Stories are one of the primary methods by which people make meaning in the world. The stories we tell to ourselves and to each other help us to figure out the world and our places in it. Storytelling, producing narrative, is fundamental to all language tasks, and so it is appropriate to have students practice doing it in class.
Students desiring to get a bit ahead on the assignment (which will help, I promise) are advised to seek out examples of literacy narratives. The assignment itself is not specifically a literacy narrative, although it is similar in many respects to one, so that looking at literacy narratives is likely to prove helpful in carrying it out. Also, please note that inappropriately copying materials from what is linked above--or from any other source or sources--will count as plagiarism (if uncited) or academic dishonesty (if cited) and will incur substantial penalties appropriate to the offense.
For the Spring 2013 term at TCI, students will be required to write a narrative detailing their experience with a job, having one, seeking one, or losing one. The narrative needs to consist of some two to three full pages, typed and appropriately formatted (with formatting guidelines appearing as a PDF document on this page). It is expected that the information will derive from personal experience; as such, no external citation or external information is expected. The note about plagiarism and academic dishonesty above applies.
Examples of the kinds of writing students are expected to produce are here. Please note that the formatting differs due to the medium.
Submissions are expected as Word documents (.doc, .docx, or .rtf file formats) attached to emails sent to the instructor at geoffrey.b.elliott@gmail.com. Hard copies will only be accepted at the instructor's discretion, and only via prior approval. Comments will be returned to students through the same medium; email allows for clearer and generally quicker returns.