In this assignment, we will write an account of a particular incident or encounter that in one way or another typifies or illustrates a stage of growing up (at any age) or of personal development. We may focus attention on either ourselves or another: let=s just make sure that we focus on a particular experience or on a sequence of particular experiences. See the "topic suggestions" at the bottom of this page for examples of some of the different ways of approaching this assignment. Although not required, please feel free to send me your topic ideas in an email for feedback.

Getting Started. Once you have settled on a topic for your paper, scribble anything and everything you can think of concerning the subject. Make lists, freewrite, brainstorm. In other words, generate lots of material to begin with. Later you can cut, shape, revise, and edit.

Drafting. Keep in mind your purpose for writing--the ideas and impressions that you want to convey, the particular traits you want to emphasize. Provide specific details that serve to satisfy your purpose.

Organizing. Although most of your essay will probably be united by a narrative line, make sure that you complement this narrative with interpretive commentary (at the beginning and/or at the end and/or along the way).

Revising. Keep your readers in mind. This is a "personal" essay in the sense that the information it contains is drawn from your own experience or at least filtered through your own observations. It is not, however, a private essay (i.e., one written only for yourself or for intimate acquaintances). Rather, you are writing for a general audience of intelligent adults--your peers in the class. The challenge is to write an essay that is not only interesting (vivid, precise, well-constructed) but also intellectually and emotionally inviting. Put simply, you want your readers to identify in some fashion with the people, places, and incidents that you describe.

Format. Essays should be word processed, following the format illustrated at the bottom of this page.  (Remember to bring two hard copies to class for the peer review.) Following your essay, provide a brief self-evaluation by responding to these questions:

1. What part of this essay do you like most, and why?
2. What part gave you the most difficulty? Explain.
3. What is your overall evaluation of the essay--its particular strengths and possible weaknesses?
Please be as specific as you can in your answers.

1. We have all had experiences that have changed the directions of our lives. Such experiences may be momentous, such as moving from one part of the country to another or losing a family member or close friend. On the other hand, they may be experiences that did not appear particularly significant at the time but have since proved to be important. Recall such a turning point in your life, and present it so as to give the reader a sense of what your life was like before the event and how it changed afterwards.

2. Without getting sentimental or cute, recreate your childhood perspective of a particular family or community ritual. Your purpose might be to highlight the division between the child's perspective and the adult's; or it might be to illustrate the child's movement toward an adult perspective.

3. Sometimes a significant relationship with someone can help us to mature, easily or painfully. Recount the story of such a relationship in your own life or in the life of someone you know well. If this relationship marked a turning point in your life or if it provided you with an important change of self-image, present enough information so that readers can understand the causes and effects of the change and can recognize the before-and-after portraits.

4. Write a reminiscence of a place that has had considerable significance for you (either during your childhood or more recently)--positive, negative, or both. For readers who are unfamiliar with the place, demonstrate its meaning through description, a series of vignettes, and/or an account of one or two quintessential people or events you associate with that place.

5. In the spirit of the familiar saying, "It's the going, not the getting there, that matters," write an account of a memorable journey, important either because of the physical, emotional, or psychological experience of travel; or because of the phenomenon of leaving somewhere for an unknown experience.

Other topics along these lines are acceptable. If you'd like to discuss your topic ideas, call or send an e-mail to schedule an appointment.

Manuscript format:

Word processed (Microsoft Word or WordPerfect), standard 12-point font, with one-inch margins: top, bottom, left, and right.