Paper One—Analyzing an Event
In Alice Walker’s “The Place Where I Was Born” and Barbara Smith’s “Home,” each author describes through memory her definition of what home is. You will do a similar exercise for Paper One. You will analyze a personal experience and link it to a larger issue like family, memory, displacement, or the definition of home.
You should use Walker and/or Smith as a starting point. Your paper should point out the observations and conclusions that Walker or Smith makes, and then lead into a description of an event from your personal experience. This event can be significant—graduation from high school or moving away from home, for example—or it can be something smaller that is meaningful to you, like an afternoon spent with a family member or returning home after being away. After describing your experience, you must analyze it, pointing out what your experience has to say about a larger issue such as family or the definition of home.
For example, you could use Walker as a starting place and describe how she defines home, leading into a description of a Christmas where you received a new bike. You would then use that experience to discuss your own definition of what a home is.
Or you could use Smith as a jumping-off point and describe the role that memory plays in her life as an adult, following with a description of some memories that you have of your childhood or the place where you grew up. You would finish the essay discussing the way memory functions in your own life.
THE KEY: Your essay must be more than a narration or the telling of a story; you must point out what is at stake in your experience. What does your event say about one of the larger issues found in Smith’s or Walker’s essays?
Ø 3-5 pages, Double Spaced, 12 pt font
Ø Use MLA; cite all articles properly! (We’ll go over this, don’t panic)
Ø Writing Group Draft due TUESDAY, JANUARY 20th in class (please bring three copies)
Ø Final Draft due with Portfolio One