(discussion 1) 

Write a story about one significant moment in your life that tells something about you to your readers. Choose a moment that will be engaging for your readers and that will, at the same time, tell them something about you. This may be any event that shows something about who you are. Tell your story dramatically and vividly, giving a clear indication of its autobiographical significance-- explaining why this moment in time is significant to who you are. You will want to pay particular attention to combining features of narrative and description essays that we have been studying.

Please note that since this essay is only 3-4 pages in length, you will need to focus the event on a very specific moment in time to be able to develop the various narrative features we will be discussing. The strongest essays are typically of moments that are a couple of hours in length.

1. Develop three possible topics for your personal narrative (Unit 2 Essay - Telling My Story).
2. For each possible topic, write one paragraph (at least 10 sentences) describing the moment that you are considering writing about.
3. For each moment you are considering, make sure to clarify:

• • where you were
  • who was there
  • what happened
  • how this event changed you
  • Make sure that each moment takes place in less than a 2 hour length of time.

You will want to tell them as stories with specific details and with a narrative arc.

Part 2:

Reply to 2 of your peers and answer the following questions to help them develop their essays:

• What did you find most intriguing in each of the stories?
• Which of the people were you the most curious about? Clarify who and why you were most interested in them.
• Were you able to identify with your peer's story/experience? In what ways?
• Could you visualize the scene?
• In what ways does the event seem significant to the writer? What change was there in the writer through the events of the story?
• Is there anything else you would like the writer to add?
• Which one of the stories made you want to find out what would happen?
  
• How long is the event that the writer is covering in the narrative?

Unit 2 Essay Features

To communicate your ideas clearly and develop an interesting narrative, you will start by including the following features:

• • • A main idea (the central purpose of your essay) -- a clear autobiographical significance. You will want to make sure it is clear why this moment in time is significant to you.
    • You will want it to be a well-told story that others will want to read. You can accomplish this by making sure you have a clear sequence of actions (your reader should always be able to follow along and understand how the actions are connected in time), specific narrative action (that you have slowed down the narrative pace as you get to the climax of the event by adding more specific detail to that moment).
    • People and Places should be described vividly. Use sensory language (discussed in week 4) to bring your writing to life and allow your reader to experience the event with you.
    • (Discussion 2)

    • Once you have some feedback on the three possible topics you are considering writing about, select the topic in which you are most interested.

      As we have discussed, a narrative isn't simply a linear sequence of actions. Instead, there is something that occurs that creates a change. Something is always different at the end of a story; otherwise, it would simply be a list. In order to help you decide what is important for you to include in your narrative, I have provided a useful worksheet that will help you to jot down the sequence of actions in the narrative, with the parallel inner thoughts (what you were thinking during those moments).

      This doesn't mean that you will include everything in your essay that you write down on the worksheet; instead once you have completed it, go through and select the moments and thoughts that are significant and move the story in an interesting way for your audience.

      Remember, you are the director of the narrative and want your readers to perceive what you want to communicate.

      Step 1:

      Download the attached document as a .docx

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       or as a PDF
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      .

      Step 2:

      Complete the sequence of actions and inner thoughts for the moment you are focusing on for your narrative essay. Include as much detail as you can remember -- including it on this form doesn't mean you have to use it all in your essay!

      Step 3:

      Submit the completed document through this assignment link by Friday.

      Step 4:

      Review the sequence of actions and inner thoughts and decide what are the most important elements that should be included in your narrative. Use the completed form to help you develop your Graphic organizer and develop your essay to tell your story!