An Autobiographical Narrative (Blogger 3)

An Autobiographical Narrative

An autobiographical narrative is a first-person story, so the words I and me play an important part. Even though others shared the experience, remember that you’re writing from your point of view. As you jot down details, stress what you saw and heard and felt, what you did, what you thought, and what the event meant to you. When you write your autobiographical narrative, you should show your experience to your readers—not just tell them about it. One way to do this is to collect sensory details about places, people, and things to use in your writing. For example, you could collect sensory details about a specific moment during a lightning storm. Now what you observe with all your senses, not just your eyes. What do you see? What sounds do you hear? What do you feel, both with your skin and in your emotions? Does anything have a taste or smell? Either during or soon after the event, jot down notes of your observations. As you write, try to use precise words to describe your impressions. Don’t give up too quickly. Collecting sensory details like the poem about shaking the ketchup bottle—none’ll come and then a lot’ll, but you have to keep at it.

Arranging Details

Think of an event or occasion that was special to you. Maybe you spent a perfect day with friends at the beach last summer; maybe you saw a beautiful sunset or attended a track meet. Close your eyes and visualize the experience. Then, list as many showing details as you can for each sense. You might want to use a cluster diagram to collect your details. The next step in writing about an autobiographical incident is to arrange the details you’ve recalled. You need to put them in an order that will make sense to your readers. Many writers begin with background information and then use chronological order for the other the other details. Using chronological order means telling about events in the order they happened. You begin with the event that happened first, then go on toe the second, and so on. As you arrange your details, list them in a chart.

The Parts of an Autobiographical Incident

No two autobiographical narratives are just alike, but they all have three basic parts. They each have a beginning that grabs the reader’s interest; they sometimes give background information and a hint about the importance of the incident. They each have a middle that tells about important events, describes people and places, and tells the writer’s thoughts and feeling. They each have an ending in which the writer explains the outcome and shows the meaning of the incident.

Evaluating and Revising Autobiographical Incidents

1.       Does the writer grab the reader’s interest in the introduction? Add an interesting statement or question.

2.       Has the writer given enough background information? Add important details about where and when the incident happened. Tell who was there.

3.       Are the events told in an order that makes sense? Reorder events in the order they happened.

4.       Has the writer used details that make events, people, and places seem real? Cut dull or needless details. Add sensory details, possibly quotations, and details about your thoughts and feelings.

5.       Are the outcome and significance of the incident clear? Add a sentence or two that tells the outcome. Add information to show the significance of the incident to you?

A Note about Dialogue

Dialogue—words people actually say—can bring an autobiographical incident to life. For example, read the following two passages. Both express the same information. Isn’t the second one much livelier?

1.       Mario had called the National Weather Service and learned from a man there that it was snowing in the pass. Carmen thought we should go anyway and asked for my opinion. I agreed that we should try.

2.       “I just called the National Weather Service,” Mario announced. “The guy says it’s snowing in the pass.”

“Oh, let’s go anyway,” said Carmen. “We can make it. What do you think, Ginny?”

“I’m game,” I replied.

Proofreading and Publishing

Even simple mistakes in usage or mechanics can make your paper had to understand. Proofread your work careful, and correct any mistakes you find. You may often dialogue in your narrative. The correct punctuation of dialogue is important so that readers know who is talking. Once you have revised, proofread, and made corrections, make a clean copy. Readers always find a clean, neat copy more inviting than a messy, difficult-to-read one. Here are two ways you can publish your writing. One audience for your work may be your own future self. Start a scrapbook of memories, beginning with this piece. Years from now, you may be surprised at the picture you get of yourself. With your classmates, make an anthology of autobiographical incidents. Create groupings based on similar topics: outdoor adventures, conflicts with friends or family, school experiences, and so forth.

Reflecting on Your Writing

If you’d like to add your autobiographical incident paper to your portfolio, date it, and include with it the answers to these questions. What prewriting technique led you to your topic? How did you try to make your incident interesting for readers? How well do you think you succeeded? Why? Which did you find more difficult, recalling details or organizing your ideas? Why?

Here is a student model of a well-written autobiographical incident

Jerry Bonner believes that writers who tell about personal experiences should remember that “you are trying to interest the reader about something that was true and happened to you.”

What was I doing in Reno, Nevada, in the middle of winter? I was at the National Cross-Country Championships competing with my team, the Siegel Stars.

Just before the race, I started to get nervous and began to doubt my own ability, but after a while I calmed down. Before I knew it, we were at the starting line.

The gun went off and so did I. There was nothing but silence in the crowd. I led the pack right from the start. My strategy was to go out as fast as I could for as long as I could. There was a hill half a mile long; it felt as though it was never going to end, and that was the toughest part of the race. There were two kids right behind me, so close I could feel them breathing down my back and their feet pounding against the ground right behind me. Before I knew it, though, I was on the back straightaway, the crowd cheering and screaming as I ran toward the finish line. The race was over and I had won the National Cross-Country Championships. It was the greatest feeling in the world.

Finally, all the hard work and training paid off. I had broken the course record in Reno, Nevada, and my team finished third in the nation. A great thing about the day of the race was that it was my grandfather’s birthday and coming in first was a nice gift for him. I realized that this was my best vacation and my greatest experience.