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Narrative Essay

Narrative Essay Examples

10+ Interesting Narrative Essay Examples Plus Writing Tips!

Narrative Essay Definition

Writing a narrative essay is a unique form of storytelling that revolves around personal experiences, aiming to immerse the reader in the author's world. It's a piece of writing that delves into the depths of thoughts and feelings.

In a narrative essay, life experiences take center stage, serving as the main substance of the story. It's a powerful tool for writers to convey a personal journey, turning experiences into a captivating tale. This form of storytelling is an artful display of emotions intended to engage readers, leaving the reader feeling like they are a part of the story.

By focusing on a specific theme, event, emotions, and reflections, a narrative essay weaves a storyline that leads the reader through the author's experiences.

The Essentials of Narrative Essays

Let's start with the basics. The four types of essays are argumentative essays , descriptive essays , expository essays , and narrative essays.

The goal of a narrative essay is to tell a compelling tale from one person's perspective. A narrative essay uses all components you’d find in a typical story, such as a beginning, middle, and conclusion, as well as plot, characters, setting, and climax.

The narrative essay's goal is the plot, which should be detailed enough to reach a climax. Here's how it works:

It's usually presented in chronological order.
It has a function. This is typically evident in the thesis statement's opening paragraph.
It may include speech.
It's told with sensory details and vivid language, drawing the reader in. All of these elements are connected to the writer's major argument in some way.

Before writing your essay, make sure you go through a sufficient number of narrative essay examples. These examples will help you in knowing the dos and don’ts of a good narrative essay.

It is always a better option to have some sense of direction before you start anything. Below, you can find important details and a bunch of narrative essay examples. These examples will also help you build your content according to the format.

Here is a how to start a narrative essay example:

Sample Narrative Essay

The examples inform the readers about the writing style and structure of the narration. The essay below will help you understand how to create a story and build this type of essay in no time.

Here is another narrative essay examples 500 words:

Narrative Essay Examples for Students

Narrative essays offer students a platform to express their experiences and creativity. These examples show how to effectively structure and present personal stories for education.

Here are some helpful narrative essay examples:

Narrative Essay Examples Middle School

Narrative Essay Examples for Grade 7

Narrative Essay Examples for Grade 8

Grade 11 Narrative Essay Examples

Narrative Essay Example For High School

Narrative Essay Example For College

Personal Narrative Essay Example

Descriptive Narrative Essay Example

3rd Person Narrative Essay Example

Narrative Essay Topics

Here are some narrative essay topics to help you get started with your narrative essay writing.

When I got my first bunny
When I moved to Canada
I haven’t experienced this freezing temperature ever before
The moment I won the basketball finale
A memorable day at the museum
How I talk to my parrot
The day I saw the death
When I finally rebelled against my professor

Need more topics? Check out these extensive narrative essay topics to get creative ideas!

Narrative Essay Writing Tips

Narrative essays give you the freedom to be creative, but it can be tough to make yours special. Use these tips to make your story interesting:

Share your story from a personal viewpoint, engaging the reader with your experiences.
Use vivid descriptions to paint a clear picture of the setting, characters, and emotions involved.
Organize events in chronological order for a smooth and understandable narrative.
Bring characters to life through their actions, dialogue, and personalities.
Employ dialogue sparingly to add realism and progression to the narrative.
Engage readers by evoking emotions through your storytelling.
End with reflection or a lesson learned from the experience, providing insight.

Now you have essay examples and tips to help you get started, you have a solid starting point for crafting compelling narrative essays.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 3 great narrative essay examples + tips for writing.

General Education

A narrative essay is one of the most intimidating assignments you can be handed at any level of your education. Where you've previously written argumentative essays that make a point or analytic essays that dissect meaning, a narrative essay asks you to write what is effectively a story .

But unlike a simple work of creative fiction, your narrative essay must have a clear and concrete motif —a recurring theme or idea that you’ll explore throughout. Narrative essays are less rigid, more creative in expression, and therefore pretty different from most other essays you’ll be writing.

But not to fear—in this article, we’ll be covering what a narrative essay is, how to write a good one, and also analyzing some personal narrative essay examples to show you what a great one looks like.

What Is a Narrative Essay?

At first glance, a narrative essay might sound like you’re just writing a story. Like the stories you're used to reading, a narrative essay is generally (but not always) chronological, following a clear throughline from beginning to end. Even if the story jumps around in time, all the details will come back to one specific theme, demonstrated through your choice in motifs.

Unlike many creative stories, however, your narrative essay should be based in fact. That doesn’t mean that every detail needs to be pure and untainted by imagination, but rather that you shouldn’t wholly invent the events of your narrative essay. There’s nothing wrong with inventing a person’s words if you can’t remember them exactly, but you shouldn’t say they said something they weren’t even close to saying.

Another big difference between narrative essays and creative fiction—as well as other kinds of essays—is that narrative essays are based on motifs. A motif is a dominant idea or theme, one that you establish before writing the essay. As you’re crafting the narrative, it’ll feed back into your motif to create a comprehensive picture of whatever that motif is.

For example, say you want to write a narrative essay about how your first day in high school helped you establish your identity. You might discuss events like trying to figure out where to sit in the cafeteria, having to describe yourself in five words as an icebreaker in your math class, or being unsure what to do during your lunch break because it’s no longer acceptable to go outside and play during lunch. All of those ideas feed back into the central motif of establishing your identity.

The important thing to remember is that while a narrative essay is typically told chronologically and intended to read like a story, it is not purely for entertainment value. A narrative essay delivers its theme by deliberately weaving the motifs through the events, scenes, and details. While a narrative essay may be entertaining, its primary purpose is to tell a complete story based on a central meaning.

Unlike other essay forms, it is totally okay—even expected—to use first-person narration in narrative essays. If you’re writing a story about yourself, it’s natural to refer to yourself within the essay. It’s also okay to use other perspectives, such as third- or even second-person, but that should only be done if it better serves your motif. Generally speaking, your narrative essay should be in first-person perspective.

Though your motif choices may feel at times like you’re making a point the way you would in an argumentative essay, a narrative essay’s goal is to tell a story, not convince the reader of anything. Your reader should be able to tell what your motif is from reading, but you don’t have to change their mind about anything. If they don’t understand the point you are making, you should consider strengthening the delivery of the events and descriptions that support your motif.

Narrative essays also share some features with analytical essays, in which you derive meaning from a book, film, or other media. But narrative essays work differently—you’re not trying to draw meaning from an existing text, but rather using an event you’ve experienced to convey meaning. In an analytical essay, you examine narrative, whereas in a narrative essay you create narrative.

The structure of a narrative essay is also a bit different than other essays. You’ll generally be getting your point across chronologically as opposed to grouping together specific arguments in paragraphs or sections. To return to the example of an essay discussing your first day of high school and how it impacted the shaping of your identity, it would be weird to put the events out of order, even if not knowing what to do after lunch feels like a stronger idea than choosing where to sit. Instead of organizing to deliver your information based on maximum impact, you’ll be telling your story as it happened, using concrete details to reinforce your theme.

3 Great Narrative Essay Examples

One of the best ways to learn how to write a narrative essay is to look at a great narrative essay sample. Let’s take a look at some truly stellar narrative essay examples and dive into what exactly makes them work so well.

A Ticket to the Fair by David Foster Wallace

Today is Press Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, and I’m supposed to be at the fairgrounds by 9:00 A.M. to get my credentials. I imagine credentials to be a small white card in the band of a fedora. I’ve never been considered press before. My real interest in credentials is getting into rides and shows for free. I’m fresh in from the East Coast, for an East Coast magazine. Why exactly they’re interested in the Illinois State Fair remains unclear to me. I suspect that every so often editors at East Coast magazines slap their foreheads and remember that about 90 percent of the United States lies between the coasts, and figure they’ll engage somebody to do pith-helmeted anthropological reporting on something rural and heartlandish. I think they asked me to do this because I grew up here, just a couple hours’ drive from downstate Springfield. I never did go to the state fair, though—I pretty much topped out at the county fair level. Actually, I haven’t been back to Illinois for a long time, and I can’t say I’ve missed it.

Throughout this essay, David Foster Wallace recounts his experience as press at the Illinois State Fair. But it’s clear from this opening that he’s not just reporting on the events exactly as they happened—though that’s also true— but rather making a point about how the East Coast, where he lives and works, thinks about the Midwest.

In his opening paragraph, Wallace states that outright: “Why exactly they’re interested in the Illinois State Fair remains unclear to me. I suspect that every so often editors at East Coast magazines slap their foreheads and remember that about 90 percent of the United States lies between the coasts, and figure they’ll engage somebody to do pith-helmeted anthropological reporting on something rural and heartlandish.”

Not every motif needs to be stated this clearly , but in an essay as long as Wallace’s, particularly since the audience for such a piece may feel similarly and forget that such a large portion of the country exists, it’s important to make that point clear.

But Wallace doesn’t just rest on introducing his motif and telling the events exactly as they occurred from there. It’s clear that he selects events that remind us of that idea of East Coast cynicism , such as when he realizes that the Help Me Grow tent is standing on top of fake grass that is killing the real grass beneath, when he realizes the hypocrisy of craving a corn dog when faced with a real, suffering pig, when he’s upset for his friend even though he’s not the one being sexually harassed, and when he witnesses another East Coast person doing something he wouldn’t dare to do.

