Literacy Narrative Drafts: Recurring Errors
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This document provides reminders and solutions for common errors seen in literacy narrative drafts. It addresses issues with dialogue format, lack of specific stories and details, references to the essay itself, and inappropriate addressing of the reader. For dialogue, it cannot be altered or explained within quotation marks and must fit seamlessly into the narrative. For details, vague hypothetical situations are less effective than real examples. References to "this essay" or the assignment should be avoided. The tone when addressing the reader should be respectful and avoid assumptions about what the reader knows.
Literacy Narrative Drafts: Recurring Errors
- 1. Literacy Narrative Drafts Recurring Errors and Reminders/Solutions
- 2. Error 1: Dialogue Format Reminder: Dialogue quotes exactly what someone said and can’t be altered or explained within the quotation marks. “Holy s*&%!” he said. (No, he didn’t, unless he said “Holy ess-asterisk- ampersand percentage!”) He said, “IDK (I don’t know), wyd (what you doing?)” (Don’t translate within the dialogue itself—that comes later.)
- 3. Error 1: Dialogue Format Dialogue also has to fit seamlessly into your essay. “Our conversation went like this:” is awkward. Yesterday, my niece came over. While sitting on the porch, she looked at me and said, “Why sky blue?”
- 4. Error 1: Dialogue Format Solution: Instructional video will be added to D2L over weekend—check for it! (Everybody needs different help.)
- 5. Error 2: Lack of Stories/Details Reminder: A narrative consists of a story (or stories) to demonstrate your claim— not hypothetical or general situations. Vague examples of how you might or would speak to certain people aren’t as effective as specific situations in which you did speak that way. You may need only one story per type of English you speak—you don’t have to follow the typical support/example body paragraph structure in this genre.
- 6. Error 2: Lack of Stories/Details Avoid: When speaking to my friends, I say “sup?” but I would say something more like “How are you doing?” if speaking to my boss. Say: Last week, after we finished a killer chemistry test, my friend Jess said, “That was whack.”
- 7. Error 2: Lack of Stories/Details Solution: A sample essay with instructor comments will be available on D2L shortly—check for it!
- 8. Error 3: References to Essay “In this essay I will discuss…” “As this essay has demonstrated…” “I’m writing this paper for English class…” “For this assignment, I am required to discuss three Englishes I speak…” Don’t refer to your own essay in the essay—it isn’t appropriate for academic writing.
- 9. Error 4: Addressing Reader Acceptable: Have you ever considered… You may find yourself changing words depending on your audience… Inappropriate/Unacceptable: “As you can clearly see…” “Now you know…” “That sounds weird to you…”