DISCUSSING ESSAY 1
Discussing Narration and Description
Grammar: The Parts of Speech Continued
Share reading responses
• Let’s discuss the reading for today:
“The Beautiful Laughing Sisters-An Arrival Story” p. 522—
527
Discussion Questions:
1. What is the point of this narrative? Why is the author
telling it?
2. What are some of the details that help you to understand
the narrative?
3. Find a place where she has a lot of detail and tell me why
you think she decided to focus there
• You can turn in your homework questions now.
“Beautiful Laughing Sisters” and
the Idea of a “Cultural Broker”
• A “broker” is like a middle-man. This word is
often used for people with lots of knowledge about a
complicated subject who help “normal” people to
understand it.
• A real estate broker can help people hunting for a home
to navigate complex property laws.
• A stock broker buys and sells stocks for clients who do
not have as much knowledge of the stock market.
• We use the phrase “broker a deal” when a third party
convinces two opposing sides to compromise.
• So, a “cultural broker” is a person who has knowledge
about his or her culture who shares that information
with someone who is new to that culture.
“Cultural Broker” Activity
• Briefly, think about the city you live in. What would you
tell someone who was new to that city if you were acting
as a “cultural broker”?
• Where to go, where not to go
• Best places to eat and shop
• Customs and “what to do” and “what not to do”
• Interesting local attractions
• Other information you think a new person should
know
Pass out Essay 1 Prompt
Essay 1 is a Narrative based on the idea of “cultural brokers”
• Let’s read the full prompt together carefully.
• Highlight things you need to remember, and take notes of
any ideas you have.
• This essay is a narrative essay and a descriptive essay.
• This means it will use both narrative and description to get
its point across.
• We will discuss Narrative Essays and this Essay Prompt more next
week. Bring your Essay Prompt back to class with you!
The Basic Steps in Writing an Essay
Step 1: Know what is required of you.
• Read and re-read your prompt until you
understand fully what is being asked of
you.
• If you don’t understand, ask your professor to clarify EARLY
ON. If you ask the day before the essay is due, IT IS
ALREADY TOO LATE.
• Know the minimum requirements and
take them seriously.
• These include: page length or word count, format, works
cited/research required. ALL DUE DATES.
Step 2: Brainstorm and Freewrite
• Write down everything you know (or think you
might know) about the topic.
• Then, write down questions you have about the
topic.
• Then, write down your ideas about how to make
the prompt/topic personal to you.
• Freewrite
• Do idea bubbles
• Lists/Outlines
Step 3: Write a Rough Draft
• Don’t leave your writing until the last minute.
• Even if your teacher does not require you to turn in a
rough draft like I do, it is always a good idea to write a
rough draft.
• Here is the truth about writing assignments:
• no matter what, you will write a rough draft.
• The question is: will you be turning that draft as your
final product, or will you have time to make it better?
Formatting in Academic Writing
• Use an accepted font. If you don’t know what fonts your
teacher accepts, Times New Roman is almost always a
safe choice
• Font size: Unless your professor says otherwise, always
use size 12.
• Spacing: Always double space, unless you are told
otherwise. Remove automatic formatting that adds extra
spaces between paragraphs (each time you hit “enter”)
[Show how to change]
• Margins: Always 1 inch on all sides, unless otherwise
specified. [Show how to check margins]
Don’t Forget! Basic Things to Do or Include
• Type and print all of your essay assignments
• Always include assignment information (heading) on the
left hand side!
• Your Name: Firstname Lastname
• Class: English 21
• Professor: Lawson (last name only is ok)
• Assignment and Draft: Essay 1 Final Draft
• Date:
• Day/Month/Year
• Month/Day/Year
• (Day) Month Spelled (Year)
• * Open Format Example
BREAK TIME
Please return in 10-15 minutes
BACK TO NARRATIVE
Narratives and Narration p. 369-372
• Narration is one of the most common types of writing
because it does two things.
– It tells an interesting, intriguing story
– It makes a point or discusses the significance of the
story to the author or the audience.
• A narrative essay is usually told chronologically which
means that events are in time sequence order
• Narrative essays use a variety of methods to get the
readers to feel like they are THERE, experiencing the
events of the story.
Narrative Writing is…
• a story or account of events, experiences, etc, whether true
or fictitious.
• Narratives convey action and detail.
• Narratives are a detailed account, not a brief sketch.
• Makes the reader feel like he or she is THERE in the
scene, experiencing along with the author.
• Contains conflict/tension
Narration and Reflection: The Perfect Pair
Reflection is where the author takes a step back
from the narrative parts of their essay to think
about their significance.
• what they meant for his or her life
• how they might connect to other experiences or
subjects
• how they relate to the outside world.
• The “Camera Lens” metaphor—Zoom In, Zoom Out
Practice Identifying Narratives
• Look at “Paragraph 1” on p.370. Now, read “Paragraph 2”
right below it.
• Why is Paragraph 2 a narrative when Paragraph 1 is not?
• Read Together: “Handling Transition” on p. 412
• Is this a narrative?
• Does it have a beginning, a middle, and an end?
• How do you think an author of a narrative should decide
when to stop?
• What was the point of the essay? Why did he tell this story?
To put it another way, what was the author’s purpose?
• What is the best/most interesting part of this essay? Why?
How to Make Your Readers Feel Like They are “There”
• Use descriptive writing. (See p. 373)
• Use sensory details that appeal to the five senses.
• Smell, Sight, Hearing, Taste, and Touch
• Ask “the reporter’s questions”
• Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How
• Constantly ask yourself, “What would someone who
wasn’t there need to know?”
• Think about the attitude or feeling you want to get across
in each part of your narrative and choose words and
pieces of description that support that feeling.
Essay Development: Using Specific Details
• Wherever possible in your essay, use specific details
instead of general ones.
– Use examples to explain and illustrate.
– Refer to people who are important to the narrative by
their names whenever possible.
– Refer to specific numbers, times, and places.
– Add facts and explanation to statements that might
mean different things to different readers.
– Remember, you are drawing from your experience.
Make it unique to you.
Examples of Specific Details
• Not specific at all: “I eat some things some people
I know consider weird.”
• “Things” is a very vague word. The same thing goes for
“stuff” and “some.”
• Try to avoid these words in your essay.
• How could this sentence be improved?
Improved Sentence:
• Original Sentence: “I eat some things some people
consider weird.”
• Improved: “I eat Sushi, Indian food, or Thai food at least
once or twice a month, and some of my older relatives find
this strange because it’s not what they are used to. My
dad’s parents are both from the Midwest where the staples
of a good dinner are steak and corn on the cob, and they
are confused by the fact that their granddaughter loves
raw fish, spicy curry, and slippery clear noodles.
Importance of Transitions
• However you choose to arrange the details and events in
your essay, you will need transitions to guide your
reader from one idea to the next.
– Transitions tell your reader how each new section or
detail connects with what came before.
– Transitions help your readers to understand the order of
events.
– See lists of common transitions for different purposes
on page 486.
Homework for Next Week
• Let’s look at the full schedule for the class—
now up on the Class Blog!
• http://lawson21fall2015.weebly.com/