Introduction
Write a paragraph in which you detail some episode. It could be an imaginary episode, or it could be an everyday moment from your own life told as a narrative, but make sure that it contains the basic elements of plot: a situation undergoing some change, which then leads to another situation. The story should be your own original work. This needn’t be a complex story, but it should contain at least three major elements, and they should be identifiable as such, even if the change of situation isn’t fully realized until the end. For example:
“This morning I was speeding to school when my coffee slipped off the dash. It splashed over me, soaking my clothes.”
Here we have a basic plot, with a situation (driving to school dry), interrupted by a change (being splashed by coffee), then leading to a new situation (driving to school wet).
Be as creative as you’d like with this, or if you’d prefer, keep it simple and analytic. The point is to familiarize yourself with mapping the basic elements of a rudimentary plot, which is any and every story, no matter how mundane.
Next, provide a brief analysis in which you identify the main elements of the plot in your story. This will most likely be in a separate paragraph after the story itself. Be sure to identify all of the key plot elements that seem to fit within your story (exposition, foreshadowing, rising action, etc.) and include them in your analysis.
This assignment should be at least 250 words, and will be assessed on its formal clarity, the quality of the writing and editing, its degree of engagement with its topic, its creativity/inventiveness/originality of ideas, and the sophistication of thought it expresses.
