Your assignment:
you are part of a magician’s troupe. you know you must divert the audience of peddlers you plan to swindle of their gold and diamonds. using research from “magic and the brain” by susana martinez-conde and stephen l. macknik and the tricks described within “the great houdini! murder case short story,” you will compose a narrative explaining your exploit. your narrative should include a distinct point of view, a clear beginning, middle and end, a conflict, a turning point, and dialogue. your audience will be the owners operating the magic castle in hollywood.

your narrative essay will be scored on the following:
1. organization/purpose: how effective was your plot, and how did you maintain a logical sequence of events from beginning to end? how well did you establish and develop a setting, narrative, characters, and point of view? how well did you use a variety of transitions? how effective were your opening and closing for your audience and purpose?
2. development/elaboration: how well did you develop your narrative using description, details, dialogue? how well did you use relevant details or information from the sources in your story?
3. conventions: how well did you follow the rules of grammar usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling?
4. format: essay is 2-6 pages in length. typed, double-spaced, times new roman, 12pt font. all margins set at 1 inch.
plan your multi-paragraph story.
write your multi-paragraph story.
revise and edit the final draft of your multi-paragraph story.

you are being asked to write a story that is several paragraphs long, so be as thorough as possible. remember to check your notes and your prewriting/planning as you write and then revise and edit your story.