Autobiography

ENG 482, Life Writing, Spring 2009

Write an autobiographical work, 8–12pp in length.

You have a wide range of latitude on this assignment. Create a short, self-contained story or imagine your work as part of a longer memoir. Use narrative, epistolary, or another form. Write in the first person, or adopt a persona. Almost any approach is suitable.

This does not, of course, mean that you can knock something out quickly. Even though you only have four weeks, I expect you to draft, evaluate, revise, and polish.

Milestones

Given the quick turnaround, only three:

Item	Specifics	Method	Points	Due date
Prospectus	Write a prospectus which indicates your approach, summarizes your project, and provides a status report. Here is a sample.	Email to cb-dilger@wiu.edu	25	1/29
Workshop	Participate in a workshop, hearing critique of your work and offering the same to others. Work in class 2/10. Send a brief summary of your feedback to your partners and me.	Email to cb-dilger@wiu.edu	25	2/12
Revised autobiography	Revise your autobiography, taking into account feedback from the workshop.	Upload to Google Docs; share with cbdilger@gmail.com.	100	2/17

Assessment

Organization: is your autobiography organized in a meaningful way which adds to your work?
Form: if you select an unusual form, does it complement the story you are telling?
Story-telling: does the autobiography tell a compelling story? Is the scope appropriate?
Handling emotion: do you avoid the sentimentalizing or self-pity Zinsser suggests is typical (and problematic) of 1990s memoir?
Context: do you explain relevant contexts and provide background information for readers?
Style and polish: is your writing a pleasure to read, not a burden? Do sentences, paragraphs, and sections show evidence of writing craft?