A Life-Changing Experience
Begin by reading:
The writing assignment:
Write a narrative of a turning point in your personal life, focusing on one particular event that
changed you.
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Aim at being concrete and specific. By the time we are finished reading, we should have a very
definite sense that we have been through this with you.
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Ask yourself how you were changed by this event. If you caught the winning touchdown pass that got
your team the state championship, so what? How did it change you?
Advice:
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Get clear about what this assignment is asking for. You are not being asked for your opinions
concerning Nazi Germany, Haiti, or immigration (unless, of course, you yourself are an immigrant).
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There is no point in going to Google or ChatGPT to learn details of your own personal history. Write
your own stuff.
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By the way, Artificial Intelligence programs have a terrible tendency to invent foolish
fiction. If you write something which is highly questionable—for example about your
own escape from Nazi Germany in 1945—you might well be asked to discuss it in open
class session.
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The style and diction of these two pieces should be a model for you as well. Piling up big words to
be impressive is not the goal here. Do not, for example, write about the “plethoric
rambunctiousness of the intellect of my first trigonometrical pedagogue.” It is probably
enough to say that your first trig teacher was really smart.
Mechanical details:
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The final product will be typed and double-spaced according to
MLA format.
- The essay will be at least 1300 words long. (That’s about 4 pages in standard format.)
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If the paper does not meet the minimum length requirement, it will be penalized. If you can’t
think up enough material for four pages, ask for help! Go to the
Writing Center! Ask the instructor for advice!
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The final copy of the paper will be submitted through the
Blackboard drop box. To
submit your essay, open the Course Essentials folder at the top of our Blackboard page and
find this essay’s drop box in the Written Assignment Drop Boxes folder.
Due dates:
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Peer Editing: Bring
two paper copies of your
rough draft of Essay #1 to class Wednesday, September 16, 2026
- Final Copy Due: Friday, September 18, 2026
This essay is worth 100 points.