English

Formatting:

· 800-900 words

· 12 pt font

· 1” margins

· Times New Roman

· Double-spaced

· Last name and page number in upper-right corner

· Heading with name, class, and date in upper left corner

For your first essay, you will write a personal narrative essay responding to one of the following prompts: Option 1: Write about how someone else’s actions had a negative effect on you. Option 2: Write about your first day on the job/at a new school/in a new town or place. Option 3: Write about a lesson you learned that changed your life. • Your essay should be a true story about your life experiences, which means you may use first person pronouns in this essay (I, me, my, myself, etc.). • You should not include any outside sources in this essay, so you will not need a works cited page

Although narrative essays tell a story, the events alone will not be enough to organize your essay. You will need a thesis statement.  Your thesis statement could be the lesson that you learned from the event. 

This example is a true story from my childhood.

The year that I turned five, I stopped believing in Santa. My father was heartbroken that I was growing up so fast, so he wanted to extend the magic a bit longer.  I wanted a toy piano that looked like a real piano in miniature. I talked about the toy every day, and I was so disappointed it wasn't under the tree. I tried to look happy with the Barbie that I received, but my dad could see my sadness. He smiled and said, "maybe Santa forgot something on the roof."  We went outside, and when I looked up, my piano was sitting on the roof. My eyes widened, and I was delighted. My father grabbed a ladder and retrieved my gift. At the time, I didn't think about my father's job as a roofer; it didn't cross my young mind.   Years later, I realized that my father got up early to place that piano on the roof. My father did something exceptional for me that day, and he made me believe in magic a little bit longer, which is a precious gift that I still cherish to this day (My thesis).