NARRATIVE ESSAY

English 101

WHAT IS A NARRATIVE?
Gaining an understanding before your write

WHAT IS A NARRATIVE?

The most important thing to know about a

narrative essay is that it tells a story.
Most

times the story will be personaltold from your

unique perspective and point of view.

The story you may choose to tell can be about

almost anything you would like to share with
your readersschool, family, work, relationships,
travel, growing up, tragedies, triumphs, etc.
A narrative can be told in words (as is often the
case) or in other mediums, such as photos, film,
songs, cartoons, etc.

TELL A STORY
It is important to
remember that in a
narrative something
always HAPPENS. It
can be a single
important moment
and what lead up to
that moment.
Or, it can be a series of
important events that
serve a greater
purpose.

MAKE A POINT!

But, you MUST have an overall point, or purpose,

for your story. What are you trying to get across
to your readers?
Are

you teaching them a lesson?

Are you revealing an important insight about life, or
the human condition?
Are you simply amusing or entertaining them?

Once you determine your writing purpose, it will

be necessary that you only choose
people/places/events that serve that purpose.
Avoid rambling!

DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS

What makes a
narrative interesting,
what makes a
narrative memorable
are the details.
Make sure to pay close
attention to the
colors, shapes,
textures, sounds,
and smells that you
would like to bring to
life for your reader.

WRITING A NARRATIVE

CHOOSING A SUBJECT

Obviously, you are writing about yourself in a narrative,

but how do you narrow down what people/events would
work best for your essay?
Your paper will be more successful if
you do not choose events that are
obviously life-changing (deaths,
graduations, weddings, etc.). While
these are certainly important, you will
find some of the most interesting
material in the subtle moments of life
(e.g. conversations, dates, trips, etc.).

PACING AND STRUCTURE

Early on in the essay you may want to add more
details to introduce characters/setting/situations
(exposition); however, as the narrative
progresses, so should the action (leading to the
climax).
Usually, the structure of a narrative closely
resembles that of a traditional plot.

Climax
Conflict

Exposition

Resolution

PLOT STRUCTURE CONT.

You do not have to stick to this structure exactly,
but it may help you when planning out what
events you will describe and what order they will
take.
Your other option for structure is a simple
sequence of events in chronological order.

Event 1

Person 1

Event 2

Person 2

Event 3

Person 3

Event 4

Person 4

STYLE AND DESIGN TIPS

Use the first person I
Use figures of speech, such as similes, metaphors,
and analogies. (These are where the song lyrics
will come into the essay.)
Use strong, active verbs.

She is celebrating. vs. She celebrates.

Use powerful and precise modifiers. (The more

powerful the adjective, the better.)

Ex: freezing vs. very cold

Use dialogue when appropriate to give life to

your characters and situations.
Develop the setting to set the context and mood.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT
MWRough Draft Due 9/8; Final Draft 9/13
TRRough Draft Due 9/7; Final Draft 9/9

NARRATIVE ESSAY ASSIGNMENT

For this essay, you will be asked to create a
soundtrack of your life. In the essay, you will
discuss four-five important people or events that
have had a significant impact on your life. You
will structure the paper using songs and song
lyrics as metaphors for each of the events/people
you discuss.
Remember that you must make a point (teach a
lesson, reveal an insight, etc.) and that you must
structure your essay accordingly.

NARRATIVE ESSAY SAMPLE

Point: Happiness is found in the most unexpected places at
the most unexpected times.
Event 1: Meeting my future best friend in detention. (Find
a song that you may use to compare this experience
to. You will want to quote the song at some point in
the paragraph.)
Event 2: Deciding to go on a last-minute shopping trip to the
mall with my two best friends and ending up in Key West for
a weekend.
Event 3 Running into my future husband at a football game.
Event 4: Finding my dogs on Pet Finder one night when I
was having trouble sleeping.
Event 5: Volunteering to tutor adults in reading and being
asked to start a volunteering program.

NARRATIVE ESSAY SAMPLE 2

Point: Everything in life
happens for a reason.
Exposition: Describe where Im
at in my life right now,
including the people/things that
are most important to me.
Conflict: Go back in time and
describe a major event that
seemed devastating at the time.
Climax: The moment when I
was at my lowest and the
situation seemed the most
bleak.
Resolution: How that
devastating event led me to
where I am today and has
helped me achieve the
happiness I desired.

Lowest
Point
Devastating
Event
Where Im at
right now
Important
people/things in
my life

INCORPORATING THE SONG/SONG

LYRICS
In asking you to use songs/song lyrics as inspiration for the
experiences you will write about in your essay, I am
challenging you to think about a narrative in a different light.
Finding the way to best do this is part of the assignment. Im
not going to tell you exactly how it should be used. This will
be up to you to determine.
Do try to avoid obvious phrases like I met my best friend that
day, which reminds me of the song Best Friend by Brandy.
This statement tells me nothing. What feelings does the song
evoke that mimic the feelings you had that day? Is there a
phrase or word that brings you back to that moment in time
that you are trying to bring to life?

Ex: As Brandy states in Best Friend, friends are there through

thick and thin and little did I know it at the time, but Tara would
become that one person who was there for me whenever I needed
someone most.

If/When you quote from a song, make sure to put it in

quotation marks ( ).

TIMELINE ACTIVITY

To help you get started brainstorming, I would

like you to take out a blank sheet of paper and
turn it sideways. On the left side of the paper,
write your date of birth. On the far, right side of
the paper, write todays date. Fill in the space
between with key events from your life, including
any important people or places.

Oct. 21, 1982

Aug. 18, 2010

TIMELINE ACTIVITY CONT.

Pick ONE event/experience and begin a new
timeline. Think of everything leading up to/from
that moment, and trace it along the timeline.
Now, under each entry on your timeline, jot down
as many adjectives (descriptive words) you can
think of that would help bring that experience to
life. Concentrate, especially, on those words that
help appeal to your senses (touch, taste, hear,
smell, sight).
Step back and look at your life as a timeline.
What insight can your life reveal? What lessons
would you like others to learn from your life?
What lessons have you learned yourself? These
are some questions you can ask to help you come
up with your overall point.