2

Click here to load reader

Personal Narrative/College Essay Assignment Guidelines · Personal Narrative/College Essay Assignment Guidelines: ... Recount an incident or time when you ... A humorous event that

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Personal Narrative/College Essay Assignment Guidelines · Personal Narrative/College Essay Assignment Guidelines: ... Recount an incident or time when you ... A humorous event that

Personal Narrative/College Essay Assignment Guidelines:

You may use a college application essay prompt from the college of your choice or from

the Common Application, but it is not mandatory to do so. If you do not need a college

essay, then you may choose any personal narrative topic you want to write about.

If you are using a college entrance essay prompt, make sure to put your prompt at the

top of your paper.

If using the Common Application: Choose from the following Common Application

essay prompts (If you are wondering why there are only 4 prompts to choose from

instead of the 5 that are on the Common App, I have eliminated the descriptive prompt

from our choices since our focus in this class is the personal narrative):

1. Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they

believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then

please share your story.

2. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you,

and what lessons did you learn?

3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act?

Would you make the same decision again?

4. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal that marked your transition

from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

Remember our class discussion—many topics could be made to fit under these prompts.

Some ideas could be (from Mr. Gunnar’s English) :

1. Any difficult situation: a time when someone let you down, a time when you let

someone down, a time when you had to make a tough choice, a time when you

struggled to learn something, etc

2. Any “first”: when you first realized you had a problem, or someone close to you had

a problem, when you first felt needed or rejected, when you first lost something you

loved or that was dear to you, when you first realized an injustice, etc

3. A time when things did not turn out as expected

4. A humorous event that may have been embarrassing or awkward at the time

5. Any event that shaped you in a particular way, making you insecure, proud,

courageous, fearful, ambitious, motivated, that gave you a calling, etc.

6. Any event which challenged your basic values or beliefs

7. Any emotional event

It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you read the Characteristics of the Personal

Narrative handout for guidance on this assignment (on class web site under Assignments

quarter 1, week2 and on the Resources page).

Tone should be personal (not formal)! Admissions would like to know you on a personal

level other than your test scores and transcript. Use 1st person!!

Page 2: Personal Narrative/College Essay Assignment Guidelines · Personal Narrative/College Essay Assignment Guidelines: ... Recount an incident or time when you ... A humorous event that

Your Introduction should “hook” your reader in the opening lines. Catch your reader’s

attention by using dialogue, a startling statement, a relevant quotation, question, fact,

definition, etc.

Show, Don’t Tell! Include details and descriptions that unfold the experience to the

reader. Let the reader experience what you did!

Your Conclusion should include your analysis or reflection on the issue. What was

learned? How are you different? How will you understand others or live your life

differently from this experience? Etc. This does not mean that you can’t make reflective

comments throughout your narrative.

This helpful handout lays out the structure of the Personal Narrative. It can be found at

this web address

http://www.sbcc.edu/clrc/files/wl/downloads/StructureofaPersonalNarrativeEssay.pdf

This web site contains sample essays from John Hopkins University. We read a couple

of them in class. http://apply.jhu.edu/apply/essays.html

If necessary, read over the handout General Tips for the Common Application 2013

handout on web site.

http://collegeapps.about.com/od/essays/College_Admissions_Essays_Samples_Critiques_and_

Writing_Tips.htm