The Narrative/Autobiographical Essay
This essay is designed to help you find your way into our course theme of learning in the 21st century. A further purpose of this assignment is to help you connect your experiences to the reading you do early in the semester. What you choose to write about could be related to the formal school setting, or it could be related to some other setting in which learning was supposed to occur.
For this essay, choose from one of the following options:
• Narrate the story of how you learned to belong to a group and how you learned to participate within that group
or
• Narrate the story of how you struggled with and/or overcame a problem you have experienced as a learner
or
• Narrate the story of how you learned something new and how your perspective was affected by this new learning
Be sure to talk about the impact this learning experience had on you. Be sure to use concrete detail as you narrate your experience.
Consider your audience’s needs by providing enough detail to allow that audience to see your experiences.
To help you to plan the essay, freewrite, brainstorm, outline, map, write down ideas – whatever helps you to get your thoughts moving toward whatever option you choose to narrate. Of course, we will use class time to talk through ideas.
As you draft the essay, use an organizational pattern that helps your audience to follow the events – organize the draft chronologically (by time sequence), by event, and/or by using flash back/flash forward. Also, as you are drafting, focus on the theme of how you learned. To do this, focus on a significant experience during a time in your life, instead of many experiences/times. Develop this focused theme of learning using as much detail as possible so that your reader can see and understand your experience as a learner.
Reflect on and discuss the importance of this experience by considering how it affected you and your relationship to others. This discussion can happen early in the essay or later, near the conclusion. As you revise, consider your audience’s needs through the feedback you get from peers and instructor in class.
Your essay will be made up of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction sets up the narrative and focus, the body paragraphs narrate the events, explore the theme of learning in your life, and reflect on the importance of the experience, and the conclusion draws the narrative to a close by highlighting the significance of the event and your experience.
Guidelines:
1. 3 pages, minimum
2. Word processed, double-spaced, MLA format