On Tuesday I asked you to write about a PERSON who has had an influence on your development as a readerwriter Now I want you to choose ONE instance or event that you think tells your reader about your development as a writer ID: 383926
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Slide1
Using Description to Add Detail
On Tuesday, I asked you to write about a PERSON who has
had an influence on your development as a reader/writer
Now, I
want you to choose ONE
instance or event
that you think tells your reader about your development as a writer.
This doesn't have to be the one that you end up writing about, and when you do choose your event, you can do this exercise on your own. Slide2
Detail/Description Practice:
Write your event at the top of a new sheet of paper.
For example: "The time I read a book on my own," or whatever it was that you chose.
Write about things you remember SEEING. What did the room/house/setting look like? Were there any objects that stick out in your mind? An old table? A shiny new book's cover? What did the people look like? If there were no other people but you present, describe yourself at that age. Let your reader see you as you saw yourself.
Write about things you remember HEARING. If you are writing about language, what did the words sound like? What did they make you think of? What were other sounds that formed language associations? Kids yelling down the street, hum of computers, sounds of other languages being spoken, music… Slide3
Description Practice, Cont.
Now, write about things you remember
TOUCHING/FEELING.
This is an often neglected sense, but we get so much information from it. What did those new shoes make your feet
feel
like? What did the pages of the new book feel like?
Write about things that you remember
smelling/tasting.
Smell is our sense that is most closely connected to memory. Use that to your advantage. Slide4
Writing Reflectively
When we
reflect,
we don't simply tell
what happened.
We also think about…
Why
it happened
What patterns/attitudes influenced events
How we
felt
about what happened
How what happened continued to affect us
How what happened fits into the "big picture" of human experience
And, of course, what we learned/realized
When you write a narrative, you write a story about what happened and also
reflect
what it means—the point you are trying to make.
Narrative writing is writing with DESCRIPTION and REFLECTION.Slide5
Description and Reflection
Reflection
is where the author takes a step back from the
events they are
describing
to
think about their
significance
.
what
they
meant
for his or her
life
how
they might
connect
to other experiences or
subjects
how
they
relate
to the outside world.
The “Camera Lens” metaphor
—
Zoom In – to describe detail and narrate events
Zoom Out – to reflect and think about what these events have meant to you. Slide6
Tips for writing reflectively:
Be honest. Don't worry about "revealing too much."
This class is a safe place to reflect and express yourself.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Good writing tends to make lots of people (including the author) uncomfortable. Work through your discomfort and see what you end up with. Slide7
Writing Reflectively in Your Literacy Narrative
Think about the event you wrote about earlier in class.
Take a moment and REFLECT on the event you have just described.
Write about
w
hy
this event
happened
. You might want to consider…
social conditions
cultural issues
choices you/other people made
other patterns of events
This could be as simple as “
I read this book because my family was fortunate enough to be able to afford a babysitter, and she took me to the library” or “because my family didn’t have a lot of money, Grandma took care of me and would read to me from old children’s books.” Slide8
Writing Reflectively in Your Literacy Narrative
Now, w
rite
for five minutes about how you
feel
about these
events. Write about how you felt
then.
Write about how you feel
now.
'm
not going to collect these, so don't censor yourself.
Please
take this seriously, though. You may find out that you have something you can
use for your essay later, after you edit
.
Write through your discomfort.Slide9
Making an Outline
For many people, outlining is a very useful process. It forces you to plan your essay ahead of time and think about how the parts relate to each other.
Make sure you include the
significance of your event
in your thesis.
For
example: “Reading that book changed how I saw myself” or “Being placed in that class destroyed my confidence”
Use transition words to connect your events together.
Phrases
like “Three years later,” “two weeks after this happened,” etc
.
Your essay may have more than three events or details. You can easily expand this outline later.Slide10
NEXT WEEK:
Tuesday, February 25
Topics:
Peer Review Workshop for Essay 1
Homework
Due:
Rough
Draft of Literacy Narrative (typed and printed, 3 copies)
Your Rough Draft should be at least 1 or 2 pages long, double spaced.
Thursday, February 27
Topics: The Revision Process, Peer Review Reflection
Homework Due:
R
ead
Chapter 29 “How to Write Good Sentences” p. 551—569.
Bring
the most recent draft of your Literacy Narrative to class.Slide11
Expectations for Peer Review on Tuesday Next Week
Come to class with
three copies
of your draft already printed out. It is not appropriate to use your group’s time to print out your draft. It is
your responsibility
to be ready for peer review when class begins.
Come
to class with
more than an outline
.
It doesn’t have to meet the required page length yet,
but it needs to have full paragraphs, description and reflection, and
your peers need to be able to give you advice besides “you need to finish your essay.”
Come
to class with questions for your peer group about how to improve your essay.