Remembering an Event
Step 1:  Choosing your subject

Your subject should relate to an experience somehow related to decisions, actions, & consequences.  Perhaps it could be a story that relates to a wise or poor choice in your life.    It could also relate to how someone else's decision affects your life.   Brainstorm at least three choices before selecting your subject.   Realize you should want to spend time with this story as you write.  Realize that you will most likely relive the memory.  Putting the story on paper will preserve it forever. 

Step 2:  Pre-writing

Now that you have chosen a topic you should continue collecting ideas to help you develop your narrative.
For the most part, you will probably use three different ingredients in your body paragraphs in addition to your topic sentence:
1.  first-person narration ( I ) :  I went home right away.
2.  your thoughts and feelings:  My heart raced as the referee blew the whistle.
3.  transitions:  Meanwhile, I listened to my excited daughter tell me about her day at school.

Step 3: Planning
Before you draft, consider the order you will use to tell your story.  Chronological order would be the most natural.  Here's a plan that might work for you, although each bullet does not mean one paragraph.
 
Introduction
Before 
During
After
Conclusion

You will need to decide what the before, during, and after segments are about.  For example, people writing about their high school graduation might have these parts:

Prepare a plan before you draft so you stay focused in a logical order.

Step 4: Drafting
Now you are ready to begin writing.  Choose one of the three techniques below to begin your introduction.
1.  Use a quotation.
2.  State a surprising or unknown fact.
3.  Describe the setting.

As you draft, keep the following papers in front of you:
1.  your plan so you always know where you are headed next
2.  your sensory detail and thoughts/feelings cluster or list so you can occasionally mix them with your narration

OVERALL, STRIVE TO TELL YOUR STORY IN A FOCUSED AND ORGANIZED WAY.  DON'T WORRY ABOUT ELABORATION AND CORRECTNESS TOO MUCH, OR THE WORRY WILL INTERRUPT YOU AS YOU COMPOSE YOUR STORY.  See instructor example or her draft from the past.

Step 5: Conferencing

You must have two peers PQP your paper.   As you read, follow directions for reading for a first impression. 

Step 6: Revising
See revision links for how to improve your paper.
Step 7: Editing
Correct student examples.
Step 7: Self-evaluating
 Use the rubric to score your own paper.

Step 8:  Publishing

Follow these directions.