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You will tell a personal story in which an event or
series of events leads the writer (you) to new insights about life. Your memoir
contains a theme of suspense, something that needs to be resolved. Your goal in
a memoir is to uncover the meaning of your past for your readers and for
yourself. Certain experiences remain within us from the day they occurred
throughout the rest of our lives. They formed us. They might be as small as the
overhearing of a whispered sentence, but we recorded then in our memories, and
they became part of who we are. In writing about these experiences, we
understand them from a new perspective and may gain insights.
Every human being sees the world uniquely. No person
should take for granted that the way they see the world is the way everyone
sees the world. If a person recognizes that their vision can enlarge everyone
else’s vision, they realize that they have a contribution to make, and that
contribution lies in being honest to their own ideas. The first necessity,
then, in writing is: respect yourself.
The Characteristics of a good Memoir
Your memoir has an introduction that sets the scene.
The first paragraph also contains a “hook” that captures the reader’s interest.
Think of a particular moment in the experience you are about to describe. Then,
in your mind, locate yourself in the precise spot where you were

.
Your memoir has vivid details and an engaging title:
Write your name in the center of a blank piece of paper
1. Sense
of vision—write the names of things you see. Place the names of the things you
can touch close to your name. Place the distant objects out near the edges of
the paper.
2. Sounds—name
the sounds you heard. Write the names of nearby sounds close to your name and
distant, background sounds near the edges of the paper. Write in larger letters
any predominant sounds or sounds that startled you. Record remembered spoken
words by others or of yourself.
3. Touch—what
you were wearing—how you felt physically—atmosphere—color.
4. Smell—food,
objects, people, including yourself.
5. Taste—If
you had a taste or flavor in your mouth name it.
Your memoir contains good topic sentences for each
paragraph, and each paragraph transitions smoothly to the next paragraph. In
this way your memoir has a plot that draws the reader forward as your narration
moves through a series of scenes or stages.
Your memoir uses Times New Roman, double spaced, font
size 12, and is in MLA format. Word count should be about 600-700 words, which
is approximately 2 to 3 full pages.
Memoir due:
Rough
Draft due: Monday, June 13, 2022, during class (10% of final paper grade)
Final
Paper Due: Wednesday, June 15, 2022, at the start of class.