Wallace is literally telling the audience exactly what happened, complete with dates and timestamps for when each event occurred. But he’s also choosing those events with a purpose—he doesn’t focus on details that don’t serve his motif. That’s why he discusses the experiences of people, how the smells are unappealing to him, and how all the people he meets, in cowboy hats, overalls, or “black spandex that looks like cheesecake leotards,” feel almost alien to him.

All of these details feed back into the throughline of East Coast thinking that Wallace introduces in the first paragraph. He also refers back to it in the essay’s final paragraph, stating:

At last, an overarching theory blooms inside my head: megalopolitan East Coasters’ summer treats and breaks and literally ‘getaways,’ flights-from—from crowds, noise, heat, dirt, the stress of too many sensory choices….The East Coast existential treat is escape from confines and stimuli—quiet, rustic vistas that hold still, turn inward, turn away. Not so in the rural Midwest. Here you’re pretty much away all the time….Something in a Midwesterner sort of actuates , deep down, at a public event….The real spectacle that draws us here is us.

Throughout this journey, Wallace has tried to demonstrate how the East Coast thinks about the Midwest, ultimately concluding that they are captivated by the Midwest’s less stimuli-filled life, but that the real reason they are interested in events like the Illinois State Fair is that they are, in some ways, a means of looking at the East Coast in a new, estranging way.

The reason this works so well is that Wallace has carefully chosen his examples, outlined his motif and themes in the first paragraph, and eventually circled back to the original motif with a clearer understanding of his original point.

When outlining your own narrative essay, try to do the same. Start with a theme, build upon it with examples, and return to it in the end with an even deeper understanding of the original issue. You don’t need this much space to explore a theme, either—as we’ll see in the next example, a strong narrative essay can also be very short.

Death of a Moth by Virginia Woolf

After a time, tired by his dancing apparently, he settled on the window ledge in the sun, and, the queer spectacle being at an end, I forgot about him. Then, looking up, my eye was caught by him. He was trying to resume his dancing, but seemed either so stiff or so awkward that he could only flutter to the bottom of the window-pane; and when he tried to fly across it he failed. Being intent on other matters I watched these futile attempts for a time without thinking, unconsciously waiting for him to resume his flight, as one waits for a machine, that has stopped momentarily, to start again without considering the reason of its failure. After perhaps a seventh attempt he slipped from the wooden ledge and fell, fluttering his wings, on to his back on the window sill. The helplessness of his attitude roused me. It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly. But, as I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself, it came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death. I laid the pencil down again.

In this essay, Virginia Woolf explains her encounter with a dying moth. On surface level, this essay is just a recounting of an afternoon in which she watched a moth die—it’s even established in the title. But there’s more to it than that. Though Woolf does not begin her essay with as clear a motif as Wallace, it’s not hard to pick out the evidence she uses to support her point, which is that the experience of this moth is also the human experience.

In the title, Woolf tells us this essay is about death. But in the first paragraph, she seems to mostly be discussing life—the moth is “content with life,” people are working in the fields, and birds are flying. However, she mentions that it is mid-September and that the fields were being plowed. It’s autumn and it’s time for the harvest; the time of year in which many things die.

In this short essay, she chronicles the experience of watching a moth seemingly embody life, then die. Though this essay is literally about a moth, it’s also about a whole lot more than that. After all, moths aren’t the only things that die—Woolf is also reflecting on her own mortality, as well as the mortality of everything around her.

At its core, the essay discusses the push and pull of life and death, not in a way that’s necessarily sad, but in a way that is accepting of both. Woolf begins by setting up the transitional fall season, often associated with things coming to an end, and raises the ideas of pleasure, vitality, and pity.

At one point, Woolf tries to help the dying moth, but reconsiders, as it would interfere with the natural order of the world. The moth’s death is part of the natural order of the world, just like fall, just like her own eventual death.

All these themes are set up in the beginning and explored throughout the essay’s narrative. Though Woolf doesn’t directly state her theme, she reinforces it by choosing a small, isolated event—watching a moth die—and illustrating her point through details.

With this essay, we can see that you don’t need a big, weird, exciting event to discuss an important meaning. Woolf is able to explore complicated ideas in a short essay by being deliberate about what details she includes, just as you can be in your own essays.

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

On the twenty-ninth of July, in 1943, my father died. On the same day, a few hours later, his last child was born. Over a month before this, while all our energies were concentrated in waiting for these events, there had been, in Detroit, one of the bloodiest race riots of the century. A few hours after my father’s funeral, while he lay in state in the undertaker’s chapel, a race riot broke out in Harlem. On the morning of the third of August, we drove my father to the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed plate glass.

Like Woolf, Baldwin does not lay out his themes in concrete terms—unlike Wallace, there’s no clear sentence that explains what he’ll be talking about. However, you can see the motifs quite clearly: death, fatherhood, struggle, and race.

Throughout the narrative essay, Baldwin discusses the circumstances of his father’s death, including his complicated relationship with his father. By introducing those motifs in the first paragraph, the reader understands that everything discussed in the essay will come back to those core ideas. When Baldwin talks about his experience with a white teacher taking an interest in him and his father’s resistance to that, he is also talking about race and his father’s death. When he talks about his father’s death, he is also talking about his views on race. When he talks about his encounters with segregation and racism, he is talking, in part, about his father.

Because his father was a hard, uncompromising man, Baldwin struggles to reconcile the knowledge that his father was right about many things with his desire to not let that hardness consume him, as well.

Baldwin doesn’t explicitly state any of this, but his writing so often touches on the same motifs that it becomes clear he wants us to think about all these ideas in conversation with one another.

At the end of the essay, Baldwin makes it more clear:

This fight begins, however, in the heart and it had now been laid to my charge to keep my own heart free of hatred and despair. This intimation made my heart heavy and, now that my father was irrecoverable, I wished that he had been beside me so that I could have searched his face for the answers which only the future would give me now.

Here, Baldwin ties together the themes and motifs into one clear statement: that he must continue to fight and recognize injustice, especially racial injustice, just as his father did. But unlike his father, he must do it beginning with himself—he must not let himself be closed off to the world as his father was. And yet, he still wishes he had his father for guidance, even as he establishes that he hopes to be a different man than his father.

In this essay, Baldwin loads the front of the essay with his motifs, and, through his narrative, weaves them together into a theme. In the end, he comes to a conclusion that connects all of those things together and leaves the reader with a lasting impression of completion—though the elements may have been initially disparate, in the end everything makes sense.

You can replicate this tactic of introducing seemingly unattached ideas and weaving them together in your own essays. By introducing those motifs, developing them throughout, and bringing them together in the end, you can demonstrate to your reader how all of them are related. However, it’s especially important to be sure that your motifs and clear and consistent throughout your essay so that the conclusion feels earned and consistent—if not, readers may feel mislead.

5 Key Tips for Writing Narrative Essays

Narrative essays can be a lot of fun to write since they’re so heavily based on creativity. But that can also feel intimidating—sometimes it’s easier to have strict guidelines than to have to make it all up yourself. Here are a few tips to keep your narrative essay feeling strong and fresh.

Develop Strong Motifs

Motifs are the foundation of a narrative essay . What are you trying to say? How can you say that using specific symbols or events? Those are your motifs.

In the same way that an argumentative essay’s body should support its thesis, the body of your narrative essay should include motifs that support your theme.

Try to avoid cliches, as these will feel tired to your readers. Instead of roses to symbolize love, try succulents. Instead of the ocean representing some vast, unknowable truth, try the depths of your brother’s bedroom. Keep your language and motifs fresh and your essay will be even stronger!

Use First-Person Perspective

In many essays, you’re expected to remove yourself so that your points stand on their own. Not so in a narrative essay—in this case, you want to make use of your own perspective.

Sometimes a different perspective can make your point even stronger. If you want someone to identify with your point of view, it may be tempting to choose a second-person perspective. However, be sure you really understand the function of second-person; it’s very easy to put a reader off if the narration isn’t expertly deployed.

If you want a little bit of distance, third-person perspective may be okay. But be careful—too much distance and your reader may feel like the narrative lacks truth.

That’s why first-person perspective is the standard. It keeps you, the writer, close to the narrative, reminding the reader that it really happened. And because you really know what happened and how, you’re free to inject your own opinion into the story without it detracting from your point, as it would in a different type of essay.

Stick to the Truth

Your essay should be true. However, this is a creative essay, and it’s okay to embellish a little. Rarely in life do we experience anything with a clear, concrete meaning the way somebody in a book might. If you flub the details a little, it’s okay—just don’t make them up entirely.

Also, nobody expects you to perfectly recall details that may have happened years ago. You may have to reconstruct dialog from your memory and your imagination. That’s okay, again, as long as you aren’t making it up entirely and assigning made-up statements to somebody.

Dialog is a powerful tool. A good conversation can add flavor and interest to a story, as we saw demonstrated in David Foster Wallace’s essay. As previously mentioned, it’s okay to flub it a little, especially because you’re likely writing about an experience you had without knowing that you’d be writing about it later.

However, don’t rely too much on it. Your narrative essay shouldn’t be told through people explaining things to one another; the motif comes through in the details. Dialog can be one of those details, but it shouldn’t be the only one.

Use Sensory Descriptions

Because a narrative essay is a story, you can use sensory details to make your writing more interesting. If you’re describing a particular experience, you can go into detail about things like taste, smell, and hearing in a way that you probably wouldn’t do in any other essay style.

