Prewriting
Read through the entries in your Writer's Notebook for ideas about important events in your life. You can also talk with people who remember events and your role in them, and you can use a questioning system like the six basic questions.
Questions like these will help you think of ideas for writing about events and about the people and places involved in them:
• What happened? Briefly list the steps in the event, one after the other.
• Who was involved? Write down what you can see, hear, touch, and smell about these people. What do you remember about facial features, hands, hair, movements, voices, clothing?
• What did these people do? What were their actions? What did they say? What place or places do you associate with these people?
• What are some details about these places?
• Where did the event take place? Write down what you can
see, hear, taste, touch, and smell about the place.
• How does the place differ from other places like it? What makes it stand out in your mind? What part did the place play in your life? Why was it important to you?
• Why did the event happen? What was the reason for it, or the cause?
• What were your thoughts and feelings during and just after the event? How have these thoughts and feelings changed over the years?
You probably will not use all of the details you gather with these questions, and you may remember and add more details as you write. With practice you will learn which details will best enhance or clarify your narrative.
Writing
Write about the details of the event in chronological order, the order they occurred in time. Include your thoughts and feelings about the event. Use your prewriting notes to guide your writing.
Postwriting
Reread what you have written to make sure that:
• Specific details are used about the events to make them seem real to readers.
• Specific details are used to describe people and places that are part of the events.
• Details are organized so that readers can easily follow what happens.
• Details include those of sound, touch, taste, and smell as well as sight.
• Your thoughts and feelings about the event are included
• Readers are given the information they need to understand people, places, and events.
Use the checklist at the back of this book to proofread you writing assignment.
