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Narrative/Descriptive Essay Assignment
Writing Workshop: 10.21/10.22
Final Due Date: 10.26/10.27
Instructions: Choose one of the following topics and construct a formal essay that is either
predominantly narrative or descriptive in nature. At some level, you may be mixing the two, but
your essay should either seek to tell a narrative
story or creates a
descriptive dominant
impression. In either case, you should create an essay with a thesis, either explicit or implied,
that adheres to the conventions of the mode you choose.
Topics (borrowed and modified from th ed.)
Patterns for College Writing, 9
1. Narrate the history of an object that is of great value to you. If you are not sure of the
actual history of the object, you may either create a history or research it. Use the
history of the object to reveal something about yourself.
2. Write a narrative that tells what happened in a class, a short story, television show, a
conversation, a fable, etc. Remember, you are telling a narrative, not giving a plot
summary.
3. Write an account of one of these “firsts”: your first date; your first serious argument with
your parents; your first experience with physical violence or danger; your first extended
stay away from home; your first encounter with a culture that was very different from
your own; your first experience with a serious illness or death of a close friend or relative.
4. Write a narrative about a time when you were an outsider, isolated because of social,
intellectual, or ethnic differences between you and others. Did you resolve the problems
your isolation created? Explain.
5. Choose a character from a work of fiction or a film who you think is truly interesting.
Write a descriptive essay that conveys what makes this character so special.
6. Describe a particular memorable public event (sports, concert, parade) you have
attended. Include both your reaction and the reaction of other spectators.
7. Assume you are writing a letter to someone in another country who knows little about life
in the United States. Describe to this person something that you consider to be typically
Americana baseball stadium, a state fair, or a shopping mall, for example.
8. Describe your neighborhood to a visitor who knows nothing about it. Organize the detail
in a pattern that is easy to follow or makes sense in creating a dominant and overall
impression.
9. Write an essay in which you describe an especially frightening horror film. What specific
sights and sounds make this film so horrifying? Avoid plot summary, and make sure to
include a thesis that evaluates the film’s success as a horror film.
10. Consider the books that have been most influential to you at different important stages of
your life. Then, write your “literary autobiography,” tracing your personal development
through your experience with these books.