Personal Narrative Essay

English
Dr. Lantinga
Essay #1: Remembered Event/Personal Narrative
WHAT: Select one specific event (not a general series of experiences) that shows a time when
you felt “at home”—or a time when you decidedly did not. Write a narrative in which you tell
the story of the event and reflect on how the event influenced your identity and your
understanding of “home.”
HOW: Your essay will have a Remember, Reflect, and Reveal section. Approximately 2/3 of
the essay should be devoted to narration/Remember (tell the story); approximately 1/3 of the
essay should be devoted to Reflect/Reveal (discuss its meaning and influence). Most students
accomplish this in one of two ways:
• The essay tells a story and then offers a reflective section at its end.
Or
• The reflection is woven into the story as the story progresses throughout the essay.
1. Remember
 Begin with your specific story of when you realized you felt “at home”
 This is written in the past tense
 SHOW, don’t tell, using lots of specific details and images
 Watch out for passive verbs (be, is, am, was, were, been, being)
“I was scared” says very little. The reader doesn’t know what “scared” means to you, so he can only
guess—which you don’t want you reader to do!
“My heart rate skyrocketed, and the adrenaline surging through my body signaled my panic” shows the
reader with powerful verbs (skyrocketed, surging, signaled) and specific details (heart rate skyrocketing,
adrenaline surging through my body) that you are deeply frightened and having a physical response to
your fear.
2. Reflect
 In the middle/end of the essay, once you’re done with your story, you reflect back and
think about NOW what this story signifies.
 To you at that moment, what did feeling “at home” even mean? How did you know?
 Now that you’re thinking about it, what do you realize it says about your first experience
or deep understanding about “home” and what it would mean for your life?
 This is very similar, perhaps, to the 1st writing assignment we explored—“because you
grew up this way, home now means….” So think back to this and see where it might
apply in this essay.
 This section of the essay is written in the present tense
1
3. Reveal:
 In your conclusion section, you move to a broader understanding of how this relates to
the bigger picture of being human—moving from your own personal story to making
connections to the world. Now you’re moving to a broader, more general understanding
of what all of this means. Here is where you explore and evaluate the “so what?” and the
revelation this story represents about ideas of how an individual develops an identity
around “home.”
 Answers “So what?” Why does this matter? Why should we care? What makes your story
universal? What might Maslow say? What are the bigger, more academic connections
that you can draw from this? How is your story connected to the world?”
Work to see connections between the event you have selected for this assignment and the person
you are today, and then communicate your reflection to the reader in a way that gives insight into
your life. In other words, why did the event matter to you? How does it influence your current
understandings of spaces, places, and identity.
***Essay at the A level: At some point within the Reflect or Reveal sections, if you would like
to work toward an A for a grade on your essay, you are required to use at least one quotation
from at least one course or one outside source that we have explored so far: “Immigrant,”
“Days in New York,” “For All Aliens,” “Home is Much More” The Tortilla Curtain, ANY of
the song lyrics the class is using (does not just have to be the song assigned to you). Pay close
attention to how you use the quotation to support (or oppose) your own analysis.
Using a quote doesn’t automatically mean that you will earn an A. This can be a tricky thing to
master, and often students choose a wrong source, don’t interpret it correctly, or they don’t
connect it to the theme of their paper accurately. But this is the type of scholarship that is
required of higher level work, so I encourage you to try.
Steps:
1) Brainstorm ideas on what your definition of “home” is. Think of the emotions and
feeling associated with your definition, and then think of an event in your life that brought that
the event or experience you have selected.
2) Consider memories and review personal documents that will assist in developing your
story about the event/experience. Pay close attention to the descriptive language, details, and
(possibly) dialogue or other tools that could help you tell a vivid story of where you were, who
was with you, what happened, and why it mattered.
3) Create an outline for the essay, if it will help you envision the overall narration/reflection
aspects of the project.
4) Revise the entire essay several times to ensure your thoughts are clearly conveyed and
paragraphs are logically organized and developed.
2
5) Edit for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
You will be working with an OWL specialist to create multiple drafts of this assignment toward
a polished, well-crafted final version of your work.
WHY:
This assignment will help you address several course outcomes in your syllabus, including:
 Support analytical arguments with textual evidence

 Distinguish between summary and analysis
 Present information in a clear and professional manner
 Construct clear, grammatically coherent sentences and paragraphs
It will also address your ability to write descriptively, think reflectively, and identify main
ideas. Sometimes called a “memoir” or “personal narrative,” this type of essay allows you to
reflect on an interaction or experience that has had significant impact on your life. Such
insight can inform your attitudes about yourself and society while influencing your goals for
the future.
DUE DATE AND FORMAT:

1st Draft Due Date (which means FULL draft of an essay I could grade but should have another
pair of eyes review it):
ENG Final Draft Submission Deadline:
Final Draft Word Count and Setup:
• 1300-1500 words (4-6+ pages)
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• Double-spaced
• 1st person point of view is acceptable

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English

 Support analytical arguments with textual evidence

DUE DATE AND FORMAT:

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