Prewriting the Narrative Essay Topic Selection generating a

Topic Selection: generating a list • • Chronological (first memory, etc. ) Importance in

Topic selection: narrowing choices • • Was a lesson learned? Are there a plethora

So, you’ve selected a topic… • Brainstorming details through sense imagery – Visual –

Approaches to Narrative • Chronological – Most common – Straightforward structure • Thematic –

Examples: Chronological “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez http: //www.

Examples: Thematic “The Crack-Up” by F. Scott Fitzgerald http: //www. esquire. com/news-politics/a 4310/the-crack-up/ “In

Examples: Didactic “Notes of a Native Son” by Richard Wright http: //english. duke. edu/uploads/media_items/baldwin-native-son.

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Prewriting the Narrative Essay

Topic Selection: generating a list • • Chronological (first memory, etc. ) Importance in shaping personality Relational (favorite sibling, etc. ) Emotional (funniest, most tragic, etc. )

Topic selection: narrowing choices • • Was a lesson learned? Are there a plethora of sensory details? Did it change you as a person? Did you “go against the crowd”? (If it doesn’t fit at least one of these criteria, eliminate it)

So, you’ve selected a topic… • Brainstorming details through sense imagery – Visual – Aural – Tactile – Gustatory – Olfactory • Listing events in chronological order • Listing emotional impressions

Approaches to Narrative • Chronological – Most common – Straightforward structure • Thematic – Prioritizes the “why” instead of the “when” – Historical event parallels • Didactic – Usually involves flashbacks/jumps in time

Examples: Chronological “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez http: //www. jonescollegeprep. org/ourpages/auto/2015/5/12/43083238/Aria. pdf “How it Feels to be Colored Me” by Zora Neal Hurston http: //xroads. virginia. edu/~ma 01/grand-jean/hurston/chapters/how. html “Now We Are Five” by David Sedaris (Triggering) http: //www. newyorker. com/magazine/2013/10/28/now-we-are-five

Examples: Thematic “The Crack-Up” by F. Scott Fitzgerald http: //www. esquire. com/news-politics/a 4310/the-crack-up/ “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” by Alice Walker https: //www. uwosh. edu/african_am/aas-100 -canon-materials/walker_in_search. pdf “The Search for Marvin Gardens” by John Mc. Phee https: //www. google. com/url? sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0 CB 4 QFj. AAah. UKEwi. U 16 u 6 qfn. HAh. VLdj 4 KHe. PHCn. E&url=http%3 A%2 F%2 Fwww. oneidaboces. org%2 Fsite%2 Fhandlers%2 Ffiledownload. ashx%3 Fmoduleinstanceid%3 D 1715%26 dataid%3 D 1906%26 File. Name%3 DThe%2520 Search%2520 for%2520 Marvin%2520 Gardens. pdf&usg=AFQj. CNHOy. XZid. YLYNbx 6 i. L 4 LWEkr-T 9 HAA

Examples: Didactic “Notes of a Native Son” by Richard Wright http: //english. duke. edu/uploads/media_items/baldwin-native-son. original. pdf “A Room of One’s Own” by Virginia Woolf https: //ebooks. adelaide. edu. au/w/woolf/virginia/w 91 r/ “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow” by Richard Wright (Triggering) http: //newdeal. feri. org/fwp 03. htm