The personal essay remains pervasive in high school classrooms, but many curriculum leaders have shifted to stressing the importance of evidence-based, argumentative writing. Some teachers have rightfully lamented this shift, noting that the evidence-based turn in writing instruction comes at the expense of student voice and expression. Students writing about themselves and their identities is a valuable outcome in itself. But personal writing also offers a useful complement to writing in persuasive and research genres. According to the author, teachers should develop a clearer consensus around the learning outcomes for these types of writing in their curricula. The craft of telling a true story about yourself is central, not accessory, to the types of persuasion that young people will exercise in the future. Like most of us, according to the author, students negotiate writing in an institutional voice with their unique connection to writing. This is a struggle that often compounds the challenge that most young people encounter in connecting what they're learning to their broader goals and a bigger world of ideas.