing on personal, professional essays, they should never add fancy formats or fonts, and should try to keep their spacing at either 1.5-2.0 so it’s legible. Additionally, students must always adhere to wordcounts. Most college admissions essays are about 500-600 words in length, however, students should always double check their instructions as this can vary! Sometimes, students struggle to sum up a detailed essay in less than 1000 words, so this is another reason workshops that focus specifically on essays and writing for an admissions team can be beneficial.

As far as structuring goes, for college admissions essays, students don’t have to adhere to the 5 paragraph ‘hamburger’ structure they may have been taught in high school, that is: Introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Students must have a clear hook/introduction, a clear intent behind their narrative, and a conclusion, but it certainly does not have to follow the 5-paragraph structure…especially with a word count of 500!

4. Review best practices, examples of great essays, and examples of what NOT to say

It’s important for students to see samples of great essays! Many workshops will include comparison exercises where students will get to view mediocre essays alongside excellent ones, and be encouraged to distinguish the key differences either on their own or with a small group in order to understand why one essay is markedly stronger than the other.

The purpose of this exercise isn’t to make students feel as though their writing is bad, but to show them how the right words, structure, format, and essay content can really tell a strong story and encourage them to adopt these best practices and skills. . This is what they’ll want to achieve when they send essays to admissions teams in the future—they’ll want to stand out as unique, and will want to be remembered as a strong candidate. However, some students struggle with telling the story they need to tell in an organized, concise manner.

It’s important that you emphasize that college admissions essays, whether for graduate, professional or undergraduate programs, are not the same as a cover letter, CV, or resume. Depending on how you want your workshop to be structured, it is possible to include some graduate school cover letter examples , or graduate school resume examples in an exercise to help students identify and understand the differences. Often, students will find themselves listing off their accomplishments, or reiterating information that is on their transcripts, and/or included in other admissions documents. In most cases, admissions essays are to be personal, and some may even include a specific prompt.

In order for students to identify the key moments in their lives or qualities they want to express in their essay, students can be asked to reflect on what events in their lives brought them to that exact moment, where they hope to go, what they hope to achieve, and why. Often, inspiration can be drawn from a single childhood event, a defining experience, or even a series of small interactions and moments that when combined, shaped the student to be who they are today! These things may include: experience with a sport or hobby that helped them become a leader or break their shyness, an experience with a mentor or role model, a time period in their life where many changes occurred, volunteering with the less fortunate, or at a hospital, to give back to the community, a course they took that changed their life and taught them some valuable lessons, like dramatic arts, or even growing up in a small, hardworking town with some remarkable friends and family!

Students should be encouraged to identify what story they want to tell, and do so in chronological order. And, they should be able to identify a few of their strongest traits—such as their collaboration skills and empathy for others—and draw on these throughout their narrative. The point of their essay is to tell a story that shows how they got to the position they’re in today, and how these great qualities of theirs, that will surely help them succeed academically and professionally, developed. To illustrate this point, you may even opt to utilize pop culture examples of ‘great character development’ from movies or a series, and ask students to identify the defining moments in a character’s life and note what traits and skills they acquire as a result.

It may feel unavoidable or tempting for students to ‘dump’ information into an essay, especially if they’ve had an eventful life, however, they should be encouraged to stick to only sharing necessary details, and opting to share ones with positive outcomes. It is absolutely okay for a student to include something like, “Watching my grandmother fiercely battle cancer for ten years made me not only appreciate the hard work of the nurses, doctors, surgeons, and caregivers involved, but also, respect and admire the strength of the patient, and the patient journey as a whole. My grandmother passed a few years ago, but she continues to inspire me. She is one of the reasons that I want to work in the medical field.” This may be a sad portion of the essay, but it ultimately had a positive outcome and is key in a student’s development. However, students should avoid adding in details of events that don’t directly impact their academic and career path, or, are too personal. Admissions teams don’t need to know about a crushing family divorce, a broken arm, or a difficult childhood phase, unless these events directly contributed toward the development of key qualities and inspiration the student currently has!

Overall, teaching students to keep their essays brief, concise, and flowing from points A, to B, to C is essential. A strong ‘hook’ of an introduction, followed by a great story and a conclusion that wraps it all up is what students should focus on. Encouraging students to check their spelling and grammar several times before submitted their essay is key, and even suggesting that they ask a trusted family member, teacher, or counselor to review their work is advised. Writing several drafts is a great way to achieve a fantastic final product! Lastly, students should be encouraged in the workshop to write in their own unique voice, and even use a bit of humor if they see fit! While they should not be overly casual, and should avoid bad language or abbreviations, students do not need to write in a serious or neutral tone.

