Being Specific in Personal Writing
Read about the importance of being specific and avoiding making general unsupported statements about other people.
A vitally important part of personal writing is making sure that it is specific. This is often going to involve stating that we are talking about ourselves. It may only seem like a small difference to state, "Starting college is stressful", as opposed to stating "Starting college is stressful for me"; however, there are a couple problems we are going to run into with the first of those two statements.
For one thing, the statement, "Starting college is stressful," is very general. When you don't clarify that you are writing from your point of view about your experiences, a statement can come across as universal, making the assumption that other people share your point of view. (Do you remember what they say about when we assume? – it makes an "ass" out of "u" and "me".) And while it is probably not a wrongful assumption that for many people, starting college is stressful, it is important that we do not try to represent the views of other people.
The other problem with a more general statement like, "Starting college is stressful," is that it is going to require research to adequately support. I am going to need to interview other new college students or find some studies that demonstrate how a large number of students find that "starting college is stressful".
By simply adding the language, "for me" at the end of that statement, it becomes much more specific and personal. "Starting college is stressful for me" does not say anything about other people or what their experiences have been like. Such a statement is perfect for personal writing because it will be supported by specific examples from your experiences starting college.
Source: Erin Severs
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