1. Writing a first person essay and using connectors
Personal Narrative
Writing a first person essay and using connectors

2. Introduction Interview a partner for 5 minutes.
Ask your partner questions (Where are you from? What are your hobbies? What classes do you like?)
Write a 5 sentence introduction of your partner.

3. First Writing Assignment
Your Task:
Write a personal narrative in five paragraphs. Each paragraph should have at least five sentences.
Think about:
When was an important time in my life?
What has happened in my life that I would enjoy writing about?
Is there an event in my life that other people would enjoy hearing/reading about?

4. What is a personal narrative?
A personal narrative is a story about yourself and an event that happened in your past
Narrative = Story
The personal narrative is the most creative essay and allows you more freedom than other essays.

5. What is a personal narrative?
Often written in 1st person – I or we – because it is based on a personal story
Can also be written in 3rd person
Can never be written in 2nd person
Has specific sensory details to get the reader hooked on the story
Is developed in chronological order
Has verbs that help paint a picture and draw in the reader

6. Components of a Story Setting = Where the action in a story happens.
Theme = Basic idea or point of the story
Mood = Feeling or atmosphere the author creates for the story.
Characters = The people in the story
Plot = What happens in the story
Often uses dialogue

7. Introduction - Narrative
Describe the background of the story (characters, setting, atmosphere)
Prepare the reader on what to expect in the story.
You should have a “hook” that will grab the reader’s attention, as well as a thesis that organizes the essay.

8. What is a “hook”?
The first two or three lines in the introductory paragraph that grabs readers’ attention.
Help set the stage for the story
Make readers guess what will happen next in the story

9. How to write a good “hook”
Like a fish getting hooked by a fisherman, you need to “hook” your readers and make them want to read your essay.
If it’s a good hook, people would want to read your essay.
If it is not a good hook, then no one wants to read your essay.

10. Some suggestions…
For some suggestions on how to write a good hook, see the narrative essay section at:
ela8devonmiddle.wikispaces.com
Let’s look at some hooks…

11. Hooks - Connecting Information
After the hook, the writer usually writes three to five sentences that connect it to the topic.
Example from Keith Folse:
Her daily routine was not glamorous. She did everything from sweeping the floors to cooking the meals. If someone had asked her, “Are there any household chores that you practically hate?”, she probably would have answered, “None.”

12. Example
Write a sample hook for this paragraph: At 16 I worked in the toy department of Lotte Department Store, where I learned that I enjoyed helping people. I always went out of my way to help people because I learned that if I worked hard, I would succeed. This is the reason why I want to be a businessman and go to business school.

13. Example
I had never been more anxious in my life. I had just spent the last three hours trying to get to the airport so that I could travel home. What questions do you have? What do you think will happen next?

14. Thesis States the main idea of the essay (thesis statements).
In narrative essays, they introduce the action that begins in the first paragraph of the essay.

15. Thesis The thesis will depend upon the story to be proven.
The thesis can be something general in the case of a narrative essay. For example, you may write, “Learning something new can be a scary experience.”

16. Thesis As the reader, you will expect to learn what the new thing is.
As the reader, you will expect to why new things can be scary.
As the reader, you will expect there to be a twist in the action.

17. Introduction & Thesis

18. Introduction & Thesis
Introduction – The introductory paragraph should identify the topic and explain why it is important and worthy of discussion. The sample essay begins with a general statement: “Learning something new can be a scary experience.” This statement introduces the subject of the essay, which is a particular learning experience the author had.

19. Body Contains most of the plot - the supporting information.
Can be organized in many different ways.
One way is chronological, or time, order (where you give more information about the story as it proceeds in time).

20. Body Paragraph 1

21. Body Paragraph 1
Body Paragraph 1 – The first body paragraph should support and expand upon the thesis, main idea, and/or argument presented in the introductory paragraph.

22. Body Paragraph 2

23. Body Paragraph 2
Body Paragraph 2 – The second body paragraph should further develop the idea presented in the first two paragraphs, and may introduce a second viewpoint and/or supplementary evidence to support the argument.

24. Body Paragraph 3

25. Body Paragraph 3
Body Paragraph C – The third body paragraph should relate to the thesis statement in the introductory paragraph, and present the final idea or evidence.

26. Transition Words
Gives your reader an ability to follow happens and predicts what will happen next.

27. Common Time Transitions
Before
After
During
First
Next
Second
Then
Finally
While
Later
At last
Last
Eventually
Meanwhile
Since
Now
Soon
When

28. Connectors and Time Relationship Words
Show how events progress.
Chronological Order- first (second, third, etc.), next, finally, later, now, then
Prepositions- after (a moment), at (1pm), by (Thursday), during (class), until (6:00)
Time Words that begin clauses- after, as soon as, before, (two weeks) later, from then on, when, while, whenever, until

29. Concluding Paragraph Can have two functions:
The moral of the story, or what the character(s) learned from the experience.
Make a prediction about what will happen next based on what happened.

30. Concluding Paragraph

31. Concluding Paragraph
The concluding paragraph may be the most important. The writer must not merely repeat the introductory paragraph, but explain in expert‐like detail what has been learned, explained, decided, proven, etc. The writer must reveal the ways in which the paper’s thesis might have significance in society.

32. Concluding Paragraph
In the final paragraph of the sample essay, the author reflects on the larger meaning of the experience described. The author concludes that learning to swim helped her feel more confident about herself in other new situations, and the idea that self‐confidence comes from conquering fears is something all people can relate to. This is the point of the essay.

33. Example Narrative Essay
Have you ever had trouble trying to get to someplace very important? Where were you going? Why were you having problems?
What is a hero? What do you consider to be a heroic act?

34. Paragraph Unity Each paragraph of an essay must have unity.
A paragraph must have one main idea.
Every sentence in the paragraph must be relevant to that main idea.

35. Paragraph Unity - Example
As you manage your time, think about how long certain activities will take. A common mistake is to underestimate the time needed to do something simple. For example, when you are planning to go to the store, there may be a line of people. Last week in line I met a woman I went to high school with, so we chatted. It turns out she has two children just the same age as mine.

36. Good Writing Tip
“Show, Don’t Tell” Good story telling includes details and descriptions that help the reader understand what the writer experienced. Think about using all five senses—not just the sense of sight—to add details about what you heard, saw, and felt during the event.

37. Good Writing Tip
For example, “My heart jumped as the dark shape of the brown grizzly lurched toward me out of the woods” provides more information about what the writer saw and felt than, “I saw a bear when I was hiking”.