Don’t make announcements such as, “in this paper i will tell you…” just tell the story.

Personal Narrative Essay
Assignment Description: You will write a personal narrative for your first essay. Write about a memorable event in your life or the life of someone close to you that is related to your social issue topic. It can be surprising, sad, happy, exciting, or evoke a range of emotions. (However, if the moment is too painful for you, you may want to choose a different topic). The narrative should further reveal to the reader how the experience helped to develop your awareness of, or views about, your social issue topic. For this writing assignment, I will be checking for the elements of narrative writing, including the use of transitions, sequential order, and all other elements covered thus far. In addition, creative and descriptive language that we have covered will be assessed. (Be sure to review the lecture notes and the essay rubric before beginning this assignment). Your narrative essay should be 2.5-3 pages (an introduction paragraph, body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph.) Check your course calendar or Blackboard for the due date.
Format:
● Provide a heading for your paper
● Indent each paragraph
● Size 12 font
● Times New Roman font
● Double Spaced
● Title (centered at the top of the page and capitalized correctly)
As you plan and construct your essay, be sure to do the following:
❖ Write an introductory paragraph to introduce your topic and the main events that you will cover in your essay. Don’t make announcements such as, “In this paper I will tell you…” Just tell the story. Set the scene and give background information.
❖ Write a topic sentence for each paragraph which clearly identifies the topic and your point about the topic for each paragraph.
❖ Discuss the events in chronological order in your body paragraphs. Use specific stories, examples, and events that have an emotional impact.
❖ Include a concluding paragraph that sums up your points and any lasting memories or lessons that you may have learned from this event. Bring home your point about your social issue topic.
❖ Organize your paper in a way that leads your reader through the story in the order that events happened.
❖ Use accurate transition words and phrases, and sentences to make the order of events clear. (see the list provided and the lecture notes and handout)
❖ Use precise, emotional, and descriptive vocabulary
❖ Use complete sentences – i.e. do not just list events, but explain them.
❖ SHOW. Don’t tell. Use descriptive language as explained in the lecture.
❖ Since you are talking about something that happened in the past, write your paragraphs in past tense. Use first person “I saw”, “I did”
English
Personal Narrative Outline
(You do not have to submit this outline for grading or approval, but it is a nice guide to follow if you prefer a guide to plan and construct your essay.)
I. Introduction:
Topic:_______________________________________________________________ Opening Sentence/Attention Grabber:
_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Major Events to Cover:
1.___________________________________________________________________ 2.___________________________________________________________________ 3.___________________________________________________________________ Thesis Statement(Introduce your story.):
_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Try new vocabulary/transition words
_______________________________________________________________________
II. Body:
Event #1 (Topic Sentence)
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ● Minor Details (anecdotes (stories), examples, & events to illustrate/emphasize your main point)
1.___________________________________________________________________ 2.___________________________________________________________________ 3.___________________________________________________________________ Try new vocabulary/transition words
________________________________________________________________________
Event #2 (Topic Sentence)
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ● Minor Details (anecdotes (stories), examples, & events to illustrate/emphasize your main point)
1.___________________________________________________________________ 2.___________________________________________________________________ 3.___________________________________________________________________ Try new vocabulary/transition words
_____________________________________________________________________ Event #3 (Topic Sentence)
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ● Minor Details (anecdotes (stories), examples, & events to illustrate/emphasize your main point)
1.___________________________________________________________________ 2.___________________________________________________________________ 3.___________________________________________________________________ Try new vocabulary/transition words
________________________________________________________________________ III. Conclusion:
● What significance does this event have on your life? What lessons did you learn from this experience?
Make the connection to your social issue topic clear for your audience (reader).
● Restate your thesis in a different way.
● Any quotes or profound insights (leave the reader something to think about)? Key vocabulary/transition words
________________________________________________________________________