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GUIDE TO WRITING

The Writing Assignment

Write about an event in your life that will engage readers and that will, at the same time, help them understand the significance of the event. Tell your story dramatically and vividly.

This Guide to Writing will help you depict your own remembered event and apply what you have learned from reading other selections in the same genre. The Starting Points chart will help you find the guidance you need, when you need it.

STARTING POINTS: REMEMBERING AN EVENT

Click the Starting Points chart to download.

A Well-Told Story	How can I come up with an event to write about?	Consider possible topics (Dillard). Consider possible topics (Desmond-Harris). Consider possible topics (Orner). Choose an event to write about. Test Your Topic: Considering Your Purpose and Audience
	How can I interest my audience and hold its attention?	Shape your story. Test Your Story: Facing an Audience Write the opening sentences.
	How can I make my story dramatic?	Assess the genre’s basic features: A well-told story. A Well-Told Story: Constructing an Action Sequence A Well-Told Story: Making Up Stories
	How should I organize my story?	Shape your story. Assess the genre’s basic features: A well-told story. A Well-Told Story: Finding the Arc of the Story Clarify the sequence of actions.

Vivid Description of People and Places	How can I describe the place where the event occurred vividly and specifically?	Assess the genre’s basic features: Vivid description of people and places. Page 39 Describe key people and places vividly, and show their significance.
Vivid Description of People and Places	How can I make the people in my story come alive?	Assess the genre’s basic features: Vivid description of people and places. Describe key people and places vividly, and show their significance. Vivid Description of People and Places: Using Visuals and Brand Names. Vivid Description of People and Places: Portraying a Person Use dialogue to portray people and dramatize relationships

Autobiographical Significance	How can I help readers grasp the significance of my remembered event?	Assess the genre’s basic features: Autobiographical significance. Autobiographical Significance: Showing and Telling Autobiographical Significance: Handling Complex Emotions Autobiographical Significance: Using Symbols Clarify your story’s significance.
Autobiographical Significance	How can I create a dominant impression?	Assess the genre’s basic features: Autobiographical significance. Autobiographical Significance: Showing and Telling Autobiographical Significance: Using Symbols Clarify your story’s significance.