Essay on a Personal Reading Experience
“The book becomes part of the history of our self-understanding. The stories that
mean most to us join the process by which we come to be securely our own. . . .
When an adult in a remote village rejoices that the ABC is mastered, it isn’t just
because books bring the world to them; books bring them, in new ways, to
themselves” (9).
Francis Spufford, The Child that Books Built
What is it?
I want you to write a carefully organized essay about a reading experience you have
had and the effect it had on you. In the essay, talk about whatever it was you read
(or had read to you), how you responded to it, and speculate about why you
responded the way you did. This may involve talking about the time and place in
which you had this experience and what was going on in your life at the time. It may
also involve saying something about yourself and your family or friends if they were
part of that experience. You may focus on a particular book, or you can talk about a
series of books, or two or three books you read at different points in your life. If you
do write about multiple books, however, be sure to thread them together in some
way so that you make a single point about them. Try to develop some sort of central
idea for the essay so that each paragraph builds toward a conclusion.
Why are we doing this?
The purpose of this assignment is two-fold. First, it will give you a chance to reflect
on reading from a first-person perspective. Second, it is an opportunity to develop
your own voice as a writer, to practice organizing your thoughts in a formal way, and
to work on turning a draft into a polished piece of writing.
Who is the audience?
The members of the class are your immediate audience. Imagine we are creating an
anthology of essays about personal reading experiences, each of which carries your
unique, personal voice and conveys something about who you are and what you care
about.
What should it look like?
Your essay should run 750-900 words in length (or two to three double-spaced
pages). You do not need to cite any sources, but do include in the text of the essay
the title and author of the book or books you are discussing. You do not need to use
quotations or go into much detail; chances are you won’t have any way of referring
to the text you’re discussing, so relying on your memory is fine. However, if you do
happen to borrow ideas from other sources, be sure to mention where they came
from.
How will it be graded?
I will be looking for a central idea, clear organization, and careful attention to the
mechanics (spelling, grammar, full sentences, and the like). I will also be looking at
how the essay develops through more than one draft and for that hard-to-pin-down
quality of “voice.” I want you to sound like you. The first complete draft is due in
class on September 18th; the final draft is due September 25th. It will be counted
as 15% of the grade.