Personal Narrative Assignment

Introduction
So far in this unit we have had the opportunity to read American Born Chinese, the stories of
Sook and Von from New Kids in Town, spoken word poetry, and plenty of other texts. We have
seen a variety of narratives and stories and now it is time for you to tell one of your own. By the
end of seventh grade you need to know what it takes to write and narrative and then implement
that knowledge in your own narrative.
The Assignment
This assignment is asking you to think of a memory from your past, and retell it in a way that
makes the audience feel like they know this memory like you do. This memory can be one that is
a favorite, or maybe one that changed your life forever. The expectation is that you write about a
personal experience, hence why this is a personal narrative. You will have opportunities later in
the year to create your own story or be more creative. This narrative needs to be 2-3 pages,
double spaced, MLA format. When writing this narrative please consider your use of effective
technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences. In order for your
narrative to be engaging you need to use conventions like engaging plot, dialogue, and stanza
breaks to develop and organize texts. Most importantly your narrative should establish a central
idea, or theme.
Audience
Your audience for this assignment is us, the teachers, as well as your fellow class mates.
Remembering that we are your audience, we are required to share any thoughts or suggestions of
violence, suicide, substance abuse, family abuse, or other harmful behavior with the school
counselors, so take this into consideration when writing your argument.
Assessment
Please refer to the attached scoring guide for a breakdown of expectations for this assignment.
This will go into your paper and test category of your grades, so please remember that this
category is worth significantly more than homework, in class work, and thus you should take it
seriously.
Due Date
The paper is going to be due on Thursday October 9 in class. There will be another part of this
assignment that you will be given on this date as well.