These details can tie into your overall motifs and further your point. Woolf describes in great detail what she sees while watching the moth, giving us the sense that we, too, are watching the moth. In Wallace’s essay, he discusses the sights, sounds, and smells of the Illinois State Fair to help emphasize his point about its strangeness. And in Baldwin’s essay, he describes shattered glass as a “wilderness,” and uses the feelings of his body to describe his mental state.

All these descriptions anchor us not only in the story, but in the motifs and themes as well. One of the tools of a writer is making the reader feel as you felt, and sensory details help you achieve that.

What’s Next?

Looking to brush up on your essay-writing capabilities before the ACT? This guide to ACT English will walk you through some of the best strategies and practice questions to get you prepared!

Part of practicing for the ACT is ensuring your word choice and diction are on point. Check out this guide to some of the most common errors on the ACT English section to be sure that you're not making these common mistakes!

A solid understanding of English principles will help you make an effective point in a narrative essay, and you can get that understanding through taking a rigorous assortment of high school English classes !

Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

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Narrative Writing

Ai generator.

Narrative writing is a captivating storytelling method that allows writers to share their personal experiences, imaginative tales, or historical events. It’s a powerful tool for engaging readers through vivid descriptions, emotional depth, and a well-structured plot. By blending creativity with narrative techniques, this form of writing transports readers into the heart of the story, making every moment feel real and impactful. It’s an art that balances entertainment, reflection, and clarity, turning simple stories into memorable journeys.

At an early age, we have been exposed to the different writing styles and types. We were taught of such writing styles, and we learned to distinguish the differences each writing style has with each other. Over time, we might have even tried writing various writing styles.

In short, use of writing has always been part of our lives, and it will remain that way. Here, we will recall one of the writing styles we have learned as a child, one we’re very familiar with—narrative writing.

What is Narrative Writing? Narrative writing is a style of writing where the author tells a story. This story can be real or fictional, and it usually follows a specific structure with a beginning, middle, and end. The key elements of narrative writing include characters, a plot, a setting, a climax, and a conclusion. It differs from other types of writing by its focus on storytelling, often using detailed descriptions and emotional language to engage the reader’s imagination and feelings.

Structure/Format of Narrative Writing

Narrative writing has a distinct structure that helps in organizing the story and making it engaging and coherent. This structure typically includes the following elements:

Introduction

Hook: Begins with a sentence that captures the reader’s attention. Setting: Establishes the time and place where the story occurs. Characters: Introduces the main characters involved in the story. Purpose: If relevant, states the reason or theme of the narrative.

Events: Describes the sequence of events in a clear, chronological order. However, flashbacks or non-linear storytelling can be used effectively. Conflict: Introduces a problem or challenge faced by the characters. Development: Shows how characters react to events and evolve. Sensory Details: Uses descriptive language to engage the reader’s senses and emotions.

Turning Point: The most intense or crucial moment of the story, where the main conflict reaches its peak. Emotional Engagement: This part should be the most engaging and is often the result of the buildup of events in the body.

Resolution: Provides closure to the story, resolving any conflicts or issues. Reflection: Offers insight or lessons learned from the events of the story. Final Thoughts: Leaves the reader with something to think about, often tying back to the introduction or the theme of the narrative.

What does narrative writing include?

Narrative writing includes several key elements that work together to create an engaging and coherent story. These elements are:

Plot: The sequence of events that make up the story. It includes the setup, conflict, climax, and resolution.
Characters: The individuals involved in the story. Main characters are usually more fully developed and central to the plot.
Setting: The time and place where the story occurs. This can include not just physical locations, but also the social, economic, or cultural environments.
Point of View: The perspective from which the story is told. Common points of view include first-person (using “I” or “we”) and third-person (using “he,” “she,” or “they”).
Conflict: The challenge or problem around which the plot revolves. Conflict can be internal (within a character) or external (between characters or between a character and their environment).
Theme: The underlying message or meaning of the story. Themes can be explicit or implied through the events and outcomes of the narrative.
Dialogue: The conversations between characters, which can reveal their personalities, relationships, and contribute to plot development.
Descriptive Language: Vivid descriptions that engage the reader’s senses and emotions, bringing the story to life.

Examples of Narrative Writing

“the last lesson” by alia marquez.

In “The Last Lesson,” Alia Marquez explores the poignant moments of a teacher’s final day at a troubled inner-city school. The narrative delves deep into her emotional farewell, capturing the profound impact of her years spent shaping young minds.

“Standing at the threshold of the classroom, I could feel the weight of every moment spent within these walls. It wasn’t just a place of learning; it was a sanctuary for lost hopes and hidden potentials unearthed.”

“Echoes of the Past” by Samuel Clark

Samuel Clark’s memoir, “Echoes of the Past,” recounts his journey through the landscapes of his childhood during the Great Depression. His vivid descriptions and introspective reflections offer readers a deeply personal view of resilience and survival.

“As I wandered through the barren fields of my youth, each footstep seemed to stir the dust of forgotten dreams. The echoes of laughter and sorrow intertwined, painting a tapestry of memories in the stark landscape.”

“Beneath the Surface” by Elena Watkins

In her compelling essay, Elena Watkins invites readers into her world as a marine biologist working in the mysterious depths of the Pacific Ocean. Her narrative captures the thrill of discovery and the relentless pursuit of knowledge.

“Each dive was a descent into a new universe. The vibrant corals and elusive creatures that thrived in the ocean’s abyss were not just subjects of study but messengers from a world beneath waves, whispering secrets of the deep.”

“A Journey to Forgiveness” by Marcus Yi

Marcus Yi’s narrative essay details his emotional pilgrimage to his ancestral home in China, where he confronts the legacy of estrangement and seeks reconciliation. His heartfelt narrative explores themes of identity, belonging, and healing.

“The old elm tree stood as a sentinel at the family estate, its branches stretching out like arms ready to embrace. Beneath its shade, I found not just the roots of my family tree but a pathway to forgiveness, winding through the years of silence.”

“Moments of Joy” by Olivia Thompson

Olivia Thompson reflects on the simple pleasures that punctuate our daily lives in her narrative piece. With a gentle voice and keen observation, she illustrates how these fleeting moments create a tapestry of joy that sustains us.

“Joy found me in the quiet morning hours, in the soft murmur of the rain against the windowpane, and in the laughter of children chasing the wind. It was never loud or demanding; it was the quiet guest at the table of daily life, always present and graciously subtle.”

Types of Narrative Writing

Fictional narrative.

Characteristics: Involves created storylines, characters, and settings. These narratives can range from realistic to fantastical.
Purpose: Primarily for entertainment, but they can also explore themes, moral dilemmas, or human experiences.
Examples: Novels, short stories, fairy tales.

Non-Fictional Narrative

Characteristics: Based on real events and people. While factual, they are presented in a narrative style, making them more engaging.
Purpose: To inform or educate about real-life events or experiences, often with an emphasis on historical, biographical, or autobiographical elements.
Examples: Memoirs, historical accounts, travelogues.

Autobiographical Narrative

Characteristics: The writer narrates their own life experiences. It can include personal stories, reflections, and significant life events.
Purpose: To share personal insights and experiences, often highlighting a particular theme or period in the writer’s life.
Examples: Autobiographies, personal essays.

Biographical Narrative

Characteristics: Biographical Narrative Focuses on the life story of another person. These narratives delve into the experiences, achievements, and impact of the subject.
Purpose: To explore and share the life of the subject, providing insights into their personality and contributions.
Examples: Biographies, historical profiles.

Historical Narrative

Characteristics: Historical Narrative stories are set in a historical context. They can be a factual recounting of historical events or a fictional story set in a historical period.
Purpose: To educate about and bring to life historical events or eras, often connecting the past to present-day themes.
Examples: Historical novels, documentaries.

Adventure Narrative

Characteristics: Centers on stories of adventure, exploration, or extraordinary experiences. Often includes elements of risk and excitement.
Purpose: To entertain and engage the reader with tales of adventure, often highlighting themes of bravery, exploration, or survival.
Examples: Adventure novels, travel narratives.

Mystery Narrative

Characteristics: These stories involve a mystery, puzzle, or unexplained event, with a focus on the process of solving the mystery.
Purpose: To intrigue and captivate the reader, often involving suspense, clues, and detective work.
Examples: Detective stories, suspense novels.

Narrative Writing Samples

Personal narrative writing.

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Medical Narrative Sample

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Purpose of Narrative Writing

Narrative writing is primarily intended to tell a story to its readers. It is typically presented in a way that engages the writers to imagine themselves as the main character of the story. In narrative writing, the sequence of events is presented such that the reader may be able to follow the flow of events.

The writer incorporates feelings into the composition which lets the reader “feel” what they are reading. Aside from that, the writer also vividly describes the elements of the composition in detail, allowing the reader to paint a picture of it in mind. To sum it up, the business writing writers compose a narrative with the intention of entertaining the readers.

Interactive Narrative Sample

citeseerx.ist.psu.edu

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Reflective Writing

Teaching Narrative Example

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Free Narrative Writing

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How to Compose a Narrative Essay

In narrative essay writing , the writer needs to be imaginative, and at the same time creative in order to create a story which not only catches the readers’ attention but also retains it, things about writing papers . If you’re struggling in doing so, here are some points to remember for you to improve your composition.

