A Story of Civilization
Assignment: Write an original and simple legend (story) that contains the seven characteristics of
civilization. As part of this assignment, do the following:
 Have your narrator speak in the third-person voice.
 Create a setting of any time and place, real or imagined.
 Choose the number of characters that works best for your story.
 In your plot, include a conflict that is resolved by the end of the story.
 Include dialogue (speech).
Suggestion: An enjoyable story will NOT clump the seven characteristics all together simply to get them out of
the way. Instead, the characteristics will be sprinkled throughout the narrative. It can be enough to simply
mention evidence of the existence of some characteristics rather than call attention to them in ways that are
not natural to the story. (See Gilgamesh PowerPoint for an example.)
Approach: Make your story enjoyable to someone who does not know what the assignment is.
1. PREWRITING: Develop the story first through the use of a STORY BOARD.
2. After that, identify which characteristics of civilization naturally show up in the story you have written.
3. Then figure out how to include the characteristics of civilization that are not there yet.
Format: You will have several different options to choose from for the format of your piece. You may work
independently or with a partner. You are being given a very short amount of class time for this so the work
will be done on your own time.

Word document: The length of the story should be between 250 and 1000 words ONLY. The story
must have at least five paragraphs, and each paragraph must be indented. If you type your story in
Word or another good word processing program, the number of words will be counted for you.
(Partners can use Pirate Pad to collaborate online.)

PowerPoint: The format should follow the organizational structure as the PowerPoint example
provided for you. (Title slide, introduction/preface, beginning, middle (climax) and end). Pictures must
be included but may not distract from the story itself.

Slide Rocket (Collaborative online application): The format should follow the organizational structure
as the PowerPoint example provided for you. (Title slide, introduction/preface, beginning, middle
(climax) and end). Pictures must be included but may not distract from the story itself. You and your
partner would have to sign up for the free version to collaborate.

Manga/Graphic Story: Students wishing to choose this option need specific approval from me for
the guidelines. Remember, you must receive permission from me BEFORE you begin.
Special Note:
It is not possible to achieve a grade of A unless spelling, capitalization, sentence structure, punctuation,
and paragraph indenting are correct. You are choosing every word and sentence, so make sure you
understand what and why you are writing. Pay particular attention to the punctuation surrounding
your characters’ speech. Use your blue textbook to help you with any part of your story’s format. Also
use the spell-check and grammar-check features in your favorite word processing program. If you have
errors in format as noted above, the highest score you can achieve is an A-.
DUE DATE: December 18, 2012
Checklist: Have you included the following in your finished product?
 Setting (time and place)
 Characters
 Conflict
 Resolution
Characteristics of Civilization:
 Stable Food Supply
 Social Structure
 Government
 Religion
 The Arts
 Technology
 Writing
 The above characteristics
spaced throughout the story
 Third-person narrator
 Dialogue (speech)
 Correct spelling
 Correct capitalization
 Correct punctuation
 Correct sentence structure
 Five or more paragraphs
 Each paragraph indented
 Length of 250 to 1000
words