Read Melissa Unbankes's "The King and I" on pages 132- 137 of The Norton Sampler. In this short narrative, the author, Melissa Unbankes, describes her grandmother and tells how their relationship changed over time. After reading the story, write a paragraph about a friend or family member, considering the following: What does the person do? Does the person have a job or career, or is his/her focus on taking care of family? What is something the person is passionate about? What is a place you associate with that person? What is one annoying or unusual trait about that person? What does that person mean to you? Now, write the paragraph. Be sure you start with a topic sentence, which is a general statement that introduces the person to the audience.

Answer and Explanation:

The person I want to describe is my mother. She does not have a formal job, but takes care of the home and family like no one else. My mother is very dedicated to making the house comfortable for the whole family and she is always fulfilling all our wishes. She says that she is passionate about it and that she is happy if we feel happy with the environment. I wish she had more time for her, but she says that is her duty. I always associate my mother with a call of comfort and calm, where I can have total freedom, like my room, for example. She has no annoying features, except during board games where she likes to cheat, but it is not out of malice. My mother means the greatest symbol of kindness and dedication that I can have, I hope she is very happy.

author – information on the internet with a listed author is one indication of a credible site. the fact that the author is willing to stand behind the information presented (and in some cases, include his or her contact information) is a good indication that the information is reliable.

date – the date of any research information is important, including information found on the internet. by including a date, the website allows readers to make decisions about whether that information is recent enough for their purposes.

sources – credible websites, like books and scholarly articles, should cite the source of the information presented.

domain – some domains such as .com, .org, and .net can be purchased and used by any individual. however, the domain .edu is reserved for colleges and universities, while .gov denotes a government website. these two are usually credible sources for information (though occasionally a university will assign a .edu address to each of its students for personal use, in which case use caution when citing). be careful with the domain .org, because .org is usually used by non-profit organizations which may have an agenda of persuasion rather than education.

site design – this can be very subjective, but a well-designed site can be an indication of more reliable information. good design make information more easily accessible.

writing style – poor spelling and grammar are an indication that the site may not be credible. in an effort to make the information presented easy to understand, credible sites watch writing style closely.

a personal narrative essay is about a personal experience, so it is usually written in the first person. to maximize its impact, the essay should: be written to have an emotional impact on the reader. include a lot of references to sensory perceptions and hope i