2. What is an autobiographical
narrative?
• Autobiographical – your life
• Narrative – story
A descriptive story about a memorable
event or time in your life.
3. Narrative Writing
• Tells a story
• Has the elements of a short story:
-character
-plot
-setting
-theme
4. Narrative Writing (cont.)
• Has a beginning, middle, and end
• Tells the order in which events take
place
• Told from a particular point of view
(yours in the case of autobiographical
narrative)
5. Autobiographical
Incident
• Tells a story about a
memorable event or
experience in your life
• Is written from events
in your memory
• Expresses your
thoughts and feelings
6. Introduction
• Opener – something interesting to get the
reader’s attention
• Necessary background information – what
the reader needs to know in order for the
story to make sense
• Hint at meaning – Give an idea about what
this event meant to you and/or how it
changed you
7. Body
• Tell about events in chronological order
(the order in which they occurred)
– Include people, places, emotions, dialogue,
sensory details, etc.
8. Conclusion
• Reflect – How did it change you? How
did it affect your character? How did it
affect choices you made with your future?
• Ending – End with a direct statement of
the significance of the experience
9. Basic Considerations
• Purpose – to describe an experience that
had a significant effect on your life
• Audience – the reader (parents, students,
teachers)
*To show the effect to your audience, you
must introduce yourself as you were
before the experience and show how it
changed you by the end.
10. Who Are You?
• Think of defining moments in
your life
• Remember experiences that
helped shape who you are
• Recall images that stir up
vivid memories and feelings
• Be sure that you are
comfortable enough with this
experience to share it with
your audience
11. Questions to get you
started
What was your most memorable birthday? Why?
Have you ever been injured? What happened?
What kinds of trips/vacations have you taken? Describe
them.
Have you ever moved homes? Describe.
What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
Describe.
What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever been through?
Describe
Has anyone close to you died? Describe.
Describe the first time you learned something (riding a
bike, swimming, etc.)
12. I remember my 8th
birthday pretty well. My
party was at McDonalds and I had about 10-15
friends there. I don’t remember all of them, but
I clearly remember Katie, Lance, Diane, and my
sisters being there. The reason it was so
memorable is because I was very sick the entire
day. I was late arriving at my own party because
I had been getting sick at home. I continued to
be sick at the restaurant and couldn’t even enjoy
any of the food. One of the greatest things
about that day, though, was the fact that my
friends and family were all there for me and did
everything they could to make it a good birthday
for me. I learned the value of friendship that
day.
