April 8 – April 12

Monday’s Homework FIRST LINES. Due Tuesday. Write down the first lines of 10 books or stories (e.g., “First Line” from Book

by Author). Then come up with 10 first lines of your own, just from your imagination. Try to “hook” the

reader in the first line; after reading each of these first lines, I should want to read the rest of the story.

You can find books online for free at fulltextarchive.com.

Tuesday’s Homework FIRST DRAFT OF NARRATIVE. Due Wednesday. Rubric and Topics are attached. This is just the very first

draft. It can be hand written. Don’t worry so much about grammar—just try to get a main idea down.

Wednesday’s Homework WORK ON NARRATIVE. Second Draft Due Friday. Rubric and Topics are attached. The second draft

should be 3 typed pages.

A PARAGRAPH OF DESCRIPTION. Due Thursday. Read “The Paragraph of Description” packet. Annotate

the example paragraphs for “Describing a Person” and “Describing a Place” and “Describing a Thing” and

“Mixing your Descriptions” for sensory details (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) and powerful/vivid

verbs. THEN write a paragraph of mixed descriptions. You can write this paragraph on something

random or on something out of your narrative. I would suggest writing it on something in your narrative

so that it’ll be less work for you in the long run.

Thursday’s Homework WORK ON NARRATIVE. Second Draft Due Friday. Rubric and Topics are attached. The second draft

should be 3 typed pages.

A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY. Quiz Friday. Read A Prayer for Owen Meany Chapter 8.

Friday’s Homework A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY ONLINE RESPONSE. Due Sunday at 9:00 online. Write a paragraph that

analyzes John Irving’s use of narrative detail, dialogue, key events, or vivid description in Chapter 8. Cite

at least two pieces of evidence from the text to back up your conclusion. Respond to 2 posts of your

peers by Monday.

FINAL DRAFT NARRATIVE. Due Next Wednesday, April 10. Your final draft of your narrative essay is due

on Wednesday, so if you want to get it done over the weekend, you can. Your final draft should include

your rough draft with your peer’s comments and your final draft with your changes.

Narrative Essay Prompts

1. Lightbulb Moment. Think of an experience when you realized that you suddenly understood an idea, a skill, or a

concept you had been struggling with—it might be something related to a class that you took or a specific

athletic skill you were trying to perfect. For instance, you might think about trying to understand how to identify

iambic pentameter in a poem or suddenly understanding how to take a derivative in your Calculus class. Or you

might consider trying to perfect your free throws and suddenly understanding how your follow-through was

affecting your success. Write a narrative that tells the story of your movement toward understanding. How did

you finally understand? What challenged your perceptions and gave you a new understanding? Your paper

should help readers understand how you felt to struggle with the idea or skill and then to understand.

2. Childhood Event. Choose a vivid time from your childhood—you might think of the first time that you rode a

school buss, of a time when you went to the principal’s office, the first A you earned on a test or paper, earning

money to buy something that you really wanted, and so on. Narrate the events related to the childhood

memory that you’ve chosen so that your readers will understand why the event was important and memorable.

3. Achieving a Goal. Think of a time when you achieved a personal goal—you might have finally completed a

marathon or triathlon, or you might have bettered your score on the SATs or another test, or you might have

excelled at something in your job. Tell your readers about the story of how you met your goal. Be sure that your

readers understand why the goal is important to you.

4. The Good and the Bad. Think about an event in your life that seemed bad but turned out to be good. Maybe you

got injured and while you were waiting for your broken leg to heal, you learned a new skill. What makes the

event change from bad to good may be something that you leaned as a result, something you did differently as a

result, or something that happened that wouldn’t have occurred otherwise. tell the story of the event that you

experienced and help your readers understand how an event that seemed negative turned out to have valuable

consequences.

5. Standing Up. Think of a time when you did something that took a lot of nerve, a time when you didn’t follow the

crowd or a time when you stood up for your beliefs. perhaps your friends were urging you to do something that

you were uncomfortable with and you chose not to cave into peer pressure. Maybe you took a stance on a

political issue that was important in your community. Whatever you choose, think about the details of the event

and write a story that tells about what happened. your narrative should show your readers why you decided to

make a stand or try something that took nerve, give specifics on the events, and share how you felt after the

event.

6. Disagreeing. Think of a time when you disagreed with a decision that had been made and did something about

it. The decision might have been made by someone you know personally—your teacher announced a new policy

for grading, or an older family member decides to cancel a subscription to a magazine that you like to read. You

might have been responded by discussing your concerns with your principal or deans, you might have decided to

get a part-time job to earn enough money to buy the magazine yourself. or the decision could have been made

by someone you never met—perhaps by the school board or the state legislature. Your response might have

been to write a letter to the editor or your representative or to the school board. Whatever happened, your job

is to write a paper that narrates the events that occurred—from the decision that was made to your response.

Be sure that your paper gives enough details that your readers understand why you disagreed with the decision

and why you felt that your response was appropriate.

7. Changing Places. Every place has things that change—sometimes the result of economics, sometimes because

different people are involved, and sometimes for no clear reason that you know about. Think of a change to a

place that you know well. Perhaps the local grocery store you grew up with was bought by a corporate chain.

Perhaps the change was more personal—an older sibling moves out of the house and your family changes the

room into an office. Think of a specific change and narrate the events that occurred. Readers should know the

details of the change, and they should know how you feel about the changes that occurred.

8. Story Option. Using one of the options above, write about the character/setting that you came up with in class

last week. For instance, if I choose the Changing Places option, I would write a story about the details of a

change that happened in my character’s setting and how my character felt about the changes that occurred.

