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Writing Program at New College

Assignments - Literacy Narrative (1000 - 1500 words)

Overview

A Literacy Narrative is a type of autobiographical essay –“The Art of Eating Spaghetti,” for example – that focuses on personal experiences with literacy (speaking, writing, reading, and the like) in order to confirm the importance of these rhetorical experiences in a person’s life.

Begin by recalling a rhetorical moment from your life. Think back and reflect on significant situations that helped develop you as a reader and/or writer. Think about who helped you learn about and/or appreciate reading and writing. Think about particular experiences that effected how you thought about reading and writing.

Finding your Focus

Above all, try to recall a moment in your life when speaking, reading, writing, and the like had a big impact on your life. Answer the following questions to get you thinking:

What is your earliest memory of reading and writing?
How did you learn to read and write? Did you ever teach anyone else to read or write?
Who encouraged you to read and write?
What events interrupted and/or slowed down your ability and/or desire to read and write?
Did you apply literacy skills to other content areas: sports, music, video games, etc.?
What kinds of reading have you done in your past and what kinds of reading to you do now?
What teachers had a particular impact on your reading and writing?
What assignments had a particular impact on your reading and writing?
Have different schools or other institutions had an impact on your reading and writing?
How do you currently feel about reading and writing?
What rewards have come from reading and writing?
Did a special or important event from your past make you the reader and/or writer you are today?
Was there a moment or moments that were especially empowering?
Did you ever read a book or poem or song that made sense to you beyond the words on the page?

Organizing your Ideas

Discuss these questions with members of the class, and then post responses to at least seven (7) of the questions to Blackboard. The completion of this WTL assignment will provide you with more information about what to pursue for the writing assignment. As you look over this profile of your writing history, consider what “argument” or “so what” point will guide your literacy narrative. For example, you may learn that while you failed or did poorly on a certain assignment, this grade motivated you to work more diligently on your writing skills.

Literacy Narrative: Rhetorical Considerations

Genre:

Audience:

You are writing this essay for your peers and your instructor.

Purpose:

Your purpose is to compose a narrative that tells a story about how reading, writing, or some other rhetorical experience changed your life in a memorable or significant way. You might even consider how this experience created or shaped the literate person you are today.

Professional Examples:

“The Art of Eating Spaghetti” by Russell Baker

“The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie

“Learning to Read” by Malcolm X

“Living in ‘Tongues” by Luc Sant

Student Examples:

“Proficiency” by Shannon Nichols

“Bees, Doors, and Skates” by Vivian Waters (in Blackboard)

Strategies:

The rhetorical analysis you did of Baker’s essay, “The Art of Eating Spaghetti” served as an introduction to the type of essay you will be writing. In addition to recalling the message of this essay, the “Finding your Focus” exercise will help you identify a significant moment from your past. And finally, the sample essays listed above will provide you with additional ideas about content, style, and structure.

Schedule:

Introduce assignment
Finding your Focus Workshop
Literacy Narrative Workshop and Peer Review
Final draft and Reflection due to Blackboard

Learning Outcomes:

To consider new ways of thinking about reading, writing, literacy, and rhetorical success;
To practice different approaches to the assignment;
To demonstrate persistence and remain committed to all parts of the learning module;
To practice metacognition and reflect on your own thinking and past experiences with learning about writing and literacy;
To understand how the genre of narrative shapes expectations of a text;
To use specific language and other conventions appropriate to the genre;
To work with others in the form of peer review;
To produce a final draft that shows evidence of the writing process, including invention, drafting, revision, and proof-reading.