Purpose
It’s time to get your feet wet with a low-pressure topic that will be easy to write about:
An event or series of events that have had an impact on your life. In addition to
practicing and honing your writing skills, you’ll also get to reflect on a moment, or
moments, of your life that have impacted or altered your life.
Although this might seem similar to an autobiography or memoir, it is much smaller in
scope and focuses on one event or series of events in your life. You will describe and
analyze an event or series of events that
has impacted or altered your life in some way
The event (series of events) may have had a positive or negative effect on you and your
future.
Assignment Details
Think about the events that you have experienced during your life. Select one event—or
series of events—that
has impacted or altered your life in some way.
Try to get a firm
image in your head of what the event was like. What made it so enjoyable? Painful?
Informative? Useful? How are you different as a result of experiencing the event?
In a 1,000-1,500 word essay
, describe this event. When you have done so, discuss
why these factors made such a difference in your life. Be as specific, detailed, and
concrete as possible. Feel free to use examples from your personal life both before and
after your chosen event. I suggest that you think of four main reasons why the event has
impacted your life and frame your essay around them.
You will basically be answering these two questions in your essay:
1. What were the four major factors of the event?
2. Why or how did these factors make this event so impactful?
Note: Sometimes the event(s) that have changed your life are painful—the death of
someone close to you; sometimes the event(s) are joyful—graduating from school or
becoming a parent; and sometimes the event(s) are unexpected—visiting with a stranger
while waiting for an airplane. The events that have had an impact on your life are
endless.
