17+ Great Ideas for an Essay About Yourself
Chris Drew (PhD)
Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]
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An essay about yourself should present you in a positive light, but also leave your reader with a greater understanding of what it is that makes you tick. What’s your inspiration and motivation?
In this article, I’ll give you a range of ideas to include in your essay about yourself. These ideas will show you how to tell a compelling story about who you are.
Pick one or more of these ideas and use it in your essay to improve its quality.
1. Come up with One Word about Yourself and Put it in your Title
Your essay heading sets the tone for the rest of the essay.
One way to get yourself started on the right track for your essay describing yourself is to ensure you have the one key word that describes you in the title.
How would you describe yourself in one word?
Here’s a few ways I’d describe myself:
- Introverted
Now, if you need to write your essay in a way that presents you in the best way possible, then of course you’d select the one that does that!
So for me, that’d be ‘optimistic’.
I could then set my title to something like: “An Essay About Chris, the Eternal Optimist.”
Here, your reader has been introduced to the central trait I want to reinforce in the essay right away. You’ve set the tone now.
Now that you’ve used that key term at the start, make sure you follow-up by using that same term a few more times throughout the piece so that you keep it as a clear motif throughout. I’d recommend at least using it in the introduction, body and conclusion.
2. Make it Personal using Anecdotes
The difference between a good and great essay about yourself is the use of personal anecdotes.
You want your essay to stand out because it’s thoughtful and unique.
Anyone can tell a story of who they are. Anyone can say: “Here’s who I am and here’s what’s good about me.”
Not everyone can tell a detailed, thoughtful and personal story that’ll show (and not tell) people who you are.
Personal anecdotes might include:
- A discussion about your ancestry;
- A story about how your ancestors came to your country;
- A story about how your parents came up with your childhood nickname;
- An important story from your childhood;
- A personal challenge that you currently face;
- A personal challenge from the past that you’ve overcome
Or anything else that shows your personality! So, let’s zoom in and take a look at how you could write about each of the points from above.
3. Describe your Ancestry
Dig deep – way back. Who are your ancestors?
Two of the best questions you can ask to tell a really good story about yourself are these:
Who are your ancestors?
How did your ancestors shape who you are.
What is your connection to them?
Let’s take them one at a time.
Your ancestors might be Greek, or Scottish, or Irish, or Italian. Maybe you have some Native American ancestors or maybe they were Pioneers heading to America?
You can start this essay by explaining your ancestry to really start shaping a quality story about yourself. One example is to tell a story about how your ancestors came to your country.
For me, I’d talk about how my Ancestors were a loose collection of quirky characters who came to Australia for a better life. Some were “10 Pound Poms” – British people seeking a better life. The paid 10 pounds to get on a boat and head to a new world. And others were convicts, sent out for stealing sheep.
Is there an interesting hook about your ancestry to start your essay?
Your ancestors should mean a lot to you. They should show you the path to a better life. What sacrifices did they make for you to be who you are today?
I could talk about how they had a tough life to come from working-class backgrounds. They worked the land and battled hardship to give me what I’ve got.
Now, I’m a happy, free, relatively wealthy person because of their hard world.
Who you are is because of your ancestors.
For me, they are the reason I value hard work. I also know my grandfather fought hard for a good wage for people on the railways. So, I have a sense of solidarity with hard-working working-class people because of him.
I also believe strongly in the importance of living a free and happy life because my ancestors are Australians. We’re Aussies! We work hard and have fun. That’s something my ancestors gave me, and I’ll carry all those values forward for my children one day, too.
Can you see that telling a story of your ancestors can really reveal a lot about what’s deep inside you? They show you your values and they’re your guiding star.
4. Tell the story of how you got your Childhood Nickname
Here’s another interesting story idea that can get your essay started on the right track.
How about telling the story of how you got your childhood nickname?
Here’s an example: My sister’s nickname was Boo Boo.
(She’d be made at me if she knew I told you that!)
