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The first 5 minutes are good.

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AWOS 13: Tips for Writing a Literacy Narrative

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What Is Literacy Narrative Essay? - The Language Library

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Exploring Literacy

What comes to mind when you hear the term “literacy“? Traditionally, we can define literacy as the ability to read and write. To be literate is to be a reader and writer. More broadly, this term has come to be used in other fields and specialties and refers generally to an ability or competency.

literacy: the ability to read and write; more broadly, a specific ability to navigate a specialized discipline

For example, you could refer to music literacy as the ability to read and write music; there are varying levels of literacy, so while you may recognize the image below as a music staff and the symbols for musical notes, it’s another thing to name the notes, to play any or multiple instruments, or to compose music.

Or, you may be a casual football fan, but to be football literate, you would need to be able to understand and read the playbook, have an understanding of the positions, define terms like “offsides” or “holding” as they relate to the sport, and interpret the hand signals used by the referees.

Educator and writer Shaelynn Faarnsworth describes and defines literacy as “social” and “constantly changing.” In this unit, we’ll explore literacy as a changing, dynamic process. By expanding our definition of literacy, we’ll come to a better understanding of our skills as readers and writers. We’ll use this discussion so that you, as writers, can better understand and write about “…what skills [you] get and what [you] don’t, [and include your] interests, passions, and quite possibly YouTube.”

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https://owlcation.com/humanities/Write-a-Good-Literacy-Narrative

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Sarah has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and works as a manager of communications for a multinational risk management company.
What is a literacy narrative?

A Literacy Narrative is a popular way for writers to talk about their relationship with reading, speaking, and writing. Many literacy narratives have been written and published by famous writers to help their audience get to know them. It is also commonly used as a first assignment for college composition courses. It gives students a chance to 1) introduce themselves to their teachers and their classmates, 2) reflect on their relationship with reading and writing in a positive way, and 3) develop an understanding of the impact of reading and writing on their life. Students often find that the assignment is enjoyable, and teachers often find they they enjoy reading literacy narratives. Think of it as a personal story.

What does it mean to be "literate"?

The first Merriam-Webster definition of literate is "able to read and write." Some instructors require that the literacy narrative remains true to this definition of literacy. Another definition of "literacy" is more comprehensive. It is "having knowledge or competence." A literacy narrative can cover literacy in either of these ways.

The second definition of "literacy" may include professional literacy, hobby-related literacy, language literacy, or many other types of broadened understanding of a subject brought on by its connection to language. It is that connection to language that the literacy narrative is concerned with. For example, you may be an athlete. Let's say you play soccer. Well, when did you learn what "off-sides" meant? How did you learn that phrase? What does it mean to "play D"? What is a "football pitch"? A literacy narrative might concern this type of relationship with language. One of the challenges of this type of literacy narrative is making sure that you stay on topic. In the above example, the topic is "soccer literacy," not "soccer." A paper about soccer misses the point. Again, some instructors strictly want a paper about reading and writing, not a paper that is thematically related to another topic. Make sure to clear that with your instructor.

What is a narrative?

The other part of a literacy narrative is the emphasis on narrative. The paper must tell a story. It must have a plot. It must have a theme. It must mean something. It is an opportunity to share a story about your life with others.

This also means that the point of the paper is not to simply list important terminology or explain the meaning of certain words. It is also not to list the books you've read or talk about the poems your wrote. The narrative should talk about what you did and what it means to you in terms of your personal literacy journey.

How does a literacy narrative fit into the real world?

A literacy narrative is an important document detailing individual journeys with being literate. Since we've already established that "literate" and "literacy" have broad definitions, it's easy to see how a literacy narrative is about more than just a story about a person learning the alphabet or learning to read, write, and speak.

Did I write a good literacy narrative?

Ask yourself the following questions to check on the quality of your literacy narrative. If you included all of these elements, your literacy narrative is probably good. If you are being graded on your literacy narrative, make sure to run this checklist by your teacher and ask if it is accurate:

1. Does my literacy narrative have a theme?

2. Does it use the open-form structure?

3. Does it use plot to tell a story?

4. Is it cohesive? (Does it stay on topic?)

5. Is it coherent? (Does it make sense to someone who has not had the same experiences I have had?)

6. Did I use enough specific examples and details to make the experience personal and not general?

7. Is it clear? (Did I explain terminology, events, or examples thoroughly?

8. Is it appropriate for my audience? (Did I use thoughtful diction and appropriate language for an academic audience?)

9. Did I give it a title?

10. Did I write clear opening and closing paragraphs?

How do I write a literacy narrative?