Offering your students any additional tips about essay writing, such as making several drafts, or talking breaks when they’re feeling writer’s block can help with normalizing the struggles of the writing process. This can put student’s minds at ease and help them work through their essay knowing that it’s normal to hit roadblocks, and that they will overcome any issues they face! Additionally, your workshop should include the opportunity for students to practice what they’re learned and write either a first draft of a college admissions essay or, a roadmap to their essay where they plan out their key development points and identify their traits they wish to discuss in the essay.

Giving feedback can be tricky if you have hundreds of students, so how you offer feedback can vary. You may wish to have a team of workshop volunteers, comprised of other faculty or teaching assistants, who will be able to review each student submission. Additionally, hiring a professional service can help ensure students receive the appropriate amount of feedback and support as well. For larger groups, you may opt to do a self-assessment with a grading rubric, and with the information they’ve acquired throughout the workshop. . The goal with feedback isn’t to discourage what the student has written, nor is it to ‘get it right’ the first time! Essays require practice, patience, and a lot of planning. During every step of the writing process, students should learn to understand what is valuable and useful on their page, and what needs to be edited or removed in order to keep the essay on-track.

6. Hire a consulting service to help organize and execute the best essay workshop for your students

While it may seem like a do-able undertaking, facilitating an essay workshop for several students requires a significant amount of preparation and expertise…and your job wouldn’t stop once your workshop was organized, either! Students require ongoing support, feedback, and encouragement, and this can be overwhelming for one or two organizers. That’s why hiring an academic consulting service, such as BeMo Academic Consulting, is a great idea if you’re looking to provide your students with valuable information and support from professionals. BeMo has helped thousands of students understand and write admissions essays, and prepare for academic interviews, exams, and application processes. If you’ve got an idea or inspiration for a workshop in mind, BeMo can certainly help you execute it and provide your students with the knowledge, skills, and feedback they require for a successful academic and professional career! And, if there are students who are seeking additional support, you may opt to invite them to another workshop, or suggest they further explore preparatory services like BeMo. BeMo can help students further understand the admissions process, and can offer 1-on-1 consulting and in-depth essay support for students who require it.

Being able to write a great essay, especially a personal one that may be required for college admissions, is an invaluable skill and can help students in their academic careers, as well as their professional ones. Essay skills require a lot of practice, patience, and planning. Even if students have written essays in their high school career, the structure and purpose of admissions essays are quite different.

An essay workshop provides students with the experience to learn about what skills are required in order to comprise a great essay, and what information admissions teams are looking for. Workshops can be hosted for 10 students or 500 students, they can consist of presentations, handouts, and activities, such as listing their own skills, scoring others’, and partaking in mock exercises with their peers. Alternatively, workshops may be self-paced or entirely online. Either way, workshops offer an exciting learning opportunity that can help students further develop and enhance great essay writing skills in a short period of time! Many institutions opt to hire consulting services, such as BeMo Academic Consulting, to conduct their workshops to allow students access to valuable information and tips from proven professionals.

In general, most students will benefit to some degree! However, essay skills workshops that focus on college admission essays are typically best for either grade 11 and 12 students looking to apply to college in the near future, or, undergraduate students who are looking forward to applying to a graduate or professional program to further their education.

As noted, many institutions opt to hire services like BeMo to conduct their workshops, and this means individual costs may vary by school. However, there are always discounts and packages available for institutions who decide to conduct several workshops, or make additional services from BeMo accessible to their students!

Your workshop can cover any number of topics, and can include insight from a professional team, should you hire one. In general, many workshops tend to follow a schedule/outline similar to this one:

• Welcome/ overview of what will be covered
• Discuss strengths and weaknesses students currently have as they pertain to essays
• Talk about the goal of the essay, this is a great time to touch on ‘character development’ to illustrate the point and encourage students to understand their own development before they write
• Structure and formatting do’s and don’ts
• Writing style, word count and spelling
• What not to include in an essay, including examples of other types of writing or poorly written essays
• Offer time to practice and/or a feedback exercise, and give additional resources to keep students motivated and supported through their future essay writing process

They could... but it wouldn't be the same as attending a workshop! Students do learn how to write essays in high school, and this information could be searched online, but many students benefit from a personalized touch and learning experience! Furthermore, college essays are a professional form of writing and do not typically follow the 'hamburger', or, '5 paragraph' structure students are taught when they are young. So, although students could search for this information online or watch a video tutorial, an organized workshop provides an exciting opportunity for students to learn, within a few hours, all that they need to know about college essays, and even have the opportunity to put what they've learned into practice.

