MS. PANKEY THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN UNIT AUBURN JUNIOR HIGH Honor Writing

Purpose The purpose of this assignment is for you to write a narrative that tells about the person you interviewed and why they should be honored. Instead of a narrative, this piece of writing will be more expository, meaning that you will explain or tell about this person and the things they have overcome or accomplished.

Style Even though this is technically an “essay,” I want you to think about it more as a writing project. That is, I don’t want it to be too formal or stuffy. I want to hear your voice through the writing. *However, this does not mean you can throw all your grammar and writing rules out the window!

How to Write Your Essay - Intro Introductory Paragraph: In this paragraph, you will introduce the person you interviewed to your reader. Tell your reader the following:  Who the person is (their name)  How you know them/their relation to you  Description – age, job, appearance  A background of their life: where they are from, brief history of their childhood, anything interesting to give your reader a feel for who this person is.  Do NOT say: “Hello. This is John, the person I interviewed.”

How to Write Your Essay - Intro After you have introduced and described the person you interviewed, the very last sentence of your introductory paragraph should briefly tell why you admire or look up to this person. This is your thesis statement. Example: “Even though my great-grandmother believes that she has lived an ordinary life, I admire her because of the sacrifices she made for her family while her husband was sent off to war.”

How to Write Your Essay - Body The body paragraphs of your project is where you will tell about a particular part of the person’s life that you think shows why they should be admired or honored. Don’t re-tell everything that the person told you in the interview. Choose a specific part of their life to tell about (something they accomplished, something they overcame, etc.) If you aren’t sure about what to choose, ask me.

How to Write Your Essay - Body You should have at least three body paragraphs. Every paragraph should have at least 5 sentences. Instead of each paragraph containing a ‘topic’ like most essays, just tell the story about the person’s struggles/successes/etc. “But, Ms. Pankey, how do I know when to separate my paragraphs??” Start a new paragraph when something in the story transitions or when you are introducing a new part of the story.

How to Write Your Essay - Body DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS Be as descriptive and detailed about the story as possible. Wrong: “John had a hard childhood. He grew up on a farm. His family didn’t have much. He was poor, but he worked hard anyway.” Right: “John had a difficult, but rewarding childhood. He grew up on a small farm outside of Auburn, Alabama with his parents and six siblings. His family didn’t have much; every Christmas, each child got one gift and a handful of candy in their stocking. Even though his family was poor, John worked hard every day by helping his father and brothers farm potatoes, corn, and wheat.”

How to Write Your Essay - Conclusion Your conclusion paragraph will NOT conclude the story you are telling about your person. Conclude the story in the body paragraphs. In your conclusion paragraph, you will further explain WHY you chose this person and this story to admire or honor. Basically, explain why the story you just told leads you to admire or look up to this person. Conclusion should be at least three sentences. DO NOT say: “That is my conclusion.” OR “That is my essay.” OR “The end.”

Requirements Your writing project MUST:  Be at least one FULL page long. This means that your typing reaches the very END of one page.  Be 11-point font, Calibri or Times New Roman NO BOLD. (Not 12-point, not 20-point. 11-point!)  Have a title relating to what you are writing about. “Honor Essay” is NOT an acceptable title.  Have a header and page numbers.  Indented, separate paragraphs  Be double-spaced.

Editing Workshop You will edit your own paper using a checklist. A peer will edit your paper using a checklist. On Wednesday, October 8, I will come around and scan over EVERY essay to make suggestions. Three people editing = this essay should be good!

DON’T FORGET YOUR COMMON SENSE! Capitalize the first word of every sentence, names of people (including your name), and “I.” Do NOT by ANY means use “texting language” such as: u=you, LOL, 2=to/too… (Ms. Pankey will cry actual tears   ) No funky fonts! Times New Roman or Calibri ONLY USE SPELLCHECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are not back in the olden days of typewriters. There is no excuse for misspelling in the age of spellcheck and Google! Use punctuation (., ! ? “) or else…

Helpful Hints

Steps 1. Interview your person 2. Brainstorm to decide what specific story you want to write about 3. Type a rough draft 4. Revise your essay using your checklist 5. Let a peer edit your draft 6. Revise your essay using your peer’s suggestions 7. Let Ms. Pankey look over your draft 8. Revise your essay using Ms. Pankey’s suggestions