ENGL 111 – Fall 2018

Paper 1
Autobiographical Narrative: Food Traditions

Due date: Thursday, September 20 on Canvas by 11:59 p.m.

Drafts due for Online Peer-Review: Thursday, September 13 on Canvas by 11:59 p.m.
Online Peer-Review due: Tuesday, September 18 on Canvas by 11:59 p.m.
Length: 1,000 words
Percentage of final grade: 9%
Number of sources: 0
Citation style: MLA
Document design: 12 point font, 1” margins, Times New Roman or Calibri font
Acceptable file types: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf (do not submit Google Docs or you will not receive credit)
Corresponding chapter of Allyn & Bacon: Chapter 9
Corresponding readings and viewings: Douglas Bauer, “What Was Served”; Shoba Narayan, “The God of
Small Feasts”; Roy Ahn, “Home Run: My Journey Back to Korean Food”; Chef’s Table, “Christina Tosi

Assignment Description
In what ways does food shape our lives? In this paper, your goal is to reflect on your upbringing and
explore the role food has in your life. To clarify, this is not the space to review what you eat each day—
on the contrary. Instead, you should think critically about food themes you see throughout your life. This
paper should be more of a story—there should be characters, tension, and a “point.” You will need to
identify, perhaps, how certain foods in your family, social circles, or individual life play a role in your
identity. This might mean describing the connection you have to this food and how what that says about
your connection to the larger community to which you belong. Alternatively, you might describe how a
particular food moment is entirely unique. For example, my dad’s family is part Belgian and around the
holidays, my grandma makes small cookies called lukken. Until very recently, I’d never tasted anything
like them even though I’ve always searched for similar items. In July, I was walking around the grocery
store Trader Joe’s and found “Belgian Butter Cookies” and purchased them on a whim. To my surprise,
they tasted very similar to my grandma’s lukken. If I were writing this paper, I might explain what these
cookies mean to my family, how we only eat them once a year, the slowness of cooking them, the
mystery of its recipe, and the search for similar products. Be sure to follow-the framework noted a little
further below to structure your paper. We will be reading and watching examples of autobiographical
narratives in-class, so be sure to attend, take notes, and ask as many questions as you have.

Getting Started
To help you focus your topic, we’ll brainstorm these questions in-class together. However, don’t hesitate
to begin this on your own time.
 What kinds of food did you grow up with?
 Are there certain foods that your family makes once a year?
 Describe some of your most memorable food memories.
 What food do you identify with a particular time in your life? Describe it.
 Do you have an eating experience that was memorable? (This could be a happy or angry
memory.)
 Is there family recipe that you wish you knew? If so, what is it? If not, how did you learn how
to make it? Who taught you?
Research Requirements and Where to Look
You do not need to do research for this essay. However, if you do choose to include outside sources, you
must cite them both in-text and in a works cited page. I think the best types of research for this essay
would be what’s considered “first hand” or “primary” research such as interviews and observations.

Reading Recommendations
As we’re reading samples and instructional material from our textbook, you should aim to practice
annotating. Annotating is more than simply highlighting or underlining information; rather, annotating is
having a conversation with the text you’re reading. For instance, you might stop at the end of each
paragraph or page and write a few words about what you read. This will help you avoid the dreaded,
“Oh, man! I just read for thirty minutes and can’t remember anything!” feeling. Annotating is a skill you
can apply to any reading you do in college and beyond. It’s a good practice to begin as soon as possible.

Framework
How to start  What are the major contraries or tensions in this story?
 What events and scenes portraying these contraries might you include in
your narrative?
 What insights or meaning do you think your story suggests? How would you
articulate the theme of your narrative?
 How might you begin your narrative?
How to think about  What characters are important in this story?
and develop  How will you portray them—through description, action, dialogue, or some
characters and combination of these?
setting  What settings or scenes can you recreate for readers?
 What particulars or physical details will make the setting, characters, and
conflicts vivid and memorable?
How to think about  How might you arrange the scenes in your story?
and develop plot  What would be the climax, the pivotal moment of decision or insight?
How to conclude  What resolution can you bring to the tensions and conflicts in your story?
your narrative  How can you convey the significance of your story? What will make it
something readers can relate to?
 How can the ending of your narrative leave readers thinking about larger
human issues and concerns?

Peer-Review
Each student will be randomly assigned a peer-review to complete outside of class. This assignment will
be completed on Canvas. I will explain how to access and complete this assignment in class. Once you
receive your feedback from peer-review, you should carefully consider incorporating the suggestions
into your own essay. You do not have to incorporate every suggestion, but make sure you weigh the
pros and cons. If you do not submit a draft, you will not receive credit for this assignment. If you do not
complete the peer-review on time, you will not receive credit for this assignment. Merely completing
the peer-review does not guarantee credit for the assignment. I will read your feedback carefully to
determine the effort put into the assignment.

Grading
I will be looking for strong utilization of the framework that we discuss in class. I am interested in a story
for this paper. I use the ENGL 111 rubric, which can be found on Canvas, to grade each of your papers.