Despite their willingness, some students may struggle with writing, or personal writing! That is why encouraging students to identify their own strengths and weaknesses before writing can be beneficial, as can providing feedback (or, the opportunity to structured peer feedback). Additionally, some students may struggle with writing altogether, and this is why it’s important to put an emphasis on key ‘must have’s’, such as a clear structure and format, stress that students adhere to wordcounts, and try to reiterate the importance of writing several drafts, and writing an organized story with details that aren’t included on their resume, transcript, or CV.

It’s common for schools and other institutions conducting workshops for students to hire a professional service or team to conduct their workshop for them. Often, this means that a company comprised of academic experts will take the reigns and conduct the workshop—or, supply the appropriate materials, outlines and additional resources to the staff conducting it! This is a great way to ensure that students are only being taught the best, most concise information available that is relevant to their current essay writing needs and can help enhance their skills. If there are students who are seeking additional support after the workshop you may opt to invite them to another workshop, or suggest preparatory services, such as BeMo Academic Consulting BeMo can help students further organize their applications for college or graduate school/professional school and give them more individualized attention that can help them better understand what is expected of their application and essays.

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Summer Sessions

Summer events & writing support at the writing center.

• by Danniele M Biala
• July 02, 2024

As many of you know summer sessions will be hosting many events at the Writing Center this summer. But did you know they also provide free writing consultations and workshops? Whether you're working on an essay, personal statement, or cover letter, the Writing Center is here to support you. Additionally, there's quiet study space available for your convenience. Everyone is welcome!

Summer Hours Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Location 482 Hutchison Dr. (TLC, 4th Floor) 

Writing Center Website 

The Writer's Workshop @ Authors Publish

The personal essay workshop with marin sardy, a four week workshop on the art & craft of writing personal essays.

Acclaimed author and instructor Marin Sardy is leading a four-week workshop on the art and craft of the personal essay. Explore the art of the personal essay, get extensive feedback on your writing, and learn the process of finding publication -- all with support from a successful author and instructor.

Four weeks of in-depth lessons on the art and craft of writing personal essays.

Detailed feedback on your writing from Marin Sardy.

Personal guidance on the process of finding publication.

Access to live office hours with all of our instructors, even after the course has finished.

Full access to our private community of writers, so you can network with your fellow students.

Explore the Art & Craft of the Personal Essay

With Critically Acclaimed Author Marin Sardy

You are invited to join Marin Sardy for a month-long workshop on the art and craft of writing the personal essay.

During this course, you will study the craft of writing the personal essay, so that you can share your story in the most meaningful and impactful way possible.

During this course, students will:

• Practice the craft elements integral to personal essay writing.
• Explore the possibilities inherent in the essay form.
• Read and discuss work by writers like Joan Didion, Alexander Chee, and Claudia Rankine, looking to them for insights as we move into increasingly fluid, fragmentary, and innovative approaches to personal essay writing.
• Consider topics ranging from scene building to finding resolution.
• Discuss the writer’s practice, revision process, and paths to publication.

Ultimately, this course will strengthen and expand students’ sense of how an essayist can powerfully convey life experiences and also communicate their lasting emotional and symbolic significance.

Marin Sardy’s memoir was published by Pantheon, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Her essays have been published by Tin House, The New Yorker online and The Paris Review Daily, among many other places.

She is not just a successfully published author, she is also an experienced professor and writing teacher, who cares about connecting with students and helping them grow as writers.

Marin is offering extensive feedback on student writing, as a core part of this course. Each week, you will have the opportunity to submit work for feedback from Marin. She will give you detailed notes on up to 3 essays, totaling 5,000 words. She will also help you revise one essay, and guide you through the process of finding publication.

The course starts on Monday, September 5th and ends on Friday, September 30th. For those who need extra time, students will have a full six months to submit work for feedback. You will also be welcome to attend office hours after the course is officially over.

Because of the extensive personal feedback in this course, enrollment is strictly limited to 22 students. Once the course is filled, we will immediately close enrollment.

If you are planning on joining this course, I urge you to enroll right away.

About Marin Sardy

Marin Sardy is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir The Edge of Every Day: Sketches of Schizophrenia (Pantheon, 2019). Sardy’s book was excerpted in the New Yorker online and her essays have appeared in Tin House ,  Guernica ,   the Missouri Review , the Paris Review Daily , and many other journals, as well as in two award-winning photography books. Sardy has three times had her essays listed as “notable” in the Best American series and has been awarded residency fellowships at Hawthornden Castle and Catwalk Institute.

