Recalling a Personal Experience

*TOPIC NEEDS TO BE APPROVE BY ME FIRST*****

Follow the assignment for Recalling a Personal Experience under Learning by Writing on page 54 of The Bedford Guide for College Writers, Chapter 4. This assignment asks you to write about a situation or experience from your own life in which you moved from one condition into another (it changed how you acted, thought, or felt). Your essay will consist of three elements: description of the situation or experience, analysis of why it was happening or how you approached it, and evaluation of the solution or resolution to it. (This three-part structure does not mean that you should limit yourself to a 5-paragraph essay with 3-part thesis, however. We will discuss this, but please do not write a standard 5-paragraph essay.)

            Your topic may be negative, positive, or both. It could be a recurring or serious problem that you overcame, or did not overcome. It could be your greatest triumph or accomplishment so farwhy you wanted it, what you did to get it, and what it taught you. Other options would include your biggest question in life, luckiest break, worst failure, biggest fear overcome or succumbed to, greatest weakness, strongest superpower, or biggest or smallest regret or missed opportunity. Spend some time brainstorming possible topics before choosing the one with the most promise.

Consider the models in Chapter 4, and do some prewriting to discover ideas before choosing a topic. Remember to use a true story from your own life or experience, to explain the importance of that experience, and to write about the experience in the form of an essay.

You will be graded on the following:

–Strong thesis statement (should say something about the meaning or significance of the topic)

–Logical, balanced organization of the three required elements (description, analysis, evaluation)

–Specific, concrete details and examples.    –Grammar and mechanics