This probably won’t capture the entirety of the plot that you’d imagined, but think of this as one chapter of your

story that you are turning in.

9. Application Essay Option. If your college application essay or a scholarship essay asks about a personal

experience, you can use that for your topic (if you okay it with me). The topic might ask you about a defining

moment in your high school life, or maybe it asks you to describe a defining moment in your life. Topics like

these are narrative topics and can be used.

No matter which topic you picked, your story should be between 3-5 pages, typed, double-spaced with 12pt. font. It

should describe a small moment in life with narrative details and dialogue. Once you have chosen a topic and decided

on the key events to include in your narrative, you should write your first draft: you want to get all of your ideas

down on paper. During this process, you should not worry about spelling or grammar or even if things sound great or

completely make sense.

When you write your second draft, you can begin to fix up whatever needs attention. While you are working on this

next draft, keep in mind some of the important factors that will make your writing more vivid and engaging. Below is

a list of some of the important elements you should consider as you are writing your next few drafts.

First and foremost, you must always remember your audience, purpose, and tone. These are the foundations of

any writing activity.

Include a theme and motifs that act as thread woven throughout the narrative. Think about what message you

are trying to get across and then thread that message throughout the story with repeated images and ideas in

your narrative.

Choose effective narrative details. These should be chosen in relation to your theme and should be used to

reveal character, make actions specific, or offer explanations or reasons.

Use dialogue selectively. Remember, dialogue does not necessarily reflect whole conversations. It is often used

to dramatize and event or reveal characters convincingly.

Enhance the reading experience through description. Vivid imagery relates specific sights, sounds, tastes

feelings, and smells, allowing your reader to engage in the reading process.

Establish pathos. Remember that a reader should feel a connection to the character when reading.

Use powerful verbs and precise diction. Now is the time when you choose words carefully, especially since this a

process essay: you will rewrite it several times. Word choice is not random or serendipitous. You must make a

conscious effort when choosing the exact wording for your paper.

Rubric for Assessment of the Narrative Essay (maximum of 15 points for each essay)

Awesome Job! (3) Pretty Good (2) Not Quite (1) Unacceptable (0)

Ideas “Hooks” the reader’s

attention, demonstrates

insight; Strong sense of

direction and clarity.

Shows, does not tell, the

reader what happens. The

main ideas stand out; the

reader learns something

new.

Holds the reader’s

attention, but there

are some ideas that

are repeated or

sketchy details. The

essay draws on some

personal experience,

yet makes the reader

want more specifics.

Tells the reader, does

not show the details.

There is a lack of

development and

building. The

sequence of the story

is confusing with

repeated and/or

unrelated details.

Main idea is unclear or out

of focus. There is little or

no development of an idea

or theme. There is only a

limited awareness of a

purpose, and details are

skimpy or nonexistent.

Voice Paper sounds honest and

true to the human

experience and is written

from the heart. It brings

the topic to life and gives

the reader a real sense of

the time, place, and

characters. It

communicates the

purpose, direction, and

style to the reader.

Some difficulty sensing

the person behind the

words. The paper

almost sounds as if it

is written from

experience, yet some

details appear

invented; the writer is

basically sincere.

Writer is distanced from the topic and/or reader. The writer’s personality sometimes disappears. The writer avoids risks and the paper is rife with clichés. The paper just barely communicates with the reader.

There is little or no sense

of a person behind the

words. The writer appears

indifferent to the topic and

fails to communicate with

the reader.

Organization Sentences are logically

organized to show how

events unfold; all details

fit where placed; flows so

smoothly that the reader

has no problem with

understanding; strong and

effective use of transitions.

Almost all details told

in logical order with a

beginning, middle, and

end. The reader rarely

feels lost; transitions

fit where they are

placed.

Some sense of order

and direction;

transitions are weak.

The main idea needs

more development

No clear sense of order; no

transitions or they are used

incorrectly; the paper is

mostly off topic; main

ideas lack development

Sentence

Fluency

Variety of sentence

structure and length; each

sentence is a complete

thought and builds on the

one before. Sentence flow

is pleasant and natural.

Controlled and varied

sentence structure and

length. There aren’t

many run-ons; good

grasp of sentence flow.

Simple and/or

awkward sentences

are everywhere; there

are some fragments

and run-ons; it’s

difficult to tell where

sentences begin and

end; writer struggles

with sentence flow.

Weak and repetitive

sentences put the reader to

sleep; short, choppy

sentences; too many

fragments and run-ons; the

reader often has to pause

and figure out what’s going

on.

MECHANICS Spelling,

punctuation,

capitalization

Almost all errors in the

rough draft are corrected.

The final paper is error

free in grammar, format,

punctuation, capitalization,

and spelling. Nothing to

distract or confuse the

reader.

Moderate

editing/proof-reading

needed; few errors in

grammar, format,

punctuation,

capitalization, and

spelling. Minor errors

in verb tenses, yet

does not confuse the

reader.

Some errors in

grammar, format,

punctuation,

capitalization, and

spelling. Paper reads

like a rough draft and

there is some reader

confusion.

Frequent errors in

grammar, format,

punctuation and spelling;

thorough

editing/proofreading

needed. The paper is

difficult to understand.

Introduction/Conclusion _______

Main Points _______

Organization _______

Style _______

Mechanics _______

Total Points ______ = grade of ______

Grade Equivalent (15 points maximum):

A = 13 - 15 points

B = 10 - 12 points

C = 7 - 9 points

D = 4 - 6 points

F = 0 - 3