Revision of (auto)biography

ENG 482, Life Writing, Spring 2009

Revise either your biography or autobiography assignment, producing a finished work of 12–15pp.

As the name implies, revision is the most critical part of this assignment. You must rewrite, improve, and polish your writing substantially.

Milestones

We have more time, so there will be more milestones. We will also work more with our documents in class (for example talking about dialogue and characterization).

Item	Specifics	Method	Points	Due date
Prospectus	Write a prospectus which indicates which assignment you intend to revise, outlines changes you wish to make, and identifies areas for improvement.	Email to cb-dilger@wiu.edu.	25	4/2
First workshop	Workshop the piece you want to revise, selecting two partners who haven't read it previously. Read and discuss in class 4/9. Send a brief summary of your feedback to your partners and me.	Bring three copies to class; email summary cb-dilger@wiu.edu.	25	4/9
Draft revision	A complete draft of your revision.	Upload to Google Docs; share with cbdilger@gmail.com.	75	4/30
Second workshop	Workshop your revision. You can work with someone new, or someone who's already read your writing. Read and discuss in class 5/5. Send a brief summary of your feedback to your partners and me.	Bring three copies to class; email summary to cb-dilger@wiu.edu.	25	5/5
Final revision	Your final revised (auto)biography.	Upload to Google Docs; share with cbdilger@gmail.com.	200	5/14

Assessment

I will apply higher standards to this work than I did to the autobiographies and biographies; suffice to say I interpreted the categories for assessment on those documents loosely. Expect detailed feedback pertaining to the qualities below after your prospectus submission.

The first of these categories is critical. If you do not perform extensive revision, you cannot earn a passing grade.

Revisions: does your essay show strong and careful progress from the original, and from the draft?
Organization: is your essay organized in a meaningful way which adds to your work?
Story-telling: is your subject interesting? Does the (auto)biography tell a compelling story? Is the scope appropriate?
(for autobiography only) Handling emotion: do you avoid the sentimentalizing or self-pity Zinsser suggests is typical (and problematic) of 1990s memoir?
(for biography only) Critique: do you avoid an overly critical or overly sentimental portrait of your subject?
(for biography only) Research: is it clear you’ve conducted the research necessary to write an accurate, informative biography?
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?
Correctness: do you proofread and avoid correctness errors?