Editing English Essay

The Assignment

For this assignment, you will be picking one personal remembered event to narrate in essay form.  This essay is an example of personal writing, and although you will not have outside sources your essay will be detailed and descriptive. 

Formatting

- Title and heading at top of first page

- Standard margins, 12 font, double spaced

- 3-5 pages

The Packet

-Final Draft on top

-All pre-work

-At least two rough drafts

-Peer Editing comments

-Neat and stapled

Content

-Draw on your experience for material

-Arrange the narrative in climactic chronological order

-Develop the event with vivid details, dialogue, examples, and illustrations

-Reflect on the effects of the event on you and/or others, the meaning of the event, or the

   insight you gained from the experience

Traps To Avoid 

You will want to avoid the following problems:

-Choosing a topic that is too broad ("my childhood," "our championship season")

-Failing to create suspense and to build to a climax

-Failing to reflect on the significance of the experience

 -Oversimplifying or sentimentalizing the significance of the experience