Personal Narrative Assignment

Purpose and Goals:

You will write about a memory that you find meaningful, beautiful, harrowing, tragic, hilarious, or otherwise worthy of preserving. You can write about any experience, whether a childhood memory or something that happened yesterday. As in the pieces by Carver and Sedaris, you will need to use vivid details, plausible dialogue, and rich descriptions. You can choose the extent to which you want to fictionalize this piece: it might be closer to the memoir end of the spectrum, like “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” or it might be closer to the adaptation end of the spectrum, like Flight. It might be realistic or contain fantastical elements. Your essay should have a purposeful structure, appropriate tone, and vivid details. This piece should be about 1,000 words.

Genre Conventions:

• Intimacy—essays are expressions of your personal ideas and feelings about your topic
• Narrative—essays tell a story with a purposeful structure
• Generalization—essays connect personal experiences with larger ideas and issues

Form and Content:

• Structure
  • Your essay should have one overarching idea, which is developed through various subordinate ideas
  • What kind of structure best enables you to explore your topic?
    • You might structure your essay chronologically or use non-linear chronology (i.e. flashbacks)
    • You might discuss a series of anecdotes or examples of a common theme
    • You might pose a central question, then explore possible answers
  • Your structure should be clear, consistent, and appropriate to your topic
    • Each paragraph should fit into your overall structure
    • Clear transitions between paragraphs will help your reader follow your structure
• Style
  • What tone best fits your topic?
    • Melancholy? Sardonic? Curious? Wistful? Impassioned? Clinical?
    • The tone of your essay should not shift abruptly, unless it does so deliberately
  • What kind of diction and syntax are appropriate to your topic?
    • Terse, staccato sentences vs. long, flowing sentences
    • Monosyllabic, “Germanic” words vs. polysyllabic, “Latinate” language
  • How can you use imagery, simile, and metaphor to develop your theme?

Grading:

This assignment will comprise 10% of your total grade for the course. You will be graded on these four areas:

• Topic—10%
• Structure—40%
• Style—40%
• Grammar and Mechanics—10%