{"id":5225,"date":"2022-04-05T20:16:53","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T20:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/?post_type=chapter&p=5225"},"modified":"2025-03-25T17:46:43","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T17:46:43","slug":"essay-assignment-narrative-essay-prewriting-and-drafting","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/chapter\/essay-assignment-narrative-essay-prewriting-and-drafting\/","title":{"raw":"Essay Assignment: Narrative Essay\u2014Prewriting and Drafting","rendered":"Essay Assignment: Narrative Essay\u2014Prewriting and Drafting"},"content":{"raw":"For this assignment, you will begin working on a narrative essay. At this stage, you will\u00a0work through the prewriting and drafting steps of the writing process.\r\n

Narrative Essay Prewriting and Drafting<\/h2>\r\n

STEP 1: Choose a Topic<\/h3>\r\nChoose one of the following topics to write your own narrative essay. The topic you decide on should be something you care about, and the narration should be a means of communicating an idea<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0that ties to the essay\u2019s theme. Remember in this essay, the narration is not an end in itself.\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Friends and Family\r\n
      \r\n \t
    • Gaining independence<\/li>\r\n \t
    • A friend\u2019s sacrifice<\/li>\r\n \t
    • A significant trip with your family<\/li>\r\n \t
    • A wedding or a funeral<\/li>\r\n \t
    • An incident from family legend<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
    • The World Around You\r\n
        \r\n \t
      • A storm, a flood, an earthquake, or another natural event<\/li>\r\n \t
      • A school event<\/li>\r\n \t
      • The most important minutes of a sporting event<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
      • Lessons of Daily Life\r\n
          \r\n \t
        • A time you confronted authority<\/li>\r\n \t
        • A time you had to deliver bad news<\/li>\r\n \t
        • Your biggest social blunder<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
        • Firsts\r\n
            \r\n \t
          • Your first day of school<\/li>\r\n \t
          • The first performance you gave<\/li>\r\n \t
          • A first date<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

            STEP 2: Prewriting<\/h3>\r\nTo get started writing, first pick at least one prewriting strategy (brainstorming, rewriting, journaling, mapping, questioning, sketching) to develop ideas for your essay. Write down what you do, as you\u2019ll need to submit evidence of your prewrite.<\/span>\r\n\r\nRemember that \u201cstory starters\u201d are everywhere.\u00a0Think about it\u2014status updates on social media websites can be a good place to start\u2014you may have already started a \u201cnote\u201d to post on social media, and now is your chance to develop that idea into a full narrative.\u00a0If you keep a journal or diary, a simple event may unfold into a narrative.\u00a0Simply said, your stories may be closer than you think!\r\n

            STEP 3: Outlining<\/h3>\r\nNext, write an outline for your essay. Organize the essay in a way that:\r\n
              \r\n \t
            • Establishes the situation\u00a0[introduction]<\/em>;<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Introduces the complication(s)\u00a0[body]<\/em>; and<\/li>\r\n \t
            • States the lesson you learned\u00a0[conclusion]<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

              STEP 4: Drafting<\/h3>\r\nLastly, write a first draft of your essay. Remember, when drafting your essay:\r\n
                \r\n \t
              1. Decide on something you care about so that the narration is a means of communicating an\u00a0idea.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
              2. Develop an enticing title\u2014but don\u2019t let yourself get stuck on the\u00a0title! A great title might suggest itself after you\u2019ve begun the prewriting and drafting processes.<\/li>\r\n \t
              3. Use the introduction to establish the situation the essay will address.<\/li>\r\n \t
              4. Include\u00a0characters,\u00a0<\/em>conflict, <\/em>and sensory details.<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t
              5. Create a\u00a0sequence\u00a0<\/em>of\u00a0events<\/em>\u00a0in a\u00a0plot.<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t
              6. Avoid addressing the assignment directly. (For example, don\u2019t write \u201cI am going to write about my most significant experience,\u201d because\u00a0this takes the fun out of reading the work!)<\/li>\r\n \t
              7. Think of things said at the moment this experience started for you\u2014perhaps use a quote, or an interesting part of the experience that will grab the reader.<\/li>\r\n \t
              8. Let the story reflect your own voice. (Is your voice serious? Humorous? Matter-of-fact?)<\/li>\r\n \t
              9. To avoid just telling what happens, make sure your essay takes time to reflect on why this experience is significant.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nYour essay should be a minimum of 3 typed, double-spaced pages (about 600\u2013750 words), in Times New Roman, 12 pt font size. The paper and citations should be formatted in MLA format. Papers submitted that do not meet these formatting requirements will be returned to you ungraded.\r\n

                STEP 5: Review and Submit<\/h3>\r\nBefore submitting your paper, review the bullet points listed above in the drafting stage and the grading rubric below, ensuring you have completed all parts of the assignment.\r\n\r\nOnce you have done this, submit your prewriting and draft as a single file upload. If you developed your prewriting by hand on paper, scan or take a picture of your prewriting, and then insert the image on a separate page after your draft.\r\n

                Rubric<\/h2>\r\n
                \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
                \r\n

                Grading Rubric:\u00a0Narrative Essay Prewriting and Draft<\/h3>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n

                Criteria<\/strong><\/td>\r\nCategory<\/strong><\/td>\r\nPoint Total:\u00a050<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
                Presentation<\/td>\r\nPaper is double-spaced throughout using Times New Roman 12 pt. font. Full name, class, Instructor\u2019s name, your location, and time of class, date, and description of assignment are in upper-left-hand corner. The essay should be paginated (show page numbers) as well. Title should not be bolded or underlined.<\/td>\r\n__\/2\u00a0pts<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
                Title<\/td>\r\nThe title is three or more words and hints at the essay\u2019s main point.<\/td>\r\n__\/1 pts<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
                Introduction<\/td>\r\nIntroduction sets up the problem the author struggles with. This could be internal, external or both.<\/td>\r\n__\/10\u00a0pts<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
                Essay body<\/td>\r\nThe body presents the \u201ccomplication\u201d that sets the plot in motion.<\/td>\r\n__\/10\u00a0pts<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
                Transformation<\/td>\r\nConclusion shows the transformation from the introduction and thus the \u201cmoral\u201d of the story.<\/td>\r\n__\/10\u00a0pts<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
                Audience<\/td>\r\nThe \u201cmoral\u201d of the story is objective and reflects a universal lesson that all readers can benefit from.<\/td>\r\n__\/2\u00a0pts<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
                Show, don\u2019t tell<\/td>\r\nAuthor \u201cshows\u201d the events with vivid and compelling language rather than simply tells the story.<\/td>\r\n\u00a0__\/5\u00a0pts<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
                Prewriting and brainstorming<\/td>\r\nDemonstrates good exploration and effort by including a prewrite and outline.<\/td>\r\n\u00a0__\/10\u00a0pts<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

                For this assignment, you will begin working on a narrative essay. At this stage, you will\u00a0work through the prewriting and drafting steps of the writing process.<\/p>\n

                Narrative Essay Prewriting and Drafting<\/h2>\n

                STEP 1: Choose a Topic<\/h3>\n

                Choose one of the following topics to write your own narrative essay. The topic you decide on should be something you care about, and the narration should be a means of communicating an idea<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0that ties to the essay\u2019s theme. Remember in this essay, the narration is not an end in itself.<\/p>\n