Literacy narratives are theme-based, open-form prose, which means that they do not follow a strict structure and do not have a thesis. Remember this as you write yours. Here are some general steps to follow. They can help you write a good literacy narrative:

1. Generate a few topics that are meaningful to you. Ask yourself, what do I want to write about for my literacy narrative? Do I want to write about my favorite book? Do I want to write about writing poetry? Do I want to write about overcoming a big hurdle? List those topic ideas.

2. List, from the ideas you generated in step one, in sentence form, 3-5 topics you might cover in your literacy narrative. The reason you should write them out in sentence form is that your literacy narrative is not going to just be about "a book" or "writing poems." Your literacy narrative is going to be about "realizing I liked reading when my third grade teacher assigned a Judy Blume book," or "writing a poem to my first crush and discovering the power of communicating through written words." (Note: If you picked a topic in step 1 that does not involve the much reading, writing, and speaking, then you should probably choose another topic.)

3. At this stage, you might already have a good understanding of the theme you will use in your literacy narrative. If you do, write it down. Take some time to develop it. If you do not, that is okay. Skip this step.

4. Write the first draft of your literacy narrative. Remember to stay focused on the theme. If you do not know yet what your theme is, work toward a theme during this stage of writing.

5. Read over your draft. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Come up with a list of questions you might have for your teacher or for a peer reviewer. Where do you need help? What do you think is good? Write down those questions.

6. If you can, have a peer review your literacy narrative. They can use the questions below and the questions you prepare in step 5 as a guide.

7. Revise your draft based on any feedback you get.

8. If you have a Writing Center available to you, go visit the tutors there if you still have questions or would like a professional to review your paper. Use the questions below as a guide for revision.

9. Finalize you literacy narrative and be proud of it!

Vicki Morrison, MSPSE on August 14, 2019:

I love that this is available to use with my ENG 1101 class! I would caution you though, that as an example used in writing (composition) classes, this document could really use a good proofing. Sorry, but I found at least 5 critical errors, which were easily corrected using Grammarly. Not trying to be ugly here, but . . .

Owen on October 06, 2018:

I would love to learn more

MiKaylaK on September 05, 2018:

Thank you so much!!!!! You don't understand how much this helped and clarified to me what a literacy narrative is! I really appreciate this.

Rapid on August 28, 2018:

So Literacy Narratives are just thematically focused autobiographies.

moni on July 05, 2018:

Thank you! This really was helpful.

Curtis on February 04, 2018:

Thank you very much! This really did help!

Cindy on January 20, 2018:

Really helpful!

Victoria Cai on December 19, 2017:

Thank you so much! I really needed this for my English class, I had no idea what to do, and this was so helpful!

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College Writing Tips: Write a Good Literacy Narrative

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Sarah has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and works as a manager of communications for a multinational risk management company. A Literacy Narrative is a popular way for writers to talk about their relationship with reading, speaking, and writing.

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Literacy Narrative Examples for College Students

A literacy narrative is quite simply that: it is a story of how you became literate and how it has affected your life. To create a literacy narrative, you just need to find your story and use descriptive text to bring it to life. Learn how to write a literacy narrative through exploring original and famous examples.

Breaking Down a Literacy Narrative

A literacy narrative is a personalized story of your relationship with language. Not only do literacy narratives discuss memories, but they also walk through a person's discovery, trials and triumphs with reading, writing and speaking a language.

This doesn't have to be English either. It could be your experiences learning a second language and the impact that it has had on you. The point is simply to tell the world about your struggles and growth with language and communication. Literacy narratives can have different themes, topics, styles, moods and tones that you can work to make your own.
Key Features of a Literacy Narrative
To start, a literacy narrative is a personalized story.

Hook: Begin with a hook to draw the reader in. This could be your first experience with books or how reading and writing define you.

Focus: Rounding out your first paragraph, you'll want to give a short thesis that tells the reader the whole point of your story.

Meaning: Throughout the remainder of your narrative, you'll use stories and vivid descriptions to explore the meaning of this journey to you. You might discuss how your poetry has grown or your love of reading has turned into writing.

Challenges: Explore the challenges that you've faced in your journey and how you've overcome them, along with how your ideas and thoughts have transformed.

Example: Relationship with Words

Explore how to write a literacy narrative essay through an original example for college level students. The following example is written by Jennifer Betts.

Words were like a puzzle that I couldn't quite solve. Listening to the teachers read the jumbled-up letters on the page, I was fascinated by how they could easily bring the pictures to life. The first day that I truly became literate, it was like another world opening up. My fingers couldn't find books fast enough. My relationship with words has been a powerful, fantastical and even sometimes disastrous journey.

I would like to say that I've always known the power of words, but that simply isn't true. The power that a word can hold jumped at me like a thief in the night the first time I encountered my own personal bully. They took the words that I'd proudly written and made them less meaningful than trash. However, it was that bully that forced my reading and vocabulary to grow. They made me realize the power that a few sentences could hold in an instant. Like swords in battle, they can quickly cut and decimate your opponent. Mastering the tactics of battle, you turn from the opponent to the victor. The need to be the victor drove me to books. And books opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking.