Choose a topic. Pick one which can easily be narrated. Your topic should not only interest you, but also your readers. An interesting topic will be the foundation of an interesting story.
Create an outline of the plot. This will help you in organizing the sequence of events in your story.
Be consistent. Decide whether to use the third person or first person point of view in your composition. Also be mindful of the tense you use.
Carefully describe the elements of the story. Describe the characters, setting, events, and other elements of the story in full detail.
Avoid over-describing details. This goes especially to movements. Carefully narrate the elements of your story, but do not overdo it.
Mind your word choice. Strong words create strong sentences, which usually interests readers. Still, keep your language simple and clear.
Proofread your composition. Or let a friend do it. But make sure you polish your composition before publishing (if you plan to).

Characteristics of Narrative Writing

Narrative writing has distinct characteristics that set it apart from other types of writing. Understanding these features is essential to crafting a compelling narrative:

Story Structure: It follows a traditional structure of beginning, middle, and end.
Characters: Involves well-developed characters who drive the story.
Setting: Features a specific time and place where the story unfolds.
Plot and Conflict: Centers around a central conflict or challenge, with a climax and resolution.
Point of View: Typically narrated from a first-person or third-person perspective.
Descriptive Language: Uses vivid descriptions to create a sensory experience for the reader.
Dialogue: Includes conversations between characters to advance the plot and develop characters.

Tips for Narrative Writing

1. Choose a Compelling Topic: Select a story that is meaningful and interesting to you. Personal experiences often make for engaging narratives.

2. Plan Your Narrative: Outline the structure of your story, including key events, character development, and the resolution.

3. Create Vivid Characters: Develop well-rounded characters with distinct personalities, backgrounds, and motivations.

4. Set the Scene: Use descriptive language to build your setting, making it as detailed and vivid as possible.

5. Build the Plot Around a Conflict: Introduce a central conflict or challenge that drives the story and holds the reader’s interest.

6. Use Dialogue Effectively: Incorporate dialogue to reveal character traits and advance the plot. Ensure it sounds natural and consistent with the characters.

7. Show, Don’t Just Tell: Rather than simply stating facts, show the action through descriptive details, characters’ actions, and dialogue.

8. Maintain a Consistent Point of View: Stick to one narrative perspective to avoid confusing the reader.

How Should I Start a Narrative Writing?

Begin with a hook that grabs attention, set the scene, introduce key characters, and hint at the central conflict or theme.

What is an Example of a Narrative Writing?

A narrative writing example could be a personal story about overcoming a challenge, with descriptive details, character growth, and emotional depth.

What is a Nonlinear Narrative?

A nonlinear narrative breaks from chronological order, using flashbacks or jumps in time to enhance storytelling and intrigue.

Mastering narrative writing involves understanding its key elements and applying them effectively. By choosing a compelling topic, developing rich characters, setting a vivid scene, and weaving a plot around a central conflict, your narrative will captivate readers. Remember, the power of a well-told story lies in its ability to connect emotionally with the audience.

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Posted: 29 May, 2017

Narrative Essay: How-To, Structure, Examples, Topics

Narrative essays are most often used in subjects where student experience is the key. They often sound like they're harder than they actually are. If you're worried about your essay, don't worry. This guide will help you get it written with ease.

Table Of Contents

What is Narrative Essay?

Narrative essay structure, how to write narrative essay, narrative essay topics, narrative essay examples.

A narrative essay is one that details an experience you've had, and outlines it for the reader in a linear format. It's not just describing what happened, but also detailing what you felt at the time, how it affected you, and what you've learned from it.

Of course, your essay will be unique, as it's detailing an event that happened in your life. However, following a basic structure will make it easier to read and follow.

Introduction: Introduce the topic, and the incident that you're going to describe. Explain why it's important to you.
Thesis statement: Quickly sum up what you learned as a result of the incident you're describing.
Main body: You'll now talk about the incident involved. As you do so, make sure you're including all the important points. Who was involved? Where did it happen? Why did it happen? Describe exactly what happened, including your thoughts and feelings on the matter.
Conclusion: Refer to your thesis again, and how your experiences impacted your understanding of the topic at hand.
Check the topic you've been given, and think about what personal experience you can use to write around it.
Write some notes on the experience. What happened? Write a rough outline of the event.
Do your research, and find evidence to support your learning in text.
Write your outline. If you use the structure above, it'll be easy to decide where everything will fit in your essay.
Sit down to write. Use the structure as a road map, and you'll find essay writing is a lot easier than it seems.
Proofread and edit. Even if you think your essay's perfect, give it one last read through before you turn it in. You'll be amazed at the errors that you can miss.

Narrative essays are, by definition, personal to you. That's why the topics will focus on something you've experienced in the past. For example, you may need to write about a time you felt disrespected, or when you feel you really succeeded in a job.

If you want some practice, here are some topics you can try writing about:

What was the scariest moment of your life?
Write about a time you disagreed with someone. How did you resolve it?
Describe a time when you had to work hard to achieve something.

These examples will all let you explore what you learned from these experiences, and describe how you use those lessons in your everyday life.

With this help, you should be able to write an excellent narrative essay. Tell the story, but focus on what came of the events in question.

Learn Narrative Essay Writing with Narrative Essay Examples

Narrative essays could be a difficult task for students to tackle. You need to be creative and at the same time take care of important elements of such writing. In the end, a student either gives up or hunts for a professional paper writing service provider.

Not today as we’ll help you clear all your doubts about the narrative essay writing with examples of narrative writing. So ensure you stick to the very end of this interesting blog post to wipe out all your concerns about this academic activity.

Table of Contents

3 Comprehensive Examples of a Narrative Essay

A Journey Home

The sun gradually sank below the horizon, throwing a gorgeous golden glow over the sky as I set out on my journey back to my old home. The smell of the countryside wafted through the air as I cruised down the winding roads, each bend bringing back long-forgotten memories.

I wasn’t just heading to a certain spot, it was like a spiritual journey to reconnect with where I come from. As I drove, the scenery changed, showing me the stunning views of hills and green fields, each scene telling me stories of the past.

I wandered the paths I had known so well, my nostalgia bringing back vivid memories of my youth. The old oak tree was just as I remembered it, its sturdy branches still providing a sanctuary for my dreams and musings. The farmhouse still stood tall, its walls still filled with the echoes of laughter and stories shared. I was flooded with emotions as I rediscovered this place from my childhood.

The memories of the past flooded back as I revisited the town, but I could see that things had changed. The town square was a lot calmer than it used to be, and the stores looked a bit run-down. But despite the physical changes, I could still feel the same energy that had always been part of the place.

Pulling up to the house I grew up in, a wave of feelings hit me. The old porch swing creaked as I sat down, its squeaking sound like a song I knew by heart. All these memories came flooding back – like running around outside in the rain without shoes, sharing secrets under the stars, and a time when life was simpler and the little things were something to be happy about.

Strolling down the hallways, each corner had its tale to tell. The peeling wallpaper, the recognizable squeak of the steps, and the smell of grub from the kitchen brought back memories. The spaces seemed a lot smaller now but the walls were still reverberating with the guffaws from days of yore.

As the sun went down, I cozied up by the fire, feeling a wave of nostalgia wash over me. The fire was crackling and the shadows were dancing – it was like being surrounded by all my favorite memories. It was then that I realized home isn’t just a place on the map, but a feeling. It’s made up of all the moments we’ve shared, full of love and laughter.

Going back home wasn’t only about seeing the places again; it was about reigniting the feeling of being part of something. It reminded me that even if things look different now, the essence of home is always in my heart, connected to me forever.

I said goodbye to the spot that had a big impact on my history, taking with me the sweet memories. I started walking down the road, back to reality, but the sounds of home stayed with me, like a light that kept guiding me – a sign that no matter where life takes me, home will always be with me in my travels.

The Uncharted Expedition

An old, dusty leather-bound journal was tucked away in my grandpa’s attic, among some other forgotten stuff. Its pages were all worn out, telling stories of excitement and exploration. The cover was faded with the words “Chronicles of the Uncharted Expedition” like it was daring me to jump into an unknown world.

I ran my fingers along the cover of the journal, feeling a mix of curiosity and excitement. It belonged to my great-grandfather, a famous explorer who was known for taking on daring adventures and going to uncharted places. As I flipped through the old pages, I felt like I was taking a trip back in time, entering a world where nothing was off-limits.

A record was kept of an exciting mission into the core of an untouched wild area – a mission that was kept hidden and filled with the appeal of the unknown. Drawings of strange places and precise notes created a full picture of a risky trip that could have had amazing results.

My great-grandfather’s words came alive on the pages, telling stories of his meetings with native populations and descriptions of exotic plants and animals that nobody had ever seen before. Every entry was a reminder of his bravery in the face of difficulty, his ability to endure in the wild, and his curiosity for learning.

I was motivated by the stories written in those yellowed pages, so I made a choice – to follow in my great-grandfather’s footsteps, honor his legacy, and find the secrets that had been hidden away for so long.

I took off with the diary in my hand and a sense of excitement as my guide, ready to uncover the remains of the prior expedition. What followed was a journey of exploration and self-discovery, with me discovering both the physical and emotional world around me.

I ventured through thick jungles and rough landscapes, exploring paths that no modern map had seen before. The air buzzed with the music of the outdoors, each whisper of wind and chirp of wildlife getting me more and more excited. The days and nights melted into one another as I made my way through the wild, each step reminding me of days gone by.

I started to uncover clues from the past – an old campsite, some rusty tools, and tiny pieces of artifacts that showed that a bunch of explorers had been here at some point. I was so excited and it felt like I was part of something that had gone on for a long time.

I was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the ruins of an old place. I could almost hear the stories of times gone by, and it felt like I was connecting the past and the present.

