Write about a memorable moment

When writing a memoir you describe an experience in depth and then reflect on it in some meaningful fashion. Choose an instance in your life that has had a significant impact on you. This impact can take many forms, and does not necessarily have to be earth-shattering. Perhaps you may wish to write about something traumatic that has happened to you, thus altering your life irrevocably for good or ill. Then again, you may choose to write about the most embarrassing thing that you ve experienced, writing your story so that your readers cannot stop laughing. The choice is yours. The paper should be:

· 2-3 pages in length (about 600-900 words)

· 12-point font in Times New Roman or Arial

· In MLA manuscript format (double-spaced, etc. See Resource tab for more information)

All of the papers you write for this class should be entirely your own work. The penalty for taking part or all of your ideas or words from someone else's work is a zero for the assignment -- and possibly, depending on the seriousness of the plagiarism, an "F" for the course. Your academic honesty is necessary for this course to be fair, effective, and worthwhile.

Tips for Choosing a Subject

Choose a topic that is significant in your life and would make an interesting essay. Remember that "significant" means important and memorable. The topic (person, place, or event) may be either positive or negative, but it should be one that showed you or taught you something or that changed you in some way.

First, brainstorm a list of possible subjects

1. Look at the prewriting tips included in this course for help exploring possible topics.

2. Create a list of possible topics. Don't worry as you brainstorm about which ones will work for this paper.

3. Only after you have written down at least 10 ideas should you go back and critically consider which one would work best for this paper assignment.

4. Part of critically considering is often choosing one incident from a longer story (see below).

5. Then read through the following tips and look through your list. Which topic would work best? Don't just grab the first topic that pops into your head; take the time to choose a strong one.

In writing this paper, choose a topic that lasted a few hours -- an afternoon, say, or one night.

One student once tried to write about her brother's addiction to drugs, which involved a series of events taking place over a couple of years. That's too much to put into three to four typed, double-spaced pages. Instead, she could have focused on one particular event during her brother's ordeal -- perhaps the day she learned of his addiction, or the day he admitted he needed help.

Choose a topic that you remember well.

I suggest that you look for something that has occurred more than two years ago. Choosing something that has happened two or more years ago will enable you to write about something that you have had plenty of time to digest and examine.

If you choose to write about an event that occurred when you were four, you may not remember enough about it to fill the required length. However, remember that we won't know if you have embellished a bit. You have creative freedom to add dialogue and details that fit the overall concept of your memory. We aren't going to investigate the accuracy of your details.

Choose a topic that you feel comfortable disclosing to others.

Often other students will read your paper, so make sure you choose a topic you want to share with them. Students have in the past written papers about very personal topics -- medical conditions, for example, or coping with abuse, or acknowledging homosexuality. You may write about such a topic if you wish, but do not write about something traumatic that has happened to you if you are unable to share the story with others (or if it will cause you undue stress). Please respect your readers by selecting an appropriate topic for a college audience. Topics that are graphically violent, sexual, and/or full of profanity are not appropriate for a college classroom -- or any other public medium for that matter.

Choose a topic that will be meaningful to others as well as yourself.

The important thing to remember about this assignment is that must have some sort of significant relevance for you but also for your readers. This is your opportunity to show your readers some of your knowledge, to bring them into your realm of thinking and being.

One student wrote a rough draft about not making Homecoming Queen at her high school. I was concerned that male students might find it difficult to relate to her essay. I asked her why she cared so much, and she said her sister had been Homecoming Queen a year or two earlier. "That should be in your paper," I told her. We may not all be able to relate to the specific issue of not making Homecoming Queen, but many of us can recall trying unsuccessfully to fill the shoes of someone else. Think about your topic. Can men and women, people with and without disabilities, teenagers and retirees, and people of diverse racial and national backgrounds relate to it? If not, can you move back to the bigger picture (as the student mentioned above did in a later draft) to show us how the event is similar to what many of us have experienced or will experience?

Choose a topic that is interesting.

Your graduation ceremony, wedding, child birth experience or prom night may have been important to you, but usually other students have had similar experiences. Avoid writing about them unless yours was particularly interesting -- you tripped and rolled down the stairs at your graduation, for example.

Tips for Prewriting

Once you've chosen a paper topic, try clustering to come up with material to include in your paper. Free writing can be helpful, too, especially if you are trying to remember details.

Key Features for Drafting

The body of the essay should include all of the elements of effective storytelling. In other words, first and foremost, you need a good story: make it interesting. Your readers should want to keep reading! Usually this happens through suspense, the tension of a conflict that needs resolution.

Also include the following:

· Engaging and believable characters

· Essential and interesting details.  SHOW don’t simply TELL.

· Sensory descriptions (Five senses: hearing, sight, touch, smell, taste) if appropriate

· Vivid verbs: ran=scampered, sang=caterwauled

· Dialogue (use sparingly)

· Consistent use of tense and point of view

· Appropriate tone. Comedy? Comedic tone. Tragedy? Make it sad.

· Appropriate organization. You will look at the past event through the eyes of the present, or you can look at the event through the eyes of the past, and then comment through the eyes of the present, OR you can start in the middle and skip around.

Introductions and Conclusions

You may wish to write an introduction that includes exposition or simply dive right into the story, providing necessary background later. The best introductions are often NOT the first words you wrote for the assignment, so consider revising your introduction significantly before you submit your draft.

In the conclusion, you want to illustrate the significance of the event without giving your readers a stated moral because that s just too boring. For example, So, in the end, I learned that sticking my hand in the blender wasn t such a good idea, even though I was sure it wasn t plugged in. Your readers should get what you mean without you having to come right out and say it.

Though your conclusion will probably include a personal reflection on the significance of the experience(s), avoid the cliché: In the end I realized… Also avoid including this reflection in the opening; it gives too much away and minimizes reader interest.

Click the arrow at the right of the screen to navigate through each page in order.

All content © 2009 Sinclair Community College