Nick Pincumbe

EN 1101 Narration Paper Packet

Your assignment, if you choose to accept it (and you’d better, it’s worth 10% of your grade!) is to write a fully fleshed out Narration paper (3F) on an important event that happened to you over the span of one hour or less. Consider the following sample topics:

1. Tell the story of something that happened during a particularly memorable trip you had. The travel could have been for a vacation, as part of a move or other big life change, or for any other reason. You might clarify the reason for the travel, what the travel conditions were, how the new place felt different or similar to the old place, and how the trip had lasting effects on you as a person.
2. Tell the story of a major challenge you faced in your life. What made it such a challenge? How equipped were you to deal with it? Did you overcome the challenge or not? Either way, what did you learn from the challenge and how did it change you in the end?

All narrations should present organized arguments about the meaning of the experience in the context of your overall life. However, it’s important not to forget the lessons of the Descriptive Essay. Don’t stay in the world of the abstract. Good narratives are vivid, include plenty of concrete details, and show the story as if it’s unfolding in the moment, rather than just telling or summarizing basic events. Show your reader what the experience felt like in the moment and use that as a jumping off point to discuss the lasting abstract impact the experience has had on your life.

Personal narratives should draw on your own memories and experiences. As such, the use of personal pronouns such as “I,” which are usually not considered academic, would be appropriate here. Outside sources, unless you discuss an exception with me prior to submission, should not be included, as this is your story to tell.

Your essay should contain a thesis statement that gives me an idea of how you will back this point up and how your support will be organized throughout. It should also fulfill the other requirements of your rubric.

1200 words (Five pages double spaced 12 point font). Please include your name, a title, the date, and your class hour at the top, as well as page numbers throughout.

Nick Pincumbe

EN 1101 Narration Paper

Assignment 3A: Pre-Writing

Your first assignment in the creation of your Narration Paper (3F) is to do a Pre-Writing exercise (3A). For this exercise you can choose one type of Pre-Writing, such as:

Asking questions

Listing

Brainstorming

Freewriting

Clustering

Bubbling

Informal Outlining

At the top of the first page of your assignment, list the type of Pre-Writing you chose to use from this list.

Choose an appropriate topic for the Narration paper (sample topics are listed on the first page of this prompt) and write out one of the above Pre-Writing activities on that topic.

Your Pre-Writing activity should be at least one full page in length.

At the bottom of the last page of your assignment, write down a one sentence description of your narrowed topic for this paper.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Nick Pincumbe

EN 1101 Narration Paper

Assignment 3B: Thesis Statement

Your second assignment in the creation of your Narration Paper (3F) is to create your thesis statement (3B). For this exercise you should use this sheet as your guide and create a printed one page assignment that identifies your TOPIC, your STANCE on that topic, and three SUPPORT POINTS that you will use to back up that stance in your paper. Please include your name, date, etc., as you would on any other assignment and bring three hard copies to workshop (see Course Schedule announcement for dates).

Thesis Statement Breakdown

Topic:

Stance:

First support point:

Second support point:

Third support point:

Sample Layout

The story of (Topic)_______________________ can best be understood by considering

1) (First Support Point)____________________________________________________,

2) (Second Support Point)__________________________________________________,

and

3) (Third Support Point)____________________________________________________.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Nick Pincumbe

EN 1101 Narration Paper

Assignment 3C: Outline

Your third assignment in the creation of your Narration Paper (3F) is to take your thesis statement (3B) and expand it into an outline (3C). For this exercise you should use this handout as your guide and create a printed 1-2 page assignment that outlines a five paragraph structure for your essay based on an introduction, three support paragraphs, and a conclusion. Per our discussion in class, the three support points from your thesis should be the basis for your three support paragraphs.

Please include your name, date, etc., as you would on any other assignment and bring three hard copies to workshop (see Course Schedule announcement for dates).

See the next two pages for a helpful breakdown of how to assemble a complete outline. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Outline Breakdown

Introduction

Hook___________________________________________________________________

Background______________________________________________________________

Point 1) _________________________________________________________________

Point 2) _________________________________________________________________

Point 3) _________________________________________________________________

Thesis __________________________________________________________________

Support One

Topic Sentence ___________________________________________________________

Example or Citation 1a)____________________________________________________

Analysis/Explanation 1b)__________________________________________________

Example or Citation 2a)____________________________________________________

Analysis/Explanation 2b)__________________________________________________

Example or Citation 3a)____________________________________________________

Analysis/Explanation 3b)__________________________________________________

Explanation (relates back to thesis) ________________________________________________________________________

Transition _______________________________________________________________

Support Two

Topic Sentence ___________________________________________________________

Example or Citation 1a)____________________________________________________

Analysis/Explanation 1b)__________________________________________________

Example or Citation 2a)____________________________________________________

Analysis/Explanation 2b)__________________________________________________

Example or Citation 3a)____________________________________________________

Analysis/Explanation 3b)__________________________________________________

Explanation (relates back to thesis) ________________________________________________________________________

Transition _______________________________________________________________

Support Three

Topic Sentence ___________________________________________________________

Example or Citation 1a)____________________________________________________

Analysis/Explanation 1b)__________________________________________________

Example or Citation 2a)____________________________________________________

Analysis/Explanation 2b)__________________________________________________

Example or Citation 3a)____________________________________________________

Analysis/Explanation 3b)__________________________________________________

Explanation (relates back to thesis) ________________________________________________________________________

Conclusion

Restated Thesis __________________________________________________________

Recap Point 1) ___________________________________________________________

Recap Point 2) ___________________________________________________________

Recap Point 3) ___________________________________________________________

Take Home _____________________________________________________________

Nick Pincumbe

EN 1101 Narration Paper

Assignment 3D: First Draft

Your fourth assignment in the creation of your Narration Paper (3F) is to take your outline (3C) and expand it into a full draft of your paper (3D). For this exercise you should use this handout as your guide and create a printed 1-2 page assignment that follows the five paragraph structure of your outline, but is fleshed out into complete sentences, and includes a clear introduction, support paragraphs, concrete examples, and a complete conclusion. Per our discussion in class, the three support points from your thesis should be the basis for your three support paragraphs. Please include your name, date, etc., as you would on any other assignment and bring three hard copies to workshop (see Course Schedule announcement for dates).

Remember, this paper should include sufficient analysis and concrete examples and should both narrate the story in the moment as well as argue for its enduring significance.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Assignment 3E: Revision Exercise Assignment 3F: Final Draft

Your fifth and sixth assignments in the creation of your Narration Paper (3F) are to take your first draft (3D), to do a revision exercise on it (3E), and then to fully revise and edit your first draft to create a final draft (3F) for submission in class.

3E: Revision and Editing Exercise

For this exercise you should review (look again) at your first draft and type full sentence answers to the following prompts:

1. What part of your paper, if any, can use expansion and what specific information can you add there to make it stronger?
2. What part of your paper, if any, gets off topic, and what can you remove to help?
3. Is your organization strong? If so, what makes it strong? If not, or if it could use improvement still, what can you move or substitute to help? Consider creating a reverse outline to help.
4. How credible are the sources you used? How do you know?
5. Examine your paper’s tone. Is it too informal or conversational? If so, what can change?
6. Do you have any word choice errors that spellcheck wouldn’t find?
7. Do you have any coma-splice errors, run ons, or sentence fragments?
8. Do you have any fluffy word choices?
9. Are all of your sources properly documented in MLA style?
10. What is one specific step you can take to improve your paper before submitting it?

Only one copy of Assignment 3E is needed. It should be submitted along with 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D when you turn in 3F.