Autobiographical Narrative (Personal Narrative) Assignment
Autobiographical narratives are stories (the “narrative” part) that you write about yourself
(the “autobiographical” part). For this assignment, you will write a story (1-2 pages) about
an event or experience from your life that is meaningful to you. Think about a memorable
time in your life. What makes it so memorable? When choosing an idea for your narrative,
it might also help to think about an event or experience that changed you. How did you
change after this event/experience happened? What was different about your life after this
event/experience? What new lesson did you learn about yourself or the world?
Possible ideas for meaningful events and experiences:
1. Births of younger siblings, Deaths of loved ones
2. Important celebrations (quinceañeras, weddings, sports victories, recitals)
3. Times you did something for the first time (performed on stage, got over a fear, flew
alone on an airplane, swam in the ocean, volunteered for charity)
4. Times you felt proud or ashamed of yourself (moments of personal growth)
Look to the following texts for examples:
1. “Big Boy” – David Sedaris
2. Rosa Parks: My Story – Rosa Parks (with Jim Haskins)
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
4. “Leaving Fear Behind” – Albert Kim (student sample on p. 141 in your textbook)
Autobiographical Narrative Rubric
For this assignment, you will need to …
… be the protagonist (main character) of your story
… tell me a story from your actual life using first-person point of view
… set your story in a specific time and place
… describe your experience/event with enough sensory details
(sights, sounds, smells, etc.) to put the reader in your shoes
… use mostly indirect characterization to bring your characters alive
(show what a character is like rather than tell what a character is like)
… present a clear sequence of events that introduces a main conflict, builds
towards a climax, then settles the conflict.
… share your personal thoughts and feelings on this event/experience
(How did you feel as this event/experience was happening? How did
you feel after the event/experience was over?)
… include a theme (lesson you learned about yourself) to show why this
event/experience was meaningful
… write 1-2 typed or handwritten pages in blue/black ink (only one side)
… have less than three (3) incomplete or run-on sentences
/5
/5
/2.5
/15
/15
/15
/10
/15
/5
/2.5
/90