English Discussion

I’m trying to study for my English course and I need some help to understand this question.

Write a 300 – word narrative paragraph about a specific experience that had an important influence on your education. The experience you choose should be one that taught you a lesson. The experience may have helped you form a belief, change a belief, or strengthen your belief about education. You should describe the experience, reflecting on what happened as you tell of its effects.

NOTE: Please keep in mind that in this assignment, you should discuss ONE SPECIFIC experience that you had. This essay should tell your reader about one day, one moment, which had a defining impact on your education. It should be a story, with a beginning, middle, and end.

Guidelines:

This should be 300 words in length, double spaced, typed in a 12pt font (Times New Roman), and formatted in MLA style.

Definitions:

This assignment may still be unclear. Here are some definitions to help clarify this assignment:

In a narrative, you recount an event or story in order to explain some insight or truth gained from an experience. The writer who narrates tells a story to make a point—your first trip alone, the passing of a family member, a fight with a parent. An expository narrative has a point, a lesson, or a message to impart to the reader through telling a story or recounting an event and framing it with analysis.

When you want to explain what happened, you will need to tell the story in some kind of chronological order, putting the most important events—I took the wrong turn, I entered the funeral parlor, she yelled at me—in the most prominent position. When you want to give the texture of the experience, you will need to select words and images that help your readers see, hear, and feel what happened, sensory details—the road snaked to a dead end, the crowd thundered into applause, the sunshine softened our scowls. When you show and tell in this way, you can help your readers see the meaning of the experience you want to convey.

It is the inclusion of a lesson that distinguishes the expository narrative essay from merely narrative description of events. Expository narrative essays feature a lesson or clear message that is shown to the reader through the recounting of events or information. This analytical purpose is stated in the thesis statement in the beginning of the essay. The lesson or message is then supported/explained/proved/demonstrated in the body paragraphs. It is finally restated in the conclusion of the experience.

Paragraph Structure:

Please follow the PIE paragraph structure you learned about this week. In your paragraph, please include:

1. Topic sentence: Identifies what you are trying to explain, show, prove, or argue in your narrative. States what you learned from your experience. States the lesson you will impart to the reader. It is arguable.
2. Information: Develop the narration of the one event using time order. The informative section of your paragraph should include specific details of the event, including who was involved, what happened, where it happened, and when it happened. This portion of the paragraph will include the sensory details.
3. Explanation: The explanation portion of the paragraphs will explain what you were thinking and feeling as the events took place and will tie the information back to the topic sentence. Re-emphasizes the lesson learned and the message of the story you’ve told in your narrative.

Grading:

Below you will find a rubric for this assignment. Make sure to check the rubric before submitting. As you write, it may also help to review Understanding Your Assignment.

If you need further assistance, please consider taking advantage of our Online Tutoring with the Writing Center. Also, don’t hesitate to email me with questions.