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Purpose: Telling stories is one of the main ways in which we can communicate important events and ideas

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Purpose: Telling stories is one of the main ways in which we can communicate important events and ideas. While facts and the expository essay have their place in presenting arguments and evidence, the narrative essay allows us to explain concepts through empathy and shared experience. Storytelling is how we answer questions in interviews, address concerns with clients, and how humans have entertained themselves since the dawn of language. 

For this essay, you will tell a story about yourself. You will relate an event that actually happened and explain what led up to the event, the event, the aftermath of the event, and then connect the event to a larger issue outside of your own life. This will be done in the first person. 

Format: Paper 1 must be a minimum of 3 full pages, in MLA format, following all MLA guidelines for style and citations. Font should be 12pt. Times New Roman with one-inch margins, and the paper should be double spaced. The first four lines of the paper should be your name, the instructor’s name, the course, and the date (formatted day month year, e.g. 13 August 2013). The fifth line should be the title of the paper (not the assignment) centered. See any of the sample essays in the book. 

Guidelines: 1) Do not pick a MAJOR event (graduation, death, etc.) The best narrative essays take seemingly minor events and find larger meaning in them. 2) Don’t sensationalize. Making the event seem bigger or more important will likely push your audience away – you want them to empathize with you. 3) Don’t preach – let the message come, don’t beat us over the head with it. The narrative works best when the audience can realize the point before you directly state it.

Grading: This paper will be graded on: 

· the structure of the narrative 

· the narrative’s ability to draw in the audience

· the narrative’s ability to communicate the intended message

· the adherence to formatting guidelines as well as conventions of spelling, grammar, and other mechanics

Students should not write what they will think the teacher would like to hear. The only way that you can make your own writing better is if you write your ideas and work on finding support for them. Do not waste your time pandering to my thoughts.