Narrative Writing

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Narrative Writing

• Show me. Dont tell me.
• Based on Gretchen Bernabeis Reviving the Essay

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Step I Mining for Essay Topics

• Moment writing not era writing
• Era My high school years.
• Moments The Fourth of July I went to see my
  grandmother. Prom night. The day I got my first
  car. The moment the doctor told me I needed more
  tests.

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Moments

• Daily we all have countless moments but only a
  few stand out as important enough to remember.
• What are your important moments?
• What stands out for you?

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Twenty Life Moments

• List a moment when you were proud of someone else
• List a moment when you were proud of yourself
• List a glorious moment
• List three tough moments
• List three moments worth rewatching on video
• List a money moment
• List a sabotage moment
• List a bad romance moment

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More Life Moments

• List the moment you knew love
• List the moment you felt grace
• List the moment you learned/gave/received
  forgiveness
• List the moment you learned your most valued
  lesson
• List an animal moment
• List the moment your pet died
• List the moment you stopped trusting someone
  close to you
• List a moment when you fought and won
• List a moment when you fought and lost

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Narrating Lifes Moments

• Circle the three moments that stand out the most
  to you.

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Kernel Essay Five Questions

• Pick one idea from your list and answer the next
  five questions in five complete sentences after
  reviewing the sample kernel essay that follows.
• Where were you?
• What was the first thing that happened?
• What was the next thing that happened?
• What was the last thing that happened?
• What did you think at that moment?

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Sample kernal essay Question One

• Where were you?
• Inside my grandmothers antiseptic nursing room,
  I stepped behind a flimsy pale curtain that
  divided her bed from Mrs. Landers.

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Question two

• What do you see?
• My grandmothers pale blue eyes peered through
  her skull her translucent, crinkled skin draped
  her bones.

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Question three

• What was the first thing that happened?
• I slipped out of my scuffed leather boots and
  crawled in the bed next to her.

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Question four

• Whats the last thing that happened?
• My eyes filled with tears.

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Question 5

• What did you think at that moment?
• I knew I was home, at least for a moment.
  Blessings come in fleeting moments. Lifes
  preciousness exists even while waiting for death.
  

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Now you try it

• Where were you?
• What was the first thing that happened?
• What was the next thing that happened?
• What was the last thing that happened?
• What did you think at that moment?

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Pick two more essay ideas and complete two more
kernel essays

• Where were you?
• What was the first thing that happened?
• What was the next thing that happened?
• What was the last thing that happened?
• What did you think at that moment?

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Elaborate on the kernel essay

• The kernel essay still lacks all the details. Now
  were going to add the butter and salt. Add one
  to three more sentences to each of your five
  sentences.
• Before starting look at the example that follows.
  

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Expanding the kernel essay Question One

• Where were you?
• Inside my grandmothers antiseptic nursing room,
  I stepped behind a flimsy pale curtain that
  divided her bed from Mrs. Landers. From the
  ill-fitted window, I felt a draft.

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Question two

• What did you see?
• My grandmothers pale blue eyes peered through
  her skull her translucent, crinkled skin draped
  her bones.

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Question three

• What was the first thing that happened?
• I slipped out of my scuffed leather boots,
  crawled in next to her, and tucked the blanket
  around both of us. For about three years,
  grandmother hasnt had the strength to sit up or
  even lift her head or roll on her side. She
  suffers from dementia and Alzheimer. Months have
  gone by since she last knew my name or told me
  she loved me. Her failing eyesight and hearing
  makes communication impossible unless my lips are
  a couple inches from her ear.

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Question four

• What happened next?
• Her eyes looked at me, and for the first time in
  years she knew me. Are you still teaching? she
  asked. I couldnt believe the words she spoke.
  Only a few months before had I begun teaching.
  Day after day I had lain next to her telling her
  about my new job, never once considering that she
  might respond.

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Question four

• Whats the last thing that happened?
• My eyes filled with tears. No gift could have
  been sweeter than to have my grandmother know me,
  even for just a moment.

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Question 5

• What did you think at that moment?
• I knew I was home, at least for a moment.
  Blessings come in fleeting moments. Lifes
  preciousness exists even while waiting for death.
  Minutes later grandmothers eyes went blank, but
  the memory lived on.

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Now you try it

• Add the needed sentences to complete one of your
  essays.

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Next

• Circle each noun and add at least one descriptive
  word to every three nouns.

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The Ending

• The ending is just as important as the beginning.
  
• Place your hand on your kernal essay and close
  your eyes. In nearly two decades of living, this
  one experience stands out above all others. Why?
  What deeper meaning does it have for you? What
  universal life meaning does it hold?
• For this particular assignment were going to end
  with a truism.

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Truisms

• Examples
• In lifes struggles, perseverance is the key.
• Treat others with the same respect you expect.
• The actions of the past become the hands that
  mold the future.
• People create their own punishments.
• We learn more when we fail than succeed.
• Life is a never-ending series of changes. Embrace
  the new.

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If you havent already, write five truisms you
believe or live by

• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
• 5.
• What truism fits your personal narrative essay?
  Add that truism to the end.

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Editing

• Mark this paper as First Draft.
• Re-read your essay at least three times.
• Make needed changes to improve sentence and
  paragraph flow.

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Grammar Check

• Highlight words that need spelling verification.
  Look up at least 10 words in your essay.
• Make sure the correct version of except/accept (I
  accept the job position I like all flavors of
  ice cream except lemon.) its/its (its it is
  Its possessive) your/youre (your
  possessive youre you are) their/there/theyre
  .
• Check for run-on sentences and fragments.
• For more grammar help, click on Mrs. Stewarts
  webpage titled One-Stop Grammar.