Who Am I
Guidelines for Autobiography Book—Honors Language Arts
Who: You
What: Autobiography Book/Both an English and Literature Test Grade
When: Friday, October 21—Our book signing party!
Where: Fragments of each assignment were started in class; the final product is to be completed at home
Why: We have spent three weeks learning about ourselves informally through journals and other in class writing
assignments. Now you are going to create a book of both creative and formal autobiographical works which you
can share with family and classmates.
How: Read through the attached packet. For each page there is a specific requirement. Read and follow the
directions carefully. Each page must be mounted onto paper and then bound in order to be presented in “book”
form. Creativity will be rewarded. Unless otherwise specified, all pages must be typed in black ink in 12pt TNR.
Page One: Title Page
The title page should include the creative title of your Autobiographical Book and your correct heading. You may do the
title page in any color and in any font. This page must be typed.
Page Two: Coat of Arms
Neatly cut out and paste your Coat of Arms onto a sheet of colored paper. If you do not like your original Coat of Arms
or if your original Coat of Arms was not completed or is not correct, you may create a new Coat of Arms.
Page Three: A Letter of Introduction
Write a letter introducing yourself. Tell me what I should know about you. Be sure to include the parts of a letter:
“Address” (your correct Heading), Date, Salutation, Body, Closing, and Signature. Your letter should include the
5 Ws—who, what, when, where, and why—and should be between 100-150 words.
Page Four: Who Am I Collage
Create a full-page collage of words and pictures that represent you and the ideas you present in your book. Your collage
should COVER your entire page—this means no white space. Use magazines, newspapers, photos, hand-drawn
art, etc.
Page Five: “Who Am I” Poetry
Neatly retype your poem created in class. Your poem must have an original title and be in TNR 12 pt type.
Page Six: When I was Young….
Write six “When I was young” paragraphs. Each paragraph should be 3-4 sentences and include the appropriate first
line, “When I was young…” and then add details. You may make each paragraph a different font and/or color to make
them stand out from one another, but all paragraphs must fit on one page.
Page Seven: Symbolic Recipe
Write a symbolic recipe for yourself. This means your ingredients are not blood, muscle, bone, and hair, but abstract
qualities and personality traits (like patience, friendliness, humor). What is really necessary to create you. Follow
standard recipe format: a list of ingredients and exact measurements, followed by a paragraph of instructions, advice
about the proper sequence of steps, baking temperatures and times, and any tips or warnings.
Page Eight: Personal Narrative
Write about a personal experience; it could be one event presented on your Life Graph or any other event that you can
vividly remember. Remember, a personal narrative is written in the first-person, reveals the writer’s feelings, and tells a
story—stories have a beginning, middle, and end and reveal the 5 Ws and H (who, what, when, where, why and how).
Use imagery, descriptive language, and active verbs to depict a clear picture for your reader. Your personal narrative
must include a creative title, must fit on one page, typed and double space, and be a minimum of 150 words.
Page Nine: Who Will You Be Twenty Years from Now
Where will you be in 20 years? What do you hope you profession will be? Will you have a family? Write a magazine
article about yourself as it would appear twenty years from now. Think again about the 5 Ws. This must read like a
article written by someone else about you. The article must be typed and at least 100 words. Other elements
considered in the grading criteria are proper length, spelling, punctuation, creativity, effort, neatness, use of descriptive
language/sense words.
Page Ten: Life Graph
Take your Life Graph completed at home and mount it on paper. This will be the last page of your Autobiography.
Bonus Page: Page Eleven—An Acrostic: An Acrostic
You can complete an extra page for five bonus points. An acrostic is defined as a “poem or other writing in an
alphabetic script in which the first letter “of each word spells out another word. Consider how you answer the question
“Who are you?” Now fill in the acrostic with your answer. Your acrostic must include your first and last name on one
page and should tell a “story” with a beginning, middle, and end—there should not be just one word per line. This must
be typed, but the first letter of each new line can be larger, a different font, and/or a different color to make it stand
out.
Example of an Acrostic Poem
Mrs. Luzarraga
Multi-tasking mom
Runs ‘round and ‘round and ‘round
Supervising several siblings
Loving every minute of it
(Unless they’re acting like animals in the
Zoo.) For fun and
Amusement she likes to
Run around on the tennis court.
