Narrative writing involves the production of stories or personal essays. It encourages writers to
use their creativity and powers of observation to develop stories that can capture a reader's
imagination. It recounts a personal or fictional experience or tells a story based on a real or
imagined event. Examples include autobiographies or fictional stories.
When writing a narrative essay, one might think of it as telling a story. These essays are often
anecdotal (consisting of or based on secondhand accounts rather than firsthand knowledge or
experience or scientific investigation). Experiential, and personal—allowing students to express
themselves in a creative and, quite often, moving ways.
If you write a story from your imagination it is called fictional narrative.
If you write a story about actual events it is called nonfictional narrative
Here are some guidelines for writing a narrative essay.

If written as a story, the essay should include all the parts of a story.
o This means that you must include an introduction, plot, characters, setting,
climax, and meaning 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. Use clear and concise
language throughout the 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. It has no restrictions considering in
what person is should be written; nevertheless, often it is written from the first person and
therefore the “I” sentences are allowed.
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).
Thesis Statement Definition -The thesis statement is one or more sentences, usually placed at the start of an essay,
that sum up the main point the essay is going to make. It should be clear, concise, and draw the reader’s attention.
Examples of thesis statement for a Narrative essay
Writing a thesis statement of a narrative essay reveals the authors ability to share something important with the reader without
mentioning excessive unnecessary details focusing only on the main message of the narrative essay. A good thesis statement of a
narrative essay should focus on the lesson that the author has learned from some kind of experiences that influenced him in
the past. In other words, the thesis statement should contain a message which needs to be delivered to the reader with the goal of
teaching him something important. The thesis statement of a narrative essay shows the real reason the author is sharing his story
with the reader. Correspondingly, the thesis statement needs to be written before the narrative essay itself to make sure the
author does not move aside the topic of the essay. As a narrative essay is a personal essay correspondingly its thesis statement is
always the reflection of the personal experience of the author.
One life-one opportunity.
Thesis statement: I have only one life and I will use every opportunity to be successful.
---------------------------------------------------------My autobiography. My life.
Thesis statement: I am thankful for everything that has happened to me in my life.
--------------------------------------------------------One love.
Thesis statement: Love has changed my whole life and made a better person out of me.
------------------------------------------------------------My family is my strength.
Thesis statement: My family gives me the inspiration throughout my life.
--------------------------------------------------------------Death and Life.
Thesis statement: Death is an inevitable part of life.
Although narrative essays tell a story, the story should always have a point, and that point is often best
communicated in a thesis sentence. Students to set the scene and provide a "hook" to get the reader's
attention. Depending on the type of narrative you will tell, the thesis sentence could offer a lesson learned,
identify a theme or simply start the story with the first event.
Plot1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Introduction-characters and setting
Rising action-character faces conflicts.
Climax-The most exciting part of the story.
Falling actionResolution-End of the story.
Scene Setting
Let readers know who, what, where and when in your narrative. For example, if you are assigned to write a narrative
about a physical challenge, an effective thesis sentence could be, "When I was 8, my father took me to the local
YMCA to learn how to swim." Alternatively, you could start a little farther into the story: "I was 8 years old, and all
the other kids at the YMCA knew how to swim."
The Hook
The best "hook" for readers is appropriate to the story you are telling in your narrative. Mountain climber Aron
Ralston, who amputated his own arm after a hiking accident in 2003, tells audiences that when he freed himself and
walked toward safety, he knew he was "still going to die. [He] just wasn't going to die by that rock." Your life is
probably not so dramatic, but an honest "hook" is always effective as a thesis sentence.
Theme
If you know the underlying theme of your narrative essay, you can include it in your thesis sentence. For example, if
you are writing a narrative about a great one-day trip you took with friends, the thesis could be, "Spending time with
close friends gives memories that can last forever, even if the trip is just one day." Condense the main ideas in your
narrative into no more than one or two elements to find the theme.
Lessons Learned 1st hou,r2nd hour,3rd hour
Many narrative essay assignments ask students to write the story of an experience where they learned a valuable
lesson. The thesis sentence for these types of narratives should include the lesson or moral of the story. For
example, a thesis for an essay about how you responded to peer pressure could be, "I learned that I shouldn't do
whatever my friends wanted me to do the night I got caught driving without a license."
How to write a Narrative Essay - Writing a narrative essay is basically writing a story
connected with personal experiences. The key element of a narrative essay is a defined point of
view presented in the paper and delivered through sharing emotions and sensory details with the
reader. As a narrative essay is always a reflection of a personal experience of the author and that
is the reason it often has the form of a story and also often becomes a personal narrative essay.
