Assignment for “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie
Read “Indian Education” and write an anecdote about an experience that you
have had in school. Title your piece of writing as Alexie does, by grade. Your
anecdote should be approximately 250 words in length. Write the anecdote with
concrete, specific nouns and action verbs. Include key details only. Create
imagery. You may also include dialogue and a statement of meaning at the end of
the anecdote. You are to imitate Alexie’s structure, but not necessarily the tone
and content or his sad and ironic statements at the end of some his anecdotes.
Write the moral to the anecdote at the end.
Anecdote – A brief narrative, or retelling of a story or an event. Anecdotes have
many uses: as essay openers or closers, as examples, as sheer entertainment. To
create a vivid image, writers pay close attention to detail when writing anecdotes.
Writers use anecdotes to reveal a character trait (or traits), an emotional reaction,
an attitude, and/or a situation. Anecdotes often appeal to a reader’s emotions
and establish the writer’s moral way of seeing the world.