I made my way back home, with the journal in my bag, taking with me a sense of excitement, the knowledge I’d gained from exploring the unfamiliar, and a newfound appreciation for the hidden stories in the past.

The trip wasn’t just about seeing sights, it was a trip into the depths of our humanity – showing us just how tough, inquisitive, and capable we are if only we take the time to explore ourselves.

A Symphony of Colors

The art studio was full of excitement, a bubbling chaos of creativity where people’s imaginations ran free. Everywhere you looked was a riot of color – the canvases, the floor, and even the easels were alive with the energy of artists. And in the middle of it, was Elena, the one who had created this beautiful explosion of color.

For Elena, painting wasn’t just a way of expressing herself, it was like a haven – a place where she could put all her feelings into brush strokes and colors. Her latest creation, a canvas of blues and greens, was in front of her – an unfinished harmony that needed its final climax.

As she dipped her brush into the paint, recollections came flooding back to her—a whole bunch of moments tied together with enthusiasm and ambition. Each brushstroke was a reminder of her journey—one that was full of success and struggles, joy and sorrow, all making up her artwork.

The painting was like a snapshot of her life – a representation of her innermost thoughts and feelings, a beautiful masterpiece that grew out of all the confusion. Every brushstroke was like a part of her soul, combining to form a work of art that spoke louder than words through its vibrant colors.

Elena was in her zone, totally lost in the act of creating. Time and place didn’t matter as she explored her feelings and put them into words and art.

As each layer of pigment was added, the canvas changed drastically, from muted tones to bright and vibrant shades. The colors moved in harmony, each one contributing to the overall sound, creating a visual sound that could be appreciated by anyone who paid attention.

Time flew by as she worked, and she could feel the artwork coming together. Every detail was carefully thought out, and when she stepped away to take it all in, she felt a deep satisfaction that came with creating something beautiful. She had made a strong bond with her artwork.

The finished artwork showed a tale – a tale of being tough, embracing the beauty in everything that’s not perfect, and finding peace in the craziness. It mirrored Elena’s journey – a voyage of self-discovery and a never-ending quest for artistic authenticity.

She scribbled her name in the corner of the canvas, feeling a wave of awe wash over her. The blend of colors was a reminder of what we can create.

At that moment, Elena got it that the painting wasn’t just a picture. It held all the feelings, wishes, and ideas that went into making it. A real work of art that would stay in the minds of everyone who saw it.

Going through some narrative writing examples can make it easy for us to grasp the key concepts of such writing. This blog post was all about giving you three narrative essay examples meant to improve your narrative writing.

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Narrative Essay Writing

Narrative Essay Examples

20+ Top Narrative Essay Examples by Experts

12 min read

Published on: Apr 12, 2020

Last updated on: Mar 24, 2024

Personal Narrative Essay Example

Are you looking for a sample to draft a personal narrative essay ? Go through the example provided below to understand how the first-person and third-person perspectives are used in a narrative essay.

Sample Personal Narrative Essay

Narrative Essay Example for Middle School

A narrative essay is frequently assigned to middle school students to assess their writing and creative skills. If you are a student looking for a sample narrative essay for your middle school assignment, go through the example provided below.

Narrative Essay Example: 7th Grade

Narrative Essay Example for Grade 8

Grade 9 Narrative Essay Example

Sample Narrative Essay Grade 12

Narrative Essay Example for High School

When drafting assignments for high school, professional writing is essential. Your essays and papers should be well structured and written in order to achieve better grades. If you are assigned a narrative essay, go through the sample provided to see how an effective essay is written.

Sample Narrative Essay For High School

Good Narrative Essay Examples for College

College essays are more complex in nature than other academic levels. They require a better understanding of the concept, following a proper writing procedure, and an outline.

Although you are to draft a narrative essay for your college assignment, make sure it is professionally written. Read the sample narrative essay provided below.

Descriptive Narrative Essay Example

If you are to draft a document on the recreation of an event, a descriptive narrative essay is written. It presents an incident that happened to the writer and the backed-up information that supports the story.

The following is a perfect example of a descriptive narrative essay.

Sample Descriptive Narrative Essay

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Literacy Narrative Essay Example

Academic assignments often require students to draft essays on education. Education is the most significant topic of discussion, and for this purpose, almost every essay type and research paper studies it.

If you are drafting a narrative essay on literacy, go through the sample provided.

Fictional Narrative Essay Example

Drafting a fictional piece of document requires a more vivid description and detail. If you are assigned a narrative essay to draft on a fictional theme, read the example provided below.

Sample Fictional Narrative Essay

The Essentials of Narrative Essays

In a narrative essay, the goal is to write a story from one person's perspective. To do this well requires incorporating all of these aspects:

Below are some golden points that you should keep in mind when writing a narrative essay.

Chronological order is the most common way to present information.
A thesis statement has a function in an essay. This is typically evident in the opening paragraph.
The writer's argument is clearly communicated through the use of sensory details and vivid language.
This draws the reader in and makes them interested in what the writer has to say. Everything in the passage is somehow related to the main point.

How to Start a Narrative Essay?

When you start writing the narrative essay, you should follow some steps and make your writing process easy.

For your help, we gathered some steps that you should follow when starting writing the essay.

Choose a narrative essay topic that is engaging and interesting.
Do some research and then start writing the essay.
Create an outline.
Start writing the essay. The way you describe things should be creative and colorful. Thus, the reader can feel as if they are right there with what's happening.
Proofread the essay before submitting it.

Watch the video below for tips on how to write a narrative essay:

Narrative Essay Writing Tips

Professional essay writers of CollegeEssay.org have gathered some tips and tricks for you to follow to make your narrative essay remarkable. Even if you are aware of the writing procedure, it is advised to use expert tips to make your documents flawless.

Follow the tips provided below to draft an exceptional narrative essay.

Clear Content: The narrative essay content should be clear. All the details and descriptions provided should be readable and understandable by the audience. Avoid using complex words and distribute content into paragraphs.
Keep it concise: Avoid describing every minor detail or movement. Provide only explanations that are important for the readers to imagine.
Use first-person perspective: To make something believable and interesting for the readers, state it from the first-person perspective. Share your personal experiences, stories, and opinions to make the content impactful.
Use limited referencing: When drafting an essay, according to the instructed format, avoid using frequent in-text citations.
Use Clear Stance: Write your point of view clearly, so the readers feel that it is a genuine piece of writing.

Keep in mind that a narrative essay is different from an expository essay but the same as a descriptive essay .

In conclusion,

Using the tips provided by the professionals and going through the narrative essay examples will let you draft an effective paper.

Looking for top-tier essay writing help online ?

Our narrative essay writing service offers unparalleled expertise to bring your stories to life with clarity and creativity.

Also, elevate your writing journey with the best essay writer , our AI-driven tool that combines cutting-edge technology with user-friendly functionality. Experience the blend of traditional craftsmanship and modern innovation in your next essay. Try it now!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is a narrative paragraph.

Paragraphs vary in length depending on the content, but a standard 5-sentence paragraph usually isn't enough to tell an interesting story.

How do I write a narrative essay?

Here are some steps that will help you to write a great narrative essay.

Consider the topic
Start writing the draft
Provide supporting facts
Revise your essay

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36 Professional Narrative Essay Examples

Personal narratives by professional writers.

Alexie, Sherman. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me.” Los Angeles Times . 19 April 1998. https://sites.tufts.edu/alquestaeng2spring2018/files/2018/01/22The-Joy-of-Reading-and-Writing-Superman-and-Me22-by-Sherman-Alexie.pdf
Baca, Jimmy Santiago. “Coming into Language.” https://pen.org/coming-into-language/
Bragg, Rick. “Chapter 1” from All Over but the Shoutin’. 1998. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/17370/all-over-but-the-shoutin-by-rick-bragg/
Douglass, Frederick. “ Chapter VII ” (Learning to Read & Write) from Life of an American Slave . (Also available as an audio file.)
Liu, Ken. “Paper Menagerie” (a short story). https://io9.gizmodo.com/read-ken-lius-amazing-story-that-swept-the-hugo-nebula-5958919
Malcolm X. “Learning to Read” https://ptfaculty.gordonstate.edu/jmallory/index_files/page0096.htm
Mitchell, Judith. “I’m Telling Everyone.” https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-daily/im-telling-everyone
Offutt, Chris. “Trash Food.” Oxford American. https://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/550-trash-food
Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant.” https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/shooting-an-elephant/
Petrosino, Kiki. “Literacy Narrative.” Iowa Review. https://iowareview.org/blog/literacy-narrative-kiki-petrosino
Sedaris, David. “ Stepping Out .” New Yorker Magazine . 30 June 2014.
Westover, Tara. “Prologue” from Educated. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/550168/educated-by-tara-westover/
Wright, Richard. “Chapter VIII” (The Library Card) from Black Boy. http://drnissani.net/MNISSANI/20302005/library.htm

More Examples of Personal Narratives

Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives – The DALN is an open public resource made up of stories from people just like you about their experiences learning to read, write, and generally communicate with the world around them.

I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother

by Liza Long

A young boy holds a butterfly. The boy has an undiagnosed mental illness.

Three days before 20 year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was wearing the wrong color pants.

“I can wear these pants,” he said, his tone increasingly belligerent, the black-hole pupils of his eyes swallowing the blue irises.

“They are navy blue,” I told him. “Your school’s dress code says black or khaki pants only.”

“They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!”

