The greatest achievement one could have among the ancients was that of acquiring the knowledge of the self. But then, how can one get to this level of achievement? A great aid to generating self-knowledge is through the writing of an identity essay or ‘who am I essay’. In this article, we will learn how to write the ‘who am I essay’ through describing an ideal outline for this kind of essay, and by going through an example. In this case, the article will focus on using one’s experience and understanding of his/her physical build, personality, religious experience, education and of immediate relationships as a resource for generating material for writing this kind of essay.

Defining the ‘Who Am I Essay’

The ‘Who am I essay’ is a kind of writing that helps one to understand who they are from a certain perspective or perspectives and to communicate this perspective to others for the sake of enhancing dialogue and personal improvement. This is shown by how the preparatory and the writing phases are used to:

• Focus on key areas,
• Gather information,
• Analyze and investigate this information and
• Finalize, detailing and packaging of this information in the essay
• Give who am I essay examples

Beginning on the ‘Who Am I Essay’ Sample

When beginning who am I essay sample, the first thing to consider is the key areas, statement about myself that one intends to focus on with regard to the essay. One often does this by using a pen and paper and doing a pre-draft of ideas and associated concepts. In this case, the areas under consideration are those of:

• Physical build – For example, what body type does one have?
• Personality – A good source of personality information is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator
• Religious experience – Does one have this kind of experience? What are the major convictions that one holds with respect to religion?
• Education – How much has one been exposed to the disciplines and ideas deemed necessary in their contexts?
• Immediate relationships – Can one identify the key relationships that define them? How do they come out in real life, and what inferences can one make of them?

Each of these elements will form the main points of the main argument in your paper, but one needs to generate content for each of them so that the sample of the ‘who I am essay’ can be persuasive and convincing.

Gathering Information for the Who Am I Essay Example

Define and research on each of the key focus points of autobiography essay that are meant to be part of the main body of your argument. The best thing to do in this case is to generate a number of critical questions that will help you to understand the role that each of these points plays in the shaping of your identity. For example, how does one’s physical build affect how they perceive themselves? How do other people respond to other people’s physical appearances? These questions are best recorded on index cards that can be pinned on a board. Write the following on each card:

• The key focal point
• References of what credible sources on the focal point
• One line statements of your analysis/reaction
• A prompt question to further your research and thought process

Go through the same process for each key point and now stick the cards on the board in clusters that make the most sense to you.

Analyzing and Investigating Material for the Sample Who am I Essay

Check and see if each of the key points is clear, backed by evidence and analyzed appropriately. One important but easily neglected aspect is that of looking at contrary evidence and material. Make sure that each key point has been subjected through a contrary evidence perspective. The ‘who am I essay’ is an analytic-descriptive kind of paper, and hence one should always be critical of the ideas being considered.

Given the key conclusion from each of the key points considered, try to visualize and link the conclusions together to form a thesis statement of who you are. Now go through the entire process again and determine if the argument is flawless and or needs some more work to be complete. Then consider your reactions to the outcome of this entire process.

Take some time off to review and review the process. If any new ideas come up, repeat the process above till you are confident of the thesis of your ‘who I am essay’.

Writing the Who I am Essay Sample

One’s writing task is ¾ complete if the preparations are right. Now that we have the thesis, the key points and the supporting and contrary evidence where applicable, we are ready to sit down and prepare the first draft of our ‘who am I essay example’.

The structure of the essay follows the typical structure of having:

• An introduction
• The main argument or body
• The conclusion

Introduction for Our Sample Who I am Essay

A good introduction begins with a gripping statement about what you’ve discovered in the preparations that you’ve just had. Then give an overview of how this opening is connected to the question at hand – that of identity. It may be necessary to give some key definition and the scope that the paper will take. This scope is often defined by the key points that need to be considered. It is important at this point to consider any objections that may have been offered against the key point or thesis. Then finish the introduction with a thesis statement.

One could write for example:

“A most prevalent event in my life is that strangers will often approach me for directions. And I have often wondered how total strangers come to the conclusion that I may be friendly enough to oblige. But from my experience, I’ve met less friendly people who’ve even declined to be of help when I’ve approached them. Question is if how I look has something to do with my approachability. In this paper, we will consider how aspects like physical build, personality, religious experience, personality and immediate relations with others define who I am. It is matter perhaps beyond a reasonable doubt that the above factors play a role in defining my identity.”

The Main Argument(s)

It’s now time to deal with each of the key points separately. The starting of each paragraph forms a statement of the key point. Once the key point has been stated, it’s time to cite some evidence, both pro and against. Once the evidence has been analyzed and you make a research then one can infer a conclusion that can sum the paragraph and key point.

“Different body types have their unique features that determine who we are. Berne (2017) and Cheiro (2014) describe psychosomatic tests done to different groups of subjects and showed that there are three basic body types; cerebrotonic ectomorphs, endomorphs, and mesomorphs. Each of these body structures has unique features that distinguish each person and that in effect define the person. While Anderson (2016) and Lobengula (2014) show that some of the results in the above experiments were inconclusive, Vicot et al (2016) have shown that some of these objections were based on false premises. Therefore I deem it reasonable that I should qualify as a viscerotonic endomorph with a friendly disposition to others.”

The logical argument is thus built with each of the remaining key points going through similar treatment. Given that each of the paragraphs is meant to flow smoothly into the next and preceding arguments, one should take special caution that the arguments are not just relevant, but the fit into each other logically and generate an aesthetic that best describes who you are. This means using proper transitions and checking iteratively that the flow of the argument is well crafted.

Concluding the Sample Who Am I Essay

After every, the introduction has been given and each of the main points given a comprehensive treatment, the time has come for finishing up the argument and stating it in a way that can give the audience indication that the argument has been completed and a prompt for further engagement is given. The overall process is touched upon and shown how it was effective in answering the question of ‘Who am I?’ Each of the main points is then reiterated and possible implication of the ideas of personal identity that has emerged is discussed and finally, the ‘who am I essay’ is completed with an expression regarding probable future trends.

Summary of a Who Am I Essay and Essay Example

This article has described the need, the processes involved, and the techniques used when writing a sample ‘who am I essay’. It has discussed the way one comes with a thesis that best describes who they are and how the ideas about the self are developed and criticized with the intention of one acquiring an identity that is both balanced and open to growth and development. It is not difficult to imagine some of the effects that precede not knowing who they are. Relationships are never optimized, and satisfaction with one’s life is low. Therefore, it is always preferable that the serious student who wants to learn how to write who am I essay should endeavor to find out who they are and the best way for doing so is through writing the who am I essay examples.