Topic Choices (clearly identify which topic you choose): a. Significant Literary Event: write an essay about a significant event in your life involving a work of literature, and how it affected you. For this assignment, you can define literature in anyway you want: you could write about an article in your favorite magazine, a children’s book you revisited or remember, a textbook you found particularly engaging or awful, etc. Anything goes. Tell your story dramatically and vividly. You should both narrate and interpret the significance of the reading experience. What did you learn from it? Remember to show the story, and not just tell it. b. Significant Experience of a Setting: write an essay that describes a place that you experienced through a piece of literature, and how it affected you. For this assignment, you can define literature in anyway you want: you could write about an article in your favorite magazine, a children’s book you revisited or remember, a text book you found particularly engaging or awful, etc. Anything goes. Be sure to offer information about the place that will help you convey its “meaning” to your readers. c. Significant Portrayal of a Character: write an essay that portrays a person you were affected by in a piece of literature. For this assignment, you can define literature in anyway you want: you could write about an article in your favorite magazine, a children’s book you revisited or remember, a text book you found particularly engaging or awful, etc. Anything goes. The goal here is to present a picture of this character along with how and why this individual is or was significant to you. If you use research, you must cite your sources and include a Works Cited page with your essay. This is not factored into your word count. Required Components: You must offer an introduction paragraph that ends with a clear statement of your purpose (what it is you want to show the reader about you or your), a body comprised of several developed paragraphs with detailed and specific examples to demonstrate your purpose, and a conclusion paragraph. Use your Writing Workshops booklet for help! Length: 1,000 words (aprox. 3 pages); write the word count on the bottom of the last page (‘Tools’ à ‘Word Count’). Note: you cannot achieve higher than a D if you do not meet the minimum length requirement. Formatting: MLA First Draft: Tuesday, Week 3 Peer-Review: Review 2 other students’ essays by Friday, Week 3 Final Draft: Sunday, the start of Week 4 Narrative/Description Essay Tips • Show what you mean through detailed descriptions and examples; don’t just tell the story: use lots of sensory details (touch, taste, smell, sight, sound) and who, what, when, where, why, and how • Four ways to organize this essay: chronologically (beginning to end); dramatically (start at the end, then flashback to other points in the narrative); in medias res (start “in the middle of things”); spatial (item to item; most useful for describing a place) • Non-fiction only • Provide distinct transitions between events in time • Avoid use of “you”—be specific about who you are referring to
