English

George Brown College COM 1007

College English

Week 7 Personal & Opinion Essays; Narrative; Memoir [email protected]

This Week’s Aims

1. Narrative Writing // Memoir

a. One Strategy b. Reading Reflection

2. Personal & Opinion Essays: Review & How To

3. Personal & Opinion Essays:

Hooks & Openers

Today, we will be discussing some sensitive topics, including:

★ Narratives intersecting race and sexuality. ★ Substance abuse and childhood trauma. ★ Intersectional oppression as associated with race, gender, and

misogyny. ★ Mental health, anxiety, and depression. ★ Physician-Assisted Death ★ Geographical rupture and family separations ★ Indigenous issues relating to experied genocide, trauma, and the

Residential School System legacy.

Trigger Warnings

1a. Narrative Writing & Memoir

One Strategy

… telling your story... For your Narrative Essay (10%), you will get the opportunity to write in a way which encourages you to draw upon personal opinion and lived experience. There are no hard-and-fast rules for integrating this type of “memoir-based” writing; however, some thoughts to consider: • You may choose to use the first person: “I” • You may wish to mimic a spoken-quality; AKA, the way that you

speak. • It can be helpful to imagine you are orating a story to a friend. • Complete factuality isn’t always necessary. The act of

remembering is reconstructive, and may involve misremembering and reimagining details.

• You may seek to capture the essence of what is important, and colour in the memory gaps.

• As with any piece of writing, consider audience. Why is this story interesting to readers?

• Descriptive language and literary devices engage your readers.

… writers in the world... In writing compelling, moving narratives, it can be helpful to contextualize ourselves as writers in the world; we are storytellers who are aware of local and global issues, and how those local and global issues impact the way we experience and move through the world. Ask yourself: • How does my story operate within the framework of

grander societal concepts? • How will my words contribute to the preexisting canon? • What is my responsibility as a writer to address grander

social issues? • What is my story to tell? • What’s at stake? What is the emotional risk? Why

should my reader care?

… writers in the world... Jessica’s Preamble: how might we be able to do this?

The texts I hope to bring to you deal with “emotional risk:” speaking about potentially personally complex and // or emotionally vulnerable stories.

You are welcome to hook your reader (me!) with a story of that nature; remember, this piece is between you and me (only potentially with other staff members, consent permitted.) It will not be shared externally, or with other students.

You might feel reluctant to speak openly about personal experience; that’s okay! You do not have to share anything you are uncomfortable sharing.

One potential strategy is to select one of the following questions:

• What is one of your earliest memories? • What is one of your happiest memories? • What is one thing your friends & family don't

know about you? • What is one thing you are scared of?

It can be helpful to write your answer in the middle of a page and put a circle around it. Then, brainstorm any words, or ideas, or memories about it.

Narrative & Memoir

A way to enter into the story might be to begin with "I remember", and to then start writing your memoir, ideally from the details your questions and brainstorm generated.

“I remember” may turn out to be a crutch: a way in which can be later removed.

Don't worry about a beginning, middle, or end at this early stage; just try to write the story down, and any sensory details, characters, actions, or feelings you may have around it. A story will emerge naturally.

Narrative & Memoir

1b. Narrative Writing & Memoir

Reading Reflection

See Blackboard for instructions

Now, let’s watch. Think to yourself: what’s different about the video, versus the article? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdMl5k2S1K0

Narrative & Memoir

2. Personal & Opinion Essays

Review

Personal & Opinion Essays: What are some of your favourite personal & opinion essays?

Some of mine are: ▪ “The Bad Feminist Manifesto” by Roxane Gay ▪ “Black + White . . . equals black,: says Oakville, Ont.,

author Lawrence Hill in an excerpt from his provocative new book” by Lawrence Hill

▪ “Depression Part 2” by Allie Brosh (multimodal) ▪ “Embraced by the Needle” by Gabor Mate ▪ “My Body Is My Own Business” by Naheed Mustafa ▪ “If These Walls Could Talk” by Lana Šlezić (multimodal) ▪ “I Wanted to Stop Her Crying” by Avi Selk

I have put links to these in Blackboard for you to review

Personal & Opinion Essays: What are the authors doing here?

▪ “The Bad Feminist Manifesto” evokes personal experience to exemplify the arguments and establish credibility; Gay is an expert in the field to be trusted.

▪ Hill “Black + White . . . equals black…” similarly supports his critique of race relations in Ontario as a POC raised within this community, and thus familiar with the movement.

▪ Brosh, in “Depression Part 2,” identifies herself as a sufferer/survivor of depressive episodes, multimodally.

▪ “Embraced by the Needle” appears credible as Mate is a physician, and a powerful witness to these narratives.

▪ “My Body Is My Own Business” is bolstered by Mustafa’s positionality, and she includes personal experience to enrich her essay’s validity; she is a trustworthy narrator.

What do we mean by multimodal?

Personal & Opinion Essays: Brosh’s “Depression Part 2” is a personal/opinion piece, because of its use of the personal pronoun “I,” and how the narrative evokes personal experience; however, this essays bridges other modes of expression, aka comic book writing strategies.

Not all literature and writing can be easily categorized under one genre definition. Many texts straddle two, or more, genres. A way to think of these types of texts is Creative Nonfiction; thus, works of nonfiction which dabble in other popular modes of writing, and art.

In this way, I encourage you to think of yourself as an expert in your own story and history, and a writer who can apply their experiences when crafting a piece about a grander, local or global issue. This is what I mean by Writers in the World.

