Module content

The next three (short) lessons will help you build a solid outline for your challenges-based essay, which will increase the odds that you’ll write a great first draft.

[action_item]

Action Item: Open up your workbook and go to the page labeled:

Outline Pt. 1: Challenges + Effects

Now look back at your Feelings and Needs Exercise.

Chances are, you know what your challenges are.

If so, bullet point them.

Here's a quick example (based on Adrian's essay):

Challenges:

• Domestic abuse

• Alcoholic stepdad

• Little brother Fernando's birth

• Learning I was undocumented

Tip: As you name your challenges, maybe put them in chronological order, as this can help you order what happened when.

Once you've done that, bullet point the effects or impacts of those challenges underneath where you've listed the challenges, like this:

Effects:

• My brother and I shared the mental strain

• Father was arrested

• Money was tight

• Mom worked two jobs

• My brother and I took care of one another

• We kept to ourselves when dealing with financial and medical issues

• I avoided going on certain school trips

• At times I was discouraged from meeting new people

• My grades started to slip

Remember: Try to stick to the external circumstances (like "Mom worked two jobs") as opposed to the way you felt (anxious) so that we can better understand why you felt what you felt.

Why do this? Beyond simply naming your challenge, it's important to help the reader understand why that challenge was a big deal for you. And, because other people might have experienced a similar challenge (divorce, money troubles, etc.), describing the impacts on you/your family will help you stand out from other students who may be writing about a similar challenge.

Bullet points are best at this stage; you can keep them short. And don't worry about these sounding "good." Right now, just get your ideas out of your head and onto the page.

Spend at least 7 minutes bullet pointing your Challenges + Effects.

Important: At this point, it might be tempting to write about what you did to overcome your challenge and what you learned from your experiences ... but try to resist writing about those things in this section. Why? Those parts will come soon. Right now, I just want you to focus on helping the reader understand the things that happened to you (i.e., your challenges) and how they impacted you (i.e., the effects).

Here are some questions to consider as you write your bullet points:

1. In what ways was your upbringing different from that of other young people?

2. Was there a particular moment you can pinpoint when the challenges began?

3. Based on your challenge, what new responsibilities did you take on?

4. Did anything happen to make things worse? (Are there any other challenges you haven't listed yet?)

5. What information do we need in order to be able to understand how bad things were for you (or why this was such a big deal)?

6. What kinds of things were you denied or denied access to based on your challenge? (Example: Maybe not having money kept you from being able to buy certain things, or maybe being bullied kept you from feeling included.)

7. Who else was impacted by the challenge you've listed? Are there other effects you haven't listed yet?

8. Is there anything that you tried to do to overcome your challenge that didn't work?

9. Is one of your challenges actually an effect of something that happened before? (Example: Maybe "Mom and Dad arguing" was listed as a challenge, but actually "Dad lost his job" was the challenge that led to Mom and Dad arguing, so you might list "Dad lost his job" as the challenge and "Mom and Dad arguing" as the effect.)