Organizing a Literacy Narrative

In addition to the annotations regarding student-writer Michelle Nguyen’s organization of her literacy narrative info, please review the following notes for more info on options for your own essay organization:

 

Michelle Nguyen

• Past in Vietnam
• Present time in Vietnam

 

Amy Tan

• Begins with a recent experience (present time)
• Remembers a past experience (memory triggered by the recent experience)
• Returns to the recent experience (present time)

 

Rodriguez

• Present experience
• Past experience
• Back to the present time

 

Alexie

• Past experience/memory
• Present time

 

Malcolm X

• Past experience (learning to read)
• Malcolm X in the present time:  “Yesterday I spoke in London, and both ways on the plane across the Atlantic I was studying a document about how the United Nations proposes to insure the human rights of the oppressed minorities of the world” (248).

 

Sandra Cisneros

• Recalls a past event from just a few years ago (“Once, several years ago. . .”)
• Recalls childhood, college, grad school years
• Recalls a more recent event (“Last year, after ten years of writing professionally”

 

Rose

• Past
• Present time