Writing a personal narrative NARRATIVE WRITING Writing a personal narrative

WHAT IS A NARRATIVE ESSAY? tells a story reflection or exploration of author’s values told as a story memorable person or event from the past observe the present

POWERFUL PERSONAL NARRATIVE Think of a person, place, or moment in your life (maybe a first or last time, or a time when you realized something) that matters, and write a story about it.

QUALITIES OF A NARRATIVE ESSAY recreates an experience through time You may write in the first person (I, me, we) because it is a story about YOU! In addition to telling a story, a narrative essay also communicates a main idea or a lesson learned.

DAY 1: BRAINSTORMING! List some ideas of people, places, or moments in your life that matter to you.

I DO… My first big vacation Going to England High school graduation Going to UD Teaching my first class ever When my parents moved to Florida Getting my puppy

WE DO… First Day of School

WE DO… Period 1/2 First Day of School

WE DO… Period 4/5 First Day of School

YOU DO…

SELECT YOUR IDEA Look over your ideas and select your top 2. In your journal create a page for each of your two ideas. Focus on an episode. Don’t summarize a long stretch of time. EX: My Somerset, KY summers Brainstorm all of the details that you can think of for each of your two ideas. Goal: At the end of today’s brainstorming session, you will choose which idea will be best for you.

BEGIN ROUGH DRAFT Using your brainstorming guide, start creating a rough draft. Climb inside the moment as if you are there describing what is happening.

CRAFTING A MEMORABLE LEAD Mentor texts Examples Can you adjust your introduction to make it more memorable? Have at it…

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Characters character traits Are your characters developed well? Would the reader be able to identify character traits that you would want them to?

SENSORY DETAILS Sensory details Can you add detail anywhere in your narrative that will help the reader “feel” what you want him/her to feel?

POWERFUL ENDINGS Does your ending deliver a powerful message?

SELF EDIT Go through the Narrative Writing Checklist on your own. Rate yourself in each area. Begin to make any changes that you’d like to, based on your self-evaluation.

PEER EDIT Work with your partner to peer edit one another’s narrative. Read through your partner’s narrative, making no suggestions as you read. Read your own narrative to your partner. Ask questions and give feedback in a discussion format. Focus on one person’s narrative at a time.

REVISIONS/FINAL COPY Make any last revisions and begin your final copy.