The art of writing the personal essay
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
Course Code: HW099
Duration: 1 session
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Center 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.
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.
Helen Cox is a Yorkshire-born novelist and poet. She started out as a self-published author and has since been published widely in journalism, non-fiction and poetry. Helen currently writes novels for Quercus Books and has taught creative writing for more than a decade. She holds an MA in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of York St John and has been invited to speak on numerous radio programmes including BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
