NARRATIVE ESSAY

WRITING
Mr M. Ackerman Holy Cross High School
 THE
NARRATIVE
ESSAY

The Writing Process

 IT DIFFERS FROM A
CONVENTIONAL STORY!
Remember that factor
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In Process
 • A narrative is a story

• A narrative essay is a story that has a

specific point

What is a – A narrative essay strives to teach a lesson or;

Narrative – A narrative essay strives to make a specific
Essay? point

– A narrative essay is not a diary entry –

The story is linked to the purpose of the essay

The Key Aspects to Writing the Essay

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Key aspects to consider when writing a
Narrative Essay?

Often written in 1st

Can never be
person – I or we – Can also be written
written in 2nd
because it is based in 3rd person
person
on a personal story

Has specific
sensory details to Has verbs that help
Is developed in
get the reader paint a picture and
chronological order
hooked on the draw in the reader
story
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NARRATIVE
ESSAY

The Key Elements to Writing a

Narrative Essay
 What are the key elements of a
Narrative Essay?

◦ Since this is a story, the narrative essay needs everything a story needs (these are
known as the story elements):
◦ Has a plot
◦ Has characters
◦ Has a problem
◦ Has a climax
◦ Often uses dialogue
When Will You Use it in Life?

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 When Will I Use Narrative Essays?

A narrative
so this essay
A narrative essay is not unless it is
form should
essay tells a a deeply specifically
be used
simple story thought out assigned
sparingly.
synthesis.
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Planning Everything Out- “A Start to Finish Scenario”

 Planning the Narrative Essay

Brainstorm for a
Write a thesis personal story or Outline or web the
statement, just as observation that important parts of
with any other essay illustrates or proves the story to be told
the thesis statement

Write an introductory Because this is a

paragraph that story, use as many Write the conclusion
includes the thesis paragraphs as that reflects on the
statement, and then necessary to tell the thesis statement
write the story story
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Starting with the Thesis Statement

 Start With a Thesis Statement

THE THESIS WILL DEPEND UPON THE THE THESIS CAN BE SOMETHING FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MAY WRITE, “OFTENTIMES PEOPLE DO NOT
STORY TO BE PROVEN. GENERAL IN THE CASE OF A FOLLOW SIMPLE DIRECTIONS.
NARRATIVE ESSAY. HOWEVER, THESE CAMPERS
LEARNED JUST HOW IMPORTANT
FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS CAN BE.”
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What Would You Expect to Read?
 As the reader, you will expect
to learn why following
directions is important.

What Would
You Expect As the reader, you will expect
From This to read a story about camping.

Thesis?
As the reader, you will expect
there to be a twist in the
action.
THE NARRATIVE ESSAY
Brainstorming
Why is Brainstorming so essential for the
Narrative Essay? (1)
◦ Invention Strategies
◦ Invention strategies will be different for a narrative essay than for a persuasive essay. Narratives will draw
more on personal experience, so for narrative essays, we’ll do what’s called memory mining. Memory
mining is simply brainstorming to uncover memories of people, places, events, and experiences. To
simplify, we’ll break our memories down into categories. Try to list at least 3 memories for each category.
◦ Memories of people
◦ Memories of your immediate family are obvious, but consider other people who may have influenced
your life. Did you have a favorite teacher or coach? Did you have a first boss who was a mentor? Did
you meet someone who left a profound effect on your life? List the person and a brief note on why they
come to mind. Below are some examples that could become an intriguing story:
◦ My high school history teacher taught me the importance of learning from our past
◦ My grandmother’s love of baking
◦ The homeless man I passed each day on the way to the bus stop
Why is Brainstorming so essential for the
Narrative Essay? (2)
◦ Memories of times and places
◦ If I were to ask you to recall a place from your youth, I bet it would be easy. Places are full of memories of
sights, sounds, smells – the making of a great narrative essay. Places can be inside home or outside in the
city or country. A place could be a garden or a doctor’s office. Think of “time” in terms of era: junior high
science lab; the summer you broke both your legs and spent the time in your bed; the maple tree where
you kissed your first boyfriend over winter break. Work past the obvious and list as many times and
places as you can.
◦ Early autumn in the Tennessee mountains
◦ The first day of deer hunting season
◦ Your Quinceañera
Why is Brainstorming so essential for the
Narrative Essay? (3)
◦ Memories of events
◦ Often when we think of “events,” we immediately thing big – graduation, wedding, birth, death – but an event doesn’t
necessarily have to be a big occasion. An event could be your last day of high school, saying goodbye to your favorite
teacher. It could be a tornado drill at school when you got to snuggle close to the girl/boy of your dreams. It could be
the first time you drove a car and went the wrong way down a one-way street (was I the only one who did that?). Think
outside the box.
◦ Getting a black belt in karate
◦ The first – and last – time you sat on Santa’s lap
◦ Parents’ silver wedding anniversary
◦ Memories of happy experiences
◦ This might be an event, but could also be something simple, like a bubble bath or working Thanksgiving in a homeless
shelter. Think small and large when brainstorming happy experiences.
◦ Catching the winning touchdown pass
◦ Opening the letter of acceptance from the journal where you submitted a poem
◦ Senior prom
Why is Brainstorming so essential for the
Narrative Essay? (4)
◦ Memories of unhappy experiences
◦ We’ve all had unhappy experiences, but trying to determine which ones might make a good essay can be
challenging. Think in terms of how you will tell the story of your unhappy experience before you commit it to
paper. A break-up or death may come to mind first, but take some time to consider if there is a story in the
experience that others can derive meaning from.
◦ Being pulled over by the police
◦ Wrecking my father’s beloved Camero
◦ Being ejected from the final game and disappointing my teammates
◦ Memories of accomplishments
◦ Accomplishments can be big or small. The emotions we might feel after accomplishing something might range
from elation to sadness.
◦ Winning an award
◦ Completing the marathon
◦ Hitting weight loss goal
Why is Brainstorming so essential for the
Narrative Essay? (5
◦ Supporting Ideas: Testing Your Topic
◦ If you’ve spent some time memory mining, you should have a good list of topic ideas. Now you can
begin to brainstorm supporting ideas. Pick one of your favorite topics you’ve uncovered, and list related
memories as they come to mind.
◦ For example, one student might choose her grandmother’s love a baking. Here is a list of memories
surrounding that topic:
Why is Brainstorming so essential for the
Narrative Essay? (6)
Grandma baked iced sugar cookies Dad only ate unfrosted cookies
every Christmas I learned how to use mixer
specialty was pecan pie she let me add ingredients
always wore her blue floral apron learned to read recipes
flour in hair I was glad sister didn’t like to help
let me lick bowl made extra frosting so I could eat it
types of cookies wrapped cookies in box and gave as
favorite Betty Crocker cookbook gifts
colored frosting and sprinkles couldn’t bake as she got older
kitchen smelled good I baked for her and she helped
singing along to Elvis music decorate
Why is Brainstorming so essential for the
Narrative Essay? (7)
◦ This is a long list, and every related memory may not make it into the final draft. If you have too much
material for your essay, decide what the main ideas you want to write about are.
◦ In our narrative, we want to show Grandma’s love of baking and how she passed it on, so the details of
Grandma’s actions and what the writer learned from Grandma are important. Other details, such as the
writer’s feelings about her sister, her Dad’s favorite cookies, or which cookbook Grandma used, may be
less important and can be omitted. Once you decide what the story is you want to tell, you’ll begin to
see what the important memories are, the focus will gradually become clearer, and the story will start to
spring from the memories.
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The Parts and Layout of the