“You can’t wear whatever pants you want to,” I said, my tone affable, reasonable. “And you definitely cannot call me a stupid bitch. You’re grounded from electronics for the rest of the day. Now get in the car, and I will take you to school.”

I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.

A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan — they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.

That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn’t have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.

We still don’t know what’s wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.

At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he’s in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He’s in a good mood most of the time. But when he’s not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off.

Several weeks into his new junior high school, Michael began exhibiting increasingly odd and threatening behaviors at school. We decided to transfer him to the district’s most restrictive behavioral program, a contained school environment where children who can’t function in normal classrooms can access their right to free public babysitting from 7:30-1:50 Monday through Friday until they turn 18.

The morning of the pants incident, Michael continued to argue with me on the drive. He would occasionally apologize and seem remorseful. Right before we turned into his school parking lot, he said, “Look, Mom, I’m really sorry. Can I have video games back today?”

“No way,” I told him. “You cannot act the way you acted this morning and think you can get your electronic privileges back that quickly.”

His face turned cold, and his eyes were full of calculated rage. “Then I’m going to kill myself,” he said. “I’m going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself.”

That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts. I did not respond, except to pull the car into the opposite lane, turning left instead of right.

“Where are you taking me?” he said, suddenly worried. “Where are we going?”

“You know where we are going,” I replied.

“No! You can’t do that to me! You’re sending me to hell! You’re sending me straight to hell!”

I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waiving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. “Call the police,” I said. “Hurry.”

Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldn’t escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. I’m still stronger than he is, but I won’t be for much longer.

The police came quickly and carried my son screaming and kicking into the bowels of the hospital. I started to shake, and tears filled my eyes as I filled out the paperwork — “Were there any difficulties with… at what age did your child… were there any problems with.. has your child ever experienced.. does your child have…”

At least we have health insurance now. I recently accepted a position with a local college, giving up my freelance career because when you have a kid like this, you need benefits. You’ll do anything for benefits. No individual insurance plan will cover this kind of thing.

For days, my son insisted that I was lying — that I made the whole thing up so that I could get rid of him. The first day, when I called to check up on him, he said, “I hate you. And I’m going to get my revenge as soon as I get out of here.”

By day three, he was my calm, sweet boy again, all apologies and promises to get better. I’ve heard those promises for years. I don’t believe them anymore.

On the intake form, under the question, “What are your expectations for treatment?” I wrote, “I need help.”

And I do. This problem is too big for me to handle on my own. Sometimes there are no good options. So you just pray for grace and trust that in hindsight, it will all make sense.

I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am James Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

According to Mother Jones, since 1982, 61 mass murders involving firearms have occurred throughout the country. Of these, 43 of the killers were white males, and only one was a woman. Mother Jones focused on whether the killers obtained their guns legally (most did). But this highly visible sign of mental illness should lead us to consider how many people in the U.S. live in fear, like I do.

When I asked my son’s social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.”

I don’t believe my son belongs in jail. The chaotic environment exacerbates Michael’s sensitivity to sensory stimuli and doesn’t deal with the underlying pathology. But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise — in fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater (56 percent) than in the non-incarcerated population.

With state-run treatment centers and hospitals shuttered, prison is now the last resort for the mentally ill — Rikers Island, the LA County Jail and Cook County Jail in Illinois housed the nation’s largest treatment centers in 2011 .

No one wants to send a 13-year old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, “Something must be done.”

I agree that something must be done. It’s time for a meaningful, nation-wide conversation about mental health. That’s the only way our nation can ever truly heal.

God help me. God help Michael. God help us all.

This essay, originally published at The Anarchist Soccer Mom, is licensed CC BY NC ND 4.0. Liza Long is an Assistant Professor of English at the College of Western Idaho. Her book, The Price of Silence: A Mom’s Perspective on Mental Illness, was a 2014 “Books for a Better Life” winner. Liza’s essays have appeared in USA Today, Time.com, Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, and other places. She blogs on children’s mental health issues at 1in5Minds.org.

Write What Matters Copyright © 2020 by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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CIE O’level Exam Prep English Language-1123 – Narrative Writing

Kanwal Hafeez
December 8, 2023

Narrative writing.

Narrative writing involves crafting a compelling and engaging story. Students are tasked with developing characters, setting, and plot in a way that captivates the reader’s attention. Through vivid descriptions, well-paced sequences, and thoughtful use of dialogue, narrative writing aims to transport the audience into the fictional world created by the writer. The challenge lies in constructing a cohesive narrative structure, incorporating elements like exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Successful narrative writing in the 1123 examination not only demonstrates a command of language and storytelling techniques but also showcases the ability to evoke emotions and sustain reader interest throughout the narrative journey.

1. Understanding Elements of Plot

In narrative writing, understanding the elements of plot is crucial. This includes introducing the exposition (setting, characters), establishing the conflict, developing rising action, reaching a climax, falling action, and ultimately, the resolution. Writers should craft a well-paced plot to maintain reader engagement. Click here for some useful resources.

2. Developing Characters and Settings

Narrative writing in involves creating characters that are relatable and dynamic. Develop characters with distinct personalities, motivations, and conflicts. Settings should be vividly described, providing a backdrop that enhances the overall atmosphere of the story. Both characters and settings should contribute to the narrative’s themes and mood. For some useful graphic organizers and resources, click here .

3. Structure

Structure is the framework that holds a narrative together. Narratives should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Consider how events unfold, ensuring a logical sequence that builds tension and interest. A well-structured narrative helps readers navigate the story smoothly.

4. Creating Dialogues

Dialogues play a crucial role in narrative writing. They bring characters to life and advance the plot. Effective dialogue should be natural, revealing character traits, relationships, and moving the story forward. Use dialogue tags, varied sentence structures, and punctuation to make conversations engaging and authentic.

Context Embedded Grammar

Context-embedded grammar refers to the incorporation of grammatical principles within the broader context of language usage. It emphasizes understanding and applying grammar rules in real-world situations, such as those encountered in reading passages or writing prompts. Rather than treating grammar in isolation, context-embedded grammar acknowledges that effective language use involves considering the nuances of context, audience, and purpose.

In English Language 1123 examinations, this approach may require students to apply grammatical concepts—such as sentence structure, punctuation, and verb tense—within the specific communicative tasks presented, ensuring that grammatical accuracy aligns seamlessly with the broader language context in which it operates. This approach not only assesses the knowledge of grammar rules but also evaluates the ability to use them effectively within the given linguistic context.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, narrative writing in CIE English Language 1123 is an art that goes beyond storytelling. It demands a nuanced understanding of plot elements, character development, structure, and the use of dialogues. Successful narratives showcase not only language proficiency but also the ability to evoke emotions and sustain reader interest.

The incorporation of context-embedded grammar further emphasizes the practical application of grammatical principles in real-world language use.

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Short Story Writing -CSEC English A -Narrative Writing

Narrative Writing Course Overview

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How To Write a Narrative Essay: Guide With Examples
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James Prior
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Updated December 12, 2023

Welcome to the creative world of narrative essays where you get to become the storyteller and craft your own narrative. In this article, we’ll break down how to write a narrative essay, covering the essential elements and techniques that you need to know.

Table of Contents

What is a Narrative Essay?

A narrative essay is a form of writing where the author recounts a personal experience or story. Unlike other types of essays, a narrative essay allows you to share a real-life event or sequence of events, often drawing from personal insights and emotions.

In a narrative essay, you take on the role of a storyteller, employing vivid details and descriptive language to transport the reader into the world of your story. The narrative often unfolds in chronological order, guiding the audience through a journey of experiences, reflections, and sometimes, a lesson learned.

The success of a narrative essay lies in your ability to create a compelling narrative arc. This means establishing a clear beginning, middle, and end. This structure helps build suspense, maintain the reader’s interest, and deliver a cohesive and impactful story. Ultimately, a well-crafted narrative essay not only narrates an event but also communicates the deeper meaning or significance behind the experience, making it a powerful and memorable piece of writing and leaving a lasting impression on the reader.

Types of Narrative Essays

Narrative essays come in various forms, each with unique characteristics. The most common type of narrative essay are personal narrative essays where you write about a personal experience. This can cover a whole range of topics as these examples of personal narrative essays illustrate. As a student in school or college, you’ll often be asked to write these types of essays. You may also need to write them later in life when applying for jobs and describing your past experiences.

However, this isn’t the only type of narrative essay. There are also fictional narrative essays that you can write using your imagination, and various subject specific narrative essays that you might have come across without even realizing it.

So, it’s worth knowing about the different types of narrative essays and what they each focus on before we move on to how to write them.

Here are some common types of narrative essays:

Focus on a personal experience or event from the author’s life.
Use the first-person perspective to convey the writer’s emotions and reflections.
Can take many forms, from science fiction and fantasy to adventure and romance.
Spark the imagination to create captivating stories.
Provide a detailed account of the author’s life, often covering a significant timespan.
Explore key life events, achievements, challenges, and personal growth.
Reflect on the writer’s experiences with language, reading, or writing.
Explore how these experiences have shaped the writer’s identity and skills
Document the author’s experiences and insights gained from a journey or travel.
Describe places visited, people encountered, and the lessons learned during the trip.
Explore historical events or periods through a personal lens.
Combine factual information with the writer’s perspective and experiences.

The narrative essay type you’ll work with often depends on the purpose, audience, and nature of the story being told. So, how should you write narrative essays?