Workshop Schedule

The course starts on Monday, September 5th and ends on Friday, September 30th, 2022. The course comes with daily lessons you can study on your own time, and interaction with Marin Sardy. Everything is provided online, through the digital learning platform hosted by Thinkific.

Note that you will have up to six months after the course finishes to submit your writing for feedback. Also note that you will have access to office hours even after the course is complete.

Daily lessons, available to study any time on our online learning platform, hosted by Thinkific.

Personal feedback on every lesson via email, our online discussion platform, or our private Facebook Group.

Weekly opportunities to submit your work for detailed feedback from the instructor.

Enrollment is strictly limited to 22 students. The early bird tuition is available until Monday, August 22nd.

Full Tuition

Early Bird Tuition

2 x $248.50

Early Bird Payment Plan

Reviews of This Course

Totally appropriate, and exactly what i needed..

I loved this course. I only wish it could be longer. Every selection was interesting. The writing exercises were provocative and enjoyable. The feedback on my essay submissions were good and useful. I want more!! (That's because the essays I submi...

I loved this course. I only wish it could be longer. Every selection was interesting. The writing exercises were provocative and enjoyable. The feedback on my essay submissions were good and useful. I want more!! (That's because the essays I submitted were early chapters of a book manuscript that is under review by a publisher. So any additional help could be very helpful to me.) While Marin's general concept of "the personal essay" doesn't always fit what I'm trying to do, everything she taught was useful to me, and very interesting. It there's a sequel, I would like to sign up!

Inspiring and Instructive

Susan cohen.

Marin Sardy provides excellent examples and instruction on different essay writing techniques while encouraging writers to share their challenges and fears. Her feedback is tactful and clear, with a keen intuition on where a writer wants to go a...

Marin Sardy provides excellent examples and instruction on different essay writing techniques while encouraging writers to share their challenges and fears. Her feedback is tactful and clear, with a keen intuition on where a writer wants to go and how to get there. Great class, highly recommended.

Highly Recommend This Fantastic Workshop!

Dana kinsey.

Marin is a gifted and caring teacher, supplying exactly the right feedback to assist in revision. Her honesty was refreshing and her insight was valuable. I never take courses to learn what I'm doing right; I take them to learn the opposite. Th...

Marin is a gifted and caring teacher, supplying exactly the right feedback to assist in revision. Her honesty was refreshing and her insight was valuable. I never take courses to learn what I'm doing right; I take them to learn the opposite. The pieces she chose as anchors inspired me to reach beyond my current style and really take some risks in terms of content and form. Her suggestions for publishers also proved super helpful. I could say much more, but I think it could be most telling to simply post a link (https://www.prose.onl/read/dana-kinsey) to the first piece I wrote with Marin that was actually published today, one week after the course ended. Without this workshop and Marin's expertise, it would not exist.

Excellent Introduction to Different Types of Personal Essays

Mary atkinson.

Marin Sardy's Personal Essay Workshop covered so much in a short time. She provided great examples of different ways to approach personal essays along with her insightful comments about them. I especially appreciated her emphasis on each writer's ...

Marin Sardy's Personal Essay Workshop covered so much in a short time. She provided great examples of different ways to approach personal essays along with her insightful comments about them. I especially appreciated her emphasis on each writer's personal process. We write to discover what we want to say and why and then dig deeper in revision. She is truly knowledgeable and passionate about the personal essay. I highly recommend her course!

The Personal Essay with Marin Sardy

Isa de quesada.

Excellent...when I started I had no idea how to begin an essay and get it published. This course gave me the tools necessary to funnel my writing into an essay form. The structure of the course was incredibly helpful in organizing myself and my wr...

Excellent...when I started I had no idea how to begin an essay and get it published. This course gave me the tools necessary to funnel my writing into an essay form. The structure of the course was incredibly helpful in organizing myself and my writing. I would love to take a level 2 Personal Essay Workshop with Marin.

Excellent workshop

Anneke campbell.

Marin Sardy's Personal Essay Workshop has been powerful, educational and fun. The workshop is very well organized in bite sized pieces with the right balance of reading, writing and exchange. I particularly appreciate her clarity and the fact that...

Marin Sardy's Personal Essay Workshop has been powerful, educational and fun. The workshop is very well organized in bite sized pieces with the right balance of reading, writing and exchange. I particularly appreciate her clarity and the fact that we have a half year to complete the work and get feedback. Highly recommended.

Marin Sardy's Personal Essay Class

Linda luther-starbird.

I very much enjoyed this class, and I learned that I liked personal essay much more than I had anticipated. This morning I read a review about using personal essay in memoir, which made it all the more interesting. Marin is a very good teacher. Sh...

