Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food....

43
Writing a Personal Writing a Personal Narrative Narrative

Transcript of Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food....

Page 1: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Writing a Personal Writing a Personal NarrativeNarrative

Page 2: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

NARRATIVE WRITINGNARRATIVE WRITINGSTEP BY STEPSTEP BY STEP

• Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them according to a basic recipe. As you go along, you season your story with “spices” such as effective dialogue, colorful descriptions, and thoughtful explanations.

Page 3: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

THE PLOTTHE PLOT• The plot is the main ingredient in any

story. It refers to all of the action—the events that move a story along from start to finish. A plot has five basic parts: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. The plot line that follows shows how these parts all work together.

Page 4: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.
Page 5: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

EXPOSITIONEXPOSITION 

The exposition is the beginning part of a story in which the characters, setting, and conflict are usually introduced. There is at least one main character in all stories and, almost always, one or more supporting or secondary characters. The setting is where the story takes place, and the conflict is the main problem that really gets the action under way.

• Tracy Jones is a 13-year-old girl who lives in Houston, Texas. She is having trouble seeing things at a distance, but she doesn’t want to wear glasses. She is afraid that people will make fun of her, especially at school.

•  

Page 6: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

RISING ACTIONRISING ACTION• In the rising action, the main character tries to solve his or her problem.

The main character should be involved in at least two or three important actions because of the problem. This builds suspense into the story.

• First Action: Tracy goes to a movie with her mother, who asks why she squints to see the screen. Tracy says that she is just thinking hard about the film.

•  • Second Action: Later, her parents learn that she has

trouble seeing the board in class. Tracy says the classroom lights are too bright.

•  • Third Action: Her parents insist that Tracy see an eye

doctor. That night, Tracy dreams she is in class wearing big magnifying lenses.

Page 7: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

• The climax is the most exciting or important part in a story. At this point, the main character comes face-to-face with his or her problem. (All of the action leads up to the climax.) This part is sometimes called the turning point.

•• The eye doctor says Tracy does need glasses. When they arrive a

few days later, she dreads wearing them to school. While she is teased by a few kids, her close friends actually like her new look.

Page 8: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

FALLING ACTIONFALLING ACTION• In this part, the main character learns to deal with life

“after the climax.” Perhaps, he or she makes a new discovery about life or comes to understand things a little better.

• Tracy learns that one of her friends has had glasses for weeks but was too shy to wear them. The two girls joke about starting a “spectacles” club. She also discovers that no one really pays much attention to her glasses when she wears them in class.

Page 9: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

•  The resolution, or denouement, brings a story to a natural, surprising, or thought-provoking conclusion. (The falling act ion and the resolution often are very closely related.)

• Tracy asks if she and her mom could go to another movie, and she promises to wear her glasses.

Page 10: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

SO…WHAT IS A SO…WHAT IS A NARRATIVE NARRATIVE

AND HOW DO I AND HOW DO I DO ONE?DO ONE?

Page 11: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Personal Narratives Personal Narratives • A personal narrative re-creates a

specific experience or event in your life.

• To write an effective narrative, select an experience that you feel strongly about.

Page 12: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Be Selective with DetailsBe Selective with Details• Although you are telling a story, you will

still be using sensory details to paint a mental picture for your readers.

• It is important to include specific details.• However, a reader doesn’t need to know

every little thing.• Select details that are important to

retelling the story.

Page 13: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Writing a Narrative Writing a Narrative Paragraph Paragraph

A narrative paragraph has 3 parts:

1. The Introduction and the topic sentence – The Beginning

2. The Body or The Middle – share details that re-create the experience

3. The End or closing – reflects on the experience

Page 14: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

THE BEGINNINGTHE BEGINNING– Introduces the subject

• Start with a “hook”– Start with the word Imagine

» Imagine, entering a dark and spooky place all by yourself.

– Start with a sound.» Creak! The door began to open.

– Start in the middle of the action.» Suddenly, I heard a loud crash come from the inside of

the cave.– Start with a surprising statement.

» When I was three, I decided to crawl through the dog door to play in the snow. The only problem was that the temperature outside was three degrees below zero and I was dressed only in my pajamas.

Page 15: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

MORE WAYS TO BEGINMORE WAYS TO BEGIN– Start with the character talking.

» “His lips were swollen as he glared at me and said, “I …will… get… you… for… this!”

– Start with important background information.

» Mr. Brown was in the Marines before he became my teacher and my coach. He didn’t allow any fooling around in class.

– Start at the end…then flash back to the story.

» I sat there on the sofa with a cast on my leg and wondered how I got there.

Page 16: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

THE MIDDLETHE MIDDLE– Tells the Story– Include some dialogue (not too much!)– Include important details (Who, What,

When, Where, Why, How)– Explain, examples, proof, DETAILS!– Always tell feelings about the story– USE ACTION VERBS! (sizzled, crashed,

taped, slammed, blared, gobbled, banging, sliding, blasting, glistening, challenge, frighten, terrorized, embarrass, peering etc…)

Page 17: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

THE ENDTHE END• THE END

– TELL THE ENDING– TELL HOW YOU CHANGED

Page 18: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Your Goals for Writing a Your Goals for Writing a Personal NarrativePersonal Narrative

• Ideas – clear ideas that re-create life experiences

• Organization – retell the story in chronological order with a strong beginning, middle, and end

• Voice – you want to sound natural, believable, and interested in your own topic (try to use dialogue when possible)

Page 19: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Your Goals for Writing a Your Goals for Writing a Personal Narrative Personal Narrative (continued)(continued)

• Word Choice – choose appropriate words based on their connotations

• Sentence Fluency – make each sentence move smoothly into the next

• Conventions – correct any spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar errors before turning in your final draft (use a dictionary, spell check, and grammar handbook)

Page 20: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

STEP 1STEP 1• CREATE YOUR CHARACTERS- WHO

WAS INVOLVED?• CREATE YOUR SETTING- WHERE DID

IT ALL TAKE PLACE?• Form a Conflict- WHAT WAS THE

“PROBLEM” OF THE STORY

Page 21: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

STEP 2STEP 2• Think About the Action What could your

main character do about the problem? Try to list two or three of these actions. Also, consider the climax or turning point in the story.

