21W.732          Fall 2009                                                                               
Narrative Essay

            Like your introductory exercise, this narrative essay should investigate how and why you ended up at MIT.  Look further back in time for some experience that might have set you on the path toward MIT.  Don’t tell us about tests and grades; tell us about an experience that changed you or that gave you a clearer understanding of your motives and your talents.  Help your readers enter into that experience; do not give us a grand overview.  In my comments on your exercise, I have suggested some possibilities, but you should feel free to pursue other ideas.  Steer away from the events of the past year.
Remember that most of your fellow students know little about the circumstances of your childhood and education.  Draw upon concrete details as you reconstruct the experience that intrigues you.  Concentrate initially on bringing your story to life.  Let us in on the thoughts and feelings of that time.  Eventually, you can explore the larger meaning of the experience, but do so with a light touch.  Do not paste a neat moral onto your story. 
            You may find it useful to think of yourself as a storyteller sitting with a group of MIT friends late at night, summoning up a world that these new friends can know only through you.

A successful essay cannot, however, simply record a series of events or feelings.  An essay is not a platter of mental food to be handed over to the reader.  You need to take an active role in reflecting upon your experience.  Taken literally, the term “personal narrative” can be misleading.  The essay should not sound like an overgrown journal entry.  The material that you draw upon can grow and change shape as you craft your essay.  You can and should develop the most revealing details and omit those that are distracting or unproductive.   Make sure that you have read Carolyn Ross’s discussion of personal narratives in Writing Nature and thought about its implications for your particular subject. 

The first version of this essay should be at least 1000 words long.  The revised essay should be at least 1200 words long.  Make the first version as complete and polished as possible.  It should not be a rough draft.  Proofread and edit your essay; then, make four copies to bring to class on Thursday, September 30th.  You should also bring four copies of a letter addressed to your readers commenting on the state of your essay.  Let your readers know something about your plans for revision.  Point your readers to the issues that concern you.