I have that bully to thank for leading me to the children's book Harry Potter. The moment I slid open those silken pages, my eyes couldn't devour them fast enough. The story pushed the limits of my vast imagination and truly allowed me to soar. The moment the journey was over, I missed it. And there hasn't been another book since that has truly satisfied that high.

While I had dabbled in writing my own love stories a time or two, my need to find another fantasy that consumed me like the Harry Potter series pushed me into trying my own hand at writing. The moment my fingers hit the keys, the words just started pouring out of me at a rate that even I couldn't control. Who knew that the shy, introverted child had so much to say?

While my relationship with written words are the things of dreams, my plunge into speaking often has disastrous consequences. Never have I been a good public speaker. In school, it was the day that I dreaded. Despite my preparation, I would trip and stumble to the podium only to repeat my performance in my carefully planned words. While they say practice makes perfect, in my case, practice has made mediocre. But to get the world to hear your words, sometimes you need to find the courage to speak them.

Even if the delivery isn't perfect.

Though my journey with words started in frustration, it turned to fascination and wonder in a minute. Even with many years of reading under my belt, I'm still humbled by the power that a single word can hold if used the right or even the wrong way. Sharper than knives or softer than a silk, finding the right words is always an interesting journey.

Famous Examples of a Literacy Narrative

Literacy narratives can make an impact. Going beyond a short essay, a literacy narrative can even become an entire book that explores your literacy journey. To get your creative juices flowing, look at a few excerpts from famous examples of literacy narratives.
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Why are we reading, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed? Can the writer isolate and vivify all in experience that most deeply engages our intellects and our hearts? Can the writer renew our hope for literary forms? Why are we reading if not in hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom, courage, and the possibility of meaningfulness, and will press upon our minds the deepest mysteries, so that we may feel again their majesty and power? What do we ever know that is higher than that power which, from time to time, seizes our lives, and reveals us startlingly to ourselves as creatures set down here bewildered? Why does death so catch us by surprise, and why love? We still and always want waking.

In " The Writing Life," Annie Dilliard uses short essays to explore her journey with literacy and writing. Using her own unique style, Annie helps you to explore how and why she is a writer and what a rough and exciting journey it can be. You follow how writing can be torturous and transcendent all in the same moment.
Literacy Narrative by Kiki Petrosino
I wish to put my blackness into some kind of order. My blackness, my builtness, my blackness, a bill. I want you to know how I feel it: cold key under the tongue. Mean fishhook of homesickness that catches my heart when I walk under southern pines. And how I recognized the watery warp of the floor in my great-grandma's house, when I dreamed it. This is what her complaining ghost said: Write about me.

Culture and writing and how culture affects writing are explored in " Literacy Narrative," a personal essay by Kiki Petrosino. Kiki uses her experiences as a black woman and her history to show her relationship with words. She explores how her African American heritage drives her writing and how, through her journey with descriptive poetry, she intermingles her poetry and race to create a compelling work.
Bird by Bird Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.

Anne Lamott takes you through a hilarious and witty ride to finding her story in " Bird by Bird." Through showing you her journey into becoming a writer and finding literacy, she tries to help others find their own story in this personal narrative. Starting with some words of wisdom from her father, this literacy narrative takes you through her entire journey with writer's block and pushing your limits. This is a great example of the impact and depth that a literacy narrative can take.

Finding Your Words

Everyone has a literacy story. It can even be how you don't like to read. In college, you often have to explore your personal literacy story through an essay. Using these tactics and examples, you can dive into the fun world of personal expression and exploration. If literacy narratives aren't your jam, you might give poetry a try. There are several poetry genres perfect for personal exploration and introspection, too.
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/literacy-narrative-examples-for-college-students.html

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Literacy Narrative Examples for College Students A literacy narrative is quite simply that: it is a story of how you became literate and how it has affected your life. To create a literacy narrative, you just need to find your story and use descriptive text to bring it to life.

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“Those who tell stories rule the world.” This proverb, attributed to the Hopi Indians, states that with a well-told story, we can help a person see things in an entirely new way. We can forge new relationships and strengthen the ones we already have. We can change a law, inspire a movement, and make people care fiercely about things they’d never given a passing thought to.

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“Those who tell stories rule the world.” This proverb, attributed to the Hopi Indians, states that with a well-told story, we can help a person see things in an entirely new way. We can forge new relationships and strengthen the ones we already have. We can change a law, inspire a movement, and make people care fiercely about things they’d never given a passing thought to.

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Literacy Narrative: Fear of Failure by Gretchen Weiss Dubit

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Literacy Narrative: Fear of Failure by Gretchen Weiss Dubit