Russ 1

Jordan Russ
Mr. Borrero
English 1101-017
September 23, 2011
Genre DeIense
For my literary narrative explaining and portraying my progression in literacy and
composition during my liIetime, I chose to compose an autobiography. To me an autobiography
is the easiest way to portray my past experiences and my personal stories. In the past I have
written essays in autobiography type Iormat about my some oI my other liIe experiences in the
English classes I took in high school and they really helped me open the doors oI my liIe and
spill my emotions onto my paper. When I write about myselI narratively as an autobiography I
Ieel like I have the ability to convey directly what I can recollect Irom my memories. This
particular writing style most accurately portrays my history oI literacy and composition because
it gives me the ability to give every single detail oI every experience that I Ieel is important
directly Irom my perspective.
The techniques used and the way something is written is almost equally as important as
the content oI the writing. I choose to write my narrative as an autobiography because oI the
experience I have with this speciIic genre oI writing. I Ieel as iI one`s comIortableness with
anything in liIe directly inhibits its outcome. II a student is uncomIortable during the school day
while wearing sweatpants, a hoodie, as well as various other winter items during a hot summer
day, the Iocus on their schoolwork will be very low. II the student changes into his athletic shorts
and t-shirt and begins to cool oII and be more comIortable with the situation at hand, he may be
more prone to show more Iocus on his schoolwork. Almost every situation can be improved with
Comment |R1]: WC8ulnLSS 1hls senLence ls
really [usL Loo wordy and doesn'L geL Lhe polnL
across wlLhouL Lrylng Lo menLally deflne each word
ln your head whlle readlng lL makes Lhe senLence
lose lL's ablllLy Lo geL a polnL across
Comment |R2]: LLA8C8A1lCn ueflne why Lhls
ls almosL equally lmporLanL compared Lo llLeracy
raLher Lhan a sLudenL changlng lnLo aLhleLlc shorLs
eLc
Comment |R3]: uLllnl1lCn Why would Lhls
affecL anyLhlng? Lxplaln
Russ 2

increasing how comIortable someone is with a particular task. I myselI am more comIortable
writing an autobiography.
When it comes to arts and craIts, and the aesthetic side oI projects Ior any class, I am not
the most creative one. It is easier Ior me to just put my thoughts onto paper in the Iorm oI an
essay rather than trying something else. I do not have much experience creating poems, and I do
not have the imagination to create a children`s story or something else oI such, I have never been
one to make anything Ior my projects. All throughout grade school and even in high school, my
mother and sometimes my grandmother would help me construct my poster boards and the
inIamous baking soda and vinegar exploding volcano that was to be built in the sixth grade. Even
though a volcano should have been a Iun and easy thing Ior me to make, my creative side
hindered me Irom being able to make it myselI. The construction side oI any project was always
my downIall, so when I was given the option to choose any genre to portray my literary
narrative, excitement Iilled my heart. I knew right then and there I would be choosing some Iorm
oI strictly writing to portray my past experiences in literacy and composition.
During high school I was given the very unique and special opportunity to have the same
English teacher Ior three years in a row. This teacher was an enormous Ian oI autobiographies.
Each year we had a cumulative assignment on the works we completed during her class
throughout that current year and the assignment was due in autobiography Iorm and these
autobiographies had a Iour page minimum and were very similar to the project my current
assignment is about. Although those assignments and autobiographies only covered the course oI
about Iour months oI my literacy and composition progression, thinking back upon them
contributed to an immediate outline in my head oI what I wanted to do Ior this assignment and
quite a good Ieel Ior how I wanted to portray myselI in this narrative.
Comment |R4]: LLA8C8A1lCn Lxplaln why Lhls
ls Lrue
Comment |RS]: SLn1LnCL S18uC1u8L 1hls
senLence has valld polnLs buL could be separaLed
lnLo separaLe senLences
Comment |R6]: WC8ulnLSS 1hls senLence ls
[usL Loo long and has Loo many deLalls Lo be CnL
senLence
Comment |R7]: WC8ulnLSS 1hls senLence
makes Lhe reader lose lnLeresL halfway ln lL's Loo
long Lo be of any use
Russ 3

