Literacy Narrative

This project begins with a short personal narrative, which students will later adapt into a different medium, such as a podcast, video, or comic, to explore how genre, audience, and medium influence rhetorical choices.

Students should select a medium and genre that best fit their story and be able to justify their rhetorical choices. They may draw on their familiarity with digital platforms to strengthen their multimodal work. Afterward, they will write a reflection analyzing their revisions, strategies, and audience awareness. In the First-Year Composition curriculum at Northern Illinois University (NIU), reflection makes up 50% of each major project grade.

Literacy Narrative Learning Objectives

• Recognize and analyze audience expectations in personal storytelling
• Practice reflective metacognition regarding literacy development
• Integrate linguistic and cultural perspectives into narrative construction

This project is connected to the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) through:

• Writing Process Reflection
• Transfer and Contextual Connections
• Genre and Style Awareness

Genres & Formats

• Written narrative
• Multimedia version

Rubric

• Literacy Narrative

Grading Criteria	Exceptional	Met	Not Met
Adaptation of Narrative	You have adapted your narrative to a new genre and have included new things or removed pieces of narrative to fit that genre.	You have adapted your narrative to a new genre.	The narrative is not adapted, or the adaptation includes only text.
Meeting Genre Goals	Your narrative fits well within the conventions of the genre as laid out in your reflection. The genre is recognizable.	Your narrative resembles the conventions of the genre as laid out in your reflection.	The narrative does not resemble the conventions of the genre as laid out in the reflection.
Use of Media	More than one non-written text mode is used in your narrative. Modes enhance the narrative.	At least one non-written text mode is used in your narrative. It helps to explain the narrative.	The narrative is written text alone or modes are included in ways that do not support the narrative.
Adapting to Your Audience	Your narrative is suitable and appealing for your chosen audience. Content has been adapted specifically to appeal to that audience.	Your narrative is suitable for your chosen audience.	The narrative does not suit the audience explained in the reflection.
Responding to Feedback	You have revised your narrative substantially and/or thoughtfully based on both your peers’ and your instructor’s feedback.	You have revised your narrative based on both your peers’ and your instructor’s feedback.	No revisions to the narrative have been made or only minor changes have been made that do not adequately respond to feedback.
Meeting Requirements	You have met or exceeded all the requirements for the narrative.	You have met all the requirements for the narrative.	One or more of the requirements for the narrative has not been met.

A copy of the Literacy Narrative rubric:File:Literacy Narrative Grading Criteria.pdf

• Reflection Piece

Grading Criteria	Exceptional	Met	Not Met
Reflecting on Your Genre Choices	You have clearly identified choices in your reflection that you made in your narrative that fit the genre you have chosen.	You have mentioned choices in your reflection related to genre conventions.	Genre conventions are not mentioned in the reflection.
Reflecting on Your Design Choices	You have clearly identified choices in your reflection that you made in your narrative that explain why you designed your project as you did.	You have mentioned choices in your reflection related to design choices.	Design conventions are not mentioned in the reflection.
Reflecting on Appealing to Your Audience	You have identified specific things in your reflection that you have done in your narrative to appeal to your audience or help them understand better.	You have mentioned things in your reflection that you have done in your remediation project to help your audience.	Audience appeal or adaptation is not mentioned in the reflection.
Reflecting on Your Rhetorical Purpose	You clearly explain your goal in making the narrative and explain how you met that goal.	You explain your goal in making your narrative.	The goal of the narrative is not mentioned in the reflection.
Responding to Feedback	You have revised your reflection substantially and/or thoughtfully based on both your peers’ and your instructor’s feedback.	You have revised your reflection based on both your peers’ and your instructor’s feedback.	No revisions to the reflection have been made or only minor changes have been made that do not adequately respond to feedback.
Meeting Requirements	You have met or exceeded all the requirements for the reflection.	You have met all the requirements for the reflection.	One or more of the requirements for the reflection has not been met.

