Narrative Essay
Senior Composition Version
• What has made me who I am today?
• Where do I come from and
where am I going?
• What is most meaningful to me?
• What events and experiences have been
significant for me?
The Assignment
Narrative Essay
• Write an essay about an event in your life
that will be engaging for readers and that
will, at the same time, help them understand
the significance of the event. Tell your story
dramatically and vividly.
• 500 words minimum
• Double space/12 pt font
• Final draft needs to have an MLA heading
Requirements
The Basics
• You remember the event
well enough to tell the
story.
• The story lets your
classmates learn
something about you.
Life is Drama! Look for Conflict!
Important
Writing Process
• Model the process…
• Quickwrites in your
Writer’s Notebook
• Notes about Profiles
• Using exemplars to
model…
Timeline for Editing/Revision
• Post to Turnitin
• Complete Turnitin Peer
Reviews
• Read the reviews;
• Plus/Delta + Paragraph
• Correct and rewrite
Ch. 2 St. Martin’s Guide
• Final rewrite
“Handed My Own Life”
“On Being a Real Westerner” • Submit Final Copy in class
with MLA heading
“100 Miles per Hour, Upside
• Reflect on the process
Down and Sideways”
“Calling Home”
Others
Guide to Writing
Invention and Research
• Finding an event to write
about
• Describing the place
• Recalling Key People
• Sketching the Story
• Testing your choice
• Exploring Memorabilia
• Reflecting on the Event’s
Significance
• Defining Your Purpose for
your Readers
• Formulating a Tentative
Thesis Statement
Planning and Drafting
•
•
•
•
Seeing what you have
Setting goals
Outlining
Drafting
What is a Narrative Essay?
• Autobiography is so popular because reading as well as writing
it leads people to reflect deeply on their own lives.
• When you reflect on the meaning of an experience, you
examine the forces within yourself and within society that
have shaped you in to the person you have become.
• Practice narration and description.
• Writer must strive to enable readers to visualize the event(s)
and people involved and connect the dots about why this was
important.
“When you write about a remembered event, your purpose is to
present yourself to readers by telling a story that discloses something
significant about your life.” St. Martins, 25
“Autobiographical significance…”
• “Autobiographical writers do not just pour out their memories
and feelings. Instead they shape those memories into a
compelling story that conveys the meaning and importance of
an experience---what can be called its autobiographical
significance.” --St. Martins, 25
Brainstorming…
Listing Remembered Events:
• An occasion when you realized you had a special skill, ambition, or
problem.
• A time when you became aware of an injustice, selflessness, heroism,
sexism, or racism.
• A difficult situation, such as when you had to make a tough choice,
when someone you admired let you down, or when you struggled to
understand something hard.
• An occasion when things did not turn out as expected, such as when
you expected to be praised but were criticized or ignored, or when
you were convinced you would fail but succeeded.
• An incident charged with strong emotion, such as love, fear, anger,
embarrassment, guilt, frustration, hurt, pride, happiness, or joy.
• An incident that you find yourself thinking about frequently or one
you know you will never forget.
Brainstorming…
Listing Events Related to Identity and Community:
• An event that shaped you in a particular way or revealed an aspect of
your personality you had not seen before, such as your
independence, insecurity, ambitiousness, or jealousy
• An incident that made you reexamine one of your basic values or
beliefs, such as when you were expected to do something that sent
against your better judgment or when your values conflicted with
someone else’s values
• An occasion when others’ actions led you to consider seriously a new
idea or point of view
• An incident that made you feel the need to identify yourself with a
particular community, such as an ethnic group, a political or religious
group, or a group of co-workers
• An event that made you realize that the role you were playing did not
conform to what was expected of you as a student, as a male or
female, as a parent or sibling, as a believer in a particular religious
faith, or as a member of a particular religious community
• An incident in which a single encounter with another person change
the way you view yourself…
Brainstorming…
Listing Events Related to Work and Career:
• An event that made you aware of your capacity for or interest in a
particular kind of work or career, or an event that convinced you that
you were not cut out for a particular kind of work or career.
• An incident of harassment or mistreatment at work
• An event that revealed to you other people’s assumptions, attitudes,
or prejudices about you as a worker, your fitness for a particular job,
or your career goals
• An incident of conflict or serious misunderstanding with a customer,
fellow employee, supervisor, or someone you supervised
Basic Features (p.48-49)
• A Well-Told Story
• Whatever else the writer may attempt to do, he or she must
shape the experience into a story that is entertaining and
memorable.
• Build suspense and propel the narrative.
• Use time markers and dialogue.
• A Vivid Presentation of Places and People
• Recreate the place and let us hear what people say
• Use figurative language and specific details
• An Indication of the Event’s Significance
• Showing/Telling
• Readers do not expect “thesis” at the beginning
• Avoid adding lesson “like a moral tagged onto a fable.”
Examples:
• “Handed My Own Life” by Annie Dillard
• “On Being a Real Westerner” by Tobias Wolfe
• ”100 Miles Per Hour, Upside Down and Sideways” by Rick
Bragg
• “Calling Home” by Jean Brandt
• http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/theguide9e/#588124__602741__
• http://content.bfwpub.com/webroot_pubcontent/Content/BCS_2/ax
elrod_SMG_9E/Instructor%20Resources/Marriage%20101.pdf
• (More exemplars here. Look at chapter 2.)
Steps in the process
Preparation
• Setting up your Writer’s Notebook/Journal
• Listing Events/Quickwrites
Writing the Paper
Create an attention-getting introduction that arouses curiosity
Show the reader the “characters” involved, the conflict, the
emotions.
Think like a movie director: Which scenes do you really need
to show what happened? (consider storyboarding)
How will you capture your “frame of reference”? Consider a
few choice items that epitomize the moment.
Write a memorable conclusion with a strong CLINCHER
Checklist
 Check spelling, punctuation, and subject-verb agreement
 Use “vivid verbs” instead of “to be” verbs
 Use only active voice
 Make sure all structures are parallel
 Use vivid, descriptive adjectives
 Ensure you have sentence variety: most sentences should
be compound, complex, or compound-complex
 Avoid grammar errors
Remember—This paper is not about you making
unwanted self-disclosures…You choose the event to write
about and decide how you will portray yourself.
USE THE EXEMPLARS TO GIVE YOU IDEAS OF
HOW TO TELL YOUR STORY.
Getting Started…
Use your Writer’s Notebook to explore various moments and events.
• Don’t censor yourself. Your teacher will NEVER ask you to share
something you are uncomfortable sharing.
• Use the “Lists” from St. Martin’s
• Use “Stones in the River” and “Life Maps” to get you started.
• Quickwrites in class are just the start….
• USE YOUR WRITER’S NOTEBOOK! YOU WILL NOT BE FORCED TO
SHARE WHAT YOU WRITE HERE. YOU WILL USE THIS TO EXPLORE
THEMES/IDEAS TO FIND SOMETHING YOU ARE COMFORTABLE
SHARING WITH THE CLASS (anonymously if you choose) FOR PEER
REVIEW.
• Today’s QUICKWRITE: “I REMEMBER…”
Works
Cited
• http://mybabyphotos.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/alli-lifemap.jpg
• http://schools.penncrest.org/staff/tdouglas/wpcontent/uploads/2009/08/memoir.jpg
• http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/m/memoir.asp