The Literacy Narrative

A narrative is a story, and literacy has to do with reading and writing. When students are assigned to write a literacy narrative, they are expected to write a personal story connected to their experiences with reading and/or writing. What, you may now be asking, is the difficulty with that? You remember learning to read and write and know your own life’s story, right?

To begin, determining who the reader will be is crucial because the story you are telling needs to connect with your audience. Tales of your life and times that you share with your friends at a party differ from those you choose to tell your grandmother at dinner or your boss at work. Keep in mind that your instructor hopes to read an essay about your learning experiences, your path to literacy.

Another consideration is to decide what event (or events) along the path of your literacy journey has significance. Did a given moment change you? Do you remember a turning point connected to reading or writing?  Did you realize something important or find a new way to regard learning at a certain time and place?

Your purpose for writing and your attitude, both revealed in your story, are also important. Once you decide what you hope the reader will discover in your story (the purpose), you then need to decide whether to get your message across by being serious, funny, wry, or any number of other attitudes you might choose.  Choosing an attitude adds a level of interest to your story and lets the reader perceive how you feel about the event(s).

Details and examples should be included, as is usual for essays. I could mention that a book I read had an impact on me; but, if I say that I read Moby Dick while sitting near the ocean with the sound of the waves coming to shore in my ears and visions of white whales in my mind, the details help my reader picture the moment.

Once you’ve made your point, given your literacy narrative life and color through descriptions and details, and expressed your personality through attitude, then you’ll be close to completing your assignment.  Be careful near the end not to tack on “The moral of the story is….” Instead, throughout your essay, give the reader a chance to find meaning in each paragraph, the true significance of your experiences unfolding all along the way.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!