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TRANSCRIPT
“ALL THE WORLD IS A
STAGE, AND ALL THE MEN
AND WOMEN ARE MERELY
PLAYERS” W.S.
PERSONAL NARRATIVEA MOMENT TO REMEMBER
Course: English 11th Grade
Learning Window
Distinguishing attributes, elements and structure of a personal narrative.
Know that personal experiences, when shared with others through writing, can be both helpful and entertaining.
Understand personal narrative as a form of autobiographical storytelling that gives shape to life experiences and the importance of perspective and point of view when reading personal narratives.
Write a narrative to: engage and orient my readers by establishing a context and point of view, and organize a sequence of events or experiences.
• Develop narrative elements (e.g., setting, event sequence, characters) using relevant sensory details.
• Provide a satisfying conclusion that follows from the events, experiences, or ideas.
What Is a Personal Narrative?
It is a true story in which the writer relates
an event, incident, or experience in his or
her own life.
Purpose of a narrative is to inform
Major Differences Between a Memoir
and a Personal Narrative
Focuses on a
relationship between
the author and a
person, place, or
object.
Can only be written in
first person.
Focuses on an event in
a person’s life.
Can be written in first
person [I, me, we] or
third person [he, she, it,
they] (but this is rare).
Memoir Personal Narrative
Characteristics of a Personal Narrative
Focuses on one experience that doesn’t last longer than a day.
Clearly shows why the event was important to the author.
Expresses personal thoughts, feelings, and reactions.
Often presented in chronological order.
Shows, not tells, what happened.
Contains vivid descriptive and sensory details: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
Often contains dialogue.
Has all the elements of a story (setting, characters, plot, theme, and cause and effect).
Show not tell
When describing a character’s feelings, skillful writers
do not just ‘tell’ the reader how the character feels.
They ‘show’ the reader by using imagery.
Imagery is language that paints a vivid picture in the
mind of the reader, often by appealing to the five
senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
You can do this by: describing using your senses, using
vivid adjectives, and changing linking verbs to action
verbs.
Examples:
use of “show, don’t tell” technique to create a
“movie” in the reader’s mind
TELL = Sarah was angry.
SHOW = Sarah slammed the door, threw her books
on the floor, and screamed, “I hate this place!”
Remember show not tell
Show not Tell
Personal Narrative Structure
Introduction: A beginning that grabs the reader’s
interest. It should introduce the people involved and
describe the setting. Give background information and
a hint about the meaning and importance of the event.
Lets Analyze the Introduction of:
“Love Sick”
Does it have a beginning that grabs the reader’s interest? Yes or No
Does it introduce the people involved and describe the setting?
Yes or No
Does it give background information and a hint about the meaning and importance of the event?
Yes or No
Personal Narrative Structure
Body: A middle that shows the reader important
events, describes people and places, and shows the
writer’s thoughts and feelings. Dialogue and sensory
details need to be present.
Beginning
Middle
End
Lets Analyze the Body of “Love Sick”
Does it have a beginning, middle, and end?
Does it show the reader important events?
Does it describe people and places?
Does it show the writer’s thoughts and feelings?
Are dialogue and sensory details present?
Yes or No
Personal Narrative Structure
Conclusion: The ending should bring your story to a
close, either by showing what you learned from the
experience, or by sharing how you (and anyone
else) felt after it was over.
Lets Analyze the Conclusion
Does the ending bring the story to a close?
How does it come to a close?
Is it by showing what the character learned from the
experience? or
Is it by sharing how the character (and anyone else) felt
after it was over?
Character traits list
Active
Adventurous
Affectionate
Afraid
Ambitious
Angry
Annoyed
Anxious
Argumentati
ve
Astonished
Attentive
Babyish
Bossy
Bored
Calm
Capable
Careful
Cautious
Charming
Cheerful
Childish
Clever
Clumsy
Cold hearted
Compassionate
Confident
Cowardly
Critical
Cruel
Dishonest
Disrespectful
Eager
Easygoing
Efficient
Embarrassed
Energetic
Enthusiastic
Fair
Fateful
Fierce
Funny
Generous
Gentle
Glamorous
Brave
Brilliant
Busy
Curious
Daring
Dangerous
Gloomy
Greedy
Grouchy
Happy
Hateful
Hopeless
Ignorant
Impolite
Impulsive