English 1&2
Narrative Writing
When you write a narrative essay, you are telling a story. Narrative essays are told from a defined point of view, often the
author's, so there is feeling as well as specific and often sensory details provided to get the reader involved in the story. The
verbs are vivid and precise.
Since a narrative relies on personal experiences, it often is in the form of a story, using conventions of storytelling: plot,
character, setting, climax, and ending. It is usually filled with details that carefully explain, support, or embellish the story. All
of the details relate to the main point the writer is attempting to make.
An autobiographical narrative is a type of writing in which you relate a meaningful experience from your life and reveal
to readers why that event is significant to you. A reflective essay asks you to explore the meaning of the experience and
your beliefs about life in general.
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Share your experience and its meaning with others and to explore and express your own thoughts and feelings about
that experience, ultimately revealing important information about you and your beliefs.
The experience you choose should be one that you remember well, will interest your readers, and that you feel
comfortable sharing.
You may choose an experience that changed you or your perspectives in some way.
Structure of the Essay
 The introduction should hint at, but not fully reveal, the meaning of the experience.
 The body should give background information and relate the main events and details of your experience.
 The conclusion should reveal the significance of your experience or state the point you are trying to make with the
experience.
What to include in your narrative
 Use literary devices like irony, personification, allusion, symbolism, simile, and metaphor — you may even extend this
throughout the writing — keep linking a particular metaphor to your situation
 Vary your sentence structure — use clauses and phrases to open some of your sentence
 Make and support a point throughout narrative
 Use conventions of storytelling to tell story: plot, character, setting, climax, and ending
 Use active voice (The students wrote the essays NOT The essays were written by the students)
 SHOW don’t TELL
 Use vivid action verbs
 Use sensory, descriptive details (imagery and specific nouns) to bring the story to life (including dialogue).
Allow your reader to feel as though he/she is with you in the situation.
 Use all five of your senses: What do you smell? What do you taste? What do you see? What do you hear?
What might you touch or feel?
 Use concrete, rather than abstract, details.
Abstract Language…
Concrete Language…
It was a nice day.
The sun was shining and a slight breeze blew across my
face.
Mr. Smith was a great teacher.
Mr. Smith really knew how to help us turn our thoughts into
good stories and essays.
I liked writing poems, not essays.
I liked writing short, rhythmic poems and hated rambling on
about my thoughts in those four-page essays.
Avoid abstract language—it won’t help the reader see or understand what you're trying to say!
And remember …
 Tell a story about a moment or event that means a lot to you – it will make it easier for you to tell the story in an
interesting way
 Get right to the action! Avoid long introductions and lengthy descriptions
 Make sure your story has a point! Describe what you learned from this experience
Prompt: Write a story from your parent’s perspective, about a time they acted either ethically or unethically in
front of you and/or your siblings. How did they handle that situation, and what did you (as the observant child)
learn from it?