ENGL&101 – English Composition I (Online)
Essay #1: Personal Narrative: What Interests Me?
Assignment: For the first essay of the quarter you will write a personal narrative about
something that interests you: an activity, hobby, place, experience, person, type of food or
music—anything, really, as long as it is something you feel passionate about. Here’s the twist:
you cannot come right out and say why or how this thing interests you. Rather, you will need to
tell a story that shows this to your reader. Make what interests you interesting for your reader!
To help you figure out how to do this, we will read several examples of personal narratives in 50
Essays and will discuss how they work. You’ll learn what storytelling tools you have at your
disposal, but it will be up to you to figure out how to best use them.
Keep in mind that your audience is this class, a collection of interested and diverse readers who
don’t yet know you well, so chose your narrative subject carefully. Do not write about anything
you wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing with your classmates.
For this essay you will need to:
1. Pick a subject – any subject – that interests you.
2. Use the storytelling tools we learn in class to show your reader why or how this subject
interests you.
3. Avoid coming right out and explaining directly why or how this subject interests you.
Requirements: 3-4 pages; double-spaced; 12-pt font; 1 inch margins; thoughtful, interesting
title, page numbers, heading that includes your name. Follow the “Formatting Your Essay” link
on our Canvas homepage.
Important Dates:
Rough Draft due Wednesday, January 20 at 11:59 PM
Final Draft due Wednesday, January 27 at 11:59 PM