TM6

Directions: Write a 750-1000 word essay (of approximately 3-4 pages, double-spaced, and in 12-point Times New Roman font) in which you narrate an event that holds significance for you and which explains how the experience changed the way you think about yourself and/or others. As such, while you will use the elements of a story (plot, character, setting, and vivid details), your narrative must make a point. It must be written in first person, using pronouns such as I, me, and mine. Include a title that communicates the main theme. Please choose one of the topics below to develop into a narrative essay:    •    An important literacy event or development in your life during which you learned to read and/or write    •    A person who has been an influence on your reading/writing/language use    •    A time when a poem, story, film, song, or other work changed you    •    The day you started a new job    •    Coping with a death in the family    •    Trying to reestablish a friendship gone sour    •    A time when you had to deliver bad news    •    An interaction you witnessed while taking public transportation    •    A community event, such as a meeting, demonstration or celebration.    •    Being an immigrant in the United States and the linguistic, cultural, and financial hardships associated with it    •    A time when others significantly influenced the way you thought, looked, or acted—perhaps against your true beliefs or values. What was the appeal of the others’ attitudes, appearance, or behavior? What did you gain by conforming? What did you lose? Use specific details to explain how and why the experience affected you.    •    Think of an incident in your own life when you felt pressured by peers to go against your parents, religion, school, or another authority. Write a narrative essay telling what happened and making it clear why the situation was important to you. What were the results?    •    Think of a piece of information or advice that you heard over and over again from adults when you were a child. Write a narrative essay about an experience in which you were helped or misled by that information or advice. Objective The purpose is to express or share with an intent to inform your audience about the significance of your experience. In doing so, you will be helping readers understand the meaning of that experience for your self-perception and/or life. You will also be building connections with audiences who may have had similar experiences, thereby inviting readers to engage in critical reflection. Grading Criteria: Each section is worth 20 points for a total of 100. Content and Development of Ideas Your paper must have vivid details, descriptions, and dialogue to give readers an accurate representation of places, people, and events. It must also reveal the importance of the story, without overtly stating it.  Structure and Organization Your paper should not consist of a free flow of ideas without purpose. It must be organized as any other formal essay, with a beginning, middle, and an end. Please follow the organizational structure of the sample essay “The Sanctuary of School” by Lynda Barry or the format in the document titled “Frame for a Personal Essay” on Canvas. Word Choice (Diction) and Tone The words chosen must be specific and appropriate for a college-level audience. There should not be any colloquial (conversational) expressions (i.e., clichés, euphemisms, slang terms, and contractions) unless they are used to exemplify the way in which certain characters talk based on their social class and/or cultural background. You may NOT write in second person. Maintain a suitable tone without language choices that convey disrespect, sarcasm, etcetera. Style and Sentence Types The paper must be written in a style suitable for a university-level audience, with sentences skillfully constructed (i.e., unified, coherent, and effectively varied) and connected with appropriate transitions. Grammar and Mechanics Clarity and effectiveness of expression must be promoted by consistent use of standard grammar (without subject-verb agreement errors, sentence fragments, comma splices, fused sentences, dangling modifiers, etcetera), punctuation, and spelling. Your essay will be graded according to how well it meets each of the criteria above.