Writing on Personal Experiences in Context

[Beaslinator]

Heya guys, So I've been told by my English teacher that in order to improve my context pieces I need to include personal experiences in my essays for context (which tend to be hybrid pieces) as this is something assessors really like, however I'm really unsure how to do this. Would anyone be able to explain how best I might do this and show me an example? Especially I'm worried that in including my personal experience, I'm wasting time just including something to 'tick a box' rather than actually addressing a point.

Just for reference this is how I tried to it recently (this is a little excerpt from my last essay, its for identity and belonging - my teacher hasn't really given me any feedback as to whether it's ok or not):
"...In much the same way, specific experiences which arise as a result of our own personal circumstances can also play an important role in forming our identity. In my own current environment of high school, I have experienced changes to my own social groups including the addition of a new individual.to the small group of my close friends. Because of this addition, I found the group dynamic altered and became more involved in the wider school community. As such, my specific experience within my environment altered my perception of myself; from a quiet and reserved individual to a confident and strong-willed person. "

[tim.wells]

Hi Beasilnator,

First of all I don't think that personal examples in context are essential (I didn't use one), but having said that I also know people who did brilliantly on the context section of the exam with a personal example. So really, it's up to how comfortable you feel (but maybe if your teacher is really pushing it, then it could be worth just trying it for a little while). I think it also depends a little on what type of context you are studying, I feel as though from your response you are studying identity and belonging, so I think personal experiences may be more resourceful than in say, conflict.

But you're pretty spot on, you definitely don't want to look like you're merely trying to tick a box, it needs to add meaning to your response and appear to be organic. I think the best way of doing this would be to add more emotion and description in. So taking what you wrote for example (which is a good platform, but could be tweaked with a little more emotion - I also linked it to themes of identity and belonging because I feel as though that is relevant to your context):

In much the same way, specific experiences which arise as a result of our own personal circumstances can also play an important role in forming our identity. My perception of myself has been coloured by experiences of isolation juxtaposed against a background of belonging. As new personalities have floated through my tight-knit group of friends the steady equilibrium that I have become accustomed to has been rapidly displaced. Despite still remaining close with the same people, as group dynamics alter we all feel moments of hollowness as we have to say goodbye to our old roles, and ultimately, our own selves. The fluidity of human nature makes the ability for self-growth and evolution a requirement of modern-day survival. I have learnt to fight to maintain my place in the pecking-order that all humans, as social creatures, must submit themselves to. In spite of many internal struggles my self-evolution has shaped my identity to the point that I am now a resilient and confident pack leader.

Also, don't let the truth get in the way of telling a good story, really try and heighten the level of emotion that you convey.

There's also a great example of an entire context piece written from a personal perspective on the 2012 English Assessment Report (Page 10) http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/exams/english/2012/English_assessrep_12.pdf

[Beaslinator]

Thank you