ENG150 – Personal Narrative.doc
ENG 15000.11: Strategies for University Writing
Summer 2013
Instructor: Spencer Hurst
Essay #1: Personal Narrative

Please consider the following ideas and suggestions from Patterns for College Writing:

“Narration tells a story by presenting events in an orderly, logical sequence” (97).

“Narratives, like other types of writing, need rich, specific details if they are to be convincing. Each detail should help to create a picture for the reader” (98).

“You use description to tell readers about the physical characteristics of a person, place, or thing. Description relies on the five senses – sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell” (151).

“When you write description, you use language to create a vivid impression for your readers” (152).

“Through description, you communicate your view of the world to your readers. If your readers come to understand or share your view, they are more likely to accept your observations, your judgments, and, eventually, your conclusions. Therefore, in almost every essay you write, knowing how to write effective description is important” (152).

“To produce an effective description, however, you must do more than say something is wonderful – you must use details that evoke this response in your readers” (156).

“All good descriptive writing…relies on specific details. Your aim is not simply to tell readers what something looks like but to show them. Every person, place, or thing has its special characteristics, and you should use your powers of observation to detect them. Then, you need to select the specific words that will enable your readers to imagine what you describe” (157).

“Keep in mind, however, that not all details are equally useful or desirable. You should include only those that contribute to the dominant impression you wish to create” (157).

Assignment

All you need to do is develop a list of events you recall from your life (10…