Narrative/ Descriptive Essay:  Remembering a Person

We have all encountered people who have significantly impacted our lives, some negatively, some positively, some in a complex variety of ways, some through years or exposure and interaction, and some after only a brief encounter. 

Writing Prompt:  In a 2-3 page essay (MLA format), paint a portrait that creates a dominant impression of a person who has impacted your life. 

Purpose:  --to achieve a better understanding of the person’s importance in your life

              --to entertain and inform the reader with a vivid portrait of an unusual,

                 important, engaging, or striking person

              --to let the reader see and understand you, the writer, in a particular way

Your essay should contain the following basic features:

• Include specific details of the person’s appearance (physical features, clothing, accessories, etc.) speech and actions.
• Relate one or more anecdotes or specific scenes that will help create a dominant impression of the character’s personality and his/ her significance to you.
• Indicate the person’s significance to you.  You may state this directly or you may “show” this through your use of details.  In many sketches the significance seems to lie in the intensity or complexity of feelings the writer has toward the subject of the sketch.

Your character sketch should also contain the following important features and strategies:

• Showing not telling
• Dialogue
• Action verbs
• Sensory details
• Naming/ Detailing
• Comparisons
• Creating Action
• Remembered Feeling
• Tension and Pacing
• Brief Scenic Details