Appel
Name:_______________
In My Skin: An Exploration of Racial Identity
Throughout our discussions of race and privilege, you have most likely been thinking about your own racial identity and
what it means to be ​
you​
within the social construction of race. You will now have the opportunity to explore what that
means in the form of a ​
personal narrative essay​
.
The essay
Write a personal narrative essay that expresses your current feelings about your own racial identity.
If you are not totally sure what those feelings are, this will be an opportunity for you to explore them through the process
of writing. Everyone has a race, so everyone can write this essay.
What goes in a personal narrative essay?
Based on our observations of other personal narrative essays, we’ve narrowed down four major things that every personal
essay requires:
❏ A main idea that the writer returns to throughout the essay.
❏ Anecdotes or memories from your life that illustrate your main idea. You could write about just one, or several.
Often this part includes dialogue!
❏ Vivid descriptions that draw readers in and make memories and anecdotes come to life.
❏ The “internal monologue” or reflection on events and ideas that runs throughout the essay.
You are expected to incorporate ​
all four​
of these requirements into your essay, but you can be creative in how you
approach the assignment.
Other Requirements
❏ A meaningful title that could only belong to your essay
❏ Will not exceed 4 pages
❏ Double spaced
❏ Times New Roman font, size 12
❏ MLA format
1st draft due:
Your rough draft of this essay will be due by December 18 at 9:00pm. You will have time for typing this essay in class the
week of the due date.
You will submit your essay digitally using ​
turnitin.com​
(Ms. Appel will go over how to do this in class).
Learning Targets assessed in this essay:
Narrative Essay, Effective Words & Syntax, Conventions (focus: capitalization, punctuation, run-ons, formatting, and
Writing Process.
Some possible approaches to writing this essay…
● Look over the “White Privilege Survey”— choose one privilege and discuss your experience exercising or not
exercising that privilege. Do you have a story to share about that, or some reflecting to do?
● Try to remember the first time you realized which racial group you belong to. What happened that made you
suddenly realize you have a race? How did it change the way you see the world? How do you experience your race
now?
● Think about a time when you said, heard, or were on the receiving end of a racist comment or assumption. What
did it mean at the time, what does it mean to you now, and what did it expose to you about the function of race?
● Consider the racial makeup of Cleveland High School. What does that mean for you, and how do you think it
affects the school culture?
● Address some of the stereotypes associated with your racial group and your experience with them.
● Discuss position of your racial group at a certain time in history, and compare that to your experience as a member
of that racial group today. How have you benefited/not benefited from the events of the past?
● Interview some family members and get a deeper understanding of your family’s history with race, ethnicity, and
racial issues. What has your experience been, and what has the experience of your family been?