Creative Nonfiction Narrative Essay

John Irving wrote about a significant life event in “Trying to Save Piggy Sneed.” He then explained the significance of the story: it reflected the reasons why he became a writer and, in his opinion, what a writer’s job is. Now it’s your turn to write about a significant life event that impacted you.

This is a narrative essay. Your job is to recount events (or an event) that occurred in your past. Work on generating intrigue and curiosity. Open with an introduction that leaves some questions unanswered. Generate citations where your audience must piece together what is truly happening.

Carefully pick and choose the individuals and scenes that you include in your piece. Remember how Irving uses his grandmother as a foil – to serve as a counterweight to his own sensibilities. Finally, try to push yourself so readers understand the stakes, know why this story is of significance.

Include one source from “Trying to Save Piggy Sneed.” I have a few pictures of pages from the book I will send to you.

Scoring Guide

Introduction: Detail and intrigue gain the readers’ attentions and draws them into the essay. Readers get an idea of the theme or focus of your piece.

Essay Development Critical Thinking: Scenes are vivid and characters are interesting and rounded. Readers can envision situations hear dialogue (sounds) and feel and smell your scenery. The significance of the story is explained.

Organization: The paper is easy to follow and reads smoothly. Transitions help the essay flow easily, and scenes are carefully selected. The piece works as a whole.

Grammar/Clarity: The writer can discern homonyms and properly conjugate verbs. The writer knows sentence boundaries. The author carefully proofreads the essay. Meaning is clear.

Creativity: Language and events are interesting and engaging. The author thoughtfully reflects on the importance of the event/situation.