Essay 1: The Power of Language

Narrative Assignment
Main Premise:
For your first major essay, you will describe a personal experience with language. Consider the selections we
have read in class concerning the power of language and literacy (Malcolm X, Helen Keller, David Raymond,
Mary Pipher) and speech communities (Paul Roberts, Richard Lederer, Amy Tan, Firoozeh Dumas). These
pieces discuss very diverse experiences with language, some positive and some negative. Likewise, this essay
encourages you to explore one way that language has influenced or affected your life.
Essential Terms:
Literacy: the ability to understand and use some form of communication
Narrative: a story, a meaningful retelling of connected events (note that a narrative not only describes
what happened, but it also reflects on the importance of the events or what was learned from them)
Discourse Community: a group of people that communicates in a distinctive way to achieve a common
goal (texters/social media users communicate with abbreviated language, some Star Trek fans speak
Klingon, sports enthusiasts use specific terms to discuss their favorite sports with each other, etc.)
Options:
Reflect on one particular moment when you experienced the power of language in either a positive or negative
sense. In deciding on a topic, think about the following scenarios:
learning to read/write
reading a specific book
studying a new language
communicating digitally (text-speak, social media lingo, etc.)
encountering inspiring or hurtful speech
facing discrimination because of your speech/dialect/speech community
learning the language of a particular discourse community
I am open to all kinds of topics that pertain to the main premise, but if you have an idea that is not mentioned
here, please check with me before pursuing it further.
Task Requirements:
3-4 pages (with a minimum of 3 full pages)
Double spaced with 1-inch margins
Times New Roman 12-point font
Tips:
[essential rubric terms underlined]
Overall, your narrative should demonstrate something you learned about the power of language. This idea
should be included as the claim of your thesis in the introduction. The body of the story should describe the
events that took place in detail, building up to your conclusion, which should reflect on the significance of the
occurrence and unite directly back to the thesis. Additionally, a good narrative connects with the audience. In
this case, your audience is not just your instructor, but also your classmates, who come from a variety of
backgrounds, and probably know very little about you at this point in the semester. You can connect with your
audience through the clarity of your descriptions and your voice, the unique way in which you use language to
convey your thoughts, feelings, and personality in ways that will relate to your reader.
Deadlines and Dates:
1st Draft: Sept. 23 (Bboard +1 copy)

Conferences: Sept. 24-29

Final Draft: Oct. 2 (Bboard)