WAC 101, fall 1999, Writing Project 3:

Autobiographical narrative w/significance and two sources 

The writing project

The purpose of this project is to tell us about something significant in your life, something that helped mold you into who you are today, something that impacted you in a positive way-that is, something important to who you are now, today. As authors Ramage and Bean note in your textbook, "the spine of most autobiographical writing is a key moment or event, or a series of key moments or events, that shape or reveal the author's emerging character or growth in understanding" (144). So consider a time when, in one or more of the four worlds in which humans exist (academic, professional, personal, and civic), you

· Learned something about yourself

· Learned something about yourself that you wish you had not learned

· Had to make a major decision

· Made a major decision that went against what others thought you ought to do

· Faced a moment of crisis or critical choice

· Found yourself in a situation where one of your major beliefs was challenged and/or modified

· Faced an unexpected problem that--once you solved it--gave you a new insight about you or the world and people around you

· Did something in school that surprised you, and the people around you

· Acted differently than you and your family (or teacher, or employer) expected you to

Choose an event or series of events that will be engaging to your readers and that will, at the same time, show them something about you and who you are as a person. Tell your story dramatically and vividly, giving your readers a clear indication of its autobiographical significance. Remember that a significant event or events doesn't mean something that was traumatic for you--it's something that influenced how you act today, who you are today--something that happened that had a positive effect on your life and on the person you are right now.

It's not enough to just say, "well, this happened and it made a difference to who I am." Rather, it's critical that you show the significance by indicating

· What you learned from the event or series of events

· What you're doing now because of the way you were influenced

· How you act now, or think now, or deal with others now because of the way(s) you've changed

Put another way, we all have stories that we could relate with good detail, stories that are interesting to tell and to hear . . . but which really didn't change who we are or how we act now, today. That kind of a story will not fulfill the requirements of this writing project.

For example, you might tell in good detail about a relationship you were in, and how everything went along nicely, but one day something happened and one thing led to another until finally there was this big blowup . . . but unless you also show what you've learned from this experience, how you deal with new relationships in different, perhaps better ways, then what happened wasn't really significant, was it? In other words, unless you learned something from the experience and that learning affected the ways you act or think now, then perhaps the event or series of events really wasn't significant.

Here's another example: perhaps your older brother was a real academic "star" back in high school and then again as he went through college--excellent grades, Honor Society, the Dean's List, many scholarship offers, and so on. At the same time, you worked hard in school but had a hard time "getting it," and your grades always were pretty mediocre: you struggled through grammar and middle school, and barely passed some of your high school classes. You pretty much figured that college was out of the picture for you.

Then one day, you overheard your brother on the phone saying that, no, he couldn't go to the early show because he had a paper due the next day, and later, when your brother walked by your room, where you sat trying (pretty unsuccessfully) to read the text for your sophomore sociology class, you stopped him. "What's the deal with skipping the show?" you asked.

"No big deal," he told you. "I just got myself into the habit of working before I started to play--to get my homework done before I went out. Hey," he asked, "how is school for you this year?"

You were honest and told him what a struggle school was for you, how hard you always had to work. "School's always been hard for me," you told him, "and that's why I don't always go to class, don't always do the work."

"Well," your brother said, "one thing that always helped me was writing. I don't mean those papers teachers ask you to write, but personal writing, in a journal or a diary, where I could say whatever the heck I wanted to say. I could bitch and cry and complain and no one would read it but me." He smiled. "And then, once I'd gotten down how mad I was about this assignment or that school project, I found out I could do it, and everything was easier for me. The rest was just showing up and doing the work--and making sure it was done on time, of course. So I forced myself to develop good habits."

You thought about what your brother had said and now that you considered it a little, he was right: he always did get his work done before he went out; he even had some kind of calendar on his bedroom wall showing when he would study. While you weren't sure whether or not to believe your brother, you thought, why not give it a try? So you started writing in a daily diary, putting down your frustrations; you found that "yelling on paper" helped you calm down a bit and that it did make doing the work easier, more satisfying. You made a time schedule showing when you'd study and when you could "play." And you discovered that if you had your work done before you went out, you had a much better time. And going to class was easier and more fun, too, now that your work would be completed . . . so now, in college, how might you indicate that you learned from this "event"?

