NARRATIVE ESSAY WORKSHOP
This is a PERSONAL NARRATIVE ESSAY FORMAT which will guide you in your assignment:
Paragraph #1-The Introduction
Begin with an attention grabber that captures your reader's interest:
Example: Sometimes it takes something terrible to realize what is important in life.
In your introduction build up the narrative by giving some background information:
Example: This 'something terrible' happened on a day that began as ordinary as ordinary can be. I
was 17 at the time and just in the middle of my High school years at Sillim. Back then I use to hang
around with what my mum always called 'the wrong kind of friends', but back then I never respected
her opinion. I was young, impulsive and just wanted to have fun, even if that fun was sometimes
harmful to the people.
Include your thesis statement in this introduction:
Example: However, what happened to me on that day made me realize that parents can sometimes
be right and my so called friends taught me a valuable lesson which I'll never forget for as long as I
live.
Paragraph #2-4 Body Paragraphs-Your story.
Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. Begin this sentence with a TRANSITION that shows
the order that the events occurred (First, Later, In the end, Second, Third, etc.) and the details of
your story.
Examples: The day first began like any other day.
Later that day, my sister began to feel worse and my family and I began to worry.
After a day of much distress, my sister finally began to feel better.
This is where you tell your story. Just like any story you read, you need to make sure to have a clear
beginning, middle, and an end. Make sure to describe people and places involved with vivid details.
Paragraph #5: The Conclusion
The Conclusion is just as important as the Introduction; it is the last impression your reader will get
of your story.
Begin by re-stressing the importance of your thesis. Be careful not to use the same wording.
Example: Although the day my sister fell ill was a horrible day for my family, it made us all realize
how important we are to each other.
Summarize the basic events of your story. Reflect on the larger meaning or importance of the
experience described. Basically, what was the point of your story? Explain the new understanding
and why / how this experience or event has a permanent effect on you.
CONVENTIONS FOR NARRATIVE ESSAYS
In writing your narrative essay, keep the following conventions in mind.
Narratives are generally written in the first person, that is, using I. However, third person (he, she, or it) can
also be used.
Narratives rely on concrete, sensory details to convey their point. These details should create a unified,
forceful effect, a dominant impression.
Narratives, as stories, should include these story conventions: a plot, including setting and characters; a
climax; and an ending.
EASY TIPS FOR WRITING NARRATIVE ESSAYS
Basic narrative writing qualities for a good essay:
A narrative type of essay is a kind of writing that recreates a previously experienced event.
A narrative type of essay can be based on something you have experienced in the past or in the
present, or it can be based on another individual’s experiences.
A narrative type of essay does not just relate a story; it also provides a central idea or teaches a
lesson.
Steps to write Narrative Essays:
Pinpoint the event that you have decided to describe in your essay
Think about the reasons why you find this event to be significant.
Spend a significant amount of time thinking about details of your experience and noting them down.
Create a basic essay outline that lays out the parts of your narrative.
How to describe the experience:
With the help of your outline, write about every part of your experience
Instead of informing your readers about the experience, use vivid descriptions to recreate it for them.
Put yourself in the mind of your readers. Keep in mind that the information that you provide is the
only thing your readers will know about your experience. However, remember not to describe each
and every one of your movements as we looked at in point 2 on the ppt.
Always remember that every tiny and seemingly inconsequential detail that you are aware of may
not always be known by your readers. However, to repeat the cautionary note again: do not describe
each and every one of your movements.
Ways to revise Narrative Essays:
After completing your essay rough draft, take some time away from it and then come back to it and
reread your essay. Dwell on whether what you have written has managed to effectively recreate the
occurrence for all those who read your essay.
Get different people to read what you have written and ask them to provide their thoughts and
impressions.
Pinpoint the areas that require more detail and development.
Identify areas that deviate from the main point of your essay and remove all unrelated content.
Analyze whether you have provided your information in the best sequence possible.
