Your Very Own Memoir. Writing a Personal Narrative

Transcription

1 Your Very Own Memoir Writing a Personal Narrative

2 Tell your story...

3 Your story does not have to be heartwarming or gut-wrenching --- it can even be funny --- but it should be REAL. Consider a moment when your belief or outlook on life was formed, tested, or changed.

4 Format of your paper: *One-Two pages* *Double spaced* I. Introduction II. Body III. Conclusion

5 Introduction Paragraph: The Hook : Start your paper with a statement about your story that catches the reader s attention, for example: a relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition. Set the Scene: Provide the information the reader will need to understand the story: Who are the major characters? When and where is it taking place? Thesis Statement: The thesis of a narrative essay plays a slightly different role than that of an argument or expository essay. A narrative thesis can begin the events of the story: It was sunny and warm out when I started down the path ; offer a moral or lesson learned: I ll never hike alone again ; or identify a theme that connects the story to a universal experience: Journeys bring both joy and hardship.

6 Body Paragraph(s): Supporting Evidence : In a personal narrative, your experience acts as the evidence that proves your thesis. The events of the story should demonstrate the lesson learned, or the significance of the event to you. Show, Don t Tell : Good story telling includes details and descriptions that help the reader understand what the writer experienced. Think about using all five senses not just the sense of sight to add details about what you heard, saw, and felt during the event. For example, My heart jumped as the dark shape of the brown grizzly lurched toward me out of the woods provides more information about what the writer saw and felt than, I saw a bear when I was hiking.

7 Conclusion Paragraph: The Moral of the Story: The conclusion of a narrative include the closing action of the event, but also should include some reflection or analysis of the significance of the event to the writer. What lesson did you learn? How has what happened to you affected your life now?

8 Example First Paragraph: The day I picked my dog up from the pound was one of the happiest days of both of our lives. I had gone to the pound just a week earlier with the idea that I would just "look" at a puppy. Of course, you can no more just look at those squiggling little faces so filled with hope and joy than you can stop the sun from setting in the morning. I knew within minutes of walking in the door that I would get a puppy but it wasn't until I saw him that I knew I had found my puppy.

9 Dialogue: Use a comma to set off the speaker's signal phrase from the beginning of a quotation. Place the comma inside closing quotation marks when the speaker's tag follows the quotation. - Harry urged, "Come on, Ray. It'll be fun." - "Let's go," Sally yelled.

10 Dialogue continued... Use quotation marks around each part of a divided quotation. Remember to set off the speaker's tag with commas. - "I'm not sure," said Ray, "that I feel like it."

11 Dialogue continued... Place a question mark or an exclamation point inside the quotation marks when it is part of the quotation. - "When will we be back?" Ray asked. - "Hooray!" exclaimed Debbi.

12 Dialogue continued... Place a question mark or an exclamation point outside the quotation marks when it is not part of the quotation. - Did I hear Ray say, "Okay"? - I can't believe he said, "Okay"!

13 Dialogue continued... Start a new paragraph when you move from one speaker to another. - "How long a hike is it?" Ray asked. "I don't know whether I have the energy." "I think," replied Iris, "that it's about seven miles to the top." Oh, great!

14 Memoir Grading Rubric* (50 points possible) Your memoir should be no more than 2 double-spaced pages! Outstanding 10 Well done 8 Good 6 Needs Work 4 Poor/Not included 0-2 I use 1st person point of view, establish a setting, and include at least 1 other character.* Things happen in my memoir--this includes a conflict or situation, progression of events, and a short conclusion to reflect on what I experienced or observed.* I include dialogue (no more than 1 or 2 short conversations). * I include precise words, sensory language, and details to convey a vivid picture for the reader.* L.9.2: I follow the conventions of Standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. *aligns with writing standard W.9.22a-e. L.9-3a: Memoirs that are not in MLA style (MLA heading, title centered, all lines double-spaced, Times size 12 font) will lose 5 points.