Rallying and volleying and
Acing her opponents. Wow! This
Girl is busy,
And she likes it that way.
Bonus Bonus: My Favorite Food
Bring your favorite food to share with your classmates on Monday, October 17 at the book signing. You must bring all
supplies for your food.
Who Am I
Guidelines for Autobiography Book—Mrs. Luzarraga’s 3rd Period Language Arts
Who: You
What: Autobiography Book/Both an English and Literature Test Grade
When: Friday, October 21—Our book signing party!
Where: Fragments of each assignment were started in class; the final product is to be completed at home
Why: We have spent three weeks learning about ourselves informally through journals and other in class writing
assignments. Now you are going to create a book of both creative and formal autobiographical works which you
can share with family and classmates.
How: Read through the attached packet. For each page there is a specific requirement. Read and follow the
directions carefully. Each page must be mounted onto paper and then bound in order to be presented in “book”
form. Creativity will be rewarded.
Page One: Title Page
The title page should include the creative title of your Autobiographical Book and your correct heading. You may do the
title page in any color and in any font. This page must be typed.
Page Two: Coat of Arms
Neatly cut out and paste your Coat of Arms onto a sheet of colored paper. If you do not like your original Coat of Arms
or if your original Coat of Arms was not completed or is not correct, you may create a new Coat of Arms.
Page Three: A Letter of Introduction
Write a letter introducing yourself. Tell me what I should know about you. Be sure to include the parts of a letter:
“Address” (your correct Heading), Date, Salutation, Body, Closing, and Signature. Your letter should include the
5 Ws—who, what, when, where, and why—and should be between 100-125 words.
Page Four: Who Am I Collage
Create a full-page collage of words and pictures that represent you and the ideas you present in your book. Your collage
should COVER your entire page—this means no white space. Use magazines, newspapers, photos, hand-drawn
art, etc.
Page Five: “Who Am I” Poetry
Neatly retype your poem created in class. Your poem must have an original title and be in TNR 12 pt type.
Page Six: When I was Young….
Write four “When I was young” paragraphs. Each paragraph should be 3-4 sentences and include the appropriate first
line, “When I was young…” and then add details. You may make each paragraph a different font and/or color to make
them stand out from one another, but all paragraphs must fit on one page.
Page Seven: Symbolic Recipe
Write a symbolic recipe for yourself. This means your ingredients are not blood, muscle, bone, and hair, but abstract
qualities and personality traits (like patience, friendliness, humor). What is really necessary to create you. Follow
standard recipe format: a list of ingredients and exact measurements, followed by a paragraph of instructions, advice
about the proper sequence of steps, baking temperatures and times, and any tips or warnings.
Page Eight: Pick ONE of the Following--Personal Narrative or Newspaper Article
Choice A: Personal Narrative
Write about a personal experience; it could be one event presented on your Life Graph or any other event that you can
vividly remember. Remember, a personal narrative is written in the first-person, reveals the writer’s feelings, and tells a
story—stories have a beginning, middle, and end and reveal the 5 Ws and H (who, what, when, where, why and how).
Use imagery, descriptive language, and active verbs to depict a clear picture for your reader. Your personal narrative
must include a creative title, must fit on one page, typed and double space, and be a minimum of 150 words.
Choice B: Newspaper Article “Who Will You Be Twenty Years from Now”
Where will you be in 20 years? What do you hope you profession will be? Will you have a family? Write a magazine
article about yourself as it would appear twenty years from now. Think again about the 5 Ws. This must read like a
article written by someone else about you. The article must be typed and at least 100 words. Other elements
considered in the grading criteria are proper length, spelling, punctuation, creativity, effort, neatness, use of descriptive
language/sense words.
Bonus Page Nine: Complete Both Choice A and Choice B above for five bonus points
Page Nine: Life Graph
Take your Life Graph completed at home and mount it on paper. This will be the last page of your Autobiography.
Bonus: You can complete an extra page—Complete BOTH The Personal Narrative and The Newspaper Article for 5 bonus
points. The bonus page should then be page nine and your Life Graph will be page ten.
Bonus Bonus: My Favorite Food
Bring your favorite food to share with your classmates on Friday, October 21 at the book signing. You must bring all
supplies for your food.