NARRATION

Narrating i s tel l ing a story about what happened.

You generally explain events i n the order i n whi ch they
occurred, and you i ncl ude i nformation about when they
happened and who was i nvol ved i n the i nci dent.
At home, someone mi ght expl ain how a cooki ng acci dent
happened.
At col l ege, students tel l stori es to expl ain absences or
l ateness.
At work, a sal esperson mi ght narrate what happened on a
busi ness tri p.
NARRATION
When wri ti ng the narrative essay, consi der your poi nt of vi ew:
Use fi rst- person narration to describe a personal experience.
To show that you are di rectly i nvol ved i n the story, use I (fi rst-
person si ngular) or we (fi rst- person pl ural).
Ex: When we landed in Boston, I was shocked by the white landscape.
I had never seen so much snow.
Use thi rd- person narration to descri be what happened to
somebody el se. Show that you are si mply an observer or
storyteller by usi ng he, she, it (thi rd- person si ngular), or they
(thi rd- person pl ural).
Ex: Drivers waited on the highway. They honked their horns and yelled
in frustration. They did not understand what was happening.
NARRATION
When you wri te a narrative essay, choose a topi c that you
personally fi nd very i nteresti ng, and then share i t wi th your
readers.
For example, very few people may be i nterested i f you si mply
l i st what you di d duri ng your recent vacation.
However, i f you wri te about a parti cularly movi ng experience
duri ng your vacation, you can create an entertaining narrative
essay.
Ensure that your narrati ve essay expresses a mai n poi nt. Your
thesis statement shoul d have a control l ing i dea.
Ex: The day I decided to get a new job, my life took a dramatic turn.
Ex: Sadies problems began as soon as she drove her new car home.
NARRATION
In a narrative essay, the thesis statement should make a
poi nt. To hel p you fi nd the control l ing i dea, you can ask
yourself the fol l owing questi ons:
1. What di d I l earn?
2. How di d I change?
3. How di d i t make me feel?
4. What i s i mportant about i t?
For example:
Topic: ran away from home
Possible controlling idea: learned the importance of family.

When I ran away from home at the age of fifteen, I discovered the
importance of family.
NARRATION
Practi ce wri ti ng thesis statements by adding a control l ing i dea to
each of the fol l owing sentences:
1. Duri ng her weddi ng, my si ster reali zed
2. Af ter l eaving my fami ly for col l ege, I l earned
3. When I graduated, I di scovered

Wri te a thesi s statement for each of the fol l owing topi cs. Each
thesis statement shoul d menti on the topi c and express a
control l i ng i dea.
Topic: An interesting journey
Thesis statement: I went on an exciting hike in the Grand Canyon.

1. An emotional journey
2. A significant experience
3. An adventure with a friend
PRACTICE
A narrative essay shoul d contai n speci fi c detail s so that the
reader understands what happened.
To come up wi th details, ask yourself a seri es of questi ons and
then answer them as you pl an your essay.
Who is the essay about?
What happened?
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
Why did it happen?
How did it happen?
When you recount a story to a fri end, you may go back and add
details, sayi ng, Oh, I forgot to menti on something.
However, when you wri te, you have the opportunity to cl early
pl an the sequence of events so that the reader can easil y fol l ow
your story,
NARRATION
Organi ze events i n chronol ogical order (the order i n whi ch
they occurred).
You can al so begin your essay wi th the outcome and then
expl ain what happened that l ed to the outcome.
Do not si mply recount what happened. Refl ect on why the
event i s i mportant.
Consi der the mai n source of the tensi on i n your narrative.
Descri ptions and confl i cts or tensi on can hel p engage the
reader.
To make a more powerful essay, use descripti ve words that
appeal to the senses.
NARRATION
Usi ng one of the thesis statements from the previous practice,
generate supporting i deas. Li st what happened.
Ex: An i nteresting j ourney
hitchhiked to the canyon
descended five miles
met a crazy man at the ranch
saw a sheep on a narrow ledge
was worn out during the final climb

PRACTICE
Here are some transi tions that are useful i n narrati ve essays.

To show a sequence of events
Af terward fi nal ly i n the end meanwhil e
Af ter that fi rst l ast next
Eventually i n the begi nning l ater then
NARRATION
One ef fective way to enhance your essay i s to use di alogue.
A di rect quotation contai ns the exact words