NARRATIVES Main Aim Is To: Tell a sequence of events & scenes Develop PLOT Develop CHARACTERS

Biographical or Autobiographical (true) NARRATIVES There Are Two Main Types: Fictional (not true) Biographical or Autobiographical (true)

Autobiographical Incident Writing Workshop Autobiographical Incident Describing an important event in your life . . . Writing an autobiographical incident, or firsthand account, can help you and others to see an important event in your life more clearly. You will need to use vivid sensory details, vocabulary, dialogue, and figurative language to engage the reader and reveal the significance of the event.

Autobiographical Incident Writing Workshop Autobiographical Incident Describing an important event in your life . . . -The beginning of the essay captures the reader’s interest -Your autobiographical narrative will be about one significant event in your life -The narrative needs to include the people, times, places, and objects -During your description of the event you need to include your feelings (how you felt then), but at the end of the narrative you need to tell your reader your feelings now as you look back on it (how you feel now)

Your Autobiographical Incident At A Glance Beginning Middle End -Write about a single incident -Identify the people, places, times and objects involved -Describes the incident using descriptive details and dialogue -Describe your feelings THEN Tells the outcome and importance of the incident Presents the writer’s feelings about the experience NOW -Introduces the incident in an interesting way -Includes the people involved and the setting -Tell why the incident is important to you

STANDARDS FOR WRITING Rubric A successful autobiographical incident should: Grab readers’ attention at the beginning Focus on one incident that is important to you Identify people, places, times, and objects involved in the experience Describe your feelings then Describe your feelings now Have vivid descriptions Include dialogue

Planning Your Autobiographical 1. Free Write About The Incident Incident Essay Take a few minutes to write down everything that you remember about the incident. What happened? When? Where? Who was involved? How did you feel at the time? 1. Free Write About The Incident

Planning Your Autobiographical Incident Essay Fill in the details. Go back to what you wrote about the incident. Flesh out the description of the time, the place, and the people involved.

Planning Your Autobiographical Incident Essay Think about the significance of the event. Why do you remember the incident? What did you learn? Did it change you?

Planning Your Autobiographical Incident Essay 4. Tell your story aloud. Share your story with others. Can they visualize, or picture, what happened? Do they have questions about the order of events? Then start your first draft.

Planning Your Autobiographical Incident Essay 5. Begin drafting your essay. Remember that you can revise and reorganize your writing later. Try to give readers a strong sense of the incident. Show rather than tell why it is important to you. Include well chosen sensory details and dialogue as you plan your essay. Remember to start off with a strong beginning and conclude with a memorable ending.

Sensory Detail Practice Tell me about your favorite home-cooked meal: - Sense of smell - Sense of sight - Sense of touch - Sense of taste - Sense of hearing * Thoughts and emotions

A Captivating Beginning What sounds better? A. One day this past summer I went to the beach. B. It was a warm summer day and I could smell the salt in the ocean breeze.

Figurative Language Simile -A comparison of two things that are not the same using the words like or as. She was strong as the wind. The clouds look like spilled milk. I am as fast as an eagle. Metaphor-A comparison of two things that are not the same without using the words like or as. She was the strong wind. The clouds are spilled milk. I am a fast eagle.

Figurative Language Personification. Attributing human qualities to objects, animals, or things. The wind was her mother. The clouds talked to the sun. The eagle commanded attention. Hyperbole. An obvious and intentional exaggeration. An extravagant statement not to be taken literally We waited for eternity. I told you a million times. Her hair is ninety feet long. IdiomsAn expression where the meaning is not understood from the actual definition of the words. She broke my heart. I fell in love. He kicked the bucket

Figurative Language Practice Create a simile or a metaphor for each person, place, thing, or idea: -A parent -Your best friend -A subject in school -A T.V. show -Something special to you

Time to write…

Make Sure to Have a Strong Ending! What sounds better? A. The day I learned to ride a bike was the day I learned about trust. B. It was a really good day.

REVISION Adding Detail Description Figurative language Specifics Clarification Sentence expansion Idea expansion New info

Deleting REVISION Repetitions Unimportant, irrelevant info Sentence combining Parts to ANOTHER story

Re-arranging REVISION Re-sequence Re-order to produce a DESIRED effect Re-order for logic

Substituting: REVISION Increasing the VIVIDNESS of language Replace DEAD Words Replace OVERUSED words Replace one idea for a better one

Planning Your Autobiographical Incident Essay TARGET SKILL: MAKING THE ORDER OF EVENTS CLEAR To help your readers understand the order in which things happened, use transitional words and phrases. Some words that indicate time include: to start off, at first, second, next, then, after, earlier, before, later, finally, and at the present time.

Planning Your Autobiographical Incident Essay TARGET SKILL: MAKING THE ORDER OF EVENTS CLEAR Transitions are especially important if you begin your narrative in the middle of the incident or at the conclusion of the incident.

Correcting “Errors” & “Mistakes” EDITING Correcting “Errors” & “Mistakes”

Spelling Punctuation Capitalization Grammar & Usage EDITING Spelling Punctuation Capitalization Grammar & Usage

Punctuation EDITING Full stops at the end of sentences Quotation marks for dialogue

Capitalization Of proper nouns Letters of the first word in sentences EDITING Capitalization Of proper nouns Letters of the first word in sentences

Grammar & Usage EDITING NO Run-on sentences NO sentence fragments Subject-Verb Agreement

That is All…