Assignment/ Activity Title --- Personal Narrative

Year --- Junior

Portfolio Competency --- Critical Thinking
Skill --- Writing

In order to develop writing style and good use of writing techniques, the personal
narrative essay had each student write a story about an experience we had. While the essay was
very open ended, the point of the narrative was to use stylistic devices in a way that would get
the audience to feel and connect to the story. The project in and of itself felt like a critical
thinking reflection. I chose to write about music, and how going back and listening to the
playlists that I made earlier in high school made me reflect on how much I’d changed and grown.
This project achieved its purpose in making me understand how to develop connection. Before, I
thought of writing as a one dimensional tool. My writing was very planar in this sense, as I
wasn’t able to use style to my advantage. When thinking about the audience, it changes the way
you present your narrative. And with this project, because it was targeted towards others my age,
I learned how to use imagery and tone to hook their attention effectively. I was also able to read
the narratives of other students in my class, and it helped me understand how they used devices
in similar and different ways than my own. When thinking about writing now, and after much of
my time in AP Lang, my thinking tends to lean much more towards the relationship between
reader and writer, rather than just writing for the sake of putting something on paper.