Like baking bread, good writing starts with a mess! In fact, you can’t get to a polished final essay without the messy stages before it.
The next stage of the writing process is drafting. A draft usually isn’t pretty or polished. It may not even express a clear message yet. That’s OK. The most important thing is to keep writing—to take the ideas and details from your prewriting and put them together in full sentences. You’ll clean up your draft later.
Here are some suggestions for how to put together a draft of your personal narrative.
In your first sentence, introduce your topic. Hint at the change or insight you experienced. Here is an example from the video “To Be or Not to Be Seen.”
When I was 13, I never thought I’d be performing in a play. All through middle school, kids called me pretty hurtful names about my weight. Sometimes they pointed at me, and the whole table stared at me. I wanted to be invisible.
Question
What major change does the narrator suggest happened in her life?
In two or three middle paragraphs, use your details to describe your experience. What happened first? What happened next? How and why did your view of yourself change?
Read the middle part of “To Be or Not to Be Seen.”
I told my aunt. She used to bring me to the theater. My aunt suggested I focus on things I like to do.
In high school, I joined the theater club. I made some new friends. I really wanted to act, but I stuck to making sets and doing the lights instead. I still didn’t want people looking at me.
In my senior year, I finally took a small part in the school play. And I loved being on stage! I decided I wanted to be an actor, no matter what anyone said about me.
Question
What information does the writer provide in these three paragraphs?
Your final paragraph should state what you learned and explain how that insight has affected you. What do you do differently now?
Read the last paragraph of “To Be or Not to Be Seen.”
Now I’m a theater major in college, and I have a big role in a Shakespeare play! I’ve been rehearsing soooo much. So far, the reviews are... well... they’re just okay, but what’s really great is that I’m doing what I love. And that makes me happy.
Question
What insight changed the narrator’s life?
Now, follow the instructions in the journal prompt below.
Personal Narrative, Step 3
In your personal narrative file for this module, write the first draft of your personal narrative essay. Include the details and ideas that you came up with during the prewriting stage.
When you have written a draft of your essay with all the required parts, save your work, and go on to the next stage in the process.
