Essay #1 Assignment: a Narrative on Learning

Beginnings, Fall 2009 Essay #1 Assignment: A Narrative on Learning

Essentials Write a 3 to 5 page essay that tells a compelling story about an event in your life from which you learned something important about your identity, who you really are. Focus on a situation where “voice” played a central role – a time you spoke your truth, or didn’t. A situation where you said exactly how you felt, or couldn’t. A situation where you were silent, or one where you took the risk of speaking out.

Show what happened and tell your reader why it matters.

Choose an event that is important to you. Moments of change, decision, and conflict can provide exciting material. Choose a situation where you really did learn something, whether or not you were “supposed” to learn something. We’re asking you to think especially of situations where your voice, your speech or your silence, was an important element of what happened.

Focus your story on a single, brief event – a matter of minutes or hours. If your story has elements that happened over a longer period of time, you might want to sketch a longer period – yet your main focus will be on a specific incident.

Use concrete, sensory details. Include both exterior (appearances, events, behavior) and interior (thoughts and feelings).

This essay does not need to have a thesis, but it does need to have a clearly stated point: what you learned from this experience. State this point clearly in your conclusion or introduction.

Due Dates Rough draft: Monday, October 12. Bring 4 copies of your typed rough draft for group work. Final: Monday, October 19

Final only: include one copy of each draft (rough and final) in the 2-pocket folder. Drafts with notes and comments (your own, from your peers, or from your teacher) are best.

Format: Follow the guidelines on in the class syllabus.

Title: Give your essay a unique title that captures the essence of your story in just a few words.

Narrative Story telling is a basic form of expression in all cultures, and is an important tool for many different kinds of writing. A story has a protagonist, the central person, the one who readers care about or identify with. In a story about your own life, the protagonist is yourself.

At the end of this story, something must be different: a change must have taken place in the protagonist (that is, you). Possibly other things will have changed as well. Interior is everything in the protagonist’s inner life: thoughts, feelings, memories, sensations. Exterior is everything that happens outside the protagonist: setting, dialogue, and actions of other characters. Interior gives depth to the story and helps the reader empathize with the protagonist. Exterior grounds the story in reality and makes it vivid and alive. Use both!

This assignment asks you to focus closely on an important day or even an hour. We’ll work on developing a scene in class. A scene happens in a particular place, at a particular point in time. The details of the setting help locate the story in the real world.

Use vivid, specific, concrete language that uses all the senses. Include the details that you take for granted, that will be new to your reader. NAME places, streets, people, and things. DESCRIBE colors, scents, sounds, sensations. QUOTE people’s exact words. Use the most precise words you can find.

Even though this story is about a real event from your life, you might need to invent some details to make it clear to the reader. For example, if you don’t remember the exact words you said, you can make up words that fit the scene and give the feeling of that moment.

Whatever story you tell, explain clearly what you learned from this experience. Make it a personal reflection that reveals something about you and how you see the world. Help your reader know you better by sharing something you genuinely care about.

Evaluation This essay will be graded and is worth 10% of your final grade, using these criteria:  Does the essay meet the requirements of the assignment as described here?  Does the essay reflect your own authentic voice – is it original and heartfelt?  Does the essay use concrete sensory and descriptive language?  Does it clearly state what you learned and why this experience matters?  Is the story clear and easy to follow?  Does every part of the essay relate to the main idea or point?  Is the writing clear and easy to follow, with mostly correct sentence structures?  Does the essay have a logical structure, including effective paragraph organization?  Has the essay been carefully edited for spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics?