Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative Instructions

You are required to submit the FINAL copy of this assignment, but you may first submit an optional DRAFT. This will allow you to receive qualitative feedback that can inform your revision. You should always avoid focusing solely on the grader’s DRAFT feedback; use the feedback as a supplement to the course lessons and your own revision ideas. Always expect to revise beyond what the DRAFT grader specifically notes.

Additional helpful resources:

Personal Narrative Rubric | Personal Narrative Sample 1 | Personal Narrative Sample 2

 

Option #1: A Life-Changing Moment

Think of a specific experience that had a huge impact on you--something that really changed your life in some way (winning the state championship, riding your first roller coaster, surviving a car accident, going on your first date, etc.). Then, write a narrative about that experience. Make sure that it has an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Use time, dialogue, descriptive details, and one point-of-view to tell the story leading up to the climax of your life-changing moment. For instance, if your life-changing moment discusses your first date, the last body paragraph before the conclusion should detail your date and the previous body paragraphs should explain the events leading up to the date.The conclusion should sum up the major subtopics in your story as well as explain how this event changed you. For instance, did it teach you a lesson? Did you walk away with a new appreciation for something? Sample Thesis Statement: “After I got to know John, I discovered that you should not judge people on first appearances.” Your job after this is to tell the story of this thesis statement. Remember to underline your thesis!

Option #2: Crossroads

We have all been in situations where we have had to make crucial choices--choices that affected us in potentially life-changing ways (going back to school, buying a house, having a child, choosing a college, etc.). Write a narrative describing this type of situation. Make sure that it has an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Use time, dialogue, descriptive details, and a single point of view to describe the situation, making sure that you explain what caused it (suggested for body paragraph 1), what decision you made (suggested for body paragraph 2), and how that decision impacted you (suggested for body paragraph 3). In your conclusion, you will want to sum up your story and explain whether your choice was the best one for you and why. Sample Thesis Statement: “Moving out of my parents’ house was bad because I needed to either buy a home or rent an apartment, and because a down payment for the home I wanted would deplete my savings, I chose to rent an apartment.”

The guidelines and requirements for this assignment are as follows:

Remember to apply the concepts you're learning in the course, including elements of grammar, punctuation, thesis development, and other skills. 

Header: Include a header in the upper left-hand corner of your writing assignment with the following information:

• Your first and last name 
• Course Title (Composition I) 
• Assignment name (Personal Narrative) 
• Current Date

Length: This assignment should be at least 750 words.

Format:

• Last name and page number in upper-right corner of each page 
• Double-spacing throughout
• Title, centered after heading
• Standard font (Times New Roman or Calibri)
• 1” margins on all sides
• Save the file as .docx  or  .doc format

Underline your thesis statement.