Estimated Time: 45 minutes

Read:

One way to become a better writer is to read great writing! You will be writing a personal (autobiographical) essay at the end of this unit. To help you prepare for this assignment, you will be reading a variety of personal essays.

This week read "Camp Dread or How to Survive a Shockingly Awful Summer" by Ransom Riggs (pg 7) from Breakfast on Mars and 37 other Delectable Essays.

Writing Assignment:

Before you begin writing, consider your purpose. Do you want your essay to inform, persuade, or entertain your readers? Think about what you want others to take away from your story. Here’s a guide to help you brainstorm topics based on experiences from your life:

Choose Your Topic

Here are some ideas to help you start brainstorming topics.

• A Difficult Task: Think of a time when you had to do something you didn’t want to do. How did you feel before, during, and after? What did you learn from that experience, and how might sharing it be helpful or relatable for someone else?
• Before and After Moments: Reflect on a moment or decision that created a ‘before’ and ‘after’ in your life. This could be a new school, moving to a new place, or meeting someone who changed you. How did your life shift because of that experience?

Using the freewriting technique you learned earlier, freewrite on one of these topics.