AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INCIDENT WRITING ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE PERSON – YOU!

AUTO - BIO - GRAPHICAL “Auto” – indicates “self”. “Bio” - indicates “life”. “Graph” - indicates “write”. You are writing about your life.

WHAT IS AN “INCIDENT”? An incident is an event that happens in a short period of time. For this type of writing, I will ask you to focus the body of your writing on something that happened on one particular day.

WHAT IF WHAT HAPPENED IS LONGER THAN A DAY? Many of the events that happen in our lives unfold over a period of time. You will be able to write a little about things that led up to the actual day, or incident, in your background BEFORE you tell what happened on “the day”.

WHAT IS “PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE”? One of the things that makes this writing type so powerful is that after you narrate your story, you get to express why it was significant or important to you. That is called “personal significance”.

WHAT DO I WRITE ABOUT? When choosing a memory to write about, try to remember something that might have: taught you an important lesson made you a better person gave you a new perspective was “life changing” in some way

ORGANIZATION & CONTENT This narrative-type essay has three basic parts:  Introduction (Background)  Body (The Incident Itself)  Conclusion (Your Reflection on the Personal Significance of the Incident)

“MULTI-PARAGRAPH WRITING” Because this is a narrative piece of writing where you tell your story, it is not necessarily a “five paragraph essay”. It will probably take a little longer than five paragraphs because the body, or “story”, part will be a series of many paragraphs.

FIRST, THE INTRODUCTION OR THE “BACKGROUND INFO” This first paragraph captures the reader’s interest by introducing other events that led up to “the day” of the incident. We call that background. Background brings the reader up to the day the incident took place, but the background doesn’t “tell the story”.

BACKGROUND COMPONENTS Background should include: a lead (first sentence that “grabs” the reader. Important people, settings, situations, or conflicts that have led to this incident. This paragraph does not start “the day” of the incident. It only brings the reader up to that day.

BACKGROUND EXAMPLE: “La la la, doo be doo be doo...When I was a baby, my mom tells me, I sang before I could talk. If there was a song on the radio or on T.V., I could repeat it from memory almost instantly. As a toddler, I sang when I was bored, I hummed while chewing my food, and I even crooned myself to sleep. Why was it, then, that when I started school, I suddenly was afraid to sing in front of people? What unforeseen forces were at work, strangling this innate talent out of me?”

THE STORY ITSELF - BODY This part of the narrative essay is where to relate the story to the reader using many writing elements. It should reflect plot structure with problem, setting, characterization, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

WRITING ELEMENTS Include all of the following in the body of your narrative essay: focus on a single incident. (ONE day) use sensory details to describe people, places, times, etc. use pacing to build suspense sequence events logically.

MORE WRITING ELEMENTS... Include these as well: use dialogue to show what others said during the incident. show your inner thoughts and feelings as the incident unfolds. provide an end that is well- integrated and makes sense.

NOW, TAKE A STEP BACK... To write the conclusion, you need to separate yourself from “the story”. The incident was the “then”. Put yourself in the “ now ”. Now look at it from today’s perspective instead of how you looked at it while it was happening to you.

WRITING THE “PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE” PART... In the last paragraph, you need to express, in present tense, how you feel or think TODAY about the incident, showing how it:  taught you an important lesson  made you a better person  gave you a new perspective  was “life changing” in some way

PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE EX.: “When I look back on that day, I now realize that being brave doesn’t mean I’m not going to also be scared sometimes. It just means I need to not let the fear control me. I can sing in front of people, and even if my voice cracks or I forget the words, I’m not giving up on my dream. I am going to keep sharing my talent and gift with the world. I’m also not going to let others define who I am or keep me from doing what I’m born to do. I thank Monica for teaching me that. So, bring on the music! I’m ready for my cue...”

DON’T FORGET CONVENTIONS! Just like with any writing, you must remember to proofread for: spelling grammar (does it sound right?) punctuation and capitalization paragraphing form (indent with each new paragraph, especially when using dialogue!)

HOW TO START WRITING...  First, decide what “the day” of your incident is. When did “that day” happen? Anything before that day is background.  If you started a quickwrite already, reread it and decide which parts to use for the background, the body, and the conclusion.

FOR HOMEWORK… Make a list of basic elements in the body: Main Problem of story Setting – When and Where Characters (people in story) Rising Action – events that drive story Climax – high point in story/addresses problem Falling Action – events that help solve problem Resolution – Final Solving of Problem

NOW, “MAP” OUT STORY… Using your list, write key words and phrases that identify what you will write about in each of the parts of the body/story. Remember that the incident is ONE DAY in your life! Tomorrow in class you will use your “map” to begin your first draft.

PLAN IT OUT ON PAPER... Divide your prewriting paper into thirds. Write down BRIEF notes to plan what will go into each part:  Intro/Background  Body/Story/Incident/”The Day”  Reflection/Personal Significance

WRITE YOUR FIRST DRAFT... Once you have a general plan, you’re ready to write. Remember that all good writers are open to revision as they go, so stop often to read your work and make changes. At this point, neatness doesn’t count! Cross out and revise as needed!