ENGL 103 Fall 2010
Essay 1: Narrative
Purpose: Your purpose for this assignment is to write a 2-4 page literacy autobiography.
The literacy autobiography is the opportunity for you to learn something about how your
experiences have made you the type of student and person you are. Your thesis for this
paper should make some statement about how your learning helped you become this way.
To get started, consider things like:
1. What is literacy?
2. How was my literacy developed? By who?
3. How has my education (academic or life-learned) influenced who I am today?
4. How have my attitudes been formed by my literacy? Have they changed over the
years as you’ve gained insight or knowledge? Has a particular person or
institution played a role in this?
5. What are the significant events, people, or moments in my life that have allowed
me to become the person I am now?
6. Why is learning—either through school, talking with an elder, sharing
experiences with a close friend, learning to play the piano—important?
7. Literacy is something that is never-ending—we are in a constant state of learning
new things.
Please keep in mind that though you will probably want to include some account of your
formal education in your learning experiences, you should feel free to discuss whatever
events, experiences, or people that are relevant to your exploration of yourself. Think
broadly about what has influenced your attitudes and habits.
A good essay will make clear to the reader who or what played an important role in your
development, but also how you did learn. You should question yourself, take a close look
at the people and things that have helped you learn along the way, and if you get the
feeling you are discovering something about yourself, chances are you’re on the right
track.
Organization: There is no single, correct rule for organizing your essay, though each
paragraph should lead logically to the one that follows.
Style: You should use language that is appropriate for your audience.
Title: Your essay should contain an original and descriptive title that informs the reader
about the content of the paper. A vague or absent title suggests a lack of focus in your
essay.
Due date: Wed. 15 Aug. 2010
Assignment Dates
Wed. Aug. 25: Ch. 1, “Good Writers are Good Readers,” p. 1-7; Ch. 3, “Narration,” p.
49-63; Shah, “Longing to Belong,” p 66-68.
Fri. Aug. 27: Ch. 2, “The Writing Process,” p. 12-29; Lewis, “The Badger,” p. 85-88;
Gremmels, “The Clinic,” p. 91-93.
Mon. Aug. 30: Ch. 2, p. 29-37; Morrison, “Strangers,” p. 95-97; Dillard, “An American
Childhood,” p. 80-83.
Wed. Sep. 1: The 9/11 Commission, “The Battle for United 93,” 70-78.
Thurs. Sep. 2—Fri, Sep. 3: Class will not meet.
Mon. Sep. 6: Labor Day holiday, class will not meet.
Wed. Sep. 8: Ch. 2, p. 37-48. Bring typed copies of your rough drafts for peer review.
Fri. Sep. 10: In service day, class does not meet.
Fri. Sep. 10-Tues. Sep. 14: Consultations. Class will not meet Monday.
Wed. Sep. 15: Paper is due.