Before doing this assignment, you should have read Chapters 4, 10, and one or more of the essays in Chap. 11, plus "Short Shorts" in Writing True. See the pieces in these chapters, as well as old issues of Eng. 245 class magazines, for additional excellent examples of personal writing. Read some advice from other Eng. 245 students at Student Comments below. Keep in mind that everything you write for this class will be open to everyone to read, so share an experience you feel comfortable sharing.
| Due Feb. 28, a 2-3-page draft in which you re-create as vividly as possible for readers at John Jay some aspect or incident of your own life or in the life of a person close to you; this draft will be read in class for feedback that you are expected to consider when you revise. It need not be edited for correctness, though you should try to make the sentences as well crafted as you can. |
| Due Mar. 7, a new 2-3-page version of your vivid narrative, revised after feedback, for possible publication in the class magazine; this version will be collected and evaluated, so it should be edited and polished. |
| Choose a photograph, old or recent. Describe the photo and then write the story behind it. OR |
| Recall a particularly memorable occasion in your life, and then re-create it in words for the reader to experience also. OR |
| Start with your name, explaining its meaning, origins, family history, ethnicity, etc. OR |
| Start with a favorite food, and tell the story of its place in your life/the life of your family. OR |
| Paint a portrait in words of a person who has been especially significant in your life, showing how that person acts/acted. OR |
| Choose an object that is or was especially significant to you. Then describe the object and tell its story. OR |
| Think of a specific activity you particularly enjoy or hate, and recreate it in words so the reader experiences a little of what you yourself feel. OR |
| Start with a favorite book of yours, explaining its place and history in your life. (You get the idea.) |
At first, FREEWRITE in a chaotic way, amassing words that you later turn into sentences and paragraphs. Try to amass at least a page of material before you stop and reread. (We may do this part in class.) Then reread your "mess," and decide on an ATTITUDE toward your subject and your audience (Will you be humorous, serious, meditative, jazzy, sweet, ironic? Will you try to amuse or inform the readers, make them think, persuade them of something? etc.) and an ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERN (What would be a strong, attention-getting beginning? Should you tell the story chronologically, in flashbacks, through a comparison, as a dialogue, in some other way? What should go last?). Review the "Repertoire of Forms," pp. 93-97 in Writing True for more suggestions.
Remember as you write your draft to SHOW the reader what you mean, rather than TELL it. Use specific, sensuous language. Try dialogue to spark up your piece. If you like, imitate successful strategies in other personal essays we've read. Make us WANT to read on.
Consider the comments of your peers when you revise your sketch. Reread your draft, trying to SEE IT ANEW. Does the essay maintain throughout the same attitude toward the subject and reader? What questions does the essay raise and not answer? Where is there not enough detail, or too much? Are the details arranged in the best order? Is the opening attention grabbing? Does the conclusion feel like an ending? REVISE in light of these questions and your peers' comments.
EDIT your sentences for smoothness, correctness, and clarity. Edit your words for appropriateness, endings, spelling. PROOFREAD. TYPE/PRINT 2 copies, one for me and one for yourself. Save it on your disk or CD to hand in also.
The great French essayist Montaigne tells his readers, "I want to be seen here in my simple, natural, ordinary fashion, without straining or artifice, for it is myself that I portray. . . . I am myself the matter of my book."
Roxanne Edwards:
My advice to those who are thinking about writing about a traumatic experience that took place in their lives and who don’t want to reveal themselves as that person: write an initial draft filled with emotions as if you were telling another person about the incident. Then you should rewrite the paper, this time eliminating most of the emotions. In this way you get your point across to the readers without their having to fight through all the emotions. It makes for easier reading.
Jennifer Cornwall:
Writing my autobiography was the most difficult piece of expository writing I did for this course. I have always had a love for writing, but until now my writing has been for my eyes only; therefore, the prospect of writing for strangers to read was very intimidating.... I started the piece by writing about frivolous things that occurred in my life, but I felt as if I was telling lies because growing up was not a frivolous experience for me. I also had a problem figuring out how much of myself I wanted to reveal. After several false starts, topic changes, content changes, and a wastebasket full of balled up pages, I had to stop and meditate for a while. This is when I decided that I should tell the truth, the barefaced raw reality of my past, since the life I have had was not unfamiliar to the rest of society.
I decided that sharing my story with others who may be going through the same experiences could be not only soul-cleansing and therapeutic for me, but also a catalyst that might help change the lives of others who read it and realize that my story is also their story. I thought that maybe I could help someone by letting them know that despite the odds, they too can become productive human beings.