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Describing an important event in your life . . .From Reading to Writing In “The Great Rat Hunt” by Laurence Yep, a boy learns an important truth about his father’s view of life. In “Flying,” Reeve Lindbergh achieves a greater understanding of her father.
Autobiographical Incident
Describing an important event in your life . . .
Autobiographical Incident
For both writers, an experience taught them not only about their fathers but also about themselves. Writing an autobiographical incident, or firsthand account, can help you to see an important event in your life more clearly.
B a s i c s i n a B o xAutobiographical Incident at a Glance
RUBRIC STANDARDS FOR WRITING
A successful autobiographical incident should• focus on one well-defined incident
• grab readers’ attention at the beginning
• provide background information for the incident
• use elements such as plot, character, and setting as appropriate
• make the order of events clear
BeginningBeginning
Introduces the incident, including the people involved and the setting
End
• Tells the outcome and importance of the incident
• Presents the writer’s feelings about the experience
MiddleMiddle
• Describes the incident using descriptive details and dialogue
• Makes the importance clear
• use descriptions or dialogue as appropriate
• include precise language and specific details
• show why the experience was important
• have a strong conclusion that summarizes the importance of the incident
What is all knowledge but recorded experience?
Thomas Carlyle19th-century writer
What is all knowledge but recorded experience?
Thomas Carlyle19th-century writer
Writing Your Autobiographical Incident1 Prewriting
Check your old diaries.
Track down friends’ letters that you’ve saved.
Try asking each person in your family to name an event in your life that he or she remembers.
To choose your autobiographical incident,
Writing Your Autobiographical Incident1 Prewriting
Planning Your Autobiographical Incident Essay
1. Freewrite about the incident. Take a few
minutes to write down everything that you
remember about the incident. What happened?
When? Where? Who was involved? How did you
feel at the time?
Planning Your Autobiographical Incident Essay
2. Fill in the details. Go back to what you wrote
about the incident. Flesh out the description of
the time, the place, and the people involved.
Create a time line to help organize the events.
3. Think about the significance of the event. Why
do you remember the incident? What did you
learn? Did it change you?
Planning Your Autobiographical Incident Essay
4. Tell your story aloud. Share your story with
others. Can they visualize, or picture, what
happened? Do they have questions about the
order of events? Take notes on their reactions.
Begin drafting your essay. Remember that you can revise and reorganize your writing later. Try to give readers a strong sense of the incident. Show rather than tell why it is important to you. Include well chosen sensory details and dialogue as you plan your essay. Remember to start off with a strong beginning and conclude with a memorable ending.
2 DraftingWriting Your Autobiographical Incident
TARGET SKILL
MAKING THE ORDER OF EVENTS
CLEAR
To help your readers understand the order in
which things happened, use transitional words
and phrases. Some words that indicate time
include: to start off, at first, second, next, then,
after, earlier, before, later, finally, and at the
present time.
3 RevisingWriting Your Autobiographical Incident
TARGET SKILL
MAKING THE ORDER OF EVENTS
CLEAR
3 RevisingWriting Your Autobiographical Incident
Transitions are especially important if you
begin your narrative in the middle of the
incident or at the conclusion of the incident.
TARGET SKILL
COMBINING SENTENCES: COMPOUND
SUBJECTS AND PREDICATES
Separate sentences can often be combined by
using compound subjects or compound
predicates. A compound subject consists of two
or more subjects joined by the coordinating
conjunction and.
4 Editing and ProofreadingWriting Your Autobiographical Incident
TARGET SKILL
COMBINING SENTENCES: COMPOUND
SUBJECTS AND PREDICATES
4 Editing and ProofreadingWriting Your Autobiographical Incident
A compound predicate consists of two
predicates joined by a coordinating conjunction
such as and, but, or or.
FOR YOUR WORKING PORTFOLIO
5 ReflectingWriting Your Autobiographical Incident
What did you learn about the significance of the
incident? What did you find hardest about
writing this essay? Which part of the process
did you enjoy the most?