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Title of assignment: Personal Narrative Essay

Length: 2-4 pages of typed, double- spaced text in MLA format

 

Description of assignment:

Write a personal narrative essay on one of the approved topics below. The essay must tell a clear story about a real experience. Use narration and description in the essay, as discussed in the textbook chapters.

The story can only take place over the course of one or two days. Do not tell a story that takes place over weeks, months, or years. 

Your tone should be conversational; tell the story as if you were telling it to a close friend. The essay must be in MLA format with double spacing and Times New Roman 12-point font. The length of the essay should be between 2 and 4 full pages of text. Your essay should be free of grammar and spelling errors.  There must be a conflict central to the story. 

The essay must have the basic components of an essay:  An introduction paragraph: The first 10-12 sentences of the introduction should set up the topic in an interesting way. Preview the story that will be told. This is the best place to introduce a dominant impression, which is an overall mood, feeling, or emotion that you will create using descriptive and figurative language.  At least three body paragraphs: Each paragraph should be focused on one main idea. For a narrative, find a way to break the story into three parts. Do not write one long block of text. Look to the essay "Fish Cheeks" as an example." There MUST be a central conflict to the story, or problem that must be solved.  The body paragraphs should be organized as:  rising action, climax, and resolution. The  rising action sets up the conflict, the  climax is the "big event" of the story, and the  resolution is how the conflict was resolved. All of this should take place over one or two days.  A short conclusion paragraph: A conclusion paragraph should only wrap up the essay and re-state the thesis, or main idea, of the essay. It should not introduce any new information or repeat ideas from the body. It should only be 2-3 sentences long. Do not write a lengthy conclusion paragraph in an effort to hit the length requirement!

Goal of assignment: 

Tell an engaging true story that has a clear purpose (thesis) and a believable narrator. Include examples of descriptive language, specific details, and figurative language.  There must be a conflict central to the story. A conflict doesn't have to be a "fight," but any obstacle that was overcome. Without a conflict, it's not a narrative. 

 

Skills we will work on with this paper:

· narration

· description

· dialogue (if needed)

· chronological organization

 

Suggestions for topics: (Remember that each story should include a conflict or obstacle!) 

· a story from your childhood that involves an obstacle you overcame

· a significant accomplishment or overcoming a challenge

· a time when you experienced something new/for the first time

· a memory with the most influential/important person in your life

· a funny story that happened to you

· a holiday and how you celebrate it (Tell about a SPECIFIC day, not your traditions in general.) 

· a time you were greatly inspired

· a moment when you discovered one of your favorite things

· for all other topics, get instructor approval

Possibilities (the best essays do this):

Personal narratives based on the author’s experience are usually written in the first-person using the “I” pronoun. Personal narratives based on others’ experience are usually written in the third-person using “he”, “she”, or “they” pronouns. Personal narratives are usually written in the past tense, but they can be written in the present tense. Successful narratives are often written in chronological order with a beginning, a middle, and an end. This helps readers develop a sense of time in the story. Many writers use dialogue to show how the narrator and other characters are feeling about the events that are unfolding.

 

Some stories are told by focusing on scene. This means the author will provide details as vividly and precisely as if he or she is there (imagine if the story is a movie and the reader is watching). Other stories might be told by focusing on summary. This means the author will tell the essentials of what happened rather than providing great details about people and their surroundings. Either technique can be used to write a compelling narrative.

 

Writers should begin by selecting a topic and answering the 5 W’s and the H about the topic: What happened? Who took part? When? Where? Why did it happen? How did it happen? The answers to these questions will provide the building blocks for the personal narrative.

 

 

Pitfalls (common mistakes students make with this assignment):

Do not use clinical language. Be clear but be yourself.

Avoid the second-person point of view. That means do not use "you" or "your" anywhere, unless part of dialogue. 

Do not switch back and forth between present and past tense.

Make sure your narrator seems reliable.

Make sure the tone fits the subject and aligns with the narrator’s views.

Carefully proofread your essay before turning it in. Make sure to address any errors identified by your text editors.

 

Rubric [with percentage breakdown for different aspects of evaluation/grade (%)]:

Content = 30%

        A: 30-27 points

        Paper is creative and original

        Student has clearly followed and met the assignment guidelines

 

        B: 26-23 points

        Paper is somewhat creative and original

        Student has mostly followed and met the assignment guidelines

 

        C: 22-19 points

        Paper is unoriginal and ideas are obvious or general

        Student has followed and met basic assignment guidelines

       

        D: 18-15 points

        Paper is unoriginal and ideas are obvious or general

        Student has not followed and met the basic assignment

guidelines

 

F: 14-0 points

Paper contains few complete ideas

Student has not followed and met most of the basic assignment

Guidelines

 

Development = 30%

        A: 30-27 points

Tone enhances the subject, conveys the writer’s attitude, and suits the audience

 

B: 26-23 points

Tone mostly fits the subject, the writer’s attitude is somewhat clear, and the tone is mostly suitable for the audience

 

C: 22-19 points

Tone is acceptable for the subject, writer’s attitude is not clear or consistent, and the tone may or may not be suitable for the audience

 

D: 18-15 points

Tone is not consistent with the subject, writer’s attitude is indeterminate, and tone is not appropriate for the audience

 

F: 14-0 points

Tone is not clear at all or does not make sense for the subject, writer’s attitude is indeterminate, and the tone risks disengaging the audience.

 

Structure = 20%

        A: 20-18 points

        Essay has a logical order and a clear sense of flow

        Introduction is engaging, paragraphs are idea-centered, and

transitions are smooth

 

B: 17-16 points

Essay has a somewhat logical order and some sense of flow

Introduction is mostly engaging, paragraphs are mostly adhere to

their topics, and transitions are identifiable

 

C: 15-14 points

Essay does not have a logical order, though some order is

obvious

Introduction offers little insight, paragraphs stray off topic, and transitions can sometimes be evident

       

        D:13-11 points

        Essay structure seems random or chaotic, paragraphs lack

development, and transitions are missing or misleading

 

F: 10-0 points

Essay does not have any clear structure, paragraphs are not

developed, transitions are missing or misleading

 

Format = 10%

        A: 10-9 points

        Proper MLA format is evident

       

        B: 8-7 points

        Paper is mostly formatted correctly, but may contain minor errors

 

        C: 6-5 points

        Text contains greater than 3 kinds of formatting errors

 

        D: 4-3 points

        Formatting is problematic and has several major errors

       

        F: 2-0 points

        Formatting does not follow assignment guidelines

 

Grammar = 10%

        A: 10-9 points

Paper has been carefully edited and contains only minor grammatical and/or spelling errors

 

B: 8-7 points

Paper has been edited, but may contain 4-7 errors

 

C: 6-5 points

Careless proofreading is evident

Text contains between 8-15 errors

 

D: 4-3 points

Little evidence of proofreading

Text contains between 16-30 errors

 

F: 2-0

No evidence of proofreading

Text has greater than 30 errors