assignment instructions for essay one: personal narrative

1. Jamie Flathers English 101.50 and 56, Fall 2019 Page 1 of 1
Assignment Instructions for Essay 1: Personal Narrative
Due Dates:
One stapled, paper copy of first draft due in class on Friday, 8/30/19
One stapled, paper copy of second draft due in class on Friday, 9/13/19
Overview:
Goal: to tell a story about an event that had an impact on your life.
Purpose: to entertain
Audience: your fellow college students
Observation or analysis: observation
Relationship to portfolio outcomes: this assignment will address rhetorical awareness, which
includes voice, tone, style, level of formality, the ability to stay focused on a topic, and meeting
the requirements of an assignment
Prompt:
Storytelling is unfathomably old. Before we had writing, we had storytelling. Before we had
agriculture, we had storytelling. Because it’s so old, it’s incredibly powerful, particularly in the
context of rhetoric. Everyone relies on it—politicians, advertisers, journalists, YouTubers,
photographers. For this assignment, in order to practice the craft of storytelling, you will write a
brief essay about an event that impacted your life in some way. Remember that some other
members of the class—that is, your peer reviewers—will read this essay, as will I, so be sure to
write about an experience you’re okay with sharing.
Keep in mind, also, that you don’t have a lot of time to talk about this event. The scope should be
fairly narrow. Rather than writing about chronic dental problems, for example, you might write
about one particular trip to the dentist. Rather than writing your entire family history, write about
one fight you had with your sister. Your goal here is not to provide the reader with every single
piece of information about a thing, but rather a few key details.
Specs:
- Essays should be between 1300-1600 words, or approximately 4-5 pages—by which I
mean full pages.
- They should be in proper MLA format (see “MLA Format Checklist” on Blackboard)
- They should also be in 12-point Times New Roman, or some other serif font. My
eyesight is poor, and sans-serifs fonts can be difficult for me to read.
- Essays should be double-spaced, and you should remove spaces between paragraphs of
the same style (I’ll show you how to do this in class).
- Both first and second drafts should be printed AND STAPLED, BEFORE YOU COME
TO CLASS. I do not carry a stapler, so don’t ask. Five points will be deducted from the
final grade of any unstapled essay. Five points will also be deducted if you have to leave
class to print.