She was called Boo Boo because she was always hurting herself! She was always having “boo boos”, which was our slang for “mistakes”.
Here, her nickname tells a story about herself. It tells a story about how she can sometimes be a little bit clumsy. This could be a good personal story to use to introduce herself to the reader.
Do you have a unique nickname story?
5. Tell an Important Story from your Childhood
Do you have any childhood stories that really reflect who you are?
This story might be:
- Tell the story of a childhood family holiday: Your story of your family holiday might highlight how important family is to your sense of who you are. Did the family holiday show you how much family is important to you?
- Tell the story of a time you realized something: I remember seeing a kid at school being bullied once and feeling really uncomfortable about it. I ended up sitting with him during the lunch period because he was upset. That was the day I really realized that something deep inside me is a sense that kindness is one of the most important things in the world.
Have a think. Are there any stories from your childhood that you can tell that reveal something about who you are and what your values are?
6. Start with “When I’m old I will look back and reflect on…”
Here’s a strategy that works really well.
When you start from the perspective of someone looking back, you often reflect on the things that are most important.
Have you ever seen an older person telling a story? It’s often a story told from the perspective of wisdom . We might call this 20/20 hindsight.
So, start your story by discussing what you’ll look back on about your life: what will you be proud of? What parts of your personality would you want to reflect on with pride?
It might be:
- “When I’m old I will look back and reflect on the things I did to help other people. For example, one time I … [did this]”
- “When I’m old I will look back and reflect on the quality time I spent with my family. My family is the most important thing in my life. One of these quality times is when …”
- Any other ideas you have?
7. Or, Start with “In ten years I will be…”
We can flip Step 6 on its head, and talk about where you want to be in 10 years. This will force you to reflect upon what’s most important to your future.
When talking about your goals and how those goals are linked to your values.
Here’s some examples:
- “In ten years time I will be just returning from an amazing trip around the world. I have a strong sense of adventure and I want to spend the next 10 years fulfilling my dream of adventure.”
- “In ten years time I want to be busy working in a not-for-profit doing something for people less fortunate than me. This vision drives my decisions that I make today. It drives my desire to … [study a course?]”
- What will you say if you start with “In ten years time…”?
8. Describe your Interests
No matter how you start your essay, you need to make sure that your story shows what you are interested in.
Your interests are what you do in your spare time
You might, for example, be interested in a particular topic. This will show how you’re set apart from others. We all have different interests.
Here’s a few examples of people’s interests:
- Dinosaurs: Ross Gellar from the TV show Friends would write in his story that one of his biggest interests is dinosaurs!
- Sports: Many people put sports at the center of their interests and motivations. Are you passionate about a sport that you watch or play? This could be included in your essay about yourself.
- Reading: Many young people love to read. You can talk about this as something you love, and then discuss how reading helps you think more deeply about issues in this world.
What are your interests? Could you use these as the basis of your essay about yourself?
9. Describe what Motivates You
Right at the core of your essay about yourself should be a message about your motivations. What is it that you dream about? What is it that gets you out of bed in the morning?
A motivation is different to an interest. Your interest is what you do in your part-time. Your motivations are your long-term goals that will give you fulfillmen t.
People want to see what makes you tick.
Your motivations don’t have to be for money or a career. A lot of people are deeply motivated by their passions like:
- Getting fit, or pursuing fitness goals;
- Being a part of a community;
- Helping others out, especially the less fortunate;
- Making their family proud;
- Seeing amazing, remarkable things;
- Inventing or discovering something that improves the world
For me, my biggest motivation is my blog. I take pride in it and how it helps people out. So maybe I’d tell the story of my blog, and how it reflects my intrinsic desire to help people learn new things.
So, what motivates you?
10. Identify your Current Personal Challenges
Teachers like to see that you are taking a proactive role to address or overcome personal challenges. So, you can base your essay about yourself on a current personal challenge.
The important thing for an essay on a current personal challenge is this:
- Identify what your challenge is; and
- Explain how you are working hard to address it.
