Assignment: Memoir Essay

NOTE: By the deadline given, read these assignment instructions and begin thinking about your Memoir Essay. As stated above, the essay draft itself is not due until Week 4.

To prepare for your first essay, read Chapter 18, “Memoirs,” in The Norton Field Guide to Writing.

(As you read the Norton Field Guide, you’ll see highlighted words in each chapter. These color-coded words are connected with page numbers in the margins of the pages. If you’d like to read more about any of the highlighted skills, please turn to the corresponding pages and read on!)

The assignment

In Composition I, you will write four essays, which will be written first as rough drafts. Those drafts will then be peer reviewed and revised into final papers.

For your first essay, you will write a Memoir Essay in which you reflect on a pivotal event or person in your life. Choose an event that changed you (it can be a “small” event as long as you were changed by the experience), or, write your essay about a person who’s had an impact on your life. Your goal is to use plenty of descriptive detail to unfold an engaging story which builds suspense and character. Your essay should clearly reflect the significance of the event or person in your life.

An average length for this essay is four to six pages. Although you may exceed this length, ensure your essay is concisely written and focused. Remember, you’re not writing your life story; keep your essay focused on a few significant scenes. A memoir draft that doesn’t reach four pages, on the other hand, may lack development and detail, and you may need to expand your focus or further develop your scenes before submitting your final paper.

Your draft will be read by some of your classmates, who will offer suggestions for improving your essay. Please remember your audience when you choose your topic and the extent of your revelation.

MLA format
The essays you write for college should be in an academic format. In Comp. I, and most humanities classes, essays are formatted in MLA style. “MLA” stands for Modern Language Association, an organization that helps set guidelines for how academic work in the humanities will be formatted. In this class, you’ll want to format all your papers in MLA style.

For now, this means you use one-inch margins on each page. Your sentences are double-spaced and in a readable 11 or 12-point font. On the first page of your paper, you will list four lines of personal information — your name, my name, the class name, and the date the final paper is due. Below these four lines, the title is centered. The title is not bolded, put in quotation marks, underlined, or italicized and is in the same font as the rest of the paper. Capitalize the first and last words and “important” words in the title.

Page numbers are formatted with your last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page. Note that there is no punctuation between the name and page number. Your page numbers should go within the top one-inch margin, not at the bottom of it. The easiest way to accomplish that is with a header.

See p. 588 in the Norton Field Guide for an example of what the first page of your essay should look like.

After writing your first draft…

After writing the first draft of your Memoir Essay, you’ll want to follow these steps.

Read your draft out loud. Listen for vague or “filler” words, awkward, wordy, or unclear sentences, and obvious grammar errors. Mark these problems on your draft.
Determine if you’ve added enough detail about the 5 W’s of narration: is it clear WHAT happens? Do you sufficiently describe WHO the characters are in your story? Is it clear WHEN and WHERE this story is taking place? Is it clear WHY this person or event is significant to you? Mark up your draft with suggestions for improvement.
Make the revisions you deemed were necessary in steps 1 and 2.
When you’re satisfied, submit your essay (your rough draft) for peer review. (You’ll find the instructions for this task later in the course.) Even though your rough draft isn’t due until Week 4, you’ll want to be pondering and planning it now.

A memoir looks with hindsight on a significant person or event and reflects on its significance; writing this essay can be a deeply meaningful adventure! Enjoy it, and give some thought this week to what you may write about. If you have questions about the Memoir Essay, please let me know.