Memoir Assignment

WRD 103 Autumn 2010
Bryant-Richards

 

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Genre Paper #1: Memoir

 

OBJECTIVES: This assignment has several objectives. First, it will give you experience writing narratives. Second, it should serve as a catalyst to an investigation into your background. Third, it will help me and others interested in you learn about the kind of events you experienced that you believe had an effect on the sort of person you are today.

 

BACKGROUND: For this assignment, think about a significant event in your past that had a serious and lasting impact on you. The event you choose to write about should help explain who you are and how you or others have shaped your identity.

 

ASSIGNMENT: Write a three to four page essay in which you describe an event or experience—positive or negative—from your past. The event can come from your experience in school or outside of school, it may be something you experienced in your early life, or it can be something you have encountered recently. Use the readings we have done in class as models, particularly for vividness of description and manner of reflection.

 

FORM: Your memoir should have two parts: narrative and reflection.

 

Narrative: A narrative is a story. Since this is an assignment that must explain the event to others—me, your classmates, people in general—you will need to narrate the experience as fully and as richly as possible. Your essay should include concrete and specific details. Furthermore, events that shape our identity do not take place in a void; they are always part of some larger experience. Pay attention to the larger experience. Include, as appropriate, descriptions of the particulars of the experience: setting, characters (people involved), dialogue, background, etc.
Reflection: This section of your essay should reflect on why the narrative you wrote was of such importance and offer an explanation or evaluation. For example, you might consider what kinds of effects this experience had on your identity. How did it affect you as a person? How would you rate its long-term effects? In other words, this section should try to answer the question: so what?

 

TARGET AUDIENCE: Teachers, peers, and any reader who enjoys the genre of memoir.
DUE DATES: Peer Review Rough Draft due: Bring 3 printed copies of your rough draft and 2 copies of the Peer Review form (from D2L) to class on Wednesday, September 29, 2010. Failure to have these materials at the beginning of the class will result in a lowering of the final paper grade by 20 points.
Final Draft due: Monday, October 4, 2010.

 

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