Assignment 2: The Autobiographical Sketch

EngC 1011 University Writing and Critical Reading

Kevin L. Callahan

EngC 1011 Writing Instructor

call0031@tc.umn.edu

(612) 623-7685

Educational Goals:

Writing personal narratives that make a point, persuade, or entertain are a favorite feature of newspaper opinion pages. Columnists make a living writing in this genre. University students have many experiences to draw upon and clearly recording their memories at this time in their lives is a form of writing that is often valued much later in life.

Autobiographical Sketch (3 pages). Writing for yourself, your family, and posterity: -

In this exercise you will create an "external permanent memory" through narrative personal writing. Your topic may be entertaining or serious and usually describes a personal experience, e.g., The Roomate from Hell, Meeting Uncle Frank - the bootlegger, My First Job at the U of M, A Trip to the Boundary Waters, My Worst Blind Date, etc. Do not write about any experiences before college and do not rewrite any earlier papers. This must be an entirely new paper.

Exemplars: Examples of this type of writing may be found in many newspapers in their opinion columns. If you are good at this genre of writing, and enjoy it, you might be able to make a living with it.

Format

As with all major written assignments in the class, this assignment should be handed in with the first draft, all peer review comments, and the pre-grading sheet put inside the left side of a two pocket folder. The final draft should be on the right side. A two pocket folder can be purchased for 10 cents at Office Max or at a University Bookstore. Papers are due when class starts and should be in the standard format described in the syllabus.

Publication to The Class Bulletin Board:

Part of this assignment is to "publish" your Autobiographical Sketch to the rest of the class by posting it on the class bulletin board on or before the due date (and time) at
http://members2.boardhost.com/engc/

(The class bulletin board is also linked to the class website.)

Assigned:

First day of class. Tuesday, January 16, 2001

Due Dates:

FIRST DRAFT: Tuesday, January 23^rd (an original and 3 copies).

The Editing Practice/Peer Review workshop for your first draft will take place on Tuesday, January 23^rd. Three of your peers will review your first draft for mistakes.

SECOND DRAFT: Thursday January 25 (1 copy). All of the suggestions of your peer reviewers must be incorporated into your revision of your First Draft. Your Second Draft will be reviewed on Thursday during the Pre-Grading Workshop by someone who was not in your original Peer Review group. You will only need 1 copy for the Pre-Grading Workshop. Following the Pre-Grading Workshop you will have several days to correct any errors or omissions noted by the Pre-Grader.

FINAL DRAFT DUE: Tuesday, January 30th. Your instructor will grade the Final Draft.

Number of course points: 40 points.