Literacy Narrative – A Topic That Had A Significant Impact On My Life – Attending Esthetician School

What is this assignment?
This is the first of three essays you will produce for the course. The genre of this essay is a
literacy narrative. A literacy narrative, quite simply, is a narrative (or story) about your
relationship to reading. Specifically, you must tell us about 1-3 texts (written, visual, auditory,
or otherwise) that had some sort of significant impact on your life in a series of logically-ordered
paragraphs. I am choosing to discuss how attending esthetician school made me feel. It was fun but I definitely had my days where I didn’t to go and felt like giving up but I continued to remember how I wanted to be an esthetician for so long that I could only focus on being that and only that. I finished and now I feel like I do anything I put my mind to.  The tone is relaxed and informal and the use of “I” is fine.
That seems easy enough; is there a catch?
Yes, there is, but it’s not a big one. You must incorporate the terms we’ve learned over these past
few weeks from our readings and lectures. You must reference at least three rhetorical
elements you see in your text(s). You must also reference at least one rhetorical appeal you see
working in your text(s). Remember, the rhetorical elements on the basic rhetorical triangle are:
• Audience
• Message
• Communicator
The rhetorical elements beyond the basic rhetorical triangle are:
• Context
• Exigence
• Purpose
• The means of communication
o Modality
o Medium
o Genre
o Circulation
And the rhetorical appeals are:
• Ethos – appeal to one’s credibility.
• Pathos – appeal to any number of emotions.
• Logos – appeal to reasoning.
• Kairos – appeal to timeliness.
What is the purpose of this assignment?
Effective and situation-appropriate communication (verbal and non-verbal) is vital to success in
professional life, no matter the career field. This assignment provides the opportunity to
understand how communication works in various forms and contexts through reflection of the
rhetorical effects your favorite texts have had on you; understanding how communication works
is the first step, naturally, to becoming an effective communicator.
How long does it have to be?
2-3 pages. Longer is fine.
Does it need sources?
No. This is you discussing the text(s) you choose.
What do I do, exactly?
• Pick one or more texts (three at the most) that have had a significant impact on your life.
Remember a text can be written, visual, auditory, etc. As a rule, if it sends a message in
some way, it is a text with rhetorical purpose.
• Reflect on how the text(s) had a rhetorical effect on you (made you think, feel, and/or act
differently), referencing at least three rhetorical elements and at least one rhetorical
appeal.
• Proofread and revise as necessary before submitting the final draft.
Grading Criteria
Passing essays will:
• Use one or more texts.
• Have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
• Introduce the text(s) you mean to discuss in the introduction and the impact the text(s)
had on you.
• Discuss your text(s) in a series of logically-ordered body paragraphs, referencing at least
three rhetorical elements and at least one rhetorical appeal.
• Conclude by summing up, reflecting on what your essay has told us, and explaining why
its topic is important (i.e., answer “So what?”).
• Meet the page requirement.
• Use current and correct MLA format.
• Be relatively free of mechanical and/or grammatical errors.