WRITING PORTFOLIO: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

 

You will write some assignments in class; others will be homework; you will turn some in for comment, and share others in peer groups. Since you are required to have your book bound professionally, you must plan ahead and budget time and money. (OPTIONAL)

You should revise ALL assignments before rewriting them in final form. If you do not

type your assignments, you may write them neatly in final draft form. Most assignments will be approximately a page long. You may complete an assignment by writing on the back of a page, but start every new assignment on a new page.

❒ PROFESSIONAL BINDING-- Plan ahead and budget time and money to have your book

bound professionally. You may choose strip or spiral binding, from about $3.00 up, depending on your choices. (OPTIONAL)

❒ A COVER-- Your cover should include your selected title, your name, and an illustration

appropriate to your book. For illustrations, consider a word pattern, graphic design, collage, original drawings, photographs, magazine pictures, quotations, etc. Use rubber cement or a glue stick to mount items, and be sure that your cover design hides price tags and brand names.

 

❒ A TITLE PAGE-- Select a word or phrase particularly meaningful for you to serve as your

title. Browse through a thesaurus, listen to music you love, think of special people and places and interests, and then submit several possible titles. “A Book about Me” or “My
Autobiography” are poor titles because they are vague and impersonal. Illustrate the title page with the title, name, hour, and date due.

❒ A TABLE OF CONTENTS-- List the assignment number and title of all assignments in your

autobiography. Title each contents page.

❒ AN INTRODUCTION-- Explain the significance of your title, making clear why it is

relevant to your life in particular. Also include a brief description of this writing project and its purposes -- in your own words.

Every assignment should be:

✔ a thoughtful response to the assigned topic

✔ revised as necessary

✔ neatly and legibly written or typed

✔ in order according to this assignment booklet

✔ in black ink

✔ titled on the top line

✔ numbered by assignment (not page) in the upper right corner

✔ corrected using proofreading symbols or correction fluid

DONENESS counts! But your writing should also demonstrate appropriate word usage,

sentence structure, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

WRITING PORTFOLIO: Specific Assignments

1. Prologue (or Introduction): Explain the significance of your title, making clear why it is relevant to your

life in particular. Introduce yourself gracefully to your reader and capture our attention. Include a brief description of this writing project and its purposes — in your own words.

2. What’s in a Name?: Names are an integral part of who we are. They shape our sense of who we are.

Explore your feelings about “the unity between [your]self and [your] name.” Are these the names you would have chosen for yourself? Surname, middle name, Christian name? Is there a story behind your naming? Someone famous, a family member, weird initials? Does your name have symbolic meaning? Is it ethnic or historic or literary? Did your parents consider other names? In short, how do you live with your name?