WRITING A NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH: FREEWRITING AND DRAFTING
Evaluating a Student's Narrative
By showing how one student turned an exercise in freewriting into a coherent draft, this article
should help you compose your own narrative paragraph.
Freewriting
Below is an edited transcript of a student's second effort at freewriting--a long and productive effort.
After reading this rough report about driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), try answering
the questions that follow it. Then compare this early version of the narrative with the revised draft
on the next page.
DUI (second freewriting)
It all started in June two days after I graduated from high school June 5. One of my best friends and
I were getting all dolled up after being at the beach for the whole day to go out. We had primped for
an hour and a half. We were ready we were ready for a night wild night on the town. And of course
we both had fake IDs. We left her house about 6:30 made a few stops here and there. We went
Studebaker's then Baggy Drawers to Night Lights for the rest of the evening dancing to the music.
At every place I had a margarita or maybe two. Had such a good time laughing and dancing and
singing out on the dance floor. I probably had six or seven drinks maybe more. Well my friend's
boyfriend met us there with a couple of his friends--probably 12:00 or 1:00 now. I was tipsy all
right. Well Night Lights called last call so that meant it was almost time to leave. We danced a last
dance. My friend wanted to ride home with her boyfriend so I said I would drive home by myself. I
wasn't too tipsy anymore. I mean I sobered up a great deal. Well I was on my way home listening to
the radio, now it was pretty close to 3:00. I was remembering all the fun in the club when suddenly
a car pulls out in front of me and I slam on my brakes to keep from hitting it. But it didn't help. We
collided. Well I got out and inspected my car. The guy I hit got out and came over and asked if I was
okay, and the police came after that. I couldn't find my insurance. I was lucky I could remember my
name. And then the police asked if I'd been drinking. I almost freaked out. I said yes sir. I had been
earlier but not now. So he said for me to come on and he would take me for a breath test. I did. I
registered drunk! Really drunk. He took me down to the jailhouse. they took a picture and
fingerprinted me. I had to call a bond company to bail me out. This was all new to me and I was
crying and very upset. They bonded me out of jail. I could never have called my parents. At least
that's what I thought anyway. I got home with my wrecked up car. My mom hit the roof but she was
okay after a few days. Well then I got to court and had to pay a huge fine, like $2,000. I had to go to
DUI school. That school taught me so much. It showed gross films with people's heads wrapped
inside of bumpers and dead people all from drunk drivers. I also lost my license. This really taught
me a lesson. I don't drink & drive any more. I even took a taxi home once. Drinking and driving =
bad news.
Evaluation Questions
The student has developed some good material here for a narrative paragraph--more than she will
need. Begin to focus all this information by writing down what you think is the main point of the
student's story.
1.
Go back through the student's freewriting, and identify what you think are the key details in
it -details that the writer would probably include in a shorter, more sharply focused account
of the same incident.
2.
What part(s) of the freewriting do you think the student should reduce or eliminate
altogether when she comes to draft her shorter narrative paragraph?
3.
What particular items of description or information do you think the student needs to add
when she drafts her shorter narrative paragraph?
Once you have evaluated the student's freewriting, compare this early version of the narrative
with the revised draft over on the next page of this handout.
EVALUATING A NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH: MAKING THE GRADE
The purpose of narrative writing is to show readers what happened at a particular time and place. A
narrative is a story--a real or an imagined event--that relies on specific details to answer the
following questions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
What happened?
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
Who was involved?
How did the event begin?
What was the outcome of the event?
Read this example of a narrative paragraph, "Making the Grade," and then respond to the questions
that follow it.
Making the Grade
My parents were always telling me to raise my grades, but they would never tell me how. After
getting one bad report card after another, I knew I had to do something drastic. When my December
card arrived with three Cs, two Ds, and an F, I was afraid to show it to my mother. That's when I
came up with the brilliant idea of changing the F to an A. It was really quite simple just to give the
F another leg. I was in the third grade at the time. When I showed the card to my mother, she was
very excited to see the one good grade. She gave me a hug and a kiss and, best of all, a bigger
allowance. Everyone was happy in my house until two nights later when the phone rang. My mother
answered it, listened, and then looked at me with blood in her eyes. She told me that there were
some things much worse than failing, and that cheating was one of them. I tried to argue. I said that
she was the one who had told me to change my grades. That made her really angry, and she said that
I knew that's not what she meant. Then she gave me a whupping and took away my allowance for a
month. Since then, I have learned to make the grade, not change it on the card.
