Personal Narrative Prompts and Model Essays

1. Isabel opening moment

2. Writing Groups: Share Gulf Motel prompts

• How do we effectively respond to each other's work?

• What did the work make me think about/wonder?
• It prompts this question in me…

Group 1: Nathan, Gavin, Hannah, Emily
Group 2: Isabel, Becca, Allie Monica
Group 3:Tanner, Austin, Tyler, Seth
Group 4: Carli, Peter, Matt, Kati

Protocol:

• Each group member reads all or a part of their piece
• Other group members RESPOND rather than REACT

3. Writing Time: You will be free writing for 8 minutes on each prompt!

4. Group work: Model Article Analysis

Five groups: Each group should choose ONE article from their chosen prompt and evaluate using the Model Article Analysis Sheet

Group 1: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

• It’s O.K. to Put Yourself First: An essay in which a writer meditates on the impact of a serious illness on her life and family.
• My Son and the City: A woman moves to New York City with her son, who has serious medical challenges and developmental disabilities–and, she writes, “in a place famous for its anonymous crowds, [he] has been learning about people.”

Group 2: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

• A Rat’s Tale: A writer discusses her failure to be the sister her brother wanted and what she learned.
• Pancake Chronicles: An entertaining account of a disastrous first job.
• A Heartbroken Temp at Brides.com: After a groom changes his mind, his would-be bride, with “no money, no apartment, no job” takes a position at a wedding Web site.

Group 3: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

• From Tehran to the B Train: A young woman stands up to a mugger on the subway.
• Winning Essay: Win a Trip Contest: An essay about fighting injustice all around the world.
• I Found My Biological Parents, and Wish I Hadn’t: “I’d expected to find more common ground,” writes the author of this essay.

Group 4: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

• Yes, I’m in a Clique: A Student from Columbine High School discusses the comfort of a clique.
• My Manhattan; A Lifetime of Memories and Magic: A meditation on Central Park
• My Home in Africa: An American feels at home in the Republic of Benin.

Group 5: Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

• A Life Plan for Two, Followed by One: An essay about young love and loss of innocence.
• Forbidden Nofruit: A reflection on junk food, family, and rebellion.
• Bitter Sweets : A young man who has “a hard time” with his Chinese-American identity looks for an apartment with his white girlfriend.