I very much enjoyed this class, and I learned that I liked personal essay much more than I had anticipated. This morning I read a review about using personal essay in memoir, which made it all the more interesting. Marin is a very good teacher. She was highly organized, had very useful readings and references for us, and her feedback/critique on my homework assignments was very helpful. I would recommend this class to anyone desiring to learn a new form, or to those already interested in personal essay.

The course starts on Monday, September 5th and ends on Friday, September 30th. Each week, we will release five lessons that you can study on your own time. These will be a mix of text-based lessons, recommended essays, and pre-recorded lectures. Each lesson comes with text-based discussion with the instructor and the class.

At the end of each week, you will have the opportunity to submit an assignment to the instructor for in-depth feedback.

There will also be two office hour sessions held via Zoom, which will be recorded for those who cannot attend live. They have not yet been scheduled.

Note, that if you fall behind on the course, you will have a full six months to complete the course and submit your work for feedback from the instructor.

Overall, expect to spend around 30 minutes a day on the course. Some days will require less work, some days will require more.

Lessons are released weekly, which gives you flexibility. Based on our experience with other courses, some students do the bulk of their work in one or two days each week, while others spend a little bit of time each day on our courses.

Because of the personal feedback Marin is providing, the workshop is strictly limited to 22 students. Once we reach that number we will immediately close enrollment.

Enroll in The Personal Essay Workshop with Marin Sardy

Spring 2025 Semester

Undergraduate courses.

Composition courses that offer many sections (ENGL 101, 201, 277 and 379) are not listed on this schedule unless they are tailored to specific thematic content or particularly appropriate for specific programs and majors.

• 100-200 level

ENGL 201.ST2 Composition II: The Mind/Body Connection

Dr. sharon smith.

In this online section of English 201, students will use research and writing to learn more about problems that are important to them and articulate ways to address those problems. The course will focus specifically on issues related to the body, the mind, and the relationship between them. The topics we will discuss during the course will include the correlation between social media and body image; the psychological effects of self-objectification; and the unique mental and physical challenges faced by college students today, including food insecurity and stress.

English 201 S06 and S11: Composition II with an emphasis in Environmental Writing

S06: MWF at 10–10:50 a.m. in Yeager Hall Addition 231

S11: MWF at 12–12:50 p.m. in Crothers Engineering Hall 217

Gwen Horsley

English 201 will help students develop skills to write effectively for other university courses, careers, and themselves. This course will provide opportunities to further develop research skills, to write vividly, and to share their own stories and ideas. Specifically, in this class, students will (1) focus on the relationships between world environments, land, animals and humankind; (2) read various essays by environmental, conservational, and regional authors; and (3) produce student writings. Students will improve their writing skills by reading essays and applying techniques they witness in others’ work and those learned in class. This class is also a course in logical and creative thought. Students will write about humankind’s place in the world and our influence on the land and animals, places that hold special meaning to them or have influenced their lives, and stories of their own families and their places and passions in the world. Students will practice writing in an informed and persuasive manner, in language that engages and enlivens readers by using vivid verbs and avoiding unnecessary passives, nominalizations, and expletive constructions.

Students will prepare writing assignments based on readings and discussions of essays included in Literature and the Environment and other sources. They will use The St. Martin’s Handbook to review grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and usage as needed.

Required Text: Literature and the Environment: A Reader On Nature and Culture. 2nd ed., edited by Lorraine Anderson, Scott Slovic, and John P. O’Grady.

LING 203.S01 English Grammar

TuTh 12:30-1:45 p.m.

Dr. Nathan Serfling

The South Dakota State University 2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalog describes LING 203 as consisting of “[i]nstruction in the theory and practice of traditional grammar including the study of parts of speech, parsing, and practical problems in usage.”

“Grammar” is a mercurial term, though. Typically, we think of it to mean “correct” sentence structure, and, indeed, that is one of its meanings. But Merriam-Webster reminds us “grammar” also refers to “the principles or rules of an art, science, or technique,” taking it beyond the confines of syntactic structures. Grammar also evolves in practice through application (and social, historical, economic changes, among others). Furthermore, grammar evolves as a concept as scholars and educators in the various fields of English studies debate the definition and nature of grammar, including how well its explicit instruction improves students’ writing. In this course, we will use the differing sensibilities, definitions, and fluctuations regarding grammar to guide our work. We will examine the parts of speech, address syntactic structures and functions, and parse and diagram sentences. We will also explore definitions of and debates about grammar. All of this will occur in units about the rules and structures of grammar; the application of grammar rhetorically and stylistically; and the debates surrounding various aspects of grammar, including, but not limited to, its instruction.

