Education Narrative
Due Wednesday, October 6
Write a three – five page narrative about a time when you struggled to master something difficult. This learning may be small or significant, in school or out. You may have learned an idea or a skill. It’s not important whether you were successful in your learning; your essay is about the process, not the result.
Typed. Double Spaced. Twelve point. No blank lines between paragraphs, except to indicate a major shift in tone or setting. Three – five pages. Don’t forget a title.
Required: Include at least one properly punctuated appositive, used to create a specific effect. Underline your appositive.
Required: One intentionally, effectively placed short sentence or fragment. Underlined.
Required: A header with your name and the page of the essay in the upper right hand corner.
Suggested: Three possible structures. 1) Begin at the end, then explain how you got there. 2) Alternate narration of the action with reflection on the action. 3) Traditional beginning, middle, end narration.
Audience: 1) An educated reader. 2) Yourself.
Purpose: 1) To explore the nature and process of acquiring knowledge 2) To explore your role in learning. 3) To identify effective or ineffective strategies for learning. 4) To tell a good story.
Excellent topics are not limited to major epiphanies. Sometimes great wisdom lies in exploring the little details. Write about an experience you remember vividly and can describe honestly, even if you weren’t successful in your endeavors.
How it Feels to be ___________ Me
Due Wednesday, September 29
Typed. Double Spaced. Twelve point. No blank lines between paragraphs, except to indicate a major shift in tone or setting. Three – five pages. Don’t forget a title.
Required: Include at least one properly punctuated appositive, used to create a specific effect. Underline your appositive.
Suggested: Close your essay with a powerful analogy.
Audience: 1) A reader who does not know you well. 2) A reader who is familiar with the personalities teens bring to the classroom. 3) Yourself.
Purpose: 1) To explore one of your avowed or ascribed identities with a depth that surprises yourself and your reader. 2) To use this exploration to make a comment about society in general.
Excellent topics include identities about which you are uncertain, identities that are unique to you, and identities that are commonly misunderstood.
Winners
Huck Finn
Jim
Widow Douglas
Tom
Sofia Grangerford / Harney
Judge Thatcher
The Wilkes
Miss Watson
The Duke and The King
The Phelps
Sherburn
Losers
The Grangerford / Sheperdson Clans
Pap
Miss Watson
The King and The Duke
Jim
Tom
Huck
The Widow
Judith Loftus
Judge Thatcher
The Wilkes Family
Definition of winners:
They get what they want
Success
They behave morally
Their struggles merited their reward
The reader likes the character
The ends justified the means
The means justify the end
The means do NOT justify the end
Huck has a positive opinion of the character
They end the story in an improved condition
Definition of losers:
The means justify the end
The means do NOT justify the end
Opposite of winners
They die
No growth throughout the story
Losers are victims of deception
Fail to make sufficient progress
