If Written As a Story, the Essay Should Include All the Parts of a Story

Narrative Essay

What is a Narrative Essay?

When writing a narrative essay, one might think of it as telling a story. These essays are often amusing, experiential, and personal—allowing the student to express him/herself in a creative and, quite often, moving way. Here are some guidelines for writing a narrative essay:

If written as a story, the essay should include all the parts of a story.

This means that you must include an introduction, plot, characters, setting, climax, and conclusion.

The essay should have a purpose.

Make a point! Think of this as the thesis of your story. If there is no point to what you are narrating, why narrate it at all?

The essay should be written from a clear point of view.

It is quite common for narrative essays to be written from the standpoint of the author; however, this is not the sole perspective to be considered. Creativity in narrative essays often comes from exploring the perspective of the author.

Use clear and concise language throughout the essay.

Much like the descriptive essay, narrative essays are effective when the language is carefully, particularly, and artfully chosen. Use specific language to evoke specific emotions and senses in the reader.

The use of the first person pronoun ‘I’ is welcomed.

Do not abuse this guideline! Though it is welcomed it is not necessary—nor should it be overused for lack of clearer diction.

As always, be organized!

Have a clear introduction that sets the tone for the remainder of the essay. Do not leave the reader guessing about the purpose of your narrative. Remember, you are in control of the essay, so guide it where you desire (just make sure your audience can follow your lead).

Qualities of a Narrative:

· Recreates an experience through time.

· Based on one of your own experiences, either past or present, or it can be based on the experiences of someone else.

· Communicates a main idea or a lesson learned.

· Told from a particular point of view.

· Filled with precise detail.

· Uses vivid verbs and modifiers.

· Uses conflict and sequence.

· May use dialogue.

Topic Ideas: Your narrative will be told from the perspective of somebody notable in history. Rather than giving me an account of your own personal experience, you will research one of the people listed below (or somebody else of your choice, clearing your selection with Ms. Searfoss), and write a story that would have potentially happened to your chosen person based on what you have learned though your research.

· Muhammad Ali

· Lou Gehrig

· Jackie Robinson

· Babe Ruth

· Mia Hamm

· (Unstoppable)

· (The Blind Side)

· Elvis Presley

· any member of The Beatles

· Michael Jackson

· any member of the Rolling Stones

· Billie Holiday

· Ludwig Van Beethoven

· Frida Kahlo

· Van Gogh

· M.C. Escher

· Leonardo DaVinci

· Norman Rockwell

· E.A. Poe

· Anne Frank

· Maya Angelou

· Shakespeare

· Langston Hughes

· F. Scott Fitzgerald

· Ernest Hemmingway

· Jackson Pollock

· Abraham Lincoln

· George Washington

· Thomas Jefferson

· Ben Franklin

· JFK

· Richard Nixon

· Napolean Bonaparte

· Jesse James

· Jane Goodall

· Benedict Arnold

· Al Capone

· Charles Darwin

· Ivan the Terrible

· Winston Churchill

· Henry VIII

· Steve Jobs

· Malcolm X

· Helen Keller

· Stephen Hawking

· Ghandi

· Johnny Carson

· Laura Ingalls Wilder

· Walt Disney

· Martin Luther King

· Rosa Parks

· Sojourner Truth

· Molly Brown

· Military member (Marine, soldier, Navy Seal, etc.)

· Refugee

· Victim of war, violence, hatred

Chosen Person/Experience: 2 Pages

________________________________________________________________________

Significance to You:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Characters:

Details of Experience:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Climax:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Main Idea/Moral:

Concluding Thoughts:

I. Introduction

a. Attention Grabbing Statement: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. Thesis Statement (Main Idea of Story): ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c. Transition into Body: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

II. Body

a. Background or Beginning Event(s): ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

i. Transition into Second Event: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. Event Two:

i. Transition into Third Event: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c. Event Three: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

i. Transition into Fourth Event: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

d. Event Four:

i. Transition into Fifth Event: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

e. Event Five: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

i. Transition into Sixth Event: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

f. Event Six:

i. Transition into Conclusion: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

III. Conclusion

a. Moral/Lesson: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. Final Statement: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Common Grammatical Errors

Verb Tense: Decide when your story takes place: past, present, or future. DO NOT VARY THE VERB TENSE! If you are writing an essay about your first day at school, the tenses will go as follows:

- Past: My first day at school was very exciting. I picked my classes in homeroom.

- Present: My first day at school is very exciting. I am picking my classes in homeroom.

- Future: My first day at school will be very exciting. I will pick my classes in homeroom.

Commas: Adhere to the following guidelines when using commas:

- Use commas after introductory clauses, phrases, or words that come before the main clause.

Ex: Yes, experts agree that candy is bad for your teeth.

Ex: Often, these experts can test the effects of sugar on your teeth.

- Use a comma in compound sentences to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

Ex: Those subjects who had cavities ate a lot of candy, but this was not the only reason for their tooth decay.

- Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.

Ex: The studies conducted in Alabama, New York, Tennessee, and Vermont proved to be inconclusive.

- Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.

Ex: The Searfoss Sugar Tooth Indicator Test, which was developed by Dr. Billybob Searfoss is 1993, is the leading cavity testing tool in the nation.

- Use commas to separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the same noun.

Ex: Tooth research is a vital, interesting profession.

- Use commas wherever necessary to prevent possible confusion or misreading.

Semicolons/Colons: Adhere to the following guidelines when using semicolons and colons:

- Use a semicolon to join the parts of a compound sentence if no coordinating conjunction is used.

Ex: Kickball is a rough and rowdy sport; it causes many head injuries. (Instead of: Kickball is a rough and rowdy sport, and it causes many head injuries.)

- Use a semicolon before a transitional expression that joins clauses.

Ex: Kickball is a rough and rowdy sport; however, many kids still choose to play at recess.

- Use a semicolon to separate items in a series if one or more of the items contains a comma.

Ex: Kickball requires many different skill sets; physical abilities such as kicking, catching, and throwing; and strategic insights like stealing bases, tagging up on fly balls, and defensive plays.

- Use a colon to introduce a list of items.

Ex: The most famous kickball teams from Pennsylvania are the following: the Keystone Kickers, the P.A. Pounders, and the Spring Mills Strikes.

- Use a colon to introduce a long quotation.

Ex: Aaron Wright has been quoted with saying: “Kickball has always been a pastime of mine. Ever since I was a lad, kickball has been in my blood. I realized at my first kickball tournament that I had found my true love. Not only was it the most fun I’ve ever had, but I was a master pitcher who could throw a bouncy roll capable of striking out even the strongest kickers. These days…”

Quotation Marks: For your narrative essay, you may want to include dialogue. In most circumstances, your quotes should look like this:

- Put the end punctuation marks INSIDE the quotation. Also, if the quote starts with an introduction (My friend said…) then there is a comma before the quotation.

Ex: My friend Charlie said, “Don’t worry Carl. All dogs go to heaven.”

- This isn’t the only way to use quotation marks, but for the narrative essay this is the most common use. Please see Miss Searfoss if you are concerned with a quotation.