Biographical Narrative Essay - Rowland High School
Biographical Narrative Essay - Rowland High School Biographical Narrative Essay - Rowland High School
Biographical Narrative Essay Ms. Wellmeyer
- Page 2 and 3: Step 1: Pre-Writing Select a Person
- Page 4 and 5: Think about the person Think about
- Page 6 and 7: Ms. W’s W s Example Dad… We w
- Page 8 and 9: Ms. W’s W s example My dad… B
- Page 10 and 11: Ms. W’s W s example Always carin
- Page 12 and 13: 1. well-described incident (one or
- Page 14 and 15: 3. Specific names of people, places
- Page 16 and 17: 5. Let the reader know how you feel
- Page 18 and 19: Student Example… I admire my cous
- Page 20 and 21: David and I bonded when he started
- Page 22 and 23: In addition, he is teaching me how
- Page 24 and 25: Step 2: Begin Outlining and Plannin
- Page 26 and 27: Paragraphs This is a more informal
- Page 28 and 29: Intro. Paragraph This paragraph sh
- Page 30 and 31: Final Paragraph Remind the reader
- Page 32 and 33: Create some type of outline where y
- Page 34: Writing Steps 1. Write 2. Read 3. R
<strong>Biographical</strong><br />
<strong>Narrative</strong> <strong>Essay</strong><br />
Ms. Wellmeyer
Step 1:<br />
Pre-Writing<br />
Select a Person
First, Select a person…<br />
Think of someone important to you<br />
Someone you have known for a<br />
long time<br />
Write their name on the top of your<br />
paper<br />
You may use their actual name (Mary)<br />
or a title (Mom) or nick name (Bugs)
Think about the person<br />
Think about the following:<br />
What does the person look like<br />
Why is this person important to<br />
you<br />
What have you experienced<br />
together
Now write…<br />
Write in detail at least one specific<br />
incident that characterizes your<br />
chosen person<br />
characterizes means: an incident<br />
that is an example of what this<br />
person is like, or what this person<br />
means to you
Ms. W’s W s Example<br />
Dad…<br />
We went camping and I made him<br />
blow up my air mattress because I<br />
refused to sleep on the ground<br />
He got so light-headed headed because we<br />
were way up high in the mountains<br />
And I ended up sleeping in the car<br />
because I was cold and it rained
More to write…<br />
Write down physical<br />
characteristics about the person<br />
Especially ones that contribute to<br />
the person being unique or different<br />
Examples: type of clothes, a<br />
particular hat, friendly eyes, big<br />
nose, etc
Ms. W’s W s example<br />
My dad…<br />
Big belly<br />
Always wears golf shirts<br />
And weird golf hats from the<br />
“shark” guy<br />
Prickly beard<br />
Strong<br />
Funny laugh…<br />
almost like a snicker
More writing…<br />
List a few more things that makes<br />
the person important to you<br />
Example: ability to listen, ability to<br />
make you laugh, always there for you<br />
What has this person done to<br />
affect you
Ms. W’s W s example<br />
Always caring<br />
Tries to help me out<br />
Stayed up all night to wash paint off<br />
my car…let me go to sleep<br />
Took me out to a “business lunch” so I<br />
could see what he did for a living<br />
Helped me with all of my science<br />
projects in elementary school
Must-Haves<br />
Haves…<br />
The following are things you MUST<br />
write in your essay in order to get a<br />
passing grade<br />
(make sure to write them down)
1. well-described incident (one or more)<br />
showing the personality or character of<br />
the person<br />
a. Describe the setting of the incidents<br />
Example: It was so cold that evening that I<br />
could see the air flow from my lips. I<br />
pressed my cold hand into the open<br />
pocket of my dad’s s feather jacket.
2. dialogue (if possible) to make the<br />
character “alive” and “talking”<br />
Example: “Are you cold” he had asked.<br />
“No” I whispered from my half-frozen<br />
frozen<br />
lips.
3. Specific names of people, places,<br />
objects, and actions<br />
Example: His name was Ed, or Eddie,<br />
according to my grandmother.
4. A clear indication of the significance<br />
of the person<br />
a. in other words, do not hide the<br />
reasons why this person is<br />
important to youtell it directly<br />
Example: I admire my father because he<br />
is selfless and put my feelings before<br />
his own.
5. Let the reader know how you feel<br />
about the person.and directly write<br />
it.<br />
Example: I love my dad; he is the<br />
greatest person in my world. He is<br />
intelligent, caring, and honest. He is<br />
the reason I am the person I am today.
6. Use transitions to let the reader know<br />
you are changing subjects, continuing<br />
on with the story, concluding an idea,<br />
etc<br />
First, Second, Next, Furthermore,<br />
Moreover, However, One time, In fact,<br />
Like I said, Although, Another,<br />
Nowadays, Eventually, etc
Student Example…<br />
I admire my cousin David because he is<br />
very funny, and it seems like nothing can get<br />
him down. He doesn’t t care what others think<br />
about him, and when I asked him why, he said,<br />
“That’s s just the bottom line, ‘cause I said so!”<br />
Because of that attitude, someone could walk<br />
up and give him the worst insult ever and he<br />
would make a joke out of it. In fact even though<br />
he does not remember it, he made up his first<br />
joke when he was five.
