How to Write a ‘Who Am I Essay" Using Social Criticism

The ultimate identity of a human is revealed when the person is viewed in his/her social context. So when we are asked'how to write who am I essay', we are challenged to figure out some things that may not be so obvious. For example, a'who am I essay' demands that we probe on what a'self' is. We could say that a self is about the agency. But it would be impossible to understand the agency outside its social context. This article will share with you the experience and steps to using social criticism as a tool for writing your'who am I essay'. And in the course of doing this, we will create a sample'who am I essay'.

Why the Essay?

If I were to give a good reason as to why a student or scholar would be given the task of writing a'who am I essay', then I'd say it's because of tradition. The injunction to'know thy self' has been in every conscientious educational system. While the matter of the'self' has been with much contention, with different schools of thought looking at some definition or perspective the importance of the question has never been doubted. If the self has neither been doubted nor resolved and all humans are self-conscious beings; then the matter is one of understanding the context of this self-consciousness. That is, the best way to prepare for your'who I am essay' is by investigating your social context.

How to Investigate Your Social Context

A simple way of investigating your social context is by analyzing the following aspects of'who am I essay sample':

Citizenship
Ethnicity
History of your people
Social class
Your role and the role your people play
Your Mythology and Culture

Taken together, the key aspects cover most of the context we call'society' and if we can figure out the common string that ties us to these factors then that string would be our identity. If in the course of our investigation we fail to find a thread running through the key aspects then that would mean our identities are fragmented. For our example of a'who I am essay', we'll consider a general approach that can be used for each of the key aspects and allow you to work out most of the exercise.

A General Method of Investigation for Your Sample Essay

Approach each key point with the attitude of playing the simple game of finding a relevant question that begins with any of the following;

Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
How?

For example, let's focus on'citizenship'.

Who qualifies to be a citizen?
What qualifies citizenship?
Why is the qualification necessary?
How does the qualification make life better/harder?

The list could go on till exhaustion.

But note down the details you deem most important preferably on index cards
Pin the cards on a wall or whiteboard, with similar cards clustered together. Note what kinds of relations you may have observed
Let your answers prompt other and deeper forms of research and even other forms of essays like literature reviews
Compile and combine the clusters as they come
After you have been exhausted and feel that you have enough info; it's time to find the thread that joins all the clusters together that specifically talks about you.
The method for finding the thread is by using the scientific or quasi-scientific method to test hypotheses and even conjectures
You can develop the thread by joining the clusters starting with the easiest and do the hardest after you've joined the hardest surrounding clusters

The outcome of this process should supply you with a primary thesis regarding who you are, evidence to support your claims, examples to illustrate the ideas in the thesis, and a narrative that can guide you through your articulation.

Reviewing your Data for Your Sample'Who am I?' Essay

Take some time off and do some other activities. Watch yourself in various contexts and later, note down your thoughts and impressions on how to write who am I essay. Watch other people around you too and see if your thesis can be used to understand your subjects. In case some of your explanations don't fit, raise critical questions and just take some time to enjoy the events. Later, after you think you've had enough of this experience, go back to the board with the index cards and find out what has changed;

Has the thread that you constructed survived the test?
Is there a need for you to re-state your initial thesis?
What are the critical issues that arise from your review?
Are there any changes that you've undergone in this process?
How do you explain these changes?
How does change affect how you define yourself?

Once the above questions have been answered successfully, you are ready to consolidate your findings and write your'who am I essay examples.

Introducing your Sample'Who am I?' Essay

Share an interesting experience or thought you had while preparing for your 'who am I?' essay. Join this experience to the general context of your thesis and if necessary, define a key term that you may deem necessary for your audience's understanding. Share about the key issues you're your essay will address and mention the scope of your paper. Then note if there are any objections that may be raised. State your rebuttal briefly and assert the thesis that you came up with in your investigation. Here's an example of an introduction that you can come up with: "I recently learned that my lineage is linked to Plato and that my true identity is 'a'Philosopher', and all this time I've been carrying a deluded self. Coincidentally, it is still this Plato, my ancestor who has been reminding me that I need to present an essay on'who I am'. In this essay, I will share with you on how a self is defined through a social critique viewed through citizenship ethnicity, history of a people, social class, your role and the role your people play, your mythology and culture. In this respect, it can be shown that a self is defined by variables that are finite and known to be aligned to social roles and the expectations arising from them. …"

The Main Body

Once you've revealed your plans, there's no other way but to back them up. This has a technique.

Start your paragraph with the main point about the first category you introduced
Give credible evidence
Share an example
State your analysis
Address any rebuttal
State the transitional premise to the next paragraph

So the idea is to have an answer to all of the above categories in your paragraph. ‘Who am I Essay Example'? "Citizenship is always conferred by the social roles that have been passed over by an individual's ancestors. It shall be noted that a Republic must be founded and handed over to subsequent generations, and as such, the idea of citizenship can only be understood in terms given by the founders of the Republic. For example, citizenship is founded in constitutional law and can only be given on constitutional grounds. This implies that because our identities depend on the political entities that name them, then the question of who we are have already been decided before we were born. A current scientific theory may object by saying that there doesn't exist a paradigm that can account for the communication between a fetus and the universe. But the power of the constitution relies solely on the probability of a mechanism connecting the zygote to the universe…" The premise statement of each paragraph must join with the other smoothly and logically, and if possible, beautifully, to the conclusion.

Concluding the'Who am I Essay Example'

You've been master of the ship all through the storms of your thoughts and experience since the 'pre-history' of this project when you were merely scribbling on the cave's walls. It's time to wrap things up by reminding people of the key things you were talking about. A perfect who am I essay example. Tell them of the implications of what you've built to the moment and part ways with a statement about future actions.

A Summary about How to Write a'Who am I Essay'

We've come a long way. It's time to take some rest and let all these ideas sink. But a quick reminder please; your identity is defined as clearly as you can understand your social context. There's a method of defining our identities using some key factors, and it's these factors that can help us find out who we really are. These thoughts are then built up when we write down a 'who am I' essay sample and share with the world. This is important because it helps us to optimize ourselves and even enjoy happier lives since we can know how to live best. Optimal living was certainly in the minds of our traditional philosophers who decreed that we should know our selves.