If the author decides to write a narrative essay in a form of a story it is crucial to keep in mind
the model of storytelling:
1. Plot
2. Character
3. Setting
4. Climax
5. Ending
A narrative essay explains the point of view that the author claims in the opening statement and
confirms in the conclusion of the paper.
Tips on Writing a Narrative Essay:
Remember, a well-written narrative essay tells a story and makes a point.
A narrative essay uses all the story elements - a beginning and ending, plot, characters, setting
and climax - all coming together to complete the story.
Essential Elements of Narrative Essays:
The focus of a narrative essay is the plot, which is told using enough details to build to a climax.
Here's how:



It is usually told chronologically.
It usually has a purpose, which is usually stated in the opening sentence.
It is written with sensory details and vivid descriptions to involve the reader. All these
details relate in some way to the main point the writer is making.
Topic Ideas
Firsts: driving, sleepover, onstage, day of school, job, airplane ride, trip out-of-state, concert attended,
game, concert performance, hiking, rock climbing, etc. Other ideas: learning to swim, most
embarrassing moment, time when you surprised yourself, favorite vacations, losing something and
finding it, an important purchase, something scary that happened to you, giving away something precious,
your worst hair day ever, a time when you were nervous, summer break, a light bulb moment, childhood
event, achieving a goal, standing up for yourself, moving, etc. Or choose your own topic.
1. When I Got Lost
2. If I Could Go Back in Time
3. I Saw the Weirdest Thing
4. An Animal I Would Be
5. If I Could Change One Thing About Me
6. A Place I'd Like to Live
7. Something Nobody Knows About Me
8. I'd Like to Invent This
9. If I Could Be Somebody Else for a Day
10. You Won't Believe I Saw This
11. My Hero
12. My Favorite Superpower
13. If I Were Invisible
14. A TV Show I Would Make Up
15. The Most Beautiful Thing in the World
16. A Hard Lesson Learned
17. If I Had My Own Planet
18. My Greatest Accomplishment
19. How Embarrassing!
20. My Earliest Memory
21. The Hardest Thing I Ever Had to Do
22. This Made Me Laugh!
23. When I Was a Little Kid
24. The Best News I Ever Received
25. Most Memorable Trip
26. A memorable wedding or funeral
27. An encounter that changed your life
28. A frightening experience
29. An occasion when you experienced rejection
30. A significant misunderstanding
31. A dangerous experience
32. An experience that showed how appearances can be deceiving
33. An account of a difficult decision that you had to make
34. An act of heroism or cowardice
35. A brush with death
36. A day when everything went right (or wrong)
37. An experience that made you laugh until you cried
38. An experience that taught you a lesson
39. Have you ever been stranded in a place you didn't want to be?
40. You won a school contest that allowed you to be teacher-for-a-day. Write about your
experience as teacher-for-a-day.
41. Write about a time when you were surprised. Surprises can be funny, scary, or exciting.
42. Write about a time when you did something that made you feel good.
43. Choose a vivid time from your childhood.
44. Think of a time when you achieved a personal goal.
45. Think about an event in your life that seemed bad but turned out to be good.
46. Choose a time when you did something that took a lot of nerve, a time when you didn't
follow the crowd or a time when you stood up for your beliefs.
47. Think of a time when you disagreed with a decision that had been made and did
something about it.
48. Suppose aliens abducted you as you were walking to school.
49. Picture yourself awakened as (an animal, an object, a gas, etc.).
50. Tell about a time when you were embarrassed.
51. Retell a fairy tale from the villain's point of view.
52. Pretend you are not a person. You can be anything your mind can think up. Make up a
story about one thing that happens to you.
53. Imagine that the time is late at night, you are at home when the telephone rings. Create a
story that includes this scene.
54. Pretend that you have superhuman powers.
55. Imagine that you woke up one morning and were able to fly.
56. How would you like to be only two inches high or so tall that some forests looked like
clumps of broccoli? What would be some of the advantages of being so tiny or so huge?
57. Imagine that the time is late at night, you are at home when the telephone rings. Create a
story that includes this scene.
58. Tell about a time when you felt proud.
59. Recall a time when you felt really disappointed about something.
60. Think about a really great vacation you took.
61. Think about a time when you felt scared about something.
62. Suppose that one day you woke up and were grown up.
63. Suppose you woke up one morning and had magical powers for a day.
64. Think about a time when you felt special.
65. Think about a time you had an important responsibility. It may have been a time when you
were asked to something or help someone.