A copy of the Literacy Narrative Reflection rubric:File:Reflection Grading Criteria.pdf

Assignment Focus

This section outlines various tasks an instructor may assign, each designed to build specific skills and insights that contribute to the development of the overall Literacy Narrative project.

• Narrative Draft: Students may describe a “newcomer” experience—moving to a new city, joining a new team, learning an unfamiliar cultural or digital practice, etc.

• Audience/Medium Selection: Students choose a target audience (e.g., future students, peers, family, professionals) and a medium (podcast, comic, video, etc.).

• Multimodal Remediation: Students recreate the narrative in a new form, making rhetorical decisions based on mode, purpose, and audience.

• Reflection Piece: Students reflect on the changes made and how those changes shape meaning.

Weekly Structure

Week 1: Rhetoric & Composition

Overview: Introduction to the Course/Syllabus; Course Expectations; Myths about Writing; Introducing E-portfolio

• Key Source on Writing Myths

Name	Description
Watch: Ten Myths About Writing	This video introduces common misconceptions about writing and helps students reframe their expectations for the course.

• Alternative Sources on Writing Myths

Name	Description
Watch: Debunking Writing Myths	An alternative video that explores similar writing misconceptions in a student-friendly language.
Read: Myths about Writing	This article examines prevalent misconceptions about writing and offers clarification regarding the expectations and conventions of academic writing contexts.
Read: Common Myths About "Good" Writing	This reading reframes writing as a learned skill, one that is rooted in genre literacy, structure, clarity, and adapting to audience expectations.
Read: Myths About Writing: Common Misconceptions Debunked	This article identifies five of the most pervasive myths and provides a rationale for their reconsideration.

• Key Sources on Reflection

Name	Description
Watch: Why Do We Do Reflections?	This video introduces the purpose and value of reflection in writing.
Read: The Digital World: Building on What You Already Know to Respond Critically	This reading icludes key concepts such as critical response, rhetorical thinking, and an annotated student sample.

• Alternative Sources on Reflection & Critical Thinking

Name	Description
Watch: Five Tips to Improve Your Critical Thinking	This video walks viewers through strategies to sharpen critical thinking skills and reach better outcomes through reflective reasoning.
Watch: What is Critical Thinking?	A short video that introduces critical thinking as the practice of analyzing arguments and questioning assumptions.
Watch: Study Skills – How to think critically	This video explores what critical thinking is, why it matters, and how students can apply it to analyze and evaluate information effectively.
Read: Introduction: Critical Thinking, Reading, & Writing	This article provides ways of critical reading and writing strategies that help cultivate critical thinking, which in turn deepens engagement with texts and ideas.
Read: Reflecting and Improving	A concise guide that highlights the importance of teaching reflection as a tool for developing students’ metacognitive awareness and improving their writing process.

• Alternative Materials on Prewriting

Name	Description
Read: 12 Popular Prewriting Strategies To Improve Your Writing	An accessible guide that introduces prewriting as a foundational strategy to help students organize ideas, clarify purpose, and improve writing outcomes.

Week 2: Composing & Invention

Overview: Introducing the First Writing Project; Introduce Remediation and the Process; Analyze a Model Narrative; Introducing Genre.

• Key Source on Genre

Name	Description
Read: On Genre	This article emphasizes that genres are socially shaped responses to recurring situations. It provides them with the vocabulary to discuss genre purposefully in their reflections.

• Alternative Sources on Genre and Rhetorical Situation

If you want to teach rhetorical strategies separately in your class, here are some materials that you can use.

Name	Description
Watch: The Rhetorical Situation	This short video explains how writing is shaped by purpose, writer's identity, audience, and context, emphasizing the rhetorical situation as a triangle enclosed by broader circumstances.
Read:Rhetorical Situation: Definition, Examples & FAQs	A student-friendly guide that defines the rhetorical situation and provides clear examples to help learners understand how audience, purpose, and context influence writing.
Read: Glance at Genre: The Literacy Narrative	A clear, instructor-friendly overview of literacy narratives as a genre, offering guidance for teaching students to connect personal experience with writing development.
Watch:What Are Genres?	This short video defines and explains genres and how we can recognize them.

