You should use specific examples in illustration essay. These are examples taken from your own life or the lives of people you know. They are unique examples shared by no other people. For example, if you are wanting to explain a vague and abstract concept, such as loyalty, kindness, generosity, embarrassment, fear, courage, joy, curiosity, or industriousness, you can provide a unique, illustrative incident from your own life to explain the concept. You can write a whole narrative that is, in effect, one big example, or you can provide different examples from your life — a catalogue of examples — one for each paragraph of your essay that will illustrate the one concept you are trying to explain.