Part 1: Language and Literacy Narrative

For this assignment, you are required to write about your experience with language and literacy:

Some options to help you brainstorm:

•  What moments stand out to you when it comes to how you use language and literacy?

• Can you recall any family, cultural, or social events related to reading or writing that you found enlightening, encouraging, awkward, challenging, or unjust? 

• A key language or literacy moment when positive or negative emotions soared, where you struggled or triumphed? 

• An object or artifact that serves as a memory of a place, activity, or person connected to your language and literacy development? 

Please note that you DO NOT have to answer every single question above. These are just jumping off points to help you think about what you want to write about. 

Furthermore, the moment you write about forms the basis of your literacy narrative, so it should be a subject matter that you are comfortable sharing. 

Language and Literacy Narrative (LLN):

Your written narrative should be 2.5-3-pages and should contain 

1. a carefully crafted and revised story of a specific moment, event, or experience; 
2. vivid details that draw your readers into the scene; 
3. 3+ materials and media to support your narrative, such as pictures of artifacts, images, links, video clips, quotes, sound bites, etc.
4. your interpretations of the larger social significance of the event chosen. (After all, our individual narratives reflect larger trends in society, history, where you grew up, and identities like gender, race, culture, linguistic background, and ability.

Part 2: Reflection

Write a reflection to me (Prof. Gandhi) by answering the following questions in paragraph form:

1. How and why did you choose the story you wrote about?
2. How did you enhance strategies for reading, drafting, revising, editing, and self-assessment (how you revised your LLN)?
3. How did you develop and engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes (how peer review helped or did not help you revise your work)?
4. How did you negotiate your own writing goals and audience expectations regarding conventions of genre, medium, and rhetorical situation?
5. What did you struggle with, if anything, when writing this assignment?
6. What did you learn, if anything, when writing this assignment?

The reflection should be no more than 2 pages. This is your chance to tell me what you learned, what your experience was with this assignment, and anything else you want me to know.

First Draft of LLN due: Thursday, 6/6 (before class)

Final Draft of LLN with Reflection due: Friday, 6/7 at 5:00pm

Portfolio Version of LLN due: Monday, 7/1 at 2:05pm

Assignment Rubric:

1. Appropriate Focus and Rhetorical Effectiveness of the Written Narrative. How effectively does the written narrative provide 1-2 concrete examples and specific details of the writer’s language/literacy experiences? How effectively does the narrative attend to description? How effectively does the narrative appeal to the intended audience?

2. Explicit Commentary on Significance and Implications. How effectively does the written narrative highlight some central idea about a larger social significance? That is, how well does the narrative implicitly or explicitly comment on the larger implications of the story, signaling connections to national trends or to the writer’s life, family, generation, gender, race, culture, linguistic background, ability, and/or geographic location?

3. Appropriate Focus and Rhetorical Effectiveness of the Spoken Narrative. How effectively does the spoken presentation draw classmates into the writer’s language/literacy experiences? How effectively are the 3 minutes utilized?

4. Use of Multimedia. How effectively do the written and spoken narratives integrate multiple modes (not just speech vs. writing but also the use of pictures, images, objects, props, links, and music)?

5. General Requirements. Were all requirements for length and due date met?