English 10CP

Mrs. Zarnas

Narrative and Descriptive Writing

Next year, all juniors will be taking the PSSA Writing test. Part of the writing assessment involves being able to write in different styles—informational, narrative, persuasive. To be well prepared for this test, we will begin practicing these different styles of writing. Our current area of interest will be narrative writing—telling a story.

Think of the novel we are reading, To Kill a Mockingbird. Most creative writing, this novel included, is narrative. It tells about a single event or a series of events. Your assignment is to write a narrative essay about your childhood. For the purposes of this essay, we will define childhood as your earliest memory to age 12. Your essay can focus on one single event, or a series of related events.

Narrative essays include:

  1. An introduction which sets the action in motion or contains a general idea
  2. A chronological ordering of the events
  3. Answers the 5 Ws—who, what, when, where, why
  4. Examples or details that give the essay life and explain how what has happened affects the writer; readers should be able to picture what has happened
  5. Precise word choice that is suitable for the audience and enhances the story by creating an authentic narrative voice; encourages the reader to picture the story

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is recalling a series of events from her childhood. Like Scout, you will write an essay that recalls some event or events of your own childhood. This essay will not be shared with the class unless you want to share it.

Begin by brainstorming for ideas. Jot anything that comes to mind after the following phrases:

  1. I got really angry when…
  2. I felt disappointed when…
  3. The funniest thing I can remember happening to me is…
  4. A really sad time in my life occurred when…
  5. I felt frightened when…
  6. I was so proud of myself when I…
  7. When I decided to _____ everything changed…
  8. The most beautiful place I’ve ever seen is….
  9. My happiest childhood memory is ___ because…
  10. The first day of school…

Requirements:

-Times New Roman, 12-point font

-Double Spaced

-MLA format for heading/pages numbers

-Detach rubric and staple on top of final copy

Refer to the back of this page for an example of content (not format!) and grading rubric.

Sometimes I think I can trace the trouble I have trusting people back to a crisp fall day when I was five years old. Memories of this time in my life are not particularly distinct; however, some memories stick with you simply because they are moments of great, unchangeable change.

My childhood seemed relatively normal to me, except for the frequent absences of my father. My memories of him almost always center around sitting on his feet while he did sit ups, and I learned my ABCs from Sesame Street. Or the early Saturday morning trips to Weis supermarket which nearly always ended with sweet donut holes covered with powdered sugar and a much begged for ride on the Mack truck bulldog. My brother and I rarely had our father to ourselves, and we always loved the few hours we could be together with him. But he was always absent at the wrong times—holidays, for instance. We’d bundle up in the car and race down to Lancaster to spend holidays with my grandmother. My father would be conspicuously absent as we opened presents. I think we tried to ignore it and not ask too many questions.

After one of his particularly long absences, I remember a day I was playing in my front yard. I sat on our white cement step playing with my Dawn doll, a miniature version of a Barbie. The leaves on the trees were starting to change, and the small dogwood in the center of the yard reflected this change in streaky red slashes on its leaves. As I sat there, my dad’s car pulled up. Nothing could have been a happier surprise to me. I ran to the side of his dull green car and hugged him as he got out. He smelled of the strong pipe tobacco he always smoked, and I pressed my face into the rough tweed of his sports jacket. “Are you home to stay?” I asked again and again as he made his way to the screen door, behind which stood my mother. He finally said he was home to stay as my mom opened the door and just looked at him. I left them standing there, my only thought to get my brother home so he could share the good news. He was up the street playing somewhere.

I can still picture houses rushing by in a blur of red bricks and green grass as I hustled up the street to find my brother. The day was clear and sunny, and the neighborhood seemed quiet as I yelled out my brother’s name. I could feel my heart beat with every footfall; I yelled at the top of my lungs. He came from behind one of the houses, and I excitedly told him dad was home to stay. We couldn’t have been happier as we rushed home, only to see the driveway empty, nothing there but white-gray cement. Dad’s car was gone. Which meant he was gone as well. I still remember the feeling in my stomach—like someone had punched me hard—and a panicky feeling. I felt that everything that had been righted by the appearance of that green car had quickly evaporated. We went to our mother to ask what had happened. I don’t remember the answer to that question, or how she explained his disappearance. It wasn’t the first time he had disappeared, but it was the last time he came home for good. We learned sometime later in our small living room that he really wouldn’t be coming back anymore. Our parents told us through tears that they were getting divorced. They promised we would still see our dad once a month.

And though they kept their promise, and we were duly bussed to Philadelphia, Reading, New York City, and later flown to Chicago, it was the first promise I wanted to hold him to. That he was coming home for good. –anonymous

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Name______Period______Date______

RUBRIC: NARRATIVE WRITING

_____/10 Focus

-Content answers the assigned question

-There is no unnecessary material

_____/20 Content

-An introduction that sets the action in motion or contains a general idea

-Thoroughly answers the 5 Ws—who, what, when, where, why

-Ample examples or details that give the essay life and explain how what has happened affected the writer; readers should be able to picture what has happened

_____/10 Organization

-A chronological ordering of the events

-Paragraphing is done in an appropriate manner

_____/15 Style

-Sentence structure and word choice are varied

-Precise word choice that is suitable for the audience and enhances the story by creating an authentic narrative voice; encourages the reader to picture the story

_____/5 Conventions

-There are relatively few errors in grammar, spelling, or mechanics

_____/60 TOTAL SCORE

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