ENGL 210 Introduction to Literature

Jodi andrews.

Readings in fiction, drama and poetry to acquaint students with literature and aesthetic form. Prerequisites: ENGL 101. Notes: Course meets SGR #4 or IGR #3.

ENGL 222 British Literature II

TuTh 9:30-10:45 a.m.

This course serves as a chronological survey of the second half of British literature. Students will read a variety of texts from the Romantic period, the Victorian period, and the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, placing these texts within their historical and literary contexts and identifying the major characteristics of the literary periods and movements that produced them.

ENGL 240.ST1 Juvenile Literature

Randi l. anderson.

A survey of the history of literature written for children and adolescents, and a consideration of the various types of juvenile literature.

ENGL 240.ST1 Juvenile Literature: 5-12 Grade

In English 240 students will develop the skills to interpret and evaluate various genres of literature for juvenile readers. This particular section will focus on various works of literature at approximately the 5th-12th grade level.

Readings for this course include works such as Night, Brown Girl Dreaming, All American Boys, Esperanza Rising, Anne Frank’s Diary: A Graphic Adaptation, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, The Giver, The Hobbit, Little Women, and Lord of the Flies . These readings will be paired with chapters from Reading Children’s Literature: A Critical Introduction to help develop understanding of various genres, themes, and concepts that are both related to juvenile literature, and also present in our readings.

In addition to exploring various genres of writing (poetry, non-fiction, fantasy, historical, non-fiction, graphic novels, etc.) this course will also allow students to engage in a discussion of larger themes present in these works such as censorship, race, rebellion and dissent, power and oppression, gender, knowledge, and the power of language and the written word. Students’ understanding of these works and concepts will be developed through readings, discussion posts, quizzes and exams.

ENGL 240.ST2 Juvenile Literature Elementary-5th Grade

April myrick.

A survey of the history of literature written for children and adolescents, and a consideration of the various genres of juvenile literature. Text selection will focus on the themes of imagination and breaking boundaries.

ENGL 242.S01 American Literature II

TuTh 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Dr. Paul Baggett

This course surveys a range of U.S. literatures from about 1865 to the present, writings that treat the end of slavery and the development of a segregated America, increasingly urbanized and industrialized U.S. landscapes, waves of immigration, and the fulfilled promise of “America” as imperial nation. The class will explore the diversity of identities represented during that time, and the problems/potentials writers imagined in response to the century’s changes—especially literature’s critical power in a time of nation-building. Required texts for the course are The Norton Anthology of American Literature: 1865 to the Present and Toni Morrison’s A Mercy.

WMST 247.S01: Introduction to Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies

As an introduction to Women, Gender and Sexuality studies, this course considers the experiences of women and provides an overview of the history of feminist thought and activism, particularly within the United States. Students will also consider the concepts of gender and sexuality more broadly to encompass a diversity of gender identifications and sexualities and will explore the degree to which mainstream feminism has—and has not—accommodated this diversity. The course will focus in particular on the ways in which gender and sexuality intersect with race, class, ethnicity, and disability. Topics and concepts covered will include: movements for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights; gender, sexuality and the body; intersectionality; rape culture; domestic and gender violence; reproductive rights; Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW); and more.

ENGL 283.S01 Introduction to Creative Writing

MWF 1-1:50 p.m.

Prof. Steven Wingate

Students will explore the various forms of creative writing (fiction, nonfiction and poetry) not one at a time in a survey format—as if there were decisive walls of separation between then—but as intensely related genres that share much of their creative DNA. Through close reading and work on personal texts, students will address the decisions that writers in any genre must face on voice, rhetorical position, relationship to audience, etc. Students will produce and revise portfolios of original creative work developed from prompts and research. This course fulfills the same SGR #2 requirements ENGL 201; note that the course will involve creative research projects. Successful completion of ENGL 101 (including by test or dual credit) is a prerequisite.

English 284: Introduction to Criticism

This course introduces students to selected traditions of literary and cultural theory and to some of the key issues that animate discussion among literary scholars today. These include questions about the production of cultural value, about ideology and hegemony, about the patriarchal and colonial bases of Western culture, and about the status of the cultural object, of the cultural critic, and of cultural theory itself.

To address these and other questions, we will survey the history of literary theory and criticism (a history spanning 2500 years) by focusing upon a number of key periods and -isms: Greek and Roman Classicism, The Middle Ages and Renaissance, The Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, Formalism, Historicism, Political Criticism (Marxism, Post-Colonialism, Feminism, et al.), and Psychological Criticism. We also will “test” various theories we discuss by examining how well they account for and help us to understand various works of poetry and fiction.

