MWA 1 ~ Starting a Conversation (Literacy Narrative)

For many people, the term “literacy” refers to the ability to read and write. This is the most
common definition, but there are other aspects of being literate.

First, being literate can mean being "educated" or understanding how something works. All
communities, cultures, and subcultures—geographical, academic, religious, athletic, musical,
social—have their own languages, rituals, and behaviors which can be understood and manipulated
by someone who is literate in that area.

Second, being literate can mean "having knowledge or competence” and being able to do something
well. For example, we speak of people being computer literate, a master chef, a skateboard pro,
or a guitar shredder, but they didn’t get that way overnight. The process that they took to get
from beginner to expert took a lot of hard work, determination, and in some cases, some painful
failures where they learned the importance of persistence, flexibility, and reflecting on the
significance of what they learned and how it changed them.

Your Purpose: Use concrete details, description and narration (storytelling) to show how you
acquired what you learned and demonstrate its significance in learning more about yourself and
the world around you.

Your Audience: Your actual audience for this essay is your instructor. For your ideal audience,
think of your reader as someone you've known for a short period of time who is interested in
learning something important about you and your decisions to educate yourself.

Getting Started: For your first essay, try to focus on a moment or a period in your life when you
realized the significance of being literate in some way. Think about the context of why you were
in that position in the first place. How did you come to learn this new way of knowing? Did you
have trouble using a computer to register for classes? Did you fit into a subculture because you
learned to speak its language (ex: The Army) and did it help you realize something important
about yourself? Did a special skill or aptitude you possess have a profound impact on your life?

Try to remember a moment or incident in your life when you learned something about the
importance of being literate in this way. How did it change you? What was the important lesson
you learned about yourself? What was at stake? What did you gain? What did you lose? How did
this new knowledge change you in some way so that, like Sherman Alexie in the SWA 1 reading or
like John Lewis in the SWA 2 reading, you couldn’t go back to how you were before?

When drafting this essay, make sure to focus on a specific event and provide evidence supporting
your claim about this thing that changed you. You can do this in the form of details. Don't forget
to show significance on a personal and a more universal level. Why should we care about this
incident? What could we learn from reading about your experience? Make sure to pick your topic
carefully; choosing a subject you are familiar with and care about will help you write a more
effective narrative. Rereading sources so you are more familiar with them
After developing a draft, we will then focus on revision and explore concepts relating to
structure, development, editing, and MLA format.

Remember to save all work this semester electronically for the final portfolio!
Questions to consider if stuck: In what ways has gaining an education in this way been an act of
defiance of expectations or an assertion of power for you? Think about your own experiences,
along with the experiences of Sherman Alexie and/or other literacy narratives that we read. How
can you connect your experiences to Alexie, Lewis’s, or Barry’s literacy narratives?
Format: Your essay should be 3 full pages, word processed and in MLA format