Notes on a Personal Narrative Essay

I. Prewriting

A. Search Your Memory for Experience
i. list personal experience; special memory
               a) Family vacation
               b) Birthday party
               c) The first time I…

B. Choose an Experience
i. Is this experience important to me? Why?
          ii. What specific details can I give about this experience?
          iii. Is this experience too private or embarrassing to share?

C. Define Your Purpose and Audience
i. Purpose is to relate the sequence of events that make up a personal.
          ii. Audience consists of the people you think might read your autobiographical narrative.
               a) Who is my intended audience?
               b) What will the audience need to know to understand the experience?

D. Gather Details
i. Adding details; questions/tips

a) Events: What sequence of events make up the experience? Were there important events that led up to or followed the experience?

b) Places: Where did the events happen?

c) People: Who was involved in the events? What did those people look like? What did they do and say?

d) Thoughts and feelings: What did I think and feel as the events unfolded?

E. Organize Details

i. organize by chronological order (by time)

F. Consider the Significance of Your Experience

i. Did the experience change me? If so how?

ii. What did I learn from my experience?

        iii. Has my perspective, my thoughts and my feelings about the event shifted over time? If so how?

a) example: “A simple lesson in building campfires defined the relationship my dad and I have shared."

II. Writing

A. Introduction
i. Begin with an engaging opening.
               a) anecdote
               b) question
          ii. Supply background information so readers understand the context of the narrative.
          iii. Hint at the significance of the experience.

B. Body
i. Discuss the sequence of events that make up your experience.
          ii. Discuss the important events that led up to or followed your experience.
          iii. Include plenty of details about people, places, and events.

C. Conclusion
i. Look back at the experience from the present time.
          ii. Reflect on what you learned or how you changed as a result of this experience.
          iii. Reveal the significance of the experience.