• 300-400 level

ENGL 330.S01 Shakespeare

TuTh 8-9:15 a.m.

Dr. Michael S. Nagy

This course will focus on William Shakespeare’s poetic and dramatic works and on the cultural and social contexts in which he wrote them. In this way, we will gain a greater appreciation of the fact that literature does not exist in a vacuum, for it both reflects and influences contemporary and subsequent cultures. Text: The Riverside Shakespeare: Complete Works. Ed. Evans, G. Blakemore and J. J. M. Tobin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.

ENGL 363 Science Fiction

MWF 11-11:50 a.m.

This course explores one of the most significant literary genres of the past century in fiction and in film. We will focus in particular on the relationship between science fiction works and technological and social developments, with considerable attention paid to the role of artificial intelligence in the human imagination. Why does science fiction seem to predict the future? What do readers and writers of the genre hope to find in it? Through readings and viewings of original work, as well as selected criticism in the field, we will address these and other questions. Our reading and viewing selections will include such artists as Ursula K. LeGuin, Octavia Butler, Stanley Kubrick and Phillip K. Dick. Students will also have ample opportunity to introduce the rest of the class to their own favorite science fiction works.

ENGL 383.S01 Creative Writing I

MWF 2-2:50 p.m.

Amber Jensen

Creative Writing I encourages students to strengthen poetry, creative nonfiction, and/or fiction writing skills through sustained focus on creative projects throughout the course (for example, collections of shorter works focused on a particular form/style/theme, longer prose pieces, hybrid works, etc.). Students will engage in small- and large-group writing workshops as well as individual conferences with the instructor throughout the course to develop a portfolio of creative work. The class allows students to explore multiple genres through the processes of writing and revising their own creative texts and through writing workshop, emphasizing the application of craft concepts across genre, but also allows students to choose one genre of emphasis, which they will explore through analysis of self-select texts, which they will use to deepen their understanding of the genre and to contextualize their own creative work.

ENGL 475.S01 Creative Nonfiction

Mondays 3-5:50 p.m.

In this course, students will explore the expansive and exciting genre of creative nonfiction, including a variety of forms such as personal essay, braided essay, flash nonfiction, hermit crab essays, profiles and more. Through rhetorical reading, discussion, and workshop, students will engage published works, their own writing process, and peer work as they expand their understanding of the possibilities presented in this genre and the craft elements that can be used to shape readers’ experience of a text. Students will compile a portfolio of polished work that demonstrates their engagement with course concepts and the writing process.

ENGL 485.S01 Writing Center Tutoring

MW 8:30-9:45 a.m.

Since their beginnings in the 1920s and 30s, writing centers have come to serve numerous functions: as hubs for writing across the curriculum initiatives, sites to develop and deliver workshops, and resource centers for faculty as well as students, among other functions. But the primary function of writing centers has necessarily and rightfully remained the tutoring of student writers. This course will immerse you in that function in two parts. During the first four weeks, you will explore writing center praxis—that is, the dialogic interplay of theory and practice related to writing center work. This part of the course will orient you to writing center history, key theoretical tenets and practical aspects of writing center tutoring. Once we have developed and practiced this foundation, you will begin work in the writing center as a tutor, responsible for assisting a wide variety of student clients with numerous writing tasks. Through this work, you will learn to actively engage with student clients in the revision of a text, respond to different student needs and abilities, work with a variety of writing tasks and rhetorical situations and develop a richer sense of writing as a complex and negotiated social process.

ENGL 492.S01 The Vietnam War in Literature and Film

Tuesdays 3-5:50 p.m.

Dr. Jason McEntee

In 1975, the United States officially included its involvement in the Vietnam War, thus marking 2025 as the 50th anniversary of the conclusion (in name only) of one of the most chaotic, confusing, and complex periods in American history. In this course, we will consider how literature and film attempt to chronicle the Vietnam War and, perhaps more important, its aftermath. I have designed this course for those looking to extend their understanding of literature and film to include the ideas of art, experience, commercial products, and cultural documents. Learning how to interpret literature and movies remains the highest priority of the course, including, for movies, the study of such things as genre, mise-en-scene (camera movement, lighting, etc.), editing, sound and so forth.

We will read Dispatches , A Rumor of War , The Things They Carried , A Piece of My Heart , and Bloods , among others. Some of the movies that we will screen are: Apocalypse Now (the original version), Full Metal Jacket , Platoon , Coming Home , Born on the Fourth of July , Dead Presidents , and Hearts and Minds . Because we must do so, we will also look at some of the more fascinatingly outrageous yet culturally significant fantasies about the war, such as The Green Berets and Rambo: First Blood, Part II .