Well, you might be able to write about how you always do your homework before heading out to the movies . . . how you schedule each day, in advance . . . how you always hit the library every Saturday morning, for any research you need to finish . . . how you plan to spend the hour between your afternoon classes doing the reading your teachers asked you to complete . . . in other words, you've developed habits that help you succeed in school. That's what you learned from the "event," and those are the kinds of details that show significance (and consider the opposite: what you learned from your brother would not be significant to you if you'd ignored his suggestions, right?).

Resources

 

Rationale for the project

Consider for a moment how things would be if we never learned from what happens in our life: in effect we would have to "reinvent the wheel" each time we faced a problem or had to answer a difficult question or ran into a similar situation in a relationship or ran into difficulty at work . . . we just couldn't exist that way.

Thankfully, we do learn from what happens to us, so we can handle situations more effectively when something similar happens in the future: we learn from the good events and the problems, from the people we know and are involved with, from good relationships and bad, from co-workers and fellow students, from teachers and parents, and so on. In effect, we're shaped in some way by everyone and everything we come into contact with (just as we, in turn, affect others).

Throughout this semester, I'll ask you to do a lot of "reflective writing," where you think about what you've learned from this or that writing activity, from this or that writing project. By reflecting on what you did (and didn't do) and what worked well and what perhaps could be improved on, you'll be able to more effectively deal with similar writing projects in the future, as you'll know what you learned and so won't have to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. At the same time, when I and your classmates read about your reflections and thoughts and see what you've learned, we also learn.

This next project is structured as a mini-autobiography, where I'll ask you to write about something that was significant in your life. I hope that by reflecting and thinking about and writing about something that affected who you are today that you'll learn more about who you are . . . and, along with your classmates, I'll also learn more about you . . . and we'll all learn from your story.

I also hope you'll "wrestle in writing" in the sense of coming to know and to understand what you accomplished through the process of constructing your texts, getting feedback, revising your work, and so on. Put another way, I hope you'll really work, as you write your way through this project, to look for and to find the details that lie beneath the surface-the hidden details in your background and life history that can reveal so much about a person, as well as the hidden things in the way you go about constructing the writing I'll ask you to do, writing that can reveal what works for you-and through the writing to bring them to the surface, so you (and we) can learn from both your successes and your problems as you work your way through this writing project.

Using your journal

Your writer's journal-in whatever form you keep it in-is essentially a flexible space where what you write and otherwise "place" into your journal will vary by the project that you're involved with at any given time. You may, therefore, want to select a journal format that will allow you to insert plastic pageholders, pictures, to add pages, use dividers, and so on.

While journals are often used for personal reflection, I'd like to suggest that you broaden that definition a bit, and use your writer's journal not just for your reflections on your writing (which you'll need for the final portfolio project for this class) but also to list anything and everything that comes to mind as you work with (and research) each writing project-notes and questions and problems and concerns and ways you've solved problems and how you're feeling about your writing and . . . just everything that comes to mind during the course of each project.

Some writers like to use what Anne Berthoff calls a "dialectical journal," where on one page you'd take notes, jot down observations, and so on, and use the facing page to question and to comment on your notes-so that in a way, the two pages speak to each other. Some (as did the student above) devote part of their journals to personal writing, which no one will read except them (if you want part of your journal to go unread, be sure to clear it with your teacher first).

For this writing project, your journal should serve several functions:

Your journal is where you jot down notes and ideas about events in your life; you may have to list a number of them, with lots of information and details, before you settle on one to concentrate on for this project

It's where you can make lists about problems you've faced and solved, people you've had to deal with in some way, changes in your life, and so on, and here your journal serves as a "research log" for those kinds of observational notes:

· It's where you can list questions for further research, perhaps ideas suggested by your classmates and instructor as they read and respond to your writing

· Your journal is where you can reflect on your writing progress and process, as you write your way through this project

· It's where you can get started at "wrestling in writing" with the project

In your journal, you might want to start with some questions and answers:

· In my classes or because of a teacher, when and how did I learn something about myself? What was it? How is it significant to who I am now, today?

· At work or because of something that happened on the job or because of what my employer did or said, when and how did I learn something about myself? What was it? How is it significant to who I am now, today?

· At work, when did I have to make a major decision? What did I learn from working my way through it? In what way was what I learned by making that decision significant to who I am now, today?

· At work or school, when did I make a major decision that went against what others thought I ought to do, and what did I learn from that situation?

· When have I faced a moment of crisis or had to make a critical choice? What did I learn from wrestling with that situation? How is that significant to who I am now?

