In an essay I wrote called “A Life Story Written In Chalk,” I discussed how the viewpoints of others supported my opinions on the importance of a life story. In order to successfully express my ideas while incorporating evidence of other’s experiences, I needed to use the Barclay format to structure my paragraphs. The Barclay paragraph is an excellent tool that helps you to compare two separate ideas, and either support or contradict them. In the paragraph that I have inserted below, I have used the Barclay paragraph to summarize, paraphrase, quotation, analysis, and synthesis to incorporate one’s ideas with my own. In this excerpt of my essay below, I include a summary of my own ideas and how it contributes to what I belive in.
My mother taught me that with every bad decision, there is a lesson to be learned. I have always believed in that. I could either learn the lesson, or neglect it, which will lead to even worse decisions. Beck’s essay supports this thought because she states that “This narrative becomes a form of identity, in which the things someone chooses to include in the story, and the way she tells it can both reflect and shape who she is.” Ken MacArthur, a 54 year old man from Boston, Massachusetts, was interviewed about his life story. Ken was faced a bad situation where he learned, in the end, to never judge anybody and to treat everyone the same. If that event had never happened, he would be very different. In Galen Strawson’s essay, “I Am Not A Story”, he centers his essay around the idea of lying about your life story has no benefits.
To tie in the narrative projects that we did, I included Ken MacArthur’s life story and I paraphrased his ideas to fit into my argument
.Ken was faced a bad situation where he learned, in the end, to never judge anybody and to treat everyone the same.
I analyzed Strawson’s essay and dove into how the underlying meaning of his essay, which is that life stories aren’t true, and I connected it to Ken’s life story and wove it into opinion.
In Galen Strawson’s essay, “I Am Not A Story”, he centers his essay around the idea of lying about your life story has no benefits. “I think it’s false- false that everyone stories themselves, and false that it’s always a good thing.” Strawson implies that people may not want to include these bad events, as it may make the person look bad.
Lastly, I included many quotes from the narrative speakers and the essay writers to support my arguement.
Beck’s essay supports this thought because she states that “This narrative becomes a form of identity, in which the things someone chooses to include in the story, and the way she tells it can both reflect and shape who she is.”
