Writing Workshop Writing an Autobiographical Narrative

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Writing WorkshopWriting an Autobiographical
Narrative
Feature Menu
Assignment Prewriting Search Your Memory Choose
an Experience Define Your Purpose and
Audience Gather Details Organize Details Share
the Significance of the Experience Practice and
Apply
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Writing an Autobiographical Narrative
Assignment Write an autobiographical narrative
that reveals an experiences significance for you.
Do you have a relative or a friend who tells the
same stories over and over again? Many people
like to share stories about events that have a
special significance to them or that reveal
something important about their lives, values, or
beliefs. What story will you tell?
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Search Your Memory
Think about specific, meaningful experiences from
your life.

• a special place

a neighborhood park, a vacation spot

• the first time you did something

rode a bike, volunteered

• a special occasion

a sports event, a family reunion
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Choose an Experience
Ask yourself

• Is this experience important to me?

• What specific details can I give about this
  experience?

• Is the experience too private or embarrassing to
  share?

Choose the experience that brings out the most
detailed and positive response from you.
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Define Your Purpose and Audience
Purpose

• To relate the sequence of events that make up a
  personal experience

• To express to your audience the significance of
  those events

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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Define Your Purpose and Audience
Audience

• Teachers

• Friends

• Classmates

• Parents

• Others who will read your autobiographical
  narrative

What background information will the audience
need to understand the experience?
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Gather Details
List all the vivid details you can recall about
events, people, places, thoughts, and feelings.
EventsWhat sequence of events make up the experience? Were there important events that led up to or followed the experience? TipMatch the pace of your narrative to the pace of the actual eventsa quick pace for rapid events, a slow pace for more drawn-out events.
Sequence of events volunteered for beach clean-up, found an injured turtle and got it help Later events volunteered at an animal rescue shelter, decided to become a veterinarian Sequence of events volunteered for beach clean-up, found an injured turtle and got it help Later events volunteered at an animal rescue shelter, decided to become a veterinarian
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Gather Details
List all the vivid details you can recall about
events, people, places, thoughts, and feelings.
PlacesWhere did the events happen? TipUse concrete sensory details to create effective images of the sights, sounds, and smells of the places you are describing.
Beach on a spring afternoon cool breeze from the sea warm, white sand calm water salty air Beach on a spring afternoon cool breeze from the sea warm, white sand calm water salty air
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Gather Details
List all the vivid details you can recall about
events, people, places, thoughts, and feelings.
PeopleWho was involved in the events? What did those people look like? What did they do and say? TipUse sensory details to describe actions and gestures. Use dialogue, actual words people say, to show each persons personality.
Meages fifteen and sixteen Dr. Alice Monroeanimal rescue veterinarian friendly gentle with animals always takes time to explain treatments Meages fifteen and sixteen Dr. Alice Monroeanimal rescue veterinarian friendly gentle with animals always takes time to explain treatments
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Gather Details
List all the vivid details you can recall about
events, people, places, thoughts, and feelings.
Thoughts and FeelingsWhat did I think and feel as the events unfolded? TipUse interior monologue, thinking out loud, to share your thoughts with readers.
Excitement to volunteer, worry about the injured turtle, respect and admiration for the people at the animal rescue shelter Excitement to volunteer, worry about the injured turtle, respect and admiration for the people at the animal rescue shelter
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Organize Details
Discuss the events in chronological order, or
time order.
Next
Last
First
ConclusionDiscuss events that came after your
experience to show how that experience related to
other parts of your life.
BackgroundDiscuss events that came before your
experience to help your audience understand what
led up to it.
Main narrativeDiscuss events that were part of
your meaningful life experience.
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Organize Details
Use transitional words and phrases to guide your
readers through the events in your narrative.
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Share the Significance of the Experience
Ask yourself

• Did the experience change me? If so, how?

• What did I learn from the experience?

• Has my perspective, my thoughts and feelings
  about the event, shifted over time? If so, how?

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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Share the Significance of the Experience
Write a sentence identifying your controlling
impressionthe main idea or feeling you want to
communicate about your experience.
Rescuing the injured turtle and volunteering at
the animal rescue shelter has given me a new
respect for animals and a sense of accomplishment
and purpose.
You dont have to include this sentence in your
final draft, but every detail in the narrative
should contribute to the controlling impression.
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Practice and Apply
Follow the guidelines in this section to choose
an experience, analyze your audience, and gather
and organize details for your autobiographical
narrative.
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The End
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Gather Details
Pace

• quick pace for more rapid events

The rescue shelter was very busy. I filed papers.
I answered phones. I cleaned cages. The to-do
list seemed endless.

• slow pace for more drawn-out events

The turtle seemed scared, so I approached it very
slowly and spoke to it in a soothing voice.
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Gather Details
Concrete Sensory Details

• What senses does the passage appeal to?

At the beach clean-up, we found several old
tiresthe rubber brittle and hot from the suns
heatthat were breeding grounds for hundreds of
buzzing and biting mosquitoes.
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Gather Details
Actions and Gestures
I spent several weeks working with Sammy, an
older dog that had been abused. At the beginning
I used slow, deliberate motions when I approached
him, and I always brought him a treat.
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Gather Details
Dialogue
Dr. Monroe explained, Working with abandoned and
neglected animals can be roughsometimes they
show up in such bad condition that it just makes
you cry. But, watching them heal and learn to
trust people again is worth all of the
heartache.
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Writing an Autobiographical NarrativePrewriting
Gather Details
Interior Monologue
I told myself, If I want to get into veterinary
school, Ive really got to buckle down and study.