Memoir Assignment

“I’m trying to write stories that haven’t been written.”​ ​-Sandra Cisneros

To start the second quarter, you will be writing a short memoir, which is a word for a story that
centers around you and your experiences (as opposed to narrative, which is a story that centers
around an experience or moment).

Memoir can take many forms. They can be specific stories, series of events that built around a
single idea/moment, or interconnected short stories that work together in some sort of way

While the story/s you tell and topic/s you choose can be whatever work best for you, strong
candidates for memoir often include stories that revolve around…

○ Family rituals/traditions
○ Certain family members
○ Moments of fear, uncertainty, failure, or pain
○ Moments of transformation

The Criteria

The memoir should be between 2-3 pages, SPF. The rough draft will be due Tuesday, Nov. 27.
The final draft is due Tuesday, Dec. 4. This is worth 100 points.
 Memoir Rubric

Requirement Possible Points Points Earned

Matt’s Goals 20 pts. ________

Choosing the right details/Imagery 15 pts. ________

Indirect characterization/Showing Instead of Telling 10 pts. ________

Sentence length/parallel structure 10 pts. ________

Story arc 5pts​. ________

Grammar and Punctuation: ​commas, capitals, sentences,

And apostrophes 20 pts. ________

The Rest: Emotion/Tone/Meaning/Literary Devices 20 pts. ________

Total: 100 pts. ​________