How To Write Narrative Essays

From selecting the right topic to building a captivating storyline, we explore the basics to guide you in creating engaging narratives. So, grab your pen, and let’s delve into the fundamentals of writing a standout narrative essay.

Before we start, it’s worth pointing out that most narrative essays are written in the first-person. Through the use of first-person perspective, you get to connect with the reader, offering a glimpse into your thoughts, reactions, and the significance of the story being shared.

Let’s get into how to create these stories:

Write your plot

If you want to tell a compelling story you need a good plot. Your plot will give your story a structure. Every good story includes some kind of conflict. You should start with setting the scene for readers. After this, you introduce a challenge or obstacle. Readers will keep reading until the end to find out how you managed to overcome it.

Your story should reach a climax where tension is highest. This will be the turning point that leads to a resolution. For example, moving outside of your comfort zone was difficult and scary. It wasn’t easy at first but eventually, you grew braver and more confident. Readers should discover more about who you are as a person through what they read.

A seasoned writer knows how to craft a story that connects with an audience and creates an impact.

Hook readers with your introduction

In your introduction, you will introduce the main idea of your essay and set the context. Ways to make it more engaging are to:

Use sensory images to describe the setting in which your story takes place.
Use a quote that illustrates your main idea.
Pose an intriguing question.
Introduce an unexpected fact or a statement that grabs attention.

Develop your characters

You need to make readers feel they know any characters you introduce in your narrative essay. You can do this by revealing their personalities and quirks through the actions they take. It is always better to show the actions of characters rather than giving facts about them. Describing a character’s body language and features can also reveal a great deal about the person. You can check out these adjectives to describe a person to get some inspiration.

Use dialogue

Dialogue can bring your narrative essay to life. Most fiction books use dialogue extensively . It helps to move the story along in a subtle way. When you allow characters to talk, what they have to say seems more realistic. You can use similes , metaphors, and other parts of speech to make your story more compelling. Just make sure the dialogue is written clearly with the right punctuation so readers understand exactly who is talking.

Work on the pace of the story

Your story must flow along at a steady pace. If there’s too much action, readers may get confused. If you use descriptive writing, try not to overdo it. The clear, concise language throughout will appeal to readers more than lengthy descriptions.

Build up towards a climax

This is the point at which the tension in your story is the highest. A compelling climax takes readers by surprise. They may not have seen it coming. This doesn’t mean your climax should come out of left field. You need to carefully lead up to it step by step and guide readers along. When you reveal it they should be able to look back and realize it’s logical.

Cut out what you don’t need

Your story will suffer if you include too much detail that doesn’t move your story along. It may flow better once you cut out some unnecessary details. Most narrative essays are about five paragraphs but this will depend on the topic and requirements.

In a narrative essay, you share your experiences and insights. The journey you take your readers on should leave them feeling moved or inspired. It takes practice to learn how to write in a way that causes this reaction. With a good plot as your guide, it’s easier to write a compelling story that flows toward a satisfying resolution.

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How to Write a Narrative Essay Step by Step

Essay writing comes in various styles, many of which do not demand extensive research. One such style is the narrative essay, which combines personal storytelling with academic reflection. Unlike other essay types, narrative essays are not bound by strict requirements or the need for a bibliography. They feature a more flexible structure, creative language, and a singular focus: to tell a story.

This genre provides a special opportunity for writers to connect with readers on a personal level. By sharing personal experiences and reflections, authors engage their audience emotionally while imparting meaningful messages or lessons. In the sections that follow, our custom term paper writing experts will delve into different aspects of narrative writing, from selecting a topic to structuring your essay effectively.

What Is a Narrative Essay

A narrative essay, as the name suggests, is characterized by the presence of a narrative. Unlike argumentative essays, which present and defend a position, or analytical essays, which dissect another text, narrative essays tell a coherent story. Their goal is to convey a point or impart a lesson through personal experiences. These essays are frequently assigned in high school and for college admissions.

An effective narrative essay generally follows a chronological sequence of events and exhibits three main traits:

Centers on one main idea.
Utilizes specific details to illustrate that idea.
Adheres to a clear sequence of events.

Structurally, a narrative essay resembles short stories, featuring vivid descriptions, plots, characters, and discussions. However, there are key differences. These essays focus on a central theme or argument and conclude decisively, whereas short stories often leave readers with a more abstract moral or message.

A narrative essay is typically written in the first person and follows a standard format with an introduction, body, and conclusion. In contrast, short stories can adopt various formats and may not adhere to the same structured approach.

What is the Purpose of a Narrative Essay

No matter what you write — fiction, non-fiction, memoir, biography — grasping narrative writing helps you connect with your reader, giving them a glimpse of your world. Here, we outline its key purposes:

Academic Assignments: They fulfill requirements for school assignments, allowing students to demonstrate their understanding and creativity.
Self-Reflection: As a key purpose of a narrative essay, this type of writing enables individuals to reflect on personal achievements or significant events, fostering introspection and self-awareness.
Professional Endeavors: They are used when applying for jobs or scholarships, showcasing one's communication skills, experiences, and character.
Literary Analysis: Narrative storytelling is employed in analyzing literature, providing a medium to explore themes, characters, and storytelling techniques.
Cultural Exploration: They facilitate the exploration of different cultures, allowing individuals to share insights and experiences from diverse perspectives.
Creative Expression: These essays offer a means of expressing oneself creatively, weaving personal narratives into compelling stories.
Communication of Messages: Through storytelling, narrative writing conveys messages or lessons, engaging readers and imparting wisdom or insights.
Engagement: Above all, these essays connect with the audience on a personal level, fostering empathy, understanding, and emotional resonance.

Meanwhile, if you’re willing to describe your life in greater depth, our guide on how to write an autobiography might be just what you need!

How to Write a Narrative Essay in 5 Steps

Writing a narrative essay is a unique process compared to other types of school essays. Rather than analyzing topics or defending a position, it focuses on sharing personal experiences through storytelling. By following a few straightforward steps, you can transform your ideas into an engaging narrative.

Step 1: Start with a Topic Selection

When crafting a narrative essay, begin by selecting a topic that either relates to your personal experiences or aligns with a given prompt. If a prompt is provided, consider its requirements and brainstorm ideas that fit within its scope.

As you brainstorm, jot down key moments or points you want to include in your essay. Evaluate how each point will fit into the overall structure of your narrative and ensure it adheres to any word count limits.

Think about the tone and style you wish to adopt. Will your essay be reflective, humorous, or something else? Consider incorporating specific stylistic elements, such as repeated phrases or cliffhanger endings, to enhance your storytelling and engage your reader.

Remain flexible throughout this process. As you explore different ideas, be open to tweaking your topic, tone, and style to better suit your narrative.

For more inspiration and to skip the brainstorming phase, check out a ready-made Narrative Essay Topic list!

Step 2: Make a Clear Outline

Once you have your topic, it's time to draft your narrative essay outline. This outline serves as a blueprint, guiding you in crafting a coherent and engaging story. Start by pinpointing the main points you wish to address, such as pivotal moments or insights gained, and allocate each to a separate paragraph to maintain a clear sequence.

Your outline should help you structure the flow of your narrative, planning out the sequence of events and the level of detail to include. For example, if your essay is about a memorable trip, your outline might start with a paragraph setting the scene, followed by paragraphs describing key experiences and interactions, and concluding with reflections on how the trip impacted you.

When outlining your conclusion, think about how to effectively wrap up your story by summarizing the main events and the significance they hold. For a more systematic approach, make sure to check out how to write an essay conclusion .

Step 3: Write Your Narrative Essay

Using your outline as a guide, now, it's time to start writing a narrative essay. Remember that narrative essays provide you with a creative outlet, so feel free to break away from the constraints of traditional academic writing styles. Captivating the reader and giving your narrative life should be your main goals.

Tip 💡 Use first-person : Infuse your essay with personal authenticity and engagement by embracing pronouns like 'I' and 'me'.

Tip 💡 Employ storytelling techniques : Draw upon the techniques employed in fiction and creative nonfiction, such as dialogue and symbolism, to enrich your narrative and captivate your audience.

Tip 💡 Demonstrate, don't merely state : Instead of blandly presenting facts, immerse your reader in your narrative by employing vivid descriptions and sensory details.

Tip 💡 Remain authentic: Preserve the integrity of your voice and experiences. Candidly share your thoughts and emotions to ensure your narrative essay resonates as genuine and relatable.

Step 4: Don't Forget to Revise

After completing your initial draft, it's essential to revise and polish your essay. Begin by taking a break to refresh your perspective before returning with a clear mind - this is one of the best tips for writing a narrative essay!

When revisiting your essay, carefully review it to ensure logical coherence and flow. Address any inconsistencies or narrative gaps, refining your essay for improved clarity. Pay attention to elements such as tense, point of view, and narrative voice throughout.

Step 5: Proofread Your Writing

Now that you understand how to end a narrative essay, don’t forget to dedicate time to meticulous proofreading to catch any lingering errors or typos. Pay close attention to formatting and citation style, if applicable.

Sharing your essay with trusted individuals such as friends, family, or educators can provide valuable feedback and fresh insights. Incorporate the feedback received, along with your own observations from the revision process, to strengthen the impact and effectiveness of your essay.

Narrative Essay Topics: The List

Let's go back to the topics and give you some handy, ready-made options. Sure, you can think of ideas on your own, but we can lend a hand with these suggestions before you commit to the writing process.