• Key Source on Remediation

Name	Description
Read:Remediation	This reading outlines both challenges and opportunities of multimodal composition. It helps students understand that they make new rhetorical choices based on medium, audience, and purpose.

• Alternative Sources on Remediation

Name	Description
Watch:College Composition Remediation Video	This video introduces remediation as the process of adapting content from one medium to another—such as books to films or essays to blogs—while preserving the original message and engaging new audiences through strategic rhetorical choices.
Watch: More than Words: Introduction to Multimodal Communication	This video introduces multimodal communication, showing how meaning is conveyed not just through words, but also through visual, auditory, spatial, and cultural modes that work together to enhance understanding.
Read: Multimodal Communication: Writing in a Technological Society	This material highlights multimodal communication as a blending of words with visual, auditory, and interactive elements and is powerful in our digital age.
Read: What are Multimodal Texts?	This instructor-friendly chapter introduces multimodal texts as compositions that combine written, visual, spatial, and aural elements—offering students a broader understanding of how meaning is created beyond alphabetic writing.
Read: The Five Modes Explained	A clear breakdown of the five modes of communication—linguistic, visual, aural, spatial, and gestural—offering a helpful foundation for teaching students how to compose effective multimodal texts.

Week 3: Reflection

Overview: Remediation, Proposal, Writing Project Draft, Reflection Practices.

• Key Resource on Reflection

Name	Description
Watch: Writing Transfer & Reflection	This short video introduces students to the connection between reflection and transfer.

• Alternative Sources on Reflection

Name	Description
Read: Reflection and Improving	A concise guide that highlights the importance of teaching reflection as a tool for developing students’ metacognitive awareness and improving their writing process.
Watch: The importance of Reflection	This video introduces students to critical reflection as a process of evaluating past experiences, identifying challenges and successes, and taking meaningful action to improve future thinking and behavior.
Watch: What is Self-Reflection & Why Does it Matter?	This video introduces self-reflection as a vital learning tool that helps students examine their experiences, make meaningful connections, and grow through frameworks like “What? So What? Now What?” for lasting academic and personal development.
Watch: Reflection for WP1	A concise video about how to write a reflection for this literacy narrative project.
Watch Critical Reflection	A short video and a good guide for students to learn about critical refection, its importance and how to do it]]

Week 4: Peer Revision

Overview: Introducing Reflection Rubrics; Practice on effective Peer Revision; Practice Peer Revision on Students’ Projects

• Key Resource on Peer Revision

Name	Description
Read: In-Class Peer Review	This reading introduces in-class peer review by addressing common student concerns and explaining how collaborative feedback supports revision and writing development.
Watch: Good Practices for Peer Revision	This short video guides students through effective peer revision by emphasizing feedback that focuses on meaning, not mechanics, using clear “what,” “why,” and “how” comments to support deeper revision.

• Alternative Material on Peer Revision

Some videos and texts might be useful for your class depending on your needs.

Name	Description
Read: Guidelines for Students - Peer Review	A concise collection of peer review tips for instructors, focusing on how to structure peer feedback activities to improve student writing and critical thinking.
Read: Effective Peer Review Strategies	A practical guide for instructors on implementing effective peer review strategies that promote constructive feedback, collaboration, and student engagement in the writing process.
Read: Teaching students to evaluate each other	This resource offers strategies for guiding students in evaluating each other’s work effectively, helping instructors design peer review activities that build critical thinking, accountability, and collaboration skills.

Week 5: Student Conferences

Overview: Completing the final draft, attending conferences to discuss revisions, rhetorical choices, and reflection development before final submission.

Students' Project Samples & Reflection Essays

• Project Samples

File:First Literacy Narrative sample.pdf

• Reflection Essay Samples

• File:Literacy Narrative Reflection 1.pdf

• File:Literacy Narrative Reflection 2.pdf