Academic Writing
WEEK 4 CLASS 2
Think and Write
Please take 5-10 minutes answering the following questions. This will be
collected.
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
–Mahatma Gandhi
What do you think Gandhi is saying in this quote? Do you agree or disagree
with him? What is one way you, personally, could ‘be the change’ in the
world?
Homework Review and Collection
• Please take out your homework
• We will correct it as a class
• Please correct any wrong answers you have
• Homework will be collected when we are finished
Homework: Doubling Final Consonant Letter
• 1. The man robbed the store.
14. She begged us to come.
• 2. You are swimming in deep water.
15. It was shipped to India.
• 3. We are on a winning team.
16. Joe thanked everyone.
• 4. She skipped her class.
17. The pie was topped with ice cream.
• 5. You ripped my pocket.
18. Lynne dropped her books.
• 6. Sarah was covered in mud.
19. He added the numbers quickly.
• 7. The money was hidden here.
20. You are working too hard.
• 8. The accident occurred on Friday.
21. The baby gained ten pounds.
• 9. Ted chopped wood all day.
22. Hank hemmed the coat.
• 10. Grandma hugged all of us.
23. He is signing the paper.
• 11. I am getting a new bicycle.
24. Sam controlled the wild horse.
• 12. The fire burned slowly.
25. Carl walked to the store.
• 13. You stepped on my hand.
26. The rabbit hopped away.
Narrowing Your Ideas
 You can’t write about everything!
 You want a small moment to represent how the event impacted you
 Take your b r o a d ideas and narrow them to more specific events
 Example essay: Trip to Italy
Getting lost in Italy
 A whole trip becomes just a few hours
 Look at your top 2 ideas from your brainstorming and narrow them down to a
more specific time
 Example: Graduating college > Walking in the graduation ceremony
 Example: Graduating college > Writing a stressful paper
Selecting Your Final Topic
 Find a partner and explain your top 2 narrative essay topics
 After your partner explains their ideas, give them feedback
 You can make a suggestion on which topic you, as a reader, might find
more interesting
 After your conversation spend 3 minutes deciding which topic you will
write about
Outlining Your Introduction
I. Introduction




Hook
Setting (time and place)
Character (introduce yourself and any other characters)
Situation (the situation you are in at the beginning of the story)
 Example: My first day of school in the United States not only shocked
me, but I was determined to never go back. (HOOK) It was 2010, and I
had just started classes at Houston Community College. (SETTING
AND CHARACTER) It had already started badly. I had missed my bus
and this caused me to be late. Then I couldn’t find the
classroom….(SITUATION)
Example of Real Narrative Introduction
• “A Son Returns to the Agony of Somalia” by K’Naan, The New York Times
One has to be careful about stories. Especially true ones. When a
story is told the first time, it can find a place in the listener’s heart. If the
same story is told over and over, it becomes less like a presence in that chest
and more like an X-ray of it.
The beating heart of my story is this: I was born in Mogadishu,
Somalia. I had a brief but beautiful childhood filled with poetry from
renowned relatives. Then came a bloody end to it, a lesson in life as a
Somali: death approaching from the distance, walking into our lives in an
experienced stroll.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sTlYe14mG4s8VO1WEJOl9e472JtWDQQ-Dj4STOFvAH8/edit?pli=1
Example of Real Narrative Introductions
“Shadow Over Me” by Anonymous
For the first twelve years of my life, I was a happy child who
enjoyed the companionship of friends and had no worries. Then one day
in seventh grade, during math class, that all changed thanks to a
conversation I had with Brandon Capecci, a guy I had first met a few
years before on a fifth grade class camping trip. He told me that I was
unpopular.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sTlYe14mG4s8VO1WEJOl9e472JtWDQQ-Dj4STOFvAH8/edit?pli=1
Example of Real Narrative Introduction
“It Beat Me Up and Ran Away” by Anonymous
No one seemed to notice the pool of blood forming at my feet. It
was two o’clock, Ms. Fernandez was talking about indirect object
pronouns, and there was a knife in my stomach. It was right above my
belly button, this knife, and it sat there, an ache resonating through my
body, until it yanked itself out and thrust into another part of my
abdomen. I winced and dropped the pencil as the knife entered. Ms.
Fernandez continued to discuss proper Spanish grammar.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sTlYe14mG4s8VO1WEJOl9e472JtWDQQ-Dj4STOFvAH8/edit?pli=1
Example of Real Narrative Introduction
“Leaving the Ground” by Anonymous
I didn't want to go. I knew I didn't want to go when I woke up. It
was 7:45, an ungodly hour to wake up at, especially when it was a
Saturday in the middle of August. I knew I didn't want to go when I was
brushing my teeth, eating my breakfast, brushing my hair, packing my
bag. I knew I didn't want to go, but I was still going. I still put on my
shoes. I still walked up the street to my best friend's house and got in her
car. I kept going because I knew she needed this. I knew her life was
falling apart and she needed this. She needed one day when she didn't
have to be the glue.
Write Your Introduction
• Remember: the hook is the ‘set up’ for your essay, you want it to be
interesting!
• After the hook introduce your characters, setting, and the situation
you/your characters are in
• Remember a narrative essay connects past events to the present.
Somewhere in your essay you must show how past events you are
writing about continue to influence/effect you today, and in the future.
This can be mentioned in the Introduction or explained in the
Conclusion.
• Now is the time to ask me for help!
Homework
• Study vocabulary set 1, academic vocabulary, words often confused,
parts of speech, and letter doubling.
• Finish your Introduction to the Narrative Essay (if you did not finish in
class)