Evaluation Questions:
1.
One sentence in "Making the Grade" seems to interrupt the story. Identify that sentence and
suggest a more appropriate place for it in the paragraph.
2.
Create a topic sentence for this paragraph--one that clearly prepares the reader for what
follows.
3.
(a) Where in this paragraph do you think the addition of dialogue (direct quotations) might
be effective?
(b) Rewrite part of the paragraph using dialogue to dramatize an important conversation.
After discussion see over the page for suggested answers.
FEEDBACK ON 'DUI' QUESTIONS
General comments on evaluation questions for 'DUI' - freewriting exercise.
After one or two false starts, the following draft grew out of the freewriting exercise on the previous
page. Notice how this version of the student's DUI experience is more concise than the freewriting:
the writer has eliminated several details that she felt distracted from her narrative and the point she
was trying to make. As you read this draft, compare the student's revisions with the suggestions you
made on how to focus the original material more clearly.
DUI (second draft)
One Saturday last June, just two days after my high school graduation, a night of celebration
turned into a costly and embarrassing lesson on the dangers of drinking and driving. Out with a
girlfriend for a wild night on the town, we made stops at such popular hangouts as Studebaker's,
Baggy Drawers, and Night Lights, and at each of these spots I drank a margarita or two. (Yes, I had
a fake ID.) I was giggly by 11:00, tipsy by midnight, and flat out soused by the time we shut the bars
down at three. Of course, as I hollered farewells to my friends and poured myself into the car, I was
dead certain that I was sober enough to drive home safely. With one eye shut to keep the road from
blurring, I weaved down Monroe Avenue. One minute there was not a soul on the road in front of
me, and the next--crash! I had plowed into the back of a big green Buick. When the police arrived-instantly, it seemed--they gave me a breath test even before asking to see my license. Naturally I
registered drunk. After filling out pages of forms and checking to see that nobody was injured, the
police took me to jail, where I was photographed, fingerprinted, and charged with driving under the
influence of alcohol (DUI). I had to pay a $2,000 fine and attend driving school for three months. It
was there, viewing gory films of accident victims with their bodies crunched under tires and heads
wrapped inside bumpers, that I made a promise not to drink and drive ever again.
FEEDBACK ON 'MAKING THE GRADE' QUESTIONS
General Comments on evaluation questions for 'Making the grade' - critiquing exercise.
Here are suggested responses to the questions that followed "Making the Grade."
1.
Sentence six ("I was in the third grade at the time") appears to be out of place. This piece of
information could be added to the first or second sentence.
2.
Here is the topic sentence that was added to a revised version of the paragraph: I learned a
valuable lesson about cheating after I changed a mark on my report card in the third grade.
3. (a) & (b) Here is how dialogue was used in the revised version of the paragraph: . . . She told me
that there were some things much worse than failing, and that cheating was one of them.
I tried to argue.
"You told me to change my grades," I said.
"That's not what I meant, and you know it," she hollered back.
NOTE: Various answers are possible.
References:
The above and also part of my presentation for lesson 9 have been taken and adapted from:
1. http://www.freelancewriting.com/articles/article-writing-a-good-narrative-essay.php
2. http://kevinwoodward.articlesbase.com/college-and-university-articles/personal-narrative-essay-and-sample-format-2060952.html
3. http://essayinfo.com/essays/narrative_essay.php
4. http://essaychampions.com/writing/write-essays-essay-writing/narrative-essays/
4. http://grammar.about.com/od/developingparagraphs/a/narparfreedraft.htm
5. http://www.writeexpress.com/narrative-essay.html