· At school, when did I face a situation where one of my major beliefs was challenged and/or changed? What have I learned from working through that challenge? What do I do differently now because of what I learned?

· When have I faced an unexpected problem at work or school that--once I solved it-gave me a new insight about who I am? In what ways is that insight significant to who I am today?

· What have I learned from the relationship(s) I've been involved with? What do I do differently now, or how do I act differently now, or how do I react differently now, because of what I learned?

· When did I do something in school or at work that surprised me and the people around me? What have I learned from that experience?

Your journal is also the perfect place to jot down notes on how you're feeling about your writing; what is working for you as you compose (and what is difficult); how you're changing your texts as you work; and so on-notes and reflections that will make it easier for you to complete the end-of-semester portfolio project.

Expectations

Think about your audience: Your classmates and the instructor are the obvious audience for the writing you'll construct for this project, and we want to learn about you and to learn from you, so we can more effectively handle similar situations.

Consider the kinds of information we need to know, then, to understand your story: what kinds of dialogue and description and illustrations and details and examples do you as the writer need to provide, so we can see what you went through? So that we can see and understand how you've changed and what you've learned? So that we can clearly understand how significant this event or series of events was to who you are now, today? Remember that significance is a key word here, for unless you can explain why this event is important to you and to who you are, then people might just say, "So what? Why are you telling me this?"

Think about the length: Think about the length for this writing project in terms of what you want to show your readers: something that was significant to your life. That is, don't think of it in terms of page length but rather just take the words and pages you need to show us what you're trying to get across.

Content is the main thing: Ask yourself: Is the significance of the event clearly conveyed through the use of concrete description and appropriate narrative strategies? Is there enough detail so the reader will feel the same way about your subject as you do? Have you constructed the story to show rather than tell the reader about your subject and why it's been significant to who you are now, today? In what ways and details and examples do you provide the reader some insight into who you are because of this event or series of events?

Think about a good organizational scheme: Are the parts of your writing arranged into the best order for maintaining the reader's interest and in showing significance? Why?

Consider your sense of expression: Is the language clear, concrete, and specific? Do you avoid cliches? Does the language seem natural rather than forced?

Look at your usage: Are spelling and mechanical errors rare?

due dates:

· Autobiography Project version 1 due Tuesday, 11/16/99

· Autobiography Project version 2 due Thursday, 11/18/99

· Autobiography Project version 2 due Tuesday 11/23/99 (5%) (2 copies)

· Autobiography Project final version due Tuesday, 11/30/99 (20%)

Activities and approaches to working through this project

Invention activity (1): bring a photo of someone to class-a picture of a friend or a family member, but they must be doing something. In small groups, share your photos with each other, with each of you constructing a story of what you think the person in the photo is doing. It doesn't matter if you're right or wrong (and in some photos it will be more obvious than others what the person is doing), as the idea is to look at a photo and to try to determine what's going on and what we might be able to tell about that person from the activity . . . just like this writing project looks at you in the same way. Explain your decisions to your group and to the class; the owners of each photo should also explain in what ways the "readers" were right and wrong.

Invention activity (2): write a story about someone else's photo-just a page or so describing the photo in detail and noting what you can infer about the person from what he or she is doing in the picture. Share your brief writings; comment on them (only nice comments, to get started-like, "I see what you mean," or "I agree," or "Right-on"). Discuss comments and texts.

Invention activity (3): freewrite for ten minutes (or whatever time your instructor asks you to) about an event or series of events that had some influence on your life. This is just "practice," and what you write about now does not have to be the same as what you'll focus on for this writing project. Just get down the details, as best you can remember them, from a "reporter's" perspective: what happened and when and who was involved and how did it happen and what can you tell us about why it happened and what effect it had on you? Then share your writing, verbally, with several of your classmates. After you share your story, your listeners should ask you questions about parts of your story they don't quite understand, or parts they'd like to hear more about.

Once you've done some freewriting and taken some notes and thought about some event or series of events that affected you in a positive way, and after you've perhaps written a little about those events and/or discussed them with your classmates, consider how you might problematize your thinking about this event or series of events, by working through some questions. It's important to remember that you do not answer the questions now (as you may be used to doing) but rather use these questions as a starting point to lead to more questions, perhaps about the larger issues involved:

· What do you already know about each of these events? Consider the reporter's questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how . . . and whether or not you can answer them all in sufficient detail. What else would you like to know?

