What is an anecdote?
An anecdote is a short and interesting story taken from a person’s past experience – or that of someone they know or have heard about. For your exam, of course, your own anecdotes will need to be imaginary – made up (but they must still be entirely believable and relevant). Why are anecdotes useful? It is a simple fact of life that we enjoy hearing interesting stories. No one knows why, but we do. Certainly, we enjoy relating to and learning from stories – and we often can identify with the characters in them. If you choose to use a short anecdote in your own writing (and you should give it serious consideration), it will engage, involve and interest your reader in ways little else can; it will add a human and personal dimension that can be irresistible and fascinating. But anecdotes need to be believable and lively – and they can also be very emotional; and because anecdotes are ‘true’ stories, they can be very convincing indeed, adding authority to what you write. • A well chosen, we
