Besides being a very common type of writing that students are assigned by instructors, it provides storytelling skills that students can utilize throughout their lives.  

Week 1:

Descriptive Writing
We define and discuss descriptive writing and its uses.  I introduce the students to a descriptive writing "toolkit" that consists of various rhetorical tools that can be utilized when writing to describe, such as some figurative language, descriptive words, imagery, etc.  By the end of the class, the students will understand how descriptive language works and how to best use it.  


Descriptive Writing Exercise
Having defined descriptive language in the last class, here the students will utilize it.  The students will use music as their focus to exercise their recently acquired tools.  I share a unique but very effective technique of writing a descriptive paragraph.  It is a technique that not only captures the most direct and authentic description from the student, it also provides him or her with a solid foundation from which to build a paragraph.   

Week 2:
Narrative Writing  
We transition to narrative writing, where, like with descriptive language, the students are provided a toolkit that contains several items to craft a good narrative.  Though, there are many options to choose from, the few items selected provide the most impact to the story when utilized in conjunction with one another.  Similar to descriptive writing, I share a unique technique of how to write a narrative that will prevent the student from staring at a blank document with writer's block.  


Workshop
The students will be given the details of the Narrative Essay.  We will review the criteria required for the essay based on the rubric.  We will also read and examine together an example essay that will clarify exactly what is expected for the assignment.  The students will then work on an outline that lays out the structure of the paper while I will individually see if the students have any questions or concerns regarding what they need to do.

Week 3:
Workshop Continued
We will examine other examples of Narrative Essays.  We will point out both the good and bad aspects of each one.  Students will be given a chance to ask questions about any problems they are having as they construct their essays.  

Review
I will individually meet with each students to review their essays with them.  I will inform them of strengths and areas to work on.  I will also give my assessment of their writing as a whole and provide advice on how to improve it going forward.