The Impromptu Portrait: 100 Word Autobiographical

Snapshot
Assignment Sheet

Generally speaking, a portrait is regarded as a picture of a person that

clearly captures the image and likeness of the subject. There are two types
of portraits: arranged and impromptu. An arranged portrait is one in which
the artist and the subject have pre-determined the various elements of the
subject. A snapshot on the other hand, catches the subject in the middle of
an action, but something – be it composition, what the subject is doing, the
face the subject makes, or some combination of those things – does more
than indicate what the person was doing at that moment; it lets the viewer
think they know something about the person. In this case, we will not be
taking photographs, but painting pictures with our words.

Think about the various roles you play in life. Each person has a number of
roles that they play in life. Your favorite NFL athlete may simultaneously be
a father, son, teacher, student, and athlete, among other things. Now think
of the roles you play in life. What are some of the overlapping parts that you
play in life? What are some events in your life that have helped you to
become the person you are today? How do those events encapsulate what it
means to be you? What events would you say provide a snapshot of who
you are?

For this exercise, you are going to briefly (100 words) describe an event in
such a way that it gives the reader a good understanding of who you are as a
person. The event can be major or minor, but the reader should come away
with a good idea of something that is important to you and your overall
outlook on life. Your writing will be focused on showing what happened,
rather than telling about it. You can do this using narrative, dialogue, or a
combination of both.

To complete this assignment, you will need to do the following:

 Brainstorm the various roles you play in life and select four.
 Think of at least three self-defining events for each role
 Write a 100-word description of one event from each role
 Select your best Snapshot
  Revise it for:
○ Theme (make sure the event helps the reader to get a picture of
you)
○ Concision (make sure it is 100 words or less)
○ Descriptiveness (paint pictures with your words)
○ Appropriate diction for your audience (people you do not know)
 Edit it for:
○ Consistent verb tense throughout
○ Proper spelling and capitalization
 Either draw a picture of print a photograph of yourself that shows you
and the event that your Snapshot describes.
 Print your document and present it with your illustration.

This assignment will be worth up to 150 points on your English grade. The
points will be divided as follows:

 35 points pre-writing
 100 points final product
 15 points illustration