Universal idea: an abstract noun that expresses a condition or feeling associated with the
human experience. Examples include: love, hatred, racism, acceptance, joy, fear, etc.
1. Brainstorm as many universal ideas as you can.
2. Look back over your list and choose one universal idea that you have a strong emotional
connection with. Then, write a sentence that sums up your opinion about that universal idea. For
example, Racism, even when hidden behind smiling faces, can damage a person's sense of
self. Or The acceptance of others can only happen when a person accepts himself and
acknowledges his own faults first.
3. Write a short (2-3 page, double spaced or lines skipped if hand written) memoir/personal
narrative, that proves your universal idea statement is true. Use examples from your experience
to show how you came to understand your “lesson.” This essay can either be typed or
handwritten.
4. Revise your memoir with the goal of making your authentic purpose and your universal idea
more clear. Focus on no more than 2 u.i.'s. Don't use the phrase "universal idea" anywhere in
your essay. You may only use the word for your universal idea itself (for example “love”) in
your memoir ONCE, including the title. You also need to complete a SOAPStone organizer for
your memoir.
5. Choose 3, 4, or all 5 of DIDLS to work with in your memoir for your last revision. Assign the
ones you’re working with a highlighter color and make a key at the top of your draft. Go into
your essay and highlight anyplace you think each element of style you’re working with is
effective. For example, if you choose Diction, you will highlight places in your essay where you
find words that you feel are doing a really excellent job of helping a reader understand your
essay’s purpose.
6. After you’ve completed your highlighting, find 9 places in your essay where there is NO
highlighting, and choose some aspect there to improve through the use of D, I, D, L, or S.
Maybe you’ll take a boring word and replace it with a better, more precise one. Maybe you’ll
add a metaphor where there wasn’t one before, etc. Keep track of what you’re changing because
you’ll be explaining what you changed and why to Webb when you turn in your final draft.