Tips for writing a Narrative Essays That Stand OutOnline EducationUpdated on Nov 25, 2016 View more like this | Visit HOUSTON, PA | Contact Barbara Fondren |
A narrative essay is a form of academic writing that builds around some kind of story, usually concerning a memorable and important event or situation in your life. That’s why narrative essays are similar to memoirs. The best way to write such essay is to tell how you became aware of something, gained a new way of seeing the world or a new insight due to some event or incident.
Choose a Strong Topic
A topic should be compelling enough to grab the readers' attention. Remember the moment in your life when you experienced a challenge that you’ve successfully overcame. For example, let’s say that you used to suffer from a fear of speaking in the public, you could first write about how you conquered your fear by doing the eulogy at your grandfather's funeral. Center your essay on a topic with conflict and growth so that the readers want to read it to the end and see the way your problems were solved. Alternatively, you can capture your readers with an intriguing, funny or weird thing that happened to you.
Write In a Chronological Order
Once you have decided on a topic, it is time to start organizing your narration. Since you are going to tell about an event (or a series of events) in your life, the best way to develop your paper is chronologically. This way, you will organize your thoughts in a consequent logical narration that will be easy for the readers to follow. For example, let’s say that you and your sister had a really bad fight after which you had a heart-to-heart conversation where you cleared up a misunderstanding. You might describe your sisterhood at first, and then mention the events that caused the quarrel. After that, you might go into details of the actual fight. Finally, you would end your essay by recounting your conciliatory conversation and the lesson you learned from this situation.
Use Vivid Language
Write your story using detailed, concrete language. Describing the environment where the story takes place include the details, such as sights, sounds, smells, touches or tastes that you remember. Provide specific thoughts rather than general statements. Tell what you exactly felt, thought, or experienced. Use strong words and active voice. Choose the words that are precise and right to the point you are addressing.
Present Conflict and Resolution
Base your essay on the conflict - the problem you need to resolve. Provide this resolution in the section of your paper. It allows the readers to see how you have changed in the course of the story's events. For example, if you're telling about dealing with a school bully, you might begin your story by describing your feelings on coming to a new school. Then you would introduce the bully, describe the bullying, and mention your reaction to it. The events should develop around your dealing with the bully. Describe contain a specific event that changed your relationship with the bully in the climax of the story. The conclusion should inform what you learned from this experience.
Choose a Strong Topic
A topic should be compelling enough to grab the readers' attention. Remember the moment in your life when you experienced a challenge that you’ve successfully overcame. For example, let’s say that you used to suffer from a fear of speaking in the public, you could first write about how you conquered your fear by doing the eulogy at your grandfather's funeral. Center your essay on a topic with conflict and growth so that the readers want to read it to the end and see the way your problems were solved. Alternatively, you can capture your readers with an intriguing, funny or weird thing that happened to you.
Write In a Chronological Order
Once you have decided on a topic, it is time to start organizing your narration. Since you are going to tell about an event (or a series of events) in your life, the best way to develop your paper is chronologically. This way, you will organize your thoughts in a consequent logical narration that will be easy for the readers to follow. For example, let’s say that you and your sister had a really bad fight after which you had a heart-to-heart conversation where you cleared up a misunderstanding. You might describe your sisterhood at first, and then mention the events that caused the quarrel. After that, you might go into details of the actual fight. Finally, you would end your essay by recounting your conciliatory conversation and the lesson you learned from this situation.
Use Vivid Language
Write your story using detailed, concrete language. Describing the environment where the story takes place include the details, such as sights, sounds, smells, touches or tastes that you remember. Provide specific thoughts rather than general statements. Tell what you exactly felt, thought, or experienced. Use strong words and active voice. Choose the words that are precise and right to the point you are addressing.
Present Conflict and Resolution
Base your essay on the conflict - the problem you need to resolve. Provide this resolution in the section of your paper. It allows the readers to see how you have changed in the course of the story's events. For example, if you're telling about dealing with a school bully, you might begin your story by describing your feelings on coming to a new school. Then you would introduce the bully, describe the bullying, and mention your reaction to it. The events should develop around your dealing with the bully. Describe contain a specific event that changed your relationship with the bully in the climax of the story. The conclusion should inform what you learned from this experience.
