Autobiography

Course Description:

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a platform to tell their stories. Students will develop the skills to reflect on significant aspects of their lives. Throughout the class, students will become familiar with their writing strengths and areas where they can improve. Students who successfully complete the course will contribute polished, publishable “slices” of their lives and a college essay to their graduation portfolios.

The Slices (2 pages minimum, MLA):

1. Significant Place

Some guiding questions:

  • Where did you grow up?

  • What place holds some significance for your? Is it your kitchen? The woods behind your house? It could be an abstract place like the virtual world.

  • Who has been with you in these places?

  • Why did this place shape or influence who you are today?

  • What are some significant memories from this place?

2. Influential Person

Some guiding questions:

  • Who is this person and what is their relationship to you?

  • How did this person influence who you are?

  • What role did this person play and what impact (positive/negative/both?) did they have on you?

  • What spefific memories come to mind when you think of this person?

3. Difficult Moment/Significant Event

Some guiding questions:

  • What were these events? What details come to mind?

  • How did these events impact you?

  • How did you react to these events? How did others react?

  • Why was the event significant? How did the event influence/change you?

4. Obstacle Overcome

Some guiding questions:

  • Describe the lessons/obstacles through anecdotes (detailed stories).

  • Explain the relationship between the lessons/obstacles and your life now.

  • Identify the significance and the long-term impact of the lessons/obstacles.

  • How has this experience shaped who you are and where you are going?

5. Next Steps

Some guiding questions:

        • What do you want your life to look like in the next few years?

        • Be sincere. Don’t write what you think others will want to hear, but what you really want to happen in your life.

        • What steps to you have to take to make this dream a reality?

        • What effect will it have on you? On others?

College Essay:

Content from the five slices can be used to create a college essay that should demonstrate your character and why a post-secondary institution should consider you for admission. This essay can also be adapted for scholarship applications.

Presentations:

Students will be responsible for five presentations. The presentations will be on published personal essays, grammar, and at least one of their own slices. More information on this requirement can be found on the "Presentations" page.