Sharing Your Stories - Writing Short Narratives

Overwhelmed by the thought of writing a complete family history?

This course is designed to help you showcase your research skills by starting with a short (maximum 12 pages) family narrative. Your report can focus on a specific individual, a family story, an ancestral town, an immigration experience, a family photo, or any other related topic that interests you. Our objective is to provide the opportunity to write a report of a limited scope within a short timeframe, helping you to hone your writing skills and showcase your research abilities.

Please submit a brief (1-2 paragraph) description of the project to the instructor prior to enrolling; we will also be discussing our topics during our first session.

Course Outline

• Getting Started (topics and scope); first session - discussion of topics in your paragraph submission
• Crafting Your Story
• Nonfiction Writing Techniques
• Editing

Skills you will learn

How to create an effective report, the mechanics of writing, genealogical best practices, and how to add context to the chosen story.

You Will

• Get help in picking a subject
• Create an appropriate scope so that you can finish your story within four weeks
• Describe elements of an effective report
• Learn techniques to add interest to your story
• Explore multiple ways to add context to your chosen story
• Identify genealogical best practices and elements of an effective report
• Write appropriate citations as needed in your narrative

Format

Lessons will be posted in a class folder on the Education Google Drive.

Requirements

This course is for intermediate to advanced researchers. It is intended for people who have been doing family research for several years and want to share their accumulated research with others, particularly family members. Students must be comfortable using computers. Students must have completed and organized the research for their story prior to signing up for the class.

Submit a brief (1-2 paragraph) description of the project to the instructor prior to enrolling.

Tuition

Tuition is $200 for 4 weeks. Class size is limited, and enrollment will be closed when the course is full.

Contact Information

For any questions, email the instructor at education@jewishgen.org.

Instructor

Marion Werle