66. If you could become any animal, what animal would you choose to be?
67. If you could have any job/career you wanted, what would it be?
68. The thing that I regret most about my life is _____________________.
69. The accomplishment that I am proudest of is ___________________.
70. The saddest moment in life was when ________________________.
71. My favorite childhood memory is _____________________________.
72. The thing that scares me the most is _________________________.
English 9A NARRATIVE ESSAY
Personal Narrative Essay
Write a personal narrative essay that tells a true story about a very brief event in your life (you
will be using The Writing Process which is below to accomplish this essay). You must be the central
character. A personal narrative re-creates a specific experience or event in your life. The narrative can
focus on a funny situation, a frightening experience, or a life-changing encounter. Whatever the focus, a
narrative uses sensory details (sight, sound, smell taste and touch) and specific action. Be sure to
include enough specific details to make the incident come alive for your readers. Even if you can’t recall
everything, fill in the gaps with details that seem to fit. (The pros do it all the time.) You should have a
beginning, rising action, climax and falling action (body/middle), and a resolution (end).
Your paper must be typed, MLA heading, Times New Roman font, 12 size type, and double-spaced.
(Introductory Paragraph):
 Start the essay with an “attention getter” – interests the reader.
 Next add the thesis statement – what the essay is about. Examples: Express your agreement
or disagreement with a popular saying. For example: “I recently learned that ‘Keeping a
promise is easier said than done…’” OR “’Never give advice to a friend’ is not always true,
as I learned after my best friend helped me through a difficult time in my life.”’
 Setting (when and where does the story take place?)
 Main characters (who were the main characters?)
 Thoughts about the event or situation before the event occurred.
 Any information that a reader would need to understand the context in which your story
exists.
Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action (Body Paragraphs):
 Each paragraph should have a focus (topic sentence).
 Provide plenty of descriptions.
 Try to use creative language – similes, metaphors, personifications, onomatopoeia, etc.
 Make sure that the story transitions and is chronological.
Resolution (Conclusive Paragraph):
 The last paragraph should end the story.
 You should use this paragraph to discuss some significance of the event. Why is it
important? What makes the story useful? Why does this story stay in your memory? Or
why will this event stay in your memory for years?
The Writing Process
Writing the Rough Draft: Connecting your ideas
1. Write the first draft while your prewriting is still fresh in your mind.
2. Set the right tone by giving your opening paragraph special attention.
Introduction/Opening Paragraph: should help clarify your thinking about your topic and
accomplish three things: (1) GAIN YOUR READER’S ATTENTION – Attention Getter, (2)
IDENTIFY YOUR THESIS, and (3) INTRODUCE YOUR MAIN IDEAS
Thesis Statement: identifies the focus for your academic essays. It usually highlights a special
condition or feature of the topic, expresses a specific feeling, or takes a stand.
Middle Paragraphs: should support your thesis. Make sure to use your pre-write (mind map,
outline, list, and cluster) as a general guide for your writing.
Conclusion/Closing Paragraph: allows you to tie up your essay neatly. You can refer to your
thesis, review your main supporting points, answer any unresolved questions, or connect with the
reader’s experience.
3. Don’t worry about getting everything right at this point; just concentrate on developing your
ideas.
Revising: Improve your writing - adding information, deleting information, reordering material,
reworking material, transitions (use a different colored writing implement than you use for the
editing/proofreading)
1. Review your rough draft, checking the ideas, organization, voice, word choice, and sentence
fluency of your writing.
2. Add, cut, reword, or rearrange ideas as necessary (You may have to change some parts several
times before they say what you want them to say.)
3. Carefully assess the effectiveness of your opening and closing paragraphs
4. Look for special opportunities to make your writing as meaningful and interesting as possible.
Editing and Proofreading: Proofread the final draft for errors before submitting it.
Publishing: Sharing your work
1. Share the finished product with your teacher-print and hand in.
2. Post your writing on your personal or class Web site Student Share Leetch 1a.1b,2a etc.
Parts of a paragraph
Paragraphs begin with a topic sentence, identifying the topic of the writing. The sentences in the body of
the paragraph support or explain the topic, while the closing sentence brings the paragraph to a logical
stopping point. The Topic Sentence: tells your readers what your paragraph is about.