Reflecting on earning my first degree: a pivotal milestone in my life.
The most awful dish I’ve ever tasted: my unforgettable tale.
How a personal experience changed my attitudes and actions.
The worst exam experience I’ve ever had: a harrowing tale.
Encountering something eerie: a chilling moment in my life.
Fond memories of summer vacations during my childhood.
The story of a heroic act that saved someone's life.
My top tunes: songs that resonate deeply with me.
The origins and meanings of my nicknames.
The superpower I wish I had and why.
A lecture that profoundly changed my perspective.
Does my school prioritize digital skills for students?
Great summer reads for book lovers: my top suggestions.
The music genres and melodies that reflect my tastes and emotions.
Passions and interests that drive my aspirations.
My ultimate guide to spending Sundays efficiently.
Questions and curiosities about how the world works.
Values and principles I'd risk my life for.
How much do I follow global current events?
Steps I’ve taken to achieve my dream job.

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Narrative Essay Examples

For inspiration on your upcoming essay, check out these excellent samples from our essay writer . Use them as a guide to help craft your own story, ensuring that your unique voice and experiences come through in your work.

If sharing your personal stories is not your cup of tea, you can buy essays online from our expert writers, who will customize the paper to your particular writing style and tone.

Final Recap

Now that you understand what makes a narrative essay tick, you're probably itching to write your own standout piece. Let our skilled research paper writing service lend you a hand! We're here to offer personalized services tailored to your needs. By providing value with flexible pricing and quick turnaround times, we'll bring your narrative to life together!

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What Is A Narrative Essay?

How to start a narrative essay, how to write a good narrative essay.

Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

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First steps - writing, narrative genre.

Procedural genre
Explanatory genre
Recount genre
Expository/Persuasive genre

The main purpose of this genre is to entertain through storytelling and to engage the reader in an imaginative experience. Typical examples of narratives that children will encounter take the form of fairy tales, myths and legends. Children’s creative writing experiences will often take the form of narrative writing. The Story strand of the SESE History Curriculum provides opportunities for exploring this genre and isolates Myths and Legends as a strand unit from First to Sixth class.

This page contains frameworks, samples and activities for developing the explanatory genre and for exploring characterisation. Some of these files are embedded below for you to read and all can be downloaded at the bottom of the page.

Manual: The Reading Process

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How to Write a Narrative Essay
When applying for college, you might be asked to write a narrative essay that expresses something about your personal qualities. For example, this application prompt from Common App requires you to respond with a narrative essay. College application prompt. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure.
Free Narrative Essay Examples
Narrative Essay Definition. Writing a narrative essay is a unique form of storytelling that revolves around personal experiences, aiming to immerse the reader in the author's world. It's a piece of writing that delves into the depths of thoughts and feelings. In a narrative essay, life experiences take center stage, serving as the main substance of the story. It's a powerful tool for writers ...
3 Great Narrative Essay Examples + Tips for Writing
A narrative essay is one of the most intimidating assignments you can be handed at any level of your education. Where you've previously written argumentative essays that make a point or analytic essays that dissect meaning, a narrative essay asks you to write what is effectively a story.. But unlike a simple work of creative fiction, your narrative essay must have a clear and concrete motif ...
Narrative Writing
How to Compose a Narrative Essay. In narrative essay writing, the writer needs to be imaginative, and at the same time creative in order to create a story which not only catches the readers' attention but also retains it, things about writing papers.If you're struggling in doing so, here are some points to remember for you to improve your composition.
Explore Free Narrative Essay Examples: Topics, Outlines, Samples
Most often, narrative essay examples center around a prompt. This prompt can either be highly specified in nature or else more open-ended. A very specific narrative essay example prompt would be to "write about what you did this morning". A more open-ended prompt, however, could be to "write about an interesting morning you had.".
Narrative Essay: How-To, Structure, Examples, Topics
Narrative Essay Topics. Narrative essays are, by definition, personal to you. That's why the topics will focus on something you've experienced in the past. For example, you may need to write about a time you felt disrespected, or when you feel you really succeeded in a job. Narrative Essay Examples. If you want some practice, here are some ...
5 Narrative Writing Examples
For good narrative essay examples, these application prompts are a great place to start. Take a look at some of the suggestions and then try writing a narrative essay.They usually keep them open-ended so that any student can use them—something like "recall a time when you faced a struggle or challenge, how you were impacted by this, and what you did to overcome it" is typical for this ...
How to Write a Narrative Essay (12 Best Examples)
A Narrative Essay is defined as a form of academic writing where the writer tells real-life experiences, events, and interactions in the form of a story from the first-person perspective.. The essay incorporates vivid details and descriptive techniques to convey the story. Narrative essays are ordinarily restricted in length. These essays are meant to guide the readers through a story, and the ...
13 Best Narrative Essay Examples & Templates
A Narrative Essay is a genre of writing in which the writer tells the reader about experiences, interactions, and events that have happened to him/her during a particular period of time in the form of a story.. Narrative essays usually follow a proper structure, and they always incorporate a vivid plot. Whereas the story could be real or fictional, it has to be defined from a particular ...
Learn Narrative Essay Writing with Narrative Essay Examples
Learn Narrative Essay Writing with Narrative Essay Examples. Narrative essays could be a difficult task for students to tackle. You need to be creative and at the same time take care of important elements of such writing. In the end, a student either gives up or hunts for a professional paper writing service provider.
20+ Easy Narrative Essay Examples and Writing Tips
Go through the example provided below to understand how the first-person and third-person perspectives are used in a narrative essay. The Day I Learned to Swim. I was 10 years old when I learned to swim. I had always been afraid of water, but my parents decided it was time for me to learn how to swim.
Sample Narrative Essays
Sample Narrative Essays Seth French. Thesis in Introduction: Based on an Essay by Xihong Su. ... about the relation to food culture and slash for identity keep in mind that you're not just telling a story you're writing an essay to support your main point in using a narrative using corporate details about your poison engage readers centers ...
Literacy Narrative Explained
Explore how to write a literacy narrative essay through an original example for college level students. The following example is written by Jennifer Betts. Words were like a puzzle that I couldn't quite solve. Listening to the teachers read the jumbled-up letters on the page, I was fascinated by how they could easily bring the pictures to life.
Professional Narrative Essay Examples
More Examples of Personal Narratives. Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives - The DALN is an open public resource made up of stories from people just like you about their experiences learning to read, write, and generally communicate with the world around them. I Am Adam Lanza's Mother. by Liza Long. The author's son, age 7. Image used ...
Welcome to the Purdue Online Writing Lab
The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out ...
Narrative Essay Samples: Tell Me A Story
How to Write A Narrative Essay. Story: If your narrative essay is written like story, then it must include all the parts of the story.It means that you need to include introduction, plot, setting ...
NAPLAN Writing Samples
2015 NAPLAN writing samples. TOPIC: Try This Activity. YEARS: 3 & 5. TEXT TYPE: Persuasive. ——————————. TOPIC: Simply the Best. YEARS: 7 & 9. TEXT TYPE: Persuasive. Narrative and persuasive NAPLAN Writing Exemplars and Samples to help you deconstruct great writing in your classroom.
How to Write a Narrative Essay in 5 Steps
Step 1: Topic choice (or prompt given) The first step in writing a narrative essay is to determine the topic. Sometimes, your topic is chosen for you in the form of a prompt. You might map out the topics you want to mention in the essay or think through each point you'd like to make to see how each will fit into the allotted word count (if ...
CIE O'level Exam Prep English Language-1123
In conclusion, narrative writing in CIE English Language 1123 is an art that goes beyond storytelling. It demands a nuanced understanding of plot elements, character development, structure, and the use of dialogues. Successful narratives showcase not only language proficiency but also the ability to evoke emotions and sustain reader interest.
Narrative about Friendship: [Essay Example], 594 words
Narrative About Friendship. Friendship is a complex and multifaceted relationship that has been the subject of much philosophical, psychological, and sociological inquiry. It is a bond that goes beyond mere acquaintanceship, encompassing trust, empathy, and mutual support. In this essay, I will explore the nature of friendship through the lens ...
Short Story Writing -CSEC English A -Narrative Writing
I was completely lost in writing my short story and saw no hope,however,this article aided in the improvement of my short story writing. I am now able to write my plot and entire short story with ease. So I would just like to show my appreciation and acknowledge the publisher of this course who helped me greatly. Thank you -
How To Write a Narrative Essay: Guide With Examples
Here are some common types of narrative essays: Personal Narrative Essays: Focus on a personal experience or event from the author's life. Use the first-person perspective to convey the writer's emotions and reflections. Fictional Narrative Essays: Can take many forms, from science fiction and fantasy to adventure and romance.
Narrative Writing Sample
So basically, if you do this, you are using characteristics of a narrative. Suspense if a main part of a narrative. But, we will take a look at it later in this article. You should know that narrative is a part of section 2 in paper 1 of O level English. You have to write between 350 to 500 words for this question.
How to Write a Narrative Essay Step by Step
How to Write a Narrative Essay in 5 Steps. Writing a narrative essay is a unique process compared to other types of school essays. Rather than analyzing topics or defending a position, it focuses on sharing personal experiences through storytelling. By following a few straightforward steps, you can transform your ideas into an engaging narrative.
Narrative genre
Narrative genre. The main purpose of this genre is to entertain through storytelling and to engage the reader in an imaginative experience. Typical examples of narratives that children will encounter take the form of fairy tales, myths and legends. Children's creative writing experiences will often take the form of narrative writing. The ...