Your challenge might be a personal disability, a setback you’ve recently had, or a goal that you’re working towards achieving.
- Wanting to join the military: You could talk about your major challenge being a career goal like getting accepted into the military. Then, you’d need to show something about how you are addressing this by, for example, following a rigorous exercise regime.
- Living with a disability: Maybe you have a disability or medical problem that you need to address. You could talk about how it hasn’t stopped you from believing in your ability to achieve. While it might make life harder, show how you’re a determined person who won’t let adversity get in your way.
By revealing how you are overcoming your challenges, you’re revealing something about yourself. You are showing your marker that you’re a hard, diligent worker. That you have resilience and drive. And that you’re someone who strives to achieve.
11. Identify the Biggest Challenge you’ve Overcome
If there’s challenges in your rear-view mirror that you have already overcome, you can also talk about that.
Pause for a moment and think about the biggest achievement of your life. Was it getting that score you wanted in a science test? Was it making it into the football team after a lot of training and practice?
By telling the story of a personal challenge that you have already overcome, you’re showing how you’re a competent, capable and resilient person.
Here’s some examples of overcoming challenges:
- Winning a team sport: Talk about all the work you did as a team in the lead-up to the win. Did you take advice from the coach and use it to become better? Did you learn that you had to work as a group to succeed?
- Getting an award: Were you awarded once for your skills? What did you need to do to win the award? Was it hard work that paid off?
12. Be Humble
It’s important to strike the appropriate tone for your essay about yourself.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they too hard to sell themselves. This usually makes you sound arrogant and self-absorbed.
One of the best ways to sound humble is to express gratitude. When discussing who you are, what you achieved and what your strengths are, remember to mention who it was who helped you get there.
People you might be grateful for include: parents, teachers, siblings, friends, your country and mentors. Talk about how they were instrumental in your success. Maybe they were patient with you, presented opportunities for you, or forgave your mistakes.
It’s also good to make sure you don’t compare yourself to others. It’s not a good idea to say “I achieved better than anyone else.” Focussing on how you worked hard for your achievements is enough: there’s no need to talk about how you’re better or the best. Focus on the effort you put in, not the fact that you’re better than anyone.
To learn more about tricks on being humble, I recommend this good summary of ways to be humble from Forbes.
13. Describe your Personality Type
Here’s another interesting way of approaching the essay.
If you’re struggling to explain yourself, you can take a quiz that tells you what your personality type is. Something really nice about these quizzes is they not only give you words to explain what your personality type is, but they also give you some ideas to talk about.
Here’s a few good personality type quizzes:
- 16 Personalities : This quiz decides which personality you are from 16 types, such as debater, entrepreneur, adventurer and entertainer. I got the ‘Advocate’ meaning I am driven by “idealism and morality” and am mainly an introvert. What are you? Share in the comments below!
- Learning Styles : This quiz finds out how you learn. Are you the sort of person who learns in solitude or with others? Are you an introvert or extrovert? Another alternative is the VARK quiz which sees which sort of category of learner you are: Visual, Auditory (sound), Read/Write, or Kinesthetic (using your body).
- Career Quiz : This quiz asks you a range of personality questions to give you ideas about what you want to talk about. Then, it’ll suggest the ideal career for you based on your personality!
14. Include Details you’d put on a CV
You want your essay to tell a story about yourself.
But you also need to include hard, solid details.
So once you’ve told your story of yourself, go through your CV (or ‘resume’) and see what else you can include. Can you include details about your strengths that you have listed on your CV?
Maybe you can also include points about your previous jobs or education achievements that you have listed on your CV.
This will help back up your story with hard evidence.
You might also find out that there are a lot of details on your CV that will give you story ideas. You might not think you’ve achieved remarkable things until you look at your CV and reflect on the hard work you put into each of the jobs or achievements you have listed there.
15. Describe your Physical Attributes
Another thing you can weave into your story is an outline of what you look like!
It’s one of the first things you read about someone in any story.
