Much good essay writing is the articulation of lived thought, a balance between vividly conveying an experience to a reader on its own terms and making some sense or significance out of that experience. This class will address the fundamentals of the personal essay from the premise that good writing is good thinking and that both are grounded in acute observation of one’s own predilections as well as those of the world. With this premise in mind we’ll explore the relationship between imagery and abstraction, summary and scene, and how to bring these supposed binaries into synergy. The class will have both reading and writing assignments. We will read a variety of published examples of the form, each student will produce one essay to be workshopped in class, and students will carefully read one another’s drafts to provide constructive feedback during workshop. Revisions may be considered as time allows. We will discuss workshop ground rules, particularly pertaining to sensitive personal essay content, on the first day.