TASK OVERVIEW
People enjoy reading autobiographies by people they admire, for example, entertainers, sports figures, politicians, or business leaders. These famous people write their autobiographies because they are proud of themselves and what they have done in their lives.
Autobiographies are similar to diaries in that they relate feelings, thoughts and true events from different times in a person's life. But diaries are personal and usually kept private, while autbiographies are meant to be shared with other people. They discuss the memorable or important people, events, and places that have affected and shaped a person's life.
Writing your autobiography will help you see how the people and events around you have helped to make you the person you are. You can share your own view of your life through eyewitness descriptions of people, places, and events.
INSTRUCTIONS
Write your autobiography. Or focus only on one or two main events from your life and write an excerpt.
Follow the autobiography suggestions outlined in the "Writing Sense" text, pages 16 through 19.
In this assignment, students must take their personal narrative through the writing process:
1) narrow the topic
2) prewriting (brainstorm)
3) rough draft or drafts
4) revise and edit (continually -read aloud many times)
5) final copy
Use your "Write Traits" book to guide you through the writing process:
A) The four steps of the Ideas trait:
1) narrowing the topic (p.13-14)
2) prewriting (drawing and using detail "bricks", web, lists etc.)
3) from fuzzy to focused (p.16-19)
4) transform sketchy, dull writing into a piece capable of holding a reader's attention
B) Organize your writing:
1) strong lead
2) use an appropriate organizational pattern (p. 30)
3) use transitional phrases and words (p.34)
4) strong conclusion
C) Using Your Own Voice:
1) matching voice to the audience (p.42-45)
2) revise to improve voice (p.54-57)
D) Word Choice:
1) use sensory language to create vivid mental pictures (p.60-62)
2) use synonyms to expand vocabulary (p.65)
3) replacing flat, colourless language with specific word choice (p.67-69)
4) cutting clutter from wordy passages (p.73)
E) Sentence Fluency:
1) varying sentence length (p.77)
2) rewriting run-on sentences (p.80-81)
3) revising to make sentences more fluent (p.84-86)
4) analysing a paragraph for fluency (p.88-90)
You will hand in:
1) your prewriting
2) Your rough copies
3) your final copy.
Please separate the two with a coloured sheet of paper.
Also:
1) Indicate CLEARLY the organizational pattern you are using.
2) Underline ALL the transitional phrases used.
3) Underline ALL the synonyms and indicate above each the original word (use a colour pencil)
The length of your autobiography should be between 1 to 2 pages.
ASSESSED SKILLS
1) Communication: How clearly are your ideas coming across?
communicates ideas and information for a variety of purposes (to inform, to persuade, to explain)
2) Organization of Ideas
- are your paragraphs well organized
- does each paragraph pertain to your subject
- do your sentences flow from one to the next
organizes information to convey a central idea, using well-linked paragraphs
3) Application of Language Conventions
grammar, punctuation, spelling and capitilization proofreads and corrects final drafts, focusing on grammar, punctuation, spelling, and conventions of style
4)Communication
variety of sentence structures - seeing the numbers p.77 "Write Traits"uses a variety of sentence types (e.g. questions, statements) and sentence structures (e.g. complex sentences) appropriate for their purposes
5) Communication
sensory language and synonyms selects words and expressions to create specific effects (e.g. to distinguish between speakers in dialogue)