Portraying my thoughts and ideas is easiest Ior me when I can sit down and pour out my
thoughts onto paper instead oI constructing aesthetically pleasing projects or poems. I could have
chosen any diIIerent type oI essay or written document to portray the history oI my literary and
composition progression however I chose the autobiography because I am most Iamiliar with it.
Choosing an autobiography gave me a challenge to do something that not many others in the
classroom had chosen. Only one other person in the class had chosen an autobiography and it
seemed like a very challenging genre to use Ior this project. I knew however that with my
experience with autobiographies that it would not pose a problem Ior me.
There are not many writing styles and genres that allow one to portray their emotions and
personal experiences the way an autobiography does. An autobiography opens up the
possibilities to write almost anything that is on the writer`s mind. From a personal standpoint I
love the idea oI writing an autobiography because oI how honest and open you can be. It is not
opinionated and there is no speciIic standpoint that is created. One cannot oppose the views
inside oI an autobiography because there is theoretically no standpoint being used. I believe this
removed some oI the stress involved with writing papers and portraying one`s ideas. There is
always some imagined sort oI Iear that there could be a person out there, or a some sort oI group
oI people out there that oppose your views as a writer, and that Iear alone could intimidate many
writers into the inability to portray the Ieelings that they wish to portray to their readers
correctly.
Writing has always been a means oI communicating with others Ior me. It is also one oI
the easiest ways Ior anyone to communicate. When one writes, more times than not, the targeted
audience Ior the document or the item are not always a personally known audience. This can
provide one with a sense oI wellness and comIortableness with writing over directly speaking to
Comment |R8]: SLn1LnCL S18uC1u8L 1hls
senLence ls mlsslng a semlcolon and a comma lL
also has one word Loo many !usL reword Lhe enLlre
Lhlng Lo lmprove effecLlveness
Comment |R3]: WC8ulnLSS 1hls senLence also
ls Loo long and could be spllL lnLo mulLlple senences
Comment |R10]: SLn1LnCL S18uC1u8L lor
Lhls senLence lL [usL doesn'L make Loo much sense lL
could be rearranged Lo sound beLLer and lL doesn'L
flL well because of LhaL
Russ 4

another. I would much rather inIorm someone, oI any particular Iorm oI inIormation, that I do
not know, one that I an uncomIortable speaking to, through a letter than through the word oI
mouth.
Writing Ior me has always been easier when I have something personal to write about.
When I have a personal experience that I can directly relate to the story I am telling, my words
just seem to spill onto the paper and the ideas just Ilow out because I can relate to the story I am
telling. An autobiography is perIect Ior just that, because every single description oI an
autobiography is simply 'personal stories. Also an autobiography requires no real knowledge oI
anything other than one`s liIe. II you just tell the truth, and elaborate on your memories in order
to paint a visual picture Ior the reader, then your writing is a success. There is no wrong way to
portray a memory to another person, as long as you are being descriptive and recall as many
memories as possible to try to make the reader Ieel as iI they are there.
I picked an autobiography Ior my generalized literary narrative because it was the easiest
choice Ior me. It was the most comIortable choice Ior me considering I have written them beIore
in my classes and it came easy to me. It was the Iirst thing that I thought oI when I was given the
option to choose any type oI genre I wanted to choose. Being able to portray personal
experiences instead oI opinions and display research was also an added bonus to being able to
write. My un-creative nature also tempted me to write an autobiography because I am not well
suited Ior creating an aesthetic project that is eye-pleasing as well as inIormative. The ease oI
writing an autobiography also helped me with my decision to choose this option. Writing has
always been a staple oI my educational career. Writing is my easiest way Ior portraying my
thoughts and my ideas and what better way to tell a story about one`s selI than an autobiography,
a story completely dedicated the person writing it.
Comment |R11]: CCMMA uSACL lor Lhls
senLence l've used 4 commas and Lhe senLence ls
only 2 llnes long l've used Loo many commas
Comment |R12]: CCMMA uSACL Lxplaln why
Lhere lsn'L a wrong way l'm sure l could Lhlnk of a
few
Comment |R13]: uLllnl1lCn Why?
Comment |R14]: WC8ulnLSS 1hls senLence
could be reworded