ENGLISH 101

ENG 1101-11, Steffen-Wittwer

Essay 1 Narrative

Draft Due: January 28 Final Due: February 6

Humans tell stories. Every culture across the globe tells stories, and every age, from babbling toddlers who expound at length in their own infant language, to elders who tell stories of their youth to their grandchildren.

For this first essay you are going to tell me a story. Take something that happened to you, a single event, and tell me the tale. You are the narrator of this story, and quite possibly the main character as well. Your narrative must have a point: some idea that you want to get across to the reader. A narrative does not necessarily have a thesis, something to prove, but it does have something to tell, and there is always a point to the telling. There will be a lesson learned, a new understanding gained, something achieved. Use your first paragraph to introduce your essay and why you are writing it, then tell me your story. There must be a story that progresses through some amount of time (even if it is just a day, or an hour), and there must also be a conclusion. There will be two major stages of this essay: Draft, and Final.

• Draft: Your Draft is due Wednesday, 1-28. Having other people look at drafts and comment on them is incredibly helpful. For this draft you will bring 3 hard copies to class with you for a peer editing session. The paper does not have to be finished, but it does need to be at least 3 pages long (full length). Failure to bring 3 copies of your draft to class will result in a grade level reduction of the draft grade (an A would become an A-, a B- would become a C+). If you do not have a draft for your peers to read and comment on, you will not be able to fully participate in peer review process.

• Final: The final paper is due, in class, on Friday, February 6. It must be at least 3 full pages and in MLA format. I will dock your grade a grade level (meaning a B becomes a B-) for every half page you are under the three full pages.

Format: 12-point, Times New Roman font, double spaced, no extra lines after paragraphs (if you need help turning this function off in Word, I can show you how), 1-inch margins all around. If you use settings other than these, your grade may be negatively impacted. If you have any questions, or need to talk about the paper with me for any reason (ideas, grammar, punctuation, flow, phrasing, etc), email me or come to my office hours (T/Th 11-12). I am happy to help you with anything you need regarding the essay.