Dear Students,
We have read and discussed several narratives where writers have shared stories about an incident that they have experienced. Many of the writers have shared the lessons they have learned. Your assignment is to write about a major event that took place over a short period of time, that involved a conflict, and that taught you something significant about your personality. You should consider your classmates or peers as your audience. Also, you should write a well-told story that reveals the story’s significance and the lesson you learned without sounding too moral or trite.
You should print this handout out because you will use it as a guide as we continue to draft this essay. We will refer to this handout as your “Narrative Essay Prompt.”
Due: I will announce a due date and create a link for submission after we complete a rough draft of the essay. All late assignments will receive a lower grade and will be graded at my discretion.
Length and Format: The paper should be at least 900 words and will include an introduction, a body and a conclusion. You will format the paper according to MLA guidelines, using 12 pt. Times New Roman font.
Consider Possible Topics:
• A difficult situation such as when you had to make a tough choice and face the consequences, or when you let someone down, or someone you admired let you down
• An occasion when things did not turn out as you expected such as when you expected to be criticized, but you were praised, or ignored, or when you were convinced you would succeed but failed, or an incident that left you feeling extremely embarrassed
• An incident that changed you or revealed an aspect of your personality such as ambition, jealousy, insecurity, or heroism
• An incident in which a conflict or a serious misunderstanding with someone made you feel unjustly treated or caused you to mistreat someone
• An experience that made you reexamine a basic value or belief ( such as a time when you were expected to do something that went against your morals or values or had to make a decision about which you were deeply convicted)
• An encounter with a person that led you to consider seriously someone else’s point of view, that changed the way you viewed yourself, or that changed your ideas about how you fit into a family unit, a group or a community
• An event that revealed to you other people’s surprising assumptions about you as a student, friend, or a relative