The Body is the main part of the paragraph. This is where you place all the information readers need, to
understand the topic. The sentences in the body should contain details that clearly support the topic
sentence. Arrange these details in the best possible order.
The Closing (clincher) sentence comes after all the details have been included in the body of the
paragraph. This sentence may (1) remind readers of the topic, (2) summarize the paragraph, or (3) link
the paragraph to the next one.
Arranging your Details
Chronological order (time) is effective for sharing personal narratives, summarizing steps, and
explaining events in the order in which they occurred
Planning a Narrative
Since all narratives contain story elements such as characters, setting, conflict, plot events, theme,
point of view, and style, this organizer can help you plan before you begin writing. This can work as your
Pre-write. Purpose: story telling (tells of an important lesson/event, entertain your readers, share an
emotional reaction to an experience, etc.)
SHOW Don’t TELL!!!!!
1. Topic:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Title:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Characters (main and minor):
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. Setting (where and When)
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. Introduction & thesis statement:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. Rising Action: a series of actions/events that build in intensity or suspense to the climax; could be
conflicts:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
6. Climax: high point of the action/event or conflict:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
7. Falling Action: incidents/events in which a resolution is achieved, and this leads to the
resolution/conclusion:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
8. Resolution/Conclusion:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
9. Theme (point of story or insight learned)(moral of the story):
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
10. Point of View: (first person (I) (me) (my)):
_____________________________________________________________________________________
11. Style: (fact or fiction/ formal or informal):
____________________________________________________________________________________
12. You must use at least 2 literary terms in your essay, and write out the sentences that you used them in
and what they are. Some of the literary terms are: Similes, Metaphors, Personification, Imagery,
Foreshadowing, Symbolism, etc. (you can find more in your Green Literature Book):
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Personal Narrative Essay Forms Rubric
1. Rough Draft Point’s 25
2. Planning a Narrative Points_25__
3. MLA Format Points 25
4. Must have a title that is creative and descriptive of your essay Points 5
5. Paper must be creative and be well worded Points _15_
6. Thesis statement Points 15
7. First Person Point of View/ Must be told in first person (I, me, my, mine, etc.) Points 5
8. Characters Points 10
9. You must be the central/main character Points 5
10. Setting- Points 10
11. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation Points- 20
12. Organization- Gives events in chronological order Points 10
13. Lesson learned, Moral or theme Points 10
14. Figurative Language- Uses two different examples of figurate language/literary terms (for
example: simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, etc.) Points 10
15. Technology use Points 10
PLOT-5 Paragraph Essay
16. INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH- Attention Getter (Hook)(Thesis) Points 10
17. RISING ACTION/BODY PARAGRAPH(S) Points 10
18. CLIMAX/BODY PARAGRAPH (S) Points 10
19. FALLING ACTION/BODY PARAGRAPH Points 10
20. RESOLUTION/CONCLUSIVE PARAGRAPH Points 10
Total Points________
Essay
TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS (250)
Leetch 1
First and Last Name
Teacher
Class and Period
(English 9, Period 1)
Day Month Year
(9 September 2012)
Creating the MLA Template on Microsoft Word (title is always centered)
1. After you bring up a blank Word Document, change the font type to “Times New Roman” and
the size (next to it) to 12.
2. In the middle of the icons, on the second row, look for the blue up and down arrows. This is
to set the line spacing. Set the line spacing to 2 (double space).
3. At the top, see the “Page Layout” tab. Click on the Page Layout tab, and you will see an icon
labeled “Margins.” Click Margins and set the margins to Normal (1 inch all around).
4. Now find the “Insert” tab at the top. Click on the Insert tab and find the icon for Page #. (It is
near the middle and under Header and Footer). Click on Page #, then click “Top of Page”. Click
on “Plain #3”, and you will see the cursor blinking right before the number one. Right there,
where the cursor is, type your last name before the “1” and hit the space bar. Then, click the X
(or close) in the Red Close Box in the top right corner.
5. Click back on the Home tab. (Make sure your cursor is aligned left.) Type your first and last
name and return. Type your teacher’s name on the second line and return. Type the class
(English 9) and Period on the third line and return. On the fourth line, type the Date in Military
Style – day then month then
year. 28 September 2012
6. Click on the colorful icon in the circle at the top left corner of the screen. (That is the “Office
Button”).
7. Click “Save As” and choose your student folder (with your name). Do not save in “My
Documents,” you must save it in your student folder. Title the file name “MLA
Template” and click Save.