David, a.k.a ‘Bro’ He has brown eyes and<br />
dark brown hair, and he dreams of becoming a<br />
comic. He even made up his own super hero<br />
and sidekick. He is always trying to come up<br />
with good, new material. Sometimes he<br />
amuses me and others with funny little routines<br />
he has made. My favorite one is about killing<br />
cockroaches.<br />
Besides that, his style of dressing is all his<br />
own. He buys his clothes at discount stores<br />
and his shirts are always striped with weird<br />
colors. “He looks like a comic I guess, he<br />
could be one” says my friend Anne.
David and I bonded when he started<br />
going to the same school as me. He<br />
entered when I was in the fifth grade and<br />
he was in sixth. We started hanging out<br />
together. He always came up to my house<br />
after school and would teach me stuff<br />
about his favorite cartoons, and he would<br />
tell me jokes. I started referring to his as<br />
my big brother in the seventh grade,<br />
because he is like the big brother I never<br />
had. Now I just call him ‘bro. bro.’
Moreover, David is very important to<br />
me. Without him I would not have all the<br />
friends that I do.<br />
David spends his spare time playing his<br />
Game Boy Color and acting aloof. That<br />
gives the impression he doesn’t t care,<br />
though, if he tried, he is quite intelligent<br />
and he helps me out a lot. He teaches me<br />
how to work my Game Boy and how to<br />
play and win the games.
In addition, he is teaching me how to work<br />
my cell phone. When I call him on the phone,<br />
he always answers it with “Hey, hey, hey, oh.”<br />
The way he says it seems to get a smile out of<br />
me. When he calls me sometimes he tries to<br />
make me think he is someone else, so he will<br />
not say the usual things. But I always know it<br />
is him because of his voice.<br />
Like me, David loves animals, and every<br />
few years he changes his favorite animal.<br />
First it was bears. Then it was eagles. And<br />
now he likes tigers.
I hope this is enough to prove to you<br />
that David is the greatest cousin ever and<br />
that people understand what a great cousin<br />
I have. I think I am very lucky. I hope I<br />
never lose him. I know that he and I will be<br />
friends forever.
Step 2:<br />
Begin Outlining<br />
and Planning for<br />
your <strong>Essay</strong>
Tips to remember…<br />
You are having a conversation with<br />
the person reading your essay.<br />
Use first person…<br />
I think that,<br />
My dad and I,<br />
I feel that,<br />
Now you see what<br />
I mean when I say…
Paragraphs<br />
This is a more informal way of<br />
writing, so your paragraphs DO<br />
NOT have to be exactly 4-54<br />
sentences long<br />
Each paragraph should have ONE<br />
topic or idea<br />
Paragraphs can be long or short
However,<br />
Avoid the following things when<br />
writing your biographical<br />
narrative:<br />
Do not use only long or short<br />
paragraphsuse a mixture of both<br />
If your paragraph reached 8<br />
sentences, it is too long. Break it<br />
into 2 paragraphs
Intro. Paragraph<br />
This paragraph should introduce the<br />
person you are writing about<br />
Something to show the reader that this<br />
person is interesting or important<br />
Examples:<br />
When my dad was in high school<br />
I admire my cousin David<br />
My brother is a great person<br />
Right across the street from me lives Sue...
Body Paragraphs<br />
These paragraphs get into the story and<br />
are about the person<br />
Have at least ONE big, important story<br />
AND many little ones and smaller facts<br />
Think about how you would explain this<br />
person to a friendand write that way<br />
Have a conversation with the reader
Final Paragraph<br />
Remind the reader what you really<br />
think and feel about the person you<br />
wrote about<br />
Restate the traits, qualities,<br />
personality, interesting facts, etc.<br />
about your person
A final note…<br />
Even though this writing should be<br />
informal, try to tell a story from<br />
beginning to end. Do not randomly say<br />
things. If you are describing an event,<br />
describe it in one paragraph then move<br />
on. Do not remember something you<br />
forgot to mention earlier and just write it<br />
in—the comment should “fit” in your<br />
essay.
Create some type of outline where you<br />
decide where and when you are going to<br />
write<br />
Ms. W’s W s example<br />
Example Outline<br />
Paragraph 1: introduce my dad<br />
Paragraph 2: talk about his weird clothes & car<br />
Paragraph 3: camping trip<br />
Paragraph 4: how I felt after the trip<br />
Paragraph 5: the ice cream incident<br />
Paragraph 6: why he is special, conclude
Step Three:<br />
Write your essay
Writing Steps<br />
1. Write<br />
2. Read<br />
3. Re-read<br />
4. 2 others read<br />
5. Revise