Here’s how Mr. and Mrs. Dursley in Harry Potter is introduced:
“Mr Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache. Mrs Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours.”
How would you describe your physical attributes? Remember not to be negative about yourself, but you could describe yourself as tall, short, stocky, or lanky. How about your hair? Is it frizzy or straight, long or short?
16. Explain who is your Biggest influence and Why
The person who is your biggest influence would reveal a lot about who you are. Are you influenced by someone because of their power and strength, or wisdom and insight? Are you influenced by people for their nobility and patriotism, or their sense of adventure?
This will show your reader what makes you tick.
One of my big influences is Alex Honnold. He is a famous rock climber. What does that reveal about me? Well, it shows that I admire adventurous people and people who follow unconventional careers.
Who is your biggest influence? What does this reveal about you? Can you weave this into your essay about yourself?
17. Conclude by Returning to your Opening Hook
In this article I’ve shared with you a ton of ideas that you can use for your essay about yourself.
No matter which idea you select, I recommend including this last tip.
You should start your essay with an interesting ‘hook’ or anecdote about yourself.
I recommend concluding your essay by returning to this opening hook. We call this the ‘closing the loop’ method. You can start it something like this:
“I began this essay by telling the story of how I’m inspired by my father. I want to return to this point, as it’s the most important point in this essay. All of the points in this essay about myself have highlighted how I’m driven and motivated to live up to his amazing example. I have discussed…”
…And then you’d sum up what you discussed!
I outline the exact process of how to conclude an essay using this ‘closing the loop’ method in this post on how to write great conclusions .
- Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 10 Reasons you’re Perpetually Single
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93 Personal Identity Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
🔝 top-10 personal identity topics, 💎 personal identity titles: how to craft a brilliant one, 🏆 best personal identity topic ideas & essay examples, 🔥 catchy essay titles about identity, ⭐ interesting topics to write about personal identity, 🚀 how to choose the best topics about identity for your paper, ✅ simple & easy personal identity essay titles, ✨ more creative titles for identity essays, ❓ research questions about identity, ✍️ the concept of self and identity: essay topics, 📚 tatum on components of our identity: topics to write about, 🤩 fascinating topics on identity.
- Personal Identity Under the Influence of Community
- How Does Culture Affect the Self Identity Personal Essay
- Exploring a Personal Identity: What Defines Me as an Individual
- Bernard Williams The Self and the Future and Psychological Continuity Theory of Personal Identity
- Respect and Self-Respect: Impact on Interpersonal Relationships and Personal Identity
- Recognizing Homosexuality as a Personal Identity
- Personal Identity and Teletransportation
- Personal Identity Description
- Leisure and Consumption: Cell Phones and Personal Identity
- Personal Troubles: Deviance and Identity
Putting together an exciting title for your paper can sometimes be a struggle. Look through the following tips to understand this process better:
- Utilize keywords. Think about the main terms and expressions that describe your paper. If you include them in the title, your readers will understand your essay’s focus.
- Make sure your title reflects the topic. It should highlight the main idea of your paper.
- Use a hook. Make your title catchy by adding an idiom or making it a question.
- Review the results. Double-check your title for spelling and grammar mistakes.
If you need some good examples, check out the following titles for essays about identities:
- Why do exchange students experience a loss of identity after moving abroad?
- The path of looking for identity in the novel Fight Club .
- Women struggling with identity in communities with rigid gender roles.
- The role of computers and social media in teenagers’ identity development.
- Why is talking about gender identity important during sex education classes?
- The Trouble Distinguishing Personal Identity From Perception of Reality The play of Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman is a brilliant example of how perception of reality influences personal identity.
- Sexuality and Personal Identity Deployment by Foucault Thesis Statement: Foucault suggests that the “deployment” of sexuality is closely connected with the deployment of integrity, which is the main principle of the social and political welfare of the state.
- Cultural and Personal Identity: Mothers and Shadows Memory knots, as the term, have been employed to refer to sites of humanity, sites in time, and sites of physical matter or geography.
