ESL 0201 NARRATIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENT
Write a narrative paragraph that informs your readers by telling them a story. You paper should narrate an entire story (beginning, middle, and end). You will achieve a higher grade if you: include adequate details about the events in the story use a clear organizational structure, including transitions, an introduction and a conclusion express ideas smoothly and fluently have good grammar and mechanics correctly use time signals to indicate the events of the story be in the right tense for a narrative paragraph be 12-15 sentences or more in length Use 0201 format for writing an academic paragraph ONE PARAGRAPH ONLY, please Read the assignment sheet very carefully Think about tenses (VERY IMPORTANT) Think about how to use time signals in your writing (VERY IMPORTANT) TOPIC #1 Think of a specific test that you took that you felt unprepared for and narrate the events. Because you have been sick, out of town, busy at work, or working on other homework, you didn′t have as much time to study for an important test as you needed. Everyone going to school has been in this situation. Tell your readers about the preparation that you were able to do, the reasons that you didn′t get to prepare as well as you wanted, taking the test, and any significant events that happened after you took the test. Your paper should help readers understand what it felt like to be unprepared. TOPIC #2 Think of an experience when you realized that you suddenly understood an idea, a skill, or a concept you had been struggling with — it might be something related to a class that you took or a specific athletic skill you were trying to perfect. For instance, you might think about trying to understand how to identify iambic pentameter in a poem or how to complete a Taylor Series problem in your Calculus class. Or you might consider trying to perfect your free throws and suddenly understanding how your follow-through was affecting your success. Write a narrative that tells the story of your movement toward understanding. How did you finally come to understand? What changed your perceptions and gave you a new understanding? Your paper should help readers understand how you felt to struggle with the idea or skill and then to understand. TOPIC #3 Think about an event in your life that seemed bad but turned out to be good. Maybe you got injured and while you were waiting for your broken leg to heal, you learned how to use a computer. What makes the event change from bad to good may be something that you learned as a result, something that you did differently as a result, or something that happened that wouldn′t have occurred otherwise. Tell the story of the event that you experienced and help your readers understand how an event that seemed negative turned out to have valuable consequences. TOPIC #4 Choose a time when you did something that took a lot of nerve, a time when you didn′t follow the crowd or a time when you stood up for your beliefs. Perhaps your friends were urging you to do something that you were uncomfortable with and you chose not to cave into peer pressure. Maybe you took a stance on a political issue that was important in your community, or you might have Whatever you choose, think about the details of the event and write a story that tells about what happened. Your narrative should show your readers why you decided to make a stand or try something that took nerve, give specifics on the events, and share how you felt after the event. TOPIC #5 Think of a time when you disagreed with a decision that had been made and did something about it. The decision might have been made by someone you know personally — your Biology teacher announced a new policy to grade for spelling and grammar on your quizzes and homework, or an older family member decides to cancel a subsсrіption to a magazine that you liked to read. You might have responded by discussing your concerns with your principal or dean, or you might have decided to get a part-time job to earn enough money to buy the magazine yourself. Or the decision could have been made by someone you never met — perhaps your school board decided to change the lines in your school district so that you would have to go to a different school, or your state legislature has passed a bill that you disagreed with. Your response might have been to write a letter to the editor, to your state representative, or to the school board. Whatever happened, your job is to write a paper that narrates the events that occurred — from the decision that was made to your response. Be sure that your paper gives enough details that your readers understand why you disagreed with the decision and why you felt that your response was appropriate. () you can choose one topic from these topics