Page 341 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

Popular wisdom holds that adversity makes people stronger, that it is
only in hard times that a person’s inner strength comes through. Write

a narrative and example essay describing how hard times have made

you (or someone you know) a stronger person.

You may wish to make the essay primarily a narrative of a difficult time

in your life, supported by examples of the way you (or the person you
are writing about) became stronger. Alternatively, you may wish to

write an example essay showing three different tough situations that

made you (or the person you are writing about) stronger. If your essay

is primarily an example essay, then at least one of your examples

should be an anecdote, a brief story that demonstrates your point.

Human Interest Story: Narration,

Description, and Example

You are a newspaper reporter. Your editor has assigned you to write a

human interest story on a day in the life of a person whose life or job

is difficult—a homeless person, a single parent, a person with
Alzheimer’s disease, a firefighter, a fast-food worker—the choice is

yours. Your job in this human interest story is to allow your reader to

get to know the person through narration, description, and example.

You may write about someone you know or you may simply use your

imagination to create a day in the life of a fictional person.