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Introductory Essay: Autobiographical Essay #1 Objectives: to learn strategies for choosing a significant, narrowed subject and generating specific concrete details, and to write to learn about autobiography. Goal: to produce an autobiographical essay that shows rather than tells as it presents a significant main point about you as an individual. Assignment: Write a 750 – 1000 word autobiographical essay about a significant event or moment in your life. Your audience for this essay is your classmates in ILA – in other words, other students, more than likely about your same age who appreciate quality, college-level writing and who want to know something substantial and important about you. The event or moment that you select might not be earth-shattering, and it might not be exemplary, but that does not mean that it did not leave a lasting impression on you – and cannot leave a lasting impression on your readers. Your purpose is to entertain as well as to instruct, as you teach the audience something about yourself through the use of specific details, narration, and description. A successful essay
will have a narrowed/focused event (a particular moment in time), a
clear dominate impression, and a clear main point (significance).
Less effective essays will tell a long story without having any
focus; they will not answer the question “So What?” Choose a topic: E-mail me one paragraph describing the event you plan to write about and why it is important to you. If you can, relate the insight it illustrates. Due Wednesday, August 29,2007
Next begin Revising: Revise your essay using the criteria for a successful essay below. Use the attached revision guide to help with your organization. You may also take your draft to the Mellinger Writing Center if you do so take it as early as you possibly can. As you revise, ask other readers to give you feedback on these general questions: 1. Do I create a vivid, specific, detailed picture of myself and the event? Do you find the picture credible? Do you sympathize with me? Why or why not? Where do you want more information? 2. What did I learn from this experience? Where do you want more information? 3. Did I explain how the experience affected / changed me? Where do you want more information? Editing: Strategies for improving your autobiographical essay: Ideas (invention): Bedford Handbook, 2-29 1. Does your essay present a well-told story? Specifically is your essay focused around a specific, limited event? Is the topic narrow enough that it can be completely covered in 750-1000 words? Does your essay use action verbs? Is your essay clearly organized? Does your essay convey a sense of immediacy and drama (through dialogue)? 2. Does your essay contain a vivid presentation of the event? Specifically, does your essay use vivid language and specific details? Does your essay have a dominate impression (thus demonstrating a focused, main point)? Does your essay present a significant point by showing as well as by telling? Does you essay show or tell at the most appropriate, most effective times? 3. Does you essay develop the event’s significance? Specifically, does your essay have a clear main point? Does your essay instruct as well as entertain?
*adapted from Prof. Steve Price [ILA August 2005]
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Autobiographical Essay: Revision Guide
You are about to enter
the most important point in the writing process: the revision of
the first draft. At this point it’s not a matter of “Do I need to
revise?” but rather “What do I need to revise?” Good writers know
that in elevated, intelligent essays, major revisions will be needed
– that they will need to refocus their arguments, add content that
develops their main point, take out content that isn’t relevant to
their main point, and reorganize. This first revision stage is
where good essays are made.
1. What is the narrowed topic of your essay?
2. In 5 words or less (you can do this!), what dominate impression do you develop in your essay? (At home, mark areas on your draft where you show or build the dominate impression. Where else in the essay can you add these types of details, to make your writing more effective? )
3. In one clear sentence, what is the significant point of your essay (the thesis)? (At home be sure to mark areas on your draft where you show/build the significant point. If you only find the significant point developed in the conclusion, work to build the significance throughout the essay.
4. List at least 5 major, content-based revisions that you will undertake in order to make your rough draft more effective. (Look back at the assignment sheet for a reminder of our goals in this essay.)
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