• Consider an Ending Decide how you want your story to end. Make sure that your ending is believable within the context of your story.

Page 22: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

ASSESSMENT #1 ASSESSMENT #1 PG.30PG.30

• Writing a Narrative About an Incident That Changed Me

• SUGGESTED LEARNING STRATEGIES: Prewriting, Drafting,• Revising, Self-Editing, Peer Editing

Assignment• Your assignment is to write a personal

narrative about an incident that brought about change in your life.

Page 23: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

PREWRITINGPREWRITING• 1. Revisit your prior work in this unit, looking

especially at significant incidents that brought change to your life. List these incidents and indicate how each changed you.

• 2. Share your list with a classmate, and work together to choose an incident that changed you in a significant way. Be sure the incident meets the following criteria:– is interesting to a reader– has a clear beginning, middle, and end– had an effect on you in a significant way

Page 24: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

NEXT…NEXT…• 3. List the specific events that

make up the incident. • Organize the sequence of events

for your narrative by creating a Memory Map or a story map AND a plot line diagram.

Page 25: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

NEXT…NEXT…4. As you create your new Memory Map, use the following pointers to helpyou organize your thoughts.

Include the setting – the time and place where the incident occurred— and the situation. Who was involved? What was your life like before the incident? What was the incident?

Describe the beginning of the incident. How did the incident start? What were you doing, thinking, and feeling? Who else was there? What were they doing and saying? Continue describing the sequence of events in the middle of the incident. Include important details so that the reader can experience this incident with you.

Explain how the incident ended. Describe how the incident changed you. What is your life like now compared to what it was like before the incident?

Reflect on the incident. What did you learn or discover or realize from this incident? How did it change you? What are the future implications of this incident? What do you now know that you didn’t know before?

Page 26: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.
Page 27: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.
Page 28: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.
Page 29: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.
Page 30: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

LET’S START PLANNINGLET’S START PLANNING

Page 31: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

PLOT MAPPLOT MAP

Page 32: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.
Page 33: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.
Page 34: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Use the revising checklist to check

your progress.

Page 35: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.
Page 36: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Revising the Personal Revising the Personal NarrativeNarrative

• Your first draft is your first look at a developing narrative. During the revising step, you improve your first draft by adding to, rewriting, or reorganizing different parts.

• Focus on these traits when you revise:– Ideas– Organization– Voice– Word Choice– Sentence Fluency

Page 37: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Keys to Effective RevisingKeys to Effective Revising1. Set aside your first draft for a day or two, if possible,

before you review your writing.

2. Be sure each main part—the beginning, the middle, and the ending—works well.

3. Revise any parts that seem confusing or incomplete.

4. Pay special attention to your writing voice. Do you sound truly interested in the experience?

5. Use specific words that reflect your feelings about the experience.

6. Be sure your sentences read smoothly.

Page 38: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Revising for Ideas Revising for Ideas • Be sure your narrative “shows” your experience,

not just “tells” it.

• Details make the narrative clear.

• Do I show rather than tell in my narrative?– Your narrative shows if sentences contain action,

sensory details, dialogue, and your personal thoughts and feelings.

• Have I included enough details?– Use the 5 W’s and H — who? what? when? where? why?

and how?

Page 39: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Revising for Organization, Revising for Organization, • Be sure all parts of your narrative work

smoothly together.

• Does my beginning grab the reader’s attention?

– It does if it does one of the following:1. Starts in the middle of the action.2. Creates a clear image with sensory details.3. Opens with a personal thought.

Page 40: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Revising for Organization, Revising for Organization, • Does my ending work well?

– It does if you can answer “yes” to these 4 questions:

1.Does my essay build to my personal victory or accomplishment?

2.Does my personal narrative end soon after the most intense or most important moment?

3.Will my reader know why this event is important to me?

4.Are all my reader’s questions answered?

– If any answer is “no”, revise your ending to make it more solid and satisfying.

Page 41: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Revising for VoiceRevising for Voice

• The key is realism and consistency.

• Does my dialogue sound realistic?– It is if it reveals the speaker’s personality.– Do you know what your speaker’s personality

is?

• Have I created a consistent narrative voice?– Does it sound like you throughout the entire

work?

Page 42: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Revising for Word ChoiceRevising for Word Choice• Use specific verbs and words with the right

connotation, or feeling.

• Have I used specific verbs?– You have if your verbs show clear actions.

• Do my verbs have the right connotation?– They do if they create the feeling you want.

Page 43: Writing a Personal Narrative. NARRATIVE WRITING STEP BY STEP Writing a story is like cooking food. First, you gather primary ingredients and prepare them.

Revising for Sentence Revising for Sentence FluencyFluency

• Check for a variety of short and long sentences.

• When should I use long sentences?– To express complex ideas.

• When should I use short sentences?– To deliver especially important ideas.– A series of short sentences can quicken the

pace like a heart beating faster.