PURPOSE:
For this assignment, you will write a short (3-5 page) Personal Narrative Essay. The purpose of this assignment is to begin working with general writing skills and to familiarize you with correct paper formatting.

MENTOR TEXTS:
“The Chase” by Annie Dillard

“Fourth of July” by Audrey Lorde

“Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris

OBJECTIVES:
Formulate and express information and ideas in a variety of written forms and rhetorical patterns, demonstrating a clear purpose, focus, thesis, organization, and consideration of the audience.

DESCRIPTION:
A Personal Narrative is a true story about an event in your life that changed or influenced you in some way. The essay will likely encapsulate only a short period of time (probably less than one day). While this essay will be written in your natural writing voice, the essay should be proofread for grammar and mechanics. You will need to include correctly formatted dialogue that advances the story in some way. It will be essential that your Personal Narrative include some sort of closing “reflection” that indicates how the event (or events) portrayed in the narrative influenced you. Your essay does not need to follow the same style or pattern of the mentor texts listed above; rather, you should think of the mentor texts as general references.