English Essay paper

The Norton Field Guide to Writing

https://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/write/fieldguide/writing_guides.asp#BOLD01

Narratives are stories, and we read and tell them for many different reasons. Parents read their children bedtime stories as an evening ritual. Preachers base their Sunday sermons on Bible stories to teach the importance of religious faith. Grandparents tell how things used to be (sometimes the same stories year after year). Schoolchildren tell teachers that their dog ate their homework. College applicants write about significant moments in their lives. Writing students are often called upon to compose literacy narratives to explore how they learned to read or write. This chapter provides detailed guidelines for writing a literacy narrative.

The Important Parts of a Literacy Narrative

Literacy narratives are well-told stories. 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. We want to know whether Nichols ultimately will pass the proficiency test. 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.

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. The details you use when describing something can help readers picture places, people, and events; dialogue can help them hear what is being said.

Some indication of the narrative's significance. By definition, a literacy narrative tells something the writer remembers about learning to read or write. In addition, the writer needs to make clear why the incident matters to him or her. You may reveal its significance in various ways.

Choosing a Topic

In general, it's a good idea to focus on a single event that took place during a relatively brief period of time. For example:

· Any early memory about writing or reading that you recall vividly

· Someone who taught you to read or write

· A book or other text that has been significant for you in some way

· An event at school that was interesting, humorous, or embarrassing

· A writing or reading task that you found (or still find) difficult or challenging

· A memento that represents an important moment in your literacy development (perhaps the start of a LITERACY PORTFOLIO)

· The origins of your current attitudes about writing or reading

Make a list of possible topics, and then choose one that you think will be interesting to you and to others—and that you're willing to share with others. If several seem promising, try them out on a friend or classmate. Or just choose one and see where it leads; you can switch to another if need be. If you have trouble coming up with a topic, try FREEWRITING, LISTING, CLUSTERING, or LOOPING.