1. “Your life, though it may seem average to you, is a new and exotic world to other people. Don’t be afraid to write about your personal experiences.” –Joe Hasley

2. How to Write A Personal Narrative Essay Definition Purpose Audience

3. Structure of the Essay Beginning Introduces the incident including the people and the setting Middle (May Use Flashback) Describe the event using descriptive detail and dialogue Adds complication or conflict End Tells the outcome or results of the event Presents the writer’s feelings about the experience Short term results Think chronological- Your event should have a beginning, middle, and end.

4. Descriptive narrative writing should 1. Describe the setting 2. Describe memory/event 3. Describe the people 4. Explain the speaker’s thoughts and feelings 5. Use sensory details 6. Use dialogue 7. Use metaphors, similes, or personification 8. Use vivid active verbs and rhetorical verbs

5. Defining Purpose Cause Intention Reason Why Agenda Slant Angle Goal Position

6. Defining Speaker Sender Narrator Writer Author Debater Lecturer Orator “Voice”

7. Defining Audience Receiver Observer Reader Listener Peer Watcher

8. Defining Message Communication Theme Main Idea Statement Argument Moral Lesson

9. Defining Tone Attitude Emotion Pitch Environment “Feeling” Ambiance Mood

10. Defining Form Format Form Frame Design Organization Technique Strategy Means Way Manner Mode :

11. Rhetorical Verbs Analyzes Appraises Argues Asserts Attacks Characterizes Clarifies Classifies Compares Considers Contrasts Conveys Debunks Defines Demonstrates Demystifies Differentiates Disagrees Discredits Distinguishes Elucidates Emphasizes Estimates Examines Explains Explicates Explores Expresses Employs Evaluates Expands Highlights

12. Voice of a Verb Voice indicates whether the subject is acting or being acted upon. Active Voice indicates that the subject of the verb is, has been, or will be doing something. Baseball great Walter Johnson pitched 50 consecutive scoreless innings. For many years Lou Brock held the base-stealing record. Passive Voice indicates that the subject of the verb is being, has been, or will be acted upon. Fifty consecutive scoreless innings were pitched by baseball great Walter Johnson. For many years the base-stealing record was held by Lou Brock. Hint: Use the active voice as much as possible because it makes your writing more direct and lively!

13. Active Voice vs. Passive Voice Present: I see/we see Past: I saw/ We saw Future: I will see/ we will see Present Perfect: I have seen/we have seen Past Perfect: I had seen/ we had seen Future Perfect: I will have seen/we will have seen Present: I am seen/we are seen Past: I was seen/We were seen Future: I will be seen/we will be seen Present Perfect: I have been seen/we have been seen Past Perfect: I had been seen/we had been seen Future Perfect: I will have been seen/we will have been seen

14. Must-Have Figurative Language Alliteration- Repetition of the initial consonant Allusion- Reference in literature to a familiar person, place thing or event Hyperbole- Over exaggeration Imagery- Creates a picture in the writer’s mind Metaphor- A comparison of two unlike things Onomatopoeia- A word that suggest its meaning Oxymoron- A combination of contradictory terms Paradox- Statement that seems contrary to common sense but may be true Personification- Describing an animal, object as if it were a person Simile- A comparison of unlike things using like or as

15. Must Have Style Devices Repetition- Repeating like phrases Wit- Appropriate humor Sensory Details- 5 senses Diction- Authors language; word choice Tone- The authors attitude towards his or her subject Dialogue- Conversation Parallel Construction- Repeating phrases or sentences that are similar in meaning

16. Show, Don’t Tell The pizza was delicious: Steam rising up off the melted cheese made my mouth water. The first bite, my teeth sinking into the cheese, through the tomato sauce and into the moist crust, made me chew and swallow rapidly. Even the cheese and tomato sauce, sticking to my fingertips, begged to be licked. He is angry: Sitting at his desk, his jaw tightened. His eyes flashed darts at me. The words erupted from his mouth, “I want to talk to you after class.” The final hiss in his voice warned me about his feelings