ESSAY #1:Technology Conflict Narrative Dietel-McLaughlin / WR 13200 / Fall 2011 Narrative

Overview Write a story about a time you experienced or witnessed a conflict. Since much of our readings and activities this semester will involve the subject of violence and violence-prevention, your first assignment is designed to help you reflect upon a time where you experienced some kind of conflict. Remember: “conflict” involves a collision, struggle, or disagreement that may or may not involve physical violence. Do not simply list every conflict youʼve ever had; instead, isolate a particularly memorable experience or series of experiences, building in the tension, turn, reflection, and resolution that make for compelling narrative writing. Your story should be rich with description of settings, characters, and actions so that readers experience the moments youʼve recreated in a powerful and thought-provoking way.

Requirements & Grading Your completed essay should be around 4 double-spaced pages in length. It will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Focus: Do not try to present your entire lifeʼs story! Instead, narrow your focus to a specific moment or theme and develop your story in the context of that narrow focus.

Organization: The structure should enhance the story by keeping readers engaged and leading them seamlessly through the narrative. The analytical and descriptive elements of the essay should be effectively integrated into a cohesive whole.

Development: The story should come alive with specific examples, description, and vivid imagery. Important scenes, characters, and events should be developed with vivid language and sufficient detail to convey the intended ideas.

Reflection/Analysis: The story should convey a sense for why the events described are significant (for example, how the events impacted later decision-making, attitudes, beliefs, anxieties, etc). Be careful to avoid a “disembodied” narrator delivering the “moral of the story,” however; instead, integrate the reflective pieces into the fabric of your narrative so that we are shown, rather than just told.

Clarity: The story should be generally free of errors, none of which impede the communication of ideas. Language should be precise and appropriately varied.

Getting Started These questions may spark ideas for focusing your story:

• Conflict & Place: Is there a specific place that holds significance in your memory in terms of conflict? Were you bullied (or a bully yourself) at school? What about your home? Your church? Your karate dojo? How is conflict resolved (or perhaps invited) by these spaces?

• Conflict & Identity: Have you ever felt that you are expected to approach conflict differently because of your gender? Your race? Your religion? Your economic

status? Your disability? Do you remember any specific moments where you struggled to reconcile these expectations with how you wanted to react?

• Conflict & Recreation: Is conflict a key aspect of your favorite sport or hobby? What kind of language is used to characterize this conflict (for example, war metaphors in many sports)? Based on your experiences, what is the value or danger of the way conflict is approached in this hobby/sport as opposed to other types of conflict?

• Conflict & Technology: Have you ever been threatened, humiliated, harassed, or intimidated via text messages or social media? How did you react? How did this experience compare to conflicts you might have experienced in person? Are you more likely to try to resolve conflicts face-to-face, or via a communication technology? Why?

• Conflict & Family: How is conflict negotiated in your family? In your memories, who tends to be the instigator? Who tends to be the peacemaker? How do conflicts typically resolve? Have you witnessed conflicts between other family members? Do they unfold in a way that is similar to or different from how you experience conflict outside of the family?

Need Help? No Problem! Dr. E: [email protected] The Writing Center: http://writingcenter.nd.edu/

DUE: September 9, by 11:55 p.m. Please submit as a .doc file via the Sakai “Assignments” tab. Please save your file as LastFirst_NAR (replacing “Last” with your last name and “First” with your first name).