ENGL&101 – THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE
Essay #1: Personal Narrative
Assignment: For the first essay of the quarter you will tell a story about yourself, using the frame of either
the Langston Hughes reading (having high expectations for something that doesn’t exactly turn out the way
you wanted) or the Rudolph Fisher reading (returning to something familiar only to find it changed). In
reflecting on this subject, it will be important to consider how the details of the story illustrate a theme or
make an argument.
The frame of an essay is its organizing theme or idea.
Think of some experience you’ve had or an event you’ve lived through that taught you something.
Carefully describe this experience in a way that makes it vivid for your reader.
For this essay you will either:
1. Describe your experience using the Hughes frame, and discuss having high expectations for something
that doesn’t exactly turn out the way you wanted.
OR
2. Describe your experience using the Fisher frame, and discuss returning to something familiar only to find
it changed.
AND
3. Explain how this experience illustrates a theme or makes an argument. In other words, why is it an
important story for you to tell?
Requirements: 2-3 pages typed and double spaced; MLA format; title, page numbers.
Important Dates:
Rough Draft due Wednesday October 10
Final Draft due Wednesday October 17