Note: there are many ways of addressing this type of essay; this is only one strategy.

Starting Your Essay: ▪ Structurally speaking, personal & opinion essays often begin

with personal anecdote or story. This is also regularly referred to as a hook; how can you immediately grab your reader’s attention by introducing your essay with a statement that shocks, alarms, or rouses curiosity?

▪ Following this hook, your introduction should include a thesis statement that summarizes your stance on the subject, which is informed by your personal experience and your interpretation of the text you are using as supporting evidence.

Personal & Opinion Essays: how-to

Body of Essay: Often, the body paragraphs of a personal & opinion essay will consider ethos, logos, and pathos: ▪ Ethos: identify your own experiences in the field. Because of

your own story, and how it relates to the topic, consider why your opinion matters, so as to develop the credibility of your essay.

▪ Logos: make a logical case for why the issues are important. This is where you begin to include evidence by referring to the article of your choosing; how do the details of the reading reinforce the validity, and stakes, of your own story within the framework of the grander issue at hand?

▪ Pathos: make an emotional case for your viewpoint; return to your story: how did this experience affect you? How did the reading affect you, and reinforce your point?

Personal & Opinion Essays: how-to

Closing your Essay: ▪ Structurally speaking, personal & opinion essays

often end by returning to the scenario presented by the hook anecdote or story. This is called a cyclical structure. Take us back to that emotional space which shocks, alarms, or rouses curiosity.

▪ The conclusion should restate the thesis statement.

▪ Where relevant, a conclusion can itemize what action needs to be taken to stop whatever procedures or protocols you’ve identified from happening. What will be the positive outcome(s) of this being enacted?

Personal & Opinion Essays: how-to

General Personal & Opinion Essay Writing Notes: ▪ Write in complete sentences with correct spelling,

grammar, and punctuation. Short, “incomplete” sentences may be useful, however, to include emotionality and variety.

▪ In terms of language & tone, be sure to consider context when deciding on formality level. Who is your intended audience?

▪ You are encouraged to use personal pronouns— “I,” “we,” “they,” “you,”— and do not need to use APA formatted reference lists or in-text citations.

▪ Always proofread your essay thoroughly.

Personal & Opinion Essays: how-to

3. Personal & Opinion Essay Hooks & Openers

Personal Essays: Hooks & Openers

REMEMBER OUR NOTES ON STARTING OUR PERSONAL ESSAYS: “Structurally speaking, personal & opinion essays often begin with personal anecdote or story. This is also regularly referred to as a hook; how can you immediately grab your reader’s attention by introducing your essay with a statement that shocks, alarms, or rouses curiosity?”

HOW MIGHT WE BE ABLE TO DO THIS? We have talked extensively about “emotional risk:” speaking about personally complex, troubling, emotionally vulnerable stories. You are welcome to hook your reader (me!) with a story of that nature; remember, this piece is between you and me (only potentially with other staff members, consent permitted.) It will not be shared externally, or with other students.

You might feel reluctant to speak openly about personal experience; that’s okay! You do not have to share anything you are uncomfortable sharing.

Remember This Kathleen Kennedy from Best Canadian Essays 2015

An essay about Alzheimer’s, and the nationwide problematic treatment of the elderly within the end-of-life, geriatrics-oriented health care system, Kennedy draws from personal experience by hooking her readers with her mother’s tortuous experience as a dementia patient.

Crime and Punishment Sinéad Mulhern from Best Canadian Essays 2015

An essay about the horrors of femme experiences within the Canadian judicial system, particularly relating to the inequitable inaccess to education for inmates, Mulhern draws upon the lived experiences of an ex-con to fortify her argument.

Ol’ Talk Nadine Bachan from Best Canadian Essays 2015

An essay about language, accent, and dialect reclamation, and the deep seated contention between speech patterns at the intersections of race, migratory experiences, gender, and socioeconomic histories, Bachan draws on personal experience to unpack the complex legacy of Trinidadian dialect in literature.

When Death is a Choice Dave Cameron from The Walrus

An essay about physician assisted suicide, Cameron evokes the personal story of a patient to immediately grab the reader’s attention.

It Doesn’t Get Better Graeme Bayliss from The Walrus

An essay about physician assisted suicide and depression, Bayliss fortifies the immediacy and urgency of his essay by regaling his own traumatic experiences as a sufferer of depression who has seriously considered claiming his own life.

Personal Essays: Hooks & Openers

Note that all of these essays return to their original anecdotal story at the end: cyclical structure. Questions to ask ourselves: Are these works “literary,” despite being nonfiction? YES, they are incredibly captivating; they read like fiction as in they use similar colourful, literary device-driven writing strategies, but are rooted in true stories. Thus, creative nonfiction: nonfiction which is as gripping as works of fiction. Are we more invested as readers because of the humanistic slant? Yes, potentially. Think of all the books you’ve read, and films you’ve watched, which state based on a true story. Do you feel more deeply for the characters because they are real? Each author is a “Writer in the World” by extending and developing the preexisting cannon of texts which discuss the issue, but bolstering by the narratives with their own experiences.

… next week...

… See Blackboard… You have 3 jobs this week: 1. Review our PowerPoint Slides 2. Complete the Reading Reflection, paste

your answers to the Week 7: Discussion Board, comment on one of your friends’ posts, then watch the video memoir.

3. Submit your Critical Analysis (20%) to Blackboard by the Sunday of Week 7 at 11:59pm