ENGL 492.S02 Classical Mythology

TuTh 3:30-4:45 p.m.

Drs. Michael S. Nagy and Graham Wrightson

Modern society’s fascination with mythology manifests itself in the continued success of novels, films and television programs about mythological or quasi-mythological characters such as Hercules, the Fisher King, and Gandalf the Grey, all of whom are celebrated for their perseverance or their daring deeds in the face of adversity. This preoccupation with mythological figures necessarily extends back to the cultures which first propagated these myths in early folk tales and poems about such figures as Oðin, King Arthur, Rhiannon, Gilgamesh, and Odysseus, to name just a few. English 492, a reading-intensive course cross-listed with History 492, primarily aims to expose students to the rich tradition of mythological literature written in languages as varied as French, Gaelic, Welsh, Old Icelandic, Greek, and Sumerian; to explore the historical, social, political, religious, and literary contexts in which these works flourished (if indeed they did); and to grapple with the deceptively simple question of what makes these myths continue to resonate with modern audiences. Likely topics and themes of this course will include: Theories of myth; Mythological Beginnings: Creation myths and the fall of man; Male and Female Gods in Myth; Foundation myths; Nature Myths; The Heroic Personality; the mythological portrayal of (evil/disruptive) women in myth; and Monsters in myth.

Likely Texts:

• Dalley, Stephanie, trans. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Oxford World’s Classics, 2009
• Faulkes, Anthony, trans. Edda. Everyman, 1995
• Gregory, Lady Augusta. Cuchulain of Muirthemne: The Story of the Men of the Red Branch of Ulster. Forgotten Books, 2007
• Jones, Gwyn, Thomas Jones, and Mair Jones. The Mabinogion. Everyman Paperback Classics, 1993
• Larrington, Carolyne, trans. The Poetic Edda . Oxford World’s Classics, 2009
• Matarasso, Pauline M., trans. The Quest of the Holy Grail. Penguin Classics, 1969
• Apollodorus, Hesiod’s Theogony
• Hesiod’s Works and Days
• Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Homeric Hymns
• Virgil’s Aeneid
• Iliad, Odyssey
• Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica
• Ovid’s Heroides
• Greek tragedies: Orestaia, Oedipus trilogy, Trojan Women, Medea, Hippoolytus, Frogs, Seneca's Thyestes, Dyskolos, Amphitryon
• Clash of the Titans, Hercules, Jason and the Argonauts, Troy (and recent miniseries), Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

ENGL 492.ST1 Science Writing

Erica summerfield.

This course aims to teach the fundamentals of effective scientific writing and presentation. The course examines opportunities for covering science, the skills required to produce clear and understandable text about technical subjects, and important ethical and practical constraints that govern the reporting of scientific information. Students will learn to present technical and scientific issues to various audiences. Particular emphasis will be placed on conveying the significance of research, outlining the aims, and discussing the results for scientific papers and grant proposals. Students will learn to write effectively, concisely, and clearly while preparing a media post, fact sheet, and scientific manuscript or grant.

Graduate Courses

Engl 575.s01 creative nonfiction.

In this course, students will explore the expansive and exciting genre of creative nonfiction, including a variety of forms such as personal essay, braided essay, flash nonfiction, hermit crab essays, profiles, and more. Through rhetorical reading, discussion, and workshop, students will engage published works, their own writing process, and peer work as they expand their understanding of the possibilities presented in this genre and the craft elements that can be used to shape readers’ experience of a text. Students will compile a portfolio of polished work that demonstrates their engagement with course concepts and the writing process.

ENGL 592.S01: The Vietnam War in Literature and Film

Engl 704.s01 introduction to graduate studies.

Thursdays 3-5:50 p.m.

Introduction to Graduate Studies is required of all first-year graduate students. The primary purpose of this course is to introduce students to modern and contemporary literary theory and its applications. Students will write short response papers and will engage at least one theoretical approach in their own fifteen- to twenty-page scholarly research project. In addition, this course will further introduce students to the M.A. program in English at South Dakota State University and provide insight into issues related to the profession of English studies.

ENGL 792.ST1 Grant Writing

This online course will familiarize students with the language, rhetorical situation, and components of writing grant proposals. Students will explore various funding sources, learn to read an RFP, and develop an understanding of different professional contexts and the rhetorical and structural elements that suit those distinct contexts. Students will write a sample proposal throughout the course and offer feedback to their peers, who may be writing in different contexts, which will enhance their understanding of the varied applications of course content. Through their work in the course, students will gain confidence in their ability to find, apply for, and receive grant funding to support their communities and organizations.