Personal Narratives

Due: ______

For this assignment, you are choosing an event that actually happened that had some significance in your life to write about. The focus of this writing is the content and use of sensory language, figurative language, pacing, and dialogue. These are the elements that you will be assessed on.

  1. Choose a topic. I challenge you to think outside the box and resist choosing obviously significant life events (holidays, graduations, moving, etc.). I challenge you to choose something emotional, humorous, life-changing, and short. I challenge you to write about an event that occurs in less than fifteen minutes.
  1. Practice the skills. Use prewriting to practice sensory language, pacing, and dialogue. Use graphic organizers, timelines, maps, etc. before actually sitting down to write.
  1. Flash Draft. A flash draft is exactly what it sounds like. You sit and write. You don’t worry about spelling, grammar, editing, etc. You write from start to finish based on any prewriting you’ve done.
  1. Rough Draft. This should be written after you’ve received feedback on your flashback with more consideration of spelling/ grammar/ editing/ rereading, etc.
  1. Feedback/Revising: Revise in groups, with a partner, with Mrs. Hepler, with whoever will read your work. Have specific skills you’d like feedback on and specific questions you’d like answered… and USE THE FEEDBACK.
  1. Final Draft. Should be read, reread, and perfect.

Personal Narrative Rubric

Sensory Language / Writing contains little to no sensory language. / Writing contains a few examples of sensory language, appealing to at least one sense. / Writing contains many examples of sensory language, appealing to various senses, mostly describing setting. / Writing contains many examples of sensory language, appealing to various senses and describing characters, setting, and objects.
Pacing / Writing shows little to no evidence of appropriate pacing. / Writing shows some evidence of appropriate pacing with thorough description of at least one significant moment. / Writing shows evidence of appropriate pacing with thorough description of many significant moments. / Writing exemplifies appropriate pacing which includes brief description of insignificant moments and thorough description of significant moments.
Dialogue / Writing contains little to no relevant dialogue. / Writing contains at least one example of relevant dialogue. / Writing contains many examples of relevant dialogue that develop characters. / Writing contains many examples of relevant, realistic dialogue that develop characters.
Spelling/ Grammar/ Overall Presentation / Spelling and grammar errors inhibit understanding frequently. / Spelling and grammar errors occasionally inhibit understanding. / Spelling and grammar errors rarely inhibit understanding. / Writing contains little to no spelling and grammar errors.

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