Write a story of a time you struggled to learn something in a particular discourse community

Literacy Narrative Genre Features    A well-told story.  

A story is an account or description of people and events that has  a beginning, middle, and end. As with most narratives, those about  literacy often set up ​some sort of situation that needs to be resolved​. That need  for resolution makes readers want to keep reading. Where is there  conflict, tension, or action in your story? What are some events or  situations that you have been part of that you can use to dramatize your  story?  

Some literacy narratives simply explore the role that reading or  writing played at some time in someone's life—assuming, perhaps, that  learning to read or write is a challenge to be met.   

  (from the ​Norton Field Guide to Writing​).   

 

Vivid detail.   Details can bring a narrative to life for readers by giving them vivid 

mental images of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of the world in  which your story takes place.​ For example, in your first draft you may have  written “he was angry at me” but now you can take the chance to revise it  to be more concrete and explicit (as opposed to abstract and vague).  What does “angry” look like? “As he narrowed his eyes and clenched his  jaw, a vein began to pulse on his temple. I gulped audibly when his  wrathful gaze turned in my direction.”  

Also, the details you use when describing something can help  readers picture places, people, and events; for example, instead of writing  “at the beach, we saw a dog run by us,” be more specific: “an overexcited  Border Collie strained against her leash, dragging a cursing owner onto  the sandy beach.”  

Lastly, ​using dialogue​ can help your audience hear what is being  said and can help bring a narrative to life. Dialogue should be used to  convey information to your reader about your characters and to help  move the plot forward.    Some indication of the narrative's significance.  

By definition, a literacy narrative tells something the writer  remembers about learning to read, write, or communicate within a  discourse community. In addition, the writer needs to make clear why the  incident matters to him or her.  

You may ​reveal its significance​ in various ways; this assignment  asks you to use this story as a chance to reflect on how some aspect of  your history as a reader/writer/language user has shaped your identity,  values, beliefs, behavior, or world view. How has participating in a  particular discourse community shaped you as a person? Why should  people care about writing, language, and communication? 

The trick is to avoid tacking onto the end a statement about your  narrative's significance as if it were a kind of moral of the story.  Someone’s narrative would have far less power if he'd simply said, "Thus  did my father teach me to value books of all kinds."