Writers Den

Historical Fiction Narrative

For this project,
you will be writing a historical fiction narrative. This should demonstrate
everything you have learned throughout the American History Non­Fiction Unit.

You will conduct
thorough research on an event in contemporary American history (from after the
Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to present). Then, you will write an
informative narrative­style essay through the perspective of a fictional
bystander, onlooker, or

participant.

Your project will
include two parts:

An annotated
bibliography of your research

A fictional
narrative.

Part 1:

Your research
must include eight separate sources. At least four of these sources must
qualify as reliable, meaning that they are published by a university, the
government, an objective news source, or are a primary source document. You
must submit an annotated bibliography as your Works Cited page. Each of your
eight entries must:

Begin with an MLA
citation.

Include a summary
of the information in the source.

Include a
discussion of how the information in this source informed your narrative.

Be a minimum of
150 words in length.

Part 2:

Your essay will
be a fictional historical narrative. In this unit, you read actual historical
narratives from individuals who lived through an important historical time and
wrote about their experiences. You will create a similar piece? however, you
will use thorough research

instead of
personal experience to create your narrative.

Your narrative
essay will be informative in purpose. Your overall goal should be to describe
the event in history that you researched. You will do this by creating a
narrative essay through the perspective of a fictional person who witnessed the
event. (Your fictional narrator may discuss the significance of this event if
appropriate.)

Your essay should
be written from a first­-person point of view. You may choose to write it
in­the­moment as the narrator experienced it or as a journal entry or letter to
a friend or relative after the fact.

The writing focus
of your essay should be creating effective sensory details. Use sensory details
to create the feeling that your narrator was actually there. You must create
sensory details that appeal to at least four of the senses (touch, sound,
sight, smell, or taste).

This essay should
be between 3-­5 pages (750­-1250 words) in length. Your final draft should be
saved and submitted as .doc or .pdf file. It should be in 12­point font in
Times New Roman.

10% of your grade
will be on grammar and mechanics. Write as clearly and correctly as you can.
This means that 90% of your grade is based on your ideas ­ however, you will
not earn an A if you do not proofread carefully and check for errors.