When it comes to choosing a good narrative essay topic, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, you should start by carefully studying the given requirements. Typically, teachers will specify exactly what you are expected to do.
College professors search for the following qualities in their students:
In the next section of this article, we will look at each element closer.
The content of narrative essays can vary depending on the requirements of your institution. We have decided to provide you with narrative essay examples in case you have a problem.
Video Guide on How to Write a Narrative Essay
Let’s look at how to start a narrative essay. When writing this type of academic task, we recommend that you follow this specific sequence of actions.
- Keep It Clear. Your narrative writing should be easy to read and understand. Thus, try to avoid phrasing and syntax that is too complex. Keep your language clear and simple.
- Don’t Overuse Details. A narrative essay should tell a story in vivid detail. However, it is important not to overuse details as well. As was already mentioned, your word count is going to be limited and you still need to have enough space to let your story unfold fully. Thus, don’t describe literally everything and focus on things that matter and add value.
- Use the First-Person Narrative. As a rule, narrative writing aims to describe real events and experiences that happened in the author’s life. That’s why you should avoid writing in the second-person perspective.
- Use Dynamic Words. A narrative story should be engaging and dynamic. Avoid making it too monotonous and don’t overuse passive voice.
- Limit References. Most papers written in MLA format have to include in-text citations and thus, lots of references. This is, however, not a good practice for a narrative essay. By its essence, this type of assignment is much more personal, so it would be great if you can use your own thoughts and feelings to write it. If you still used some other helpful resources while writing, cite them on a “Works Cited” page.
- A Conflict/Challenge: An inciting incident that creates the tone and sets the story in motion.
- A Protagonist: A relatable character that faces a conflict or challenge against overwhelming odds.
- Change or Growth: Overcoming the conflict or challenge sparks some change in the protagonist. A realization may have sparked this change. This realization can also be an after-effect of the character’s development throughout the story.
Mind that 4 types of such paper exist, and you should make a difference:
- If you had your reality show, what would it be like?
- If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why? Would you change the past?
- If you had a superpower, which one would you choose and why? Would you use it for personal gain or to help people?
- What if you were a movie director with an unlimited budget? Tell us about the movie you’d make!
- If you were a best-selling musician and you had just come off of your most successful album ever, what would you do next?
- The reasons people can cry on my shoulder and get cheered up immediately
- Several reasons that make me the top specialists when it comes to social media marketing
- The art of telling lies: how my creativity once saved the day
- Features that make me the best football player on my team
- A paper for those who seek advice in cooking Japanese dishes
Your paper has to prove a particular point, so be sure to check how much information you need to collect on different topics.
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- People change
This section is a pleasant bonus for our young readers! A good sense of humor is an excellent ace up your sleeve in writing. You may be able to turn a serious situation into something fun and relaxing by involving a relevant joke or anecdote. The rest of your essay will then feel more alive and exciting. These ideas will help you get inspired:
- Remember when parties didn’t need alcohol to be fun? Recall the craziest party from your childhood.
- Write about your first experience of physical or emotional pain. How did you overcome it?
- Kids often have role models who are like superheroes in their eyes (from Hollywood actors to rock band players). Who was your role model and why?
- Write about a dream you remember from your childhood.
- You begin from the introduction, which is supposed to be captivating to capture the reader’s attention.
- Next, you outline your plot in the body.
- Finally, you come up with a conclusion, explaining the lessons learned from that experience and how it can be useful to others.
- Narrative writing guidelines recommend beginning your narrative essay examples with an interesting quote, fact or even a question. Your readers will be intrigued and thus have the urge to read the rest of your story.
- Refrain from long-winded sentences in your introductory paragraph.
- With this kind of essay, you are supposed to write from your own viewpoint. Therefore, make use of suitable words that will express your mindset.
- Narrative essay examples are written in the first person narrative – follow this for your essay too.
- A Memorable Journey
- A Significant Misunderstanding
- An Embarrassing Event
- Your First Day At Work
- An Unexpected Encounter
- An Encounter With Someone You Were Afraid Of
One important thing to remember is that you should pay more attention to the plot
Key Elements of Good Narrative Essay Examples
During the process of narrative writing, it’s essential to list any sounds, feelings, tastes that the writer experienced in the story. The writer ought to draw the reader while refraining from making the narrative story sound like another summary. Make use of transitional words in order to make the flow and easy to perceive.
There you have it. For those students bothered with questions such as “what is a narrative essay” or “what is narrative writing” the information provided above will assist you to know what a narrative essay, as well as descriptive essay, is and what is involved in writing it. You are supposed to narrate a story that has a specific point to be made. Your audience has to get a vivid idea or learn a lesson from your paper. Also, make use of emotional language.
When it comes to the question of ‘‘how to start a narrative essay’’, the introduction starts with a hook (a leading statement about the story that grabs the attention of the reader). Then you continue with setting the scene: when did the event occur? Where? Under what circumstances? Having the ability to answer these questions will enable the reader to dig deep into the story and will be fascinated by it until the end. The introduction ends with a thesis statement that lets the reader know the truths or insightful experience stemming from your story.
Once you have grabbed the attention of your readers, now you can start your story. Gradually unfold the events of your story chronologically.
Every year when you went back to school, your teacher would have asked you to write about your summer vacation. That was narrative writing.
To write a good essay, the first thing you need is a good narrative essay outline. Creating an outline is an important part of a good essay.
The main body is the section where your entire essay is concentrated. Incorporate the following points in it:
Introduction
There are numerous types of essays you get to write in high school and college. A narrative essay is the most simple type of academic essay among all kinds of essays. It is written just like a simple short story. Here is a step by step process to write an impressive essay.
- The most embarrassing event of my life.
- The most valuable childhood possession.
- An unpleasant personal experience.
- An unpleasant experience that helped me grow.
- Your first experience with love and its impact on you.
- The most difficult decision I had to make.
- A rebellious act from your life.
- A time when you got lost somewhere.
- A random act of kindness.
- A conflict with another person.
In a personal narrative essay, the writer gets a chance to share his own story. It is usually written in the first person, as the writer is telling about his personal experience. See the sample
The setting is the location where the event occurred. It can be your house, your school, or any other place where you were at the time of the event.
We had almost given up when suddenly around daybreak we heard the bushes rustle and the leaves crackle. All of us shivered to our spines and saw the mystery east coming towards us. We changed our guns and pointed it towards the wild beast. We steadied our guns towards the tiger as he jumped to grab the goat. He fell into the trap. One of the members shot the tiger dead and we rescued the goat safely back to our village.
The plan was to trap the tiger and later kill him. I was amongst the members of the group who left for the jungle late at night. For hours we did not hear anything except the mosquitoes and crickets around us. Then we found paw prints on the muddy ground which assured us of the tiger’s usual trail. Thereupon, as the sun rose we set up a trap using a goat as bait. We were assured that this would catch the tiger immediately.
The transition from high school to college demands better essay writing skills, to analyze and narrate subjects.
The prey was not any farm animal this time, it was a young child playing by the barn. The villagers had had enough, they had to put a stop to it once and for all. They organized a group of the bravest men from the village, armed them with shotguns and knives, and planned to attack the tiger. They also took a goat to lure to the tiger in our trap.
Conclusion
Besides learning these basics, skimming through examples is also a great way of learning. In this blog, we will explain the basics to write a narrative essay with the help of examples. The examples given here will help you understand how to explain the plot, characters, setting, and the entire theme effectively.
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Before writing your essay, make sure you go through a sufficient number of narrative essay samples. These examples will help you in knowing the dos and don’ts of a good narrative essay.