Name:______________________________________________
PROJECT
Date:___________________
SLAVE NARRATIVE
SLAVERY
Directions: The time is the early 1800s. You are an educated African-American slave living in the
South. You are to write a slave narrative describing your experiences as a slave and your reactions to
those experiences. Somewhere within that narrative, you must establish exactly who the narrator is and
when and where the action(s) described would have taken place (e.g., how old you are, on what size
plantation/farm do you live and work, what type of work did you do, etc.).
You must also describe some of the specific things that have happened to you and your reactions to those
occurrences. Although your experiences will be fictional, they must be based in fact! The novel Uncle
Tom’s Cabin and the other readings we have done in class (i.e., “The African Slave Trade,” “The Middle
Passage,” “Slavery in History and the South,” and “A Slave’s Daily Bread”) should get you started. You
may also want to refer to your textbook as well as outside sources for further ideas.
Be careful writing your slave narrative. It is not an essay and should not read like an essay. Also, be
careful with your sense of chronology. Do not refer to things that would not yet have happened at the
time the slave narrative is set—you are not Nostradamus. Try to convince the reader that you actually
lived in the early 1800s rather than the 2000s, and above all try to have fun writing the narrative.
Example: The date is July 1841, and you are a slave on a small Virginia plantation. Your master is
strapped for money and has been forced to sell some of his best slaves. You are one of these slaves to be
sold. In the slave narrative, you would explain your reaction to the news you are being sold away from
your family as well as some of your fears or apprehensions about being sold to a larger planter in the
Deep South.
Requirements for Slave Narrative: The slave narrative must be typed following the standard MLA
format. If any outside sources are consulted or used, the sources need to be cited using the correct
bibliographic citations on a separate Works Cited page. Since you are (or become) an educated slave, the
slave narrative must be written in standard English; the only place where dialectic wording or slang is
permissible is if dialog between individuals is being used. The slave narrative needs to be a minimum of
three pages but not more than four pages. The slave narrative will be worth a possible 100 points. Any
racist or derogatory comments will absolutely not be tolerated and in result in an automatic zero and/or
referral for further disciplinary action! See the back of this sheet for an explanation of grading!
Due Date: All papers are due at the beginning of class on Friday, September 18, 2015. No late papers
will be accepted!
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR
SLAVE NARRATIVE
2
The following is a guideline by which the slave narratives will be graded. The final grade will be
based upon the overall content and grammar/usage of the slave narrative.
Strengths of an "A" Slave Narrative Entry
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Has an excellent sense of purpose and convinces the reader that it was written at the time the event
occurred.
Has an excellent sense of chronology and makes references to events occurring at the time it was
supposedly written.
Has an excellent sense of organization and development.
Includes many examples and specific details of things that the writer may have experienced and/or
observed.
Achieves clarity throughout.
Uses a variety of sentence structure and demonstrates precise word choice.
Strengths of a "B" Slave Narrative Entry
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Has a good sense of purpose and convinces the reader that it was written at the time the event occurred.
Has a good sense of chronology.
Has a good sense of organization and development.
Includes several examples and specific details of things the writer may have experienced and/or observed.
Achieves clarity throughout.
Uses a variety of sentence structures and accurate word choice.
Serious errors in grammar and/or usage are minimal.
Characteristics of a "C" Slave Narrative Entry
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Displays an adequate sense of purpose, but there may be some question as to whether it was written at the
time the event occurred.
Has an adequate sense of development.
Is organized well enough to be easily readable.
Includes some examples and details of things the writer may have experienced and/or observed.
Has adequate but undistinguished word choice and sentence structure.
Has some serious errors in grammar and/or usage.
Weaknesses of a "D" Slave Narrative Entry
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Has poor sense of purpose, and it is doubtful that it was written at the time that the event occurred.
Has a poor sense of chronology.
Has lapses in organization.
Includes few examples or details of things the writer may have experienced and/or observed.
Has lapses in clarity.
Lacks variety of sentence structure and/or accuracy of word choice.
Errors in grammar and/or usage make presentation hard to understand at times.
Weaknesses of the "F" Slave Narrative Entry
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Has no sense of purpose, and it is certain that it was not written at the time the event occurred.
Has no sense of chronology.
Lacks unified organization.
Includes no examples or details of the writer's experiences and/or observations, or the examples and details
are erroneous.
Consistently lacks clarity.
Lacks variety in sentence structure and/or accuracy of word choice.
Frequent errors in grammar and/or usage that severely impede clarity of presentation.