- Personal Identity Change and Identification Acts It appears that, instead of being referred to as the agent of ‘identity change’, the act of ‘identification’ should be discussed as one among many strategies, deployed by people on the way of trying to […]
- Music Role in Personal and Social Identities Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to answer the question ‘How does music contribute to personal and social identities?’ In answering this question, the paper will develop a comprehensive analysis of a number of […]
- Personal Information Use and Identity Theft The study provided a national scale analysis of identity theft patterns in the United States between 2002 and 2006. The form of government documentation and benefits of fraud have contributed to the increase in identity […]
- Influence of the Fashion Attributes on the Social Status and Personal Identity In the end, the primary goal of the paper is to propose the suitable methodology and analysis of the information to find the relevant answer to the research question.
- Music and the Construction of Personal and Social Identities Despite the relative difference between the current and the past music experience, it is clear that music has increasingly been used in the construction of the youths’ identities.
- A.A. Bronson’s Through the Looking Glass: His Personal Identity as a Canadian Artist Thus, his work Through the Looking Glass is the one of the best works that reflect the author’s vision of reality and the one that reflects the author’s sense of Canadian identity.
- Personal Identity & Self-Reflection In the reflection, Ivan examined his past life and the values that he had lived by in all of his life.
- Ship of Theseus and Personal Identity Regarding the Ship of Theseus, the ship changed a lot but it remained the same in terms of its properties. Equally, Y could be said to be the same as Z in terms of properties.
- Human Freedom and Personal Identity In demonstrating a working knowledge of psychoanalysis theory of consciousness and personal identity it is clear that being conscious of my personal endowments, gifts and talents, in addition to the vast know how and skill […]
Working on ideas for identity titles for the essay? You can use the ones below for inspiration:
- Personal identity: self-reflection as a tool to understanding yourself. Try taking a break during the day to take note of your thoughts. What can you tell about yourself based on this self-reflection? Do these thoughts define you? Think through carefully and write down your findings.
- Why is it important to learn about your identity? Knowing who you are can affect your present and future. That’s the reason people of previous generations were paying so much attention to remembering their ancestors. What are other ways of learning about yourself?
- Successful entrepreneurs vs. personal identity. Business owners always have everything under control. But what about their inner world? Discuss what famous and successful people say about learning about themselves.
- Personal identity crisis in teenagers: gender differences. Teenagers live through many challenges during puberty. One of the struggles is creating the foundation of their personalities. Do girls go through it differently from boys?
- How do people choose their philosophical views? Many factors affect personal identity – inherited traits, culture, beliefs of friends and family, and economic and social status. Do these aspects influence people’s philosophical views as well? Express your opinion on this topic.
- Psychological Foundations Behind Personal Identity
- Behind the Scenes: The Effects of Acting on Personal Identity
- Psychology: Personal Identity and Self Awareness
- The Personal Identity and the Psychology for the Child Development
- Defining Yourself and Personal Identity in Philosophy
- Personal Identity Challenges and Survival
- Cultural Diversity, Racial Intolerance, and Personal Identity
- Identification Process: Personal Contiguity and Personal Identity
- Personal Identity and Career Management
- Habits: Bridging the Gap Between Personhood and Personal Identity
- Personal Identity and Psychological Continuity
- Gender Roles and Personal Identity
- Personal Identity and Social Identity: What’s the Difference
- Three Theories of Personal Identity: The Body Theory, Soul Theory, and the Conscious Theory
- Personal Identity and the Definition of One’s Self
- Creative Industries and Personal Identity
- Psychological Continuity Theory of Personal Identity
- Generation Gap: Family Stories and Personal Identity
- How Antidepressants Affect Selfhood, Teenage Sexuality, and Personal Identity
- Personal Identity, Ethics, Relation, and Rationality
Picking the right topic for your essay will become much easier with the help of these tips:
- Follow the assignment requirements. If your essay comes with instructions, check if they say anything about the area of research or essay type.