Narrative Essay
The Structure and Layout of the
Narrative Essay
Title

Introduction

Beginning of the story

Middle Events

End of the Story

Conclusion
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The Outline and Process

Making a Structure and Outlining
◦ Divide your plot into three parts: a setup, the main part and a climax, and a thrilling conclusion. In the
introduction, you should hook a reader and make them read the rest of your essay. Allocate the major
points of the essay and describe each of them briefly in the body and end up your story with an
unpredictable twist and a delightful punch line. In its turn, outlining helps you find the best details of the
disclosed issues in the narrative essay.
Providing Information in First-Person
◦ The narrative is very personal, so you should underline the significance of the ongoing events for your
identity. That is why it is common to use “I” statements without switching a perspective in favor of
another person.
Describing the Characters and Places
◦ Even though it’s not a descriptive essay, try to adorn your story with vivid details of crucial objects
mentioned in the plot. Especially, that goes for people who affected the outcome of the whole case;
their personalities should be disclosed as comprehensive as possible.
◦ Mention places serving as a location of where an action is held because it reflects the picture's
ambience. Background information which may change the reader's attitude to characters or even to
the meaning of your idea has to be also provided.
Adding a Little Spice
◦ What a narrative without a zest! Dilute your smooth passages with a detail that will turn everything
around. It may be antagonist character who is eagerly interfering with your purposes, an unpredictable
twist and embarrassing ending or funny jokes and coincidences to break your audience out laughing.
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Editing and Proof-Reading

Editing
◦ After crafting the first draft, revise it thoroughly. You will definitely find one, two or a few rough spots while
looking through your essay. Make sure you didn’t miss any important points.
◦ Tips for the successful editing:
◦ Don't start to search for mistakes right after finishing the essay. Have a rest and only then take a fresh look
at it;
◦ Transform big and complicated sentences into simple ones to make them compelling;
◦ Avoid use of terms of many meanings;
◦ Find all repeats of ideas or arguments and delete them;
◦ Verify all citations and formatting in general with a guide;
◦ Paraphrase where it is hard to grasp the sense;
◦ Reconsider the structure of the essay.
Proofreading
◦ Many students deem that subtitles 3 and 4 in this guide are the same things. But it is not really so: when
editing is all about content, style, and paragraph structure, proofreading is performed to detect
misspellings and grammar errors. Also, it is the final phase of the writing.
◦ What Should I Do During This Process?
◦ Check grammar yourself or use some applications such as Grammarly.com or other services from
Infographics below, but do not rely on them heavily;
◦ Remove double spacing;
◦ Replace misspellings with correct words.
NARRATIVE ESSAY
A Detailed Example
Example
Example
Example
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The Writing Template

Writing Template
Writing Template
Writing Template
Sources
◦ Slideshare
◦ Writing center underground
◦ Fast Essay
◦ Sample Templates