At this point, you have (or should have) completed the following pieces of writing:

• A letter to me (out-of-class) explaining why you should or should not be in this class
• Two pieces of free writing (in class) on how you would begin to tell your autobiography
• A preliminary revision of that free writing (out-of-class), to organize it into a coherent account
• A one-page response (out-of-class) to question 5 on page 50 of Life Studies, which asked you to think about an experience in which you felt yourself to be mature
• A one-page response (out-of-class) to question 5 on page 52 of Life Studies, which asked you to record the voices you hear inside your head
• A revision of one or more paragraphs drawn from any of your in-class writing

All of this activity should leave you with a fairly extensive "mine" of material on which to draw for your first paper assignment. The reading and writing in this unit have been intended to make you focus on different aspects of your own life experiences; now you will have to write about some of those experiences.

Assignment:

Write a paper in which you describe one or more events in your life that have had a particular effect on your personality and goals today. Explain the significance of the events you are describing – why did they seem important at the time (or did they)? Why do they seem to be important now? How exactly did these events shape your character or your life?

The completed paper should be 3-5 pages in length (typed and double-spaced). Try to get beyond the obvious; i.e., don’t load your paper down with generalities or platitudes, but rather focus on specific details in these experiences. Use these specifics to help the reader see just how the event(s) you describe has/have affected your life. You may use concepts or examples from either of the readings to put your own experience into perspective; if you do, be sure to acknowledge the source using parenthetical reference (e.g.: "The Amish, unlike mainstream people, share reading and writing as a group but seldom do either activity in private (Fishman 251)."  In this example, the parenthetical reference is in boldface type.).

The first draft of this paper will be due on Monday, September 21. You will then have an opportunity to share your insights on the paper with other students in your section and (in written form) in other classes. Using this input, you will revise the papers and turn in a final draft on Friday, September 25.
 

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