- Listen to your inner voice. Do you like any specific area of research? You’ll spend many hours working on your essay, so it would be best to choose something that intrigues you personally.
- Pick a relevant and recent topic. You can base your choice on the most recent developments in your field of study.
Here are a few ideas of research areas about identity:
- Theories of personal identity. You can discuss Locke’s, Descartes’, Sartre’s, or Heidegger’s theories. Alternatively, explore reductionist or quasi-psychological theories.
- Identity and Buddhism. Write about the complex philosophical views on the fluidity of personal identity from a Buddhist point of view.
- Identity problems. You can discuss a few issues with personal identity, such as personhood, characterization, persistence, evidence, and survival.
- Philosophical Views for Personal Identity, Inventory, and Reflection
- The Role and Importance of Personal Identity in Philosophy
- Personal Identity and Its Effect on Pre-procedural Anxiety
- Self-Discovery, Social Identity, and Personal Identity
- Psychological Continuity: Personal, Ethnic and Cultural Identity
- Person and Immortality: Personal Identity and Afterlife
- Cultural Norms, Language, and Personal Identity
- Socialization, Personal Identity, Gender Identity, and Terrorism
- Personal Identity: Bundle and Ego Theory
- Society and the Importance of a Unique Personal Identity
- Political Issues Through Personal Identity
- Conflict Between Personal Identity and Public Image
- Difference Between Personal Identity and Online Identity
- Noninvasive Brain Stimulation and Personal Identity: Ethical Consideration
- Personal Identity and Psychological Reductionism
- Bodily, Psychological and Personal Identity
- Memory Role in Personal Identity
- Unique and Different Types of Personal Identity
- Capabilities and Personal Identity: Using Sen to Explain Personal Identity in Folbre’s ‘Structures of Constraint’ Analysis
- Genetic Memory and Personal Identity
Do you need just a bit more inspiration to pick a title for your essay? Check out the following examples:
- The cultural identity of people who move to a different country. How do immigrants go through an identity crisis after moving? What do you think are the best coping mechanisms in this case? Write down your thoughts and include supporting arguments.
- Vipassana as a way of learning about your identity. Vipassana is a retreat during which a person goes through daily meditations, exercises, a limited diet, no technology, and no talking. It’s believed to be an excellent way to meet your inner self. Explore this technique as a way of self-discovery.
- Tattoos and their effect on personal identity. Tattoos are considered a form of art and self-expression. How much meaning is there behind the ink? What can you tell about a person by their tattoos?
- Cuisine as a form of expressing cultural identity. Culinary recipes that are passed down through generations are always treasured. You can discuss how vital cooking heritage dishes are for people’s cultural identity.
- When a career absorbs your identity. Everyone has a friend who makes their work more important than anything else. How healthy is this? Analyze this issue and explore why people should be more than their jobs.
- Does Group Identity Prevent Inefficient Investment in Outside Options?
- Does Student Exchange Program Involve a Nations Identity?
- How America Hinders the Cultural Identity of Their Own Citizens?
- Are Education Issues Identity Issues?
- Are Persons With Dissociative Identity Disorder Responsible for Bad?
- How Do Advertisers Shape the Identity, Values, and Beliefs of Any Culture?
- What Factors Affect the Development of Ego Identity?
- Can Social Identity Theory Address the Ethnocentric Tendencies of Consumers?
- How Are Adolescents Responsible for Their Own Identity?
- Did the Mongols Create a More Diverse Islamic Identity?
- Why Corporate and White Collar Crimes Rarely Dealt in Criminal Courts Culture and Identity?
- What’s the Relationship Between Communication and Identity?
- Does Globalization Affect Our Culture Identity?
- What Does Ethnicity Affect a Person’s Identity?
- Does Trauma Shape Identity?
- What Does Identity Tell Us About Someone?
- How Beauty Standards Have Shaped Women’s Identity?
- How Has Bisexuality Been an Ambiguous Sexual Identity?
- What Does Identity Mean?
