Memoir Outline

Direction: Organize your memoir by filling out this outline. You may use bullet points or write in
paragraph form. Please remember that this is an outline. When you write your memoir, you will have to
elaborate on the information you include on this document.

Introduction (Before):
Give a little background information about yourself BEFORE you event occurred.

- I hadn’t ever had a sleepover before

- Didn’t have many friends
- Wasn’t close with my family
- Starting a new school
- Met Jordan through gymnastics

Introduce your topic and the central idea you want to communicate about your topic. (Was it scary?
emotional? painful? life altering? etc.) Do NOT tell the whole story here.

- It was emotional and the whole idea of this story is that I go to a sleepover and meet some girls
that I thought were friends and they turned out not to be. I want to show that not all friends are
good and sometimes it’s better to just be by yourself.

Body (The Story):

**This will be the bulk of your essay.**

Tell your story. Explain what happened. Tell it in the order in chronological order. Guide the reader
through the experience by introducing the main characters, setting up the conflict, and using “time”
transition words and phrases. Be sure to include your thoughts and feelings as you tell the story. Try to
use specific nouns, vivd action verbs, and descriptive adjectives and adverbs. Make the experience come
alive. Paint pictures in the reader’s mind. Make us think and feel as you did. This is where you should
include your dialogue.
- I meet Jordan and Kendall through gymnastics.
- A month later, it’s Jordan’s birthday and she invites me to sleepover at her house that night.
- I go to her house and meet all the other three girls.
- We all talk and get to know each other.
- Jordan’s mom orders pizza and we all eat.
- We go swimming together in a really cold pool.
- After the pool, we shower and move into the living room to watch a movie together.
- The movie ends and Kendall, Jordan, and two other girls leave the living room to go to their
rooms and sleep.
- Hannah and I wake up and realize we’re the only ones in the living room.
- Hannah and I drink all their soda.
- Everyone wakes up and we eat breakfast.
- Everyone goes to play outside together.
- The sleepover ends and everyone goes home.
Conclusion (After):
Conclude your writing with at least one paragraph that summarizes your thoughts and feelings about the
experience. This is a very important paragraph. It leaves the reader with the final impression of your
experiences, along with your epiphany. Without this paragraph, you are lacking a real central idea. Begin
with a strong topic sentence (thesis statement) that restates your main idea about the experience. Include
comments on the following questions to show why and how the experience was important in your life:

How did this event change you?

It made me realize that little girls can be mean and it’s important to look for the signs and made me more
aware of how people can be selfish.

In what ways does this event continue to have an effect on you?

It has an effect on me in the context that I look for the same signs in my friends now to see if they have
the same selfish traits.

How have you grown since this experience?

I’ve learned how to pick my friends and I’ve grown to stand up for myself and others.

What lesson should your reader take away from this story?
The reader should know that in any situation, if there is something that is making you unhappy, it is your
choice and your right to leave.

Adapted from houstonisd.org.