· What other kinds of sources will you need to explore as you work with each of these events? Are there others, perhaps in your family, who you'll want to talk with?

· What were your preconceptions about each of these events? Have your opinions changed since you started thinking about the issues involved? In what way(s)?

· What makes each event important to you and who you are now, today? In what other ways did it affect you?

· To what extent is the event steeped too little or too much in emotions (pathos)? Remember that you need some distance between the event(s) and who you are now, today, in order to explain what you learned.

· How have you altered your views of this event or series of events since you began investigating it? In what way(s)?

· What do you need to do to strengthen your ethos as you write about this topic?

· What larger issues does the event raise in your mind (perhaps issues of power or control, such as who controls a relationship and whether or not that's the best way for a relationship to work)?

· In what kind of detail can you explain what you've learned from the event or series of events?

Invention activity (4): Interview one of your classmates, asking him or her questions about an event or series of events that affected who he or she is now, today. Possible questions (add your own) might include:

· What happened, exactly? Can you give me precise details about the time and place, the weather, who was involved, what they were wearing, what they said, what you said and did, and so on? Try to hit on all the questions a newspaper might ask: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

· How did this event or series of events affect you? In what ways have you changed because of what you learned from them? What do you do now, today, differently because of what you learned? Can you give specific examples of (problems, relationships, situations, etc.) that have come up since the event or events and what you do differently than you used to?

· How "significant" is this event or these events in relation to other events in your life that you might write about? Put another way, what makes you think that this might be a good area to focus on, instead of others in your life? Why?

Invention activity (5): constructing a draft: Once you've spent some time listing possible events to write about, and spent some time writing about them and discussing them (and their significance) with your classmates, then you need to form those notes into some organizational scheme. You might begin by putting your notes into some sort of sequence (perhaps in a sequential order, or perhaps as a "look backward" from your current perspective, or perhaps "circling around" with details that lead up to the event or events, and so on).

Always work to show rather than to tell about the significant event or events; consider what your audience would need to see for that person to share your impression, to really see in what ways that you're writing about was significant to who you are now, how you act now, and so on. Once you have a draft, read through it and compare it to your notes, to make sure that you've included everything you wanted to: what can you add to your various descriptions to really show what you saw? Then go through the draft one more time, working to clarify and to show the details in each part of your text.

Invention activity (6)--Peer review questions: Usually, once you have a working draft, your instructor will ask you to share that draft with your classmates, asking each of you to read through and to comment on each others' projects. Here are some possible questions you might think about and comment on, as you read:

· How did the writer construct his or her text, in terms of organization, to make sure that the event or sequence of events were clearly described?

· In what ways does the writer help his or her reader "see" the event(s) as the writer can?

· In what ways does the writer make sure that there is enough information (details about the place, the people, the situation, and so on) so that a reader can understand it well enough, even though he or she hasn't experienced the same thing(s)?

· What words / sentences / paragraphs in the text helps the reader really see and understand why the event or events were significant to the writer and who he or she is now, today?

· In what ways does the writer use dialogue?

· What did the writer do in order to make his or her descriptions effective?

· In what ways does the writer show rather than tell?

Since your classmates will be reading your work, try to put yourself in the place of an outside reader as you work with your own text. Here are some more questions to consider:

· What is the best part of this paper? That is, what's the clearest to you, what can you see? In what ways has the writer constructed the text to help you see the place clearly? What specifically makes the writing "work" for you?

· What can't you see? That is, which part(s) could use more details?

· In what ways has the writer shown the significance of the event or series of events? What specifically does the writer have on paper to show the significance?

Invention activity (7)--Reflection: Your instructor may want you to write about what you learned from your individual writing. Here are some areas to consider:

· What did I learn about myself as a writer, as I wrote through this writing project?

· What writing habits did I sharpen or hone as I worked through the activities?

· What can I say worked really well for me as I worked through the various activities? Why?

· What can I say did not work really well for me as I worked through the various activities? Why?

· What time management techniques did I learn from this project?

· What kinds of invention activities seem to work best for me? Why?

· How will I work on and complete the activities for the next project differently than this one, based on what I've learned this time?

· If you were to do this project over again, how would you change it or the ways in which you tackled it?

· How did peer readers help you during this project?

· How could you have made better use of peers' responses as the project emerged?

· How could your peers have been even more helpful?

· Can you reflect on how you composed the project as well as explain and illustrate what you did for it?