- How and Why Does Ethnic Identity Affect the Idea of ‘Beauty’ Cross-Culturally?
- Can Consumption and Branding Be Considered a Part of a Person’s Identity?
- What Has Caused Britain to Lose Its Sense of Identity?
- How Antidepressants Affect Selfhood, Teenage Sexuality, and Our Quest for Personal Identity?
- Does Identity Affect Aspirations in Rural India?
- Do Identity Contingencies Affect More Than Just One Race?
- Does Identity Incompatibility Lead to Disidentification?
- Does Social Inequality Affect a Person’s Identity?
- Why Is Identity Important in Education?
- Can People Choose Their Identity?
It can be challenging to find the perfect essay topic. If you need some ideas on titles for self and identity essays, check out these:
- How do self and identity develop in teenagers in different countries? Sociocultural context and the surrounding people affect the foundation of identity in children and teenagers. Discuss how various cultural aspects play a role in it. You can make it a case study as well.
- Social psychology: do people lose the sense of self and identity in communities? Becoming a part of a community means sharing knowledge, which also means having the same beliefs, stereotypes, opinions, and norms. Think about how it affects people’s identity.
- Moral views as a reflection of the self and personal identity. Ethical values are always an essential part when it comes to creating the self. Discuss the moral identity, and remember to cite research to support your arguments.
- The concept of self and identity as seen on the Web. Everyone has their unique ways of expressing themselves online. Discuss how people’s identities are perceived differently through the Internet medium.
If you need some exciting ideas for essays based on Beverly Daniel Tatum’s article about identity, you can find them below:
- The sense of self in a dominant culture. Tatum notices that adolescents usually don’t describe themselves as a part of a bigger community. At the same time, people of minorities would usually note their ethnicity or sexuality. Based on this, discuss the inner experience of being in harmony with outside circumstances.
- Domination and subordination, according to Tatum. The author highlights the relationship between the dominant and subordinate groups. What are the main characteristics of both groups? How do they manifest in people’s lives?
- What forms the self-definition, according to Beverly Daniel Tatum? Everyone has specific features that may be noticeable from birth. How do these distinctions help the self-definition?
- How does self-reflection in adolescence affect people’s lives? Tatum says in her article that the questions people ask themselves, such as “Who am I?” and “Who will I become?” are essential for their future choices. Explain what makes them so important and influential.
If you haven’t found any exciting topics about identity so far, check out these:
- Interests in childhood vs. future career choice. Some cultures have a special first birthday celebration – the baby chooses between several objects, which is supposed to predict their future career. What do you think about it? Can specific interests in childhood be a part of a person’s identity and affect their choice of job?
- The negative effect of generational trauma on the development of identity. People often carry traumas that their parents and grandparents passed down through generations. What does it mean for children from the perspective of developing identity? What do psychologists say about it?
- The path of self-discovery: Is it a simple process? Having a personal therapist has become a new norm. Therapy sessions help people with various issues, including the search for identity. But can people go through self-discovery on their own?
- The sense of identity and multilingualism. People can have different intonations, speech styles, and even ways of thinking while switching between languages they speak. Do users of multiple languages have different identities for every language? You can discuss this issue and add some examples.
- Cultural Identity Research Topics
- Self-Concept Questions
- Personality Development Ideas
- Moral Dilemma Paper Topics
- Psychology Questions
- Culture Topics
- Self-Awareness Research Topics
- Personal Growth Research Ideas
- Chicago (A-D)
- Chicago (N-B)
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"93 Personal Identity Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." IvyPanda , 26 Sept. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/personal-identity-essay-topics/.
IvyPanda . (2024) '93 Personal Identity Essay Topic Ideas & Examples'. 26 September.
IvyPanda . 2024. "93 Personal Identity Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." September 26, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/personal-identity-essay-topics/.
1. IvyPanda . "93 Personal Identity Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." September 26, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/personal-identity-essay-topics/.
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IvyPanda . "93 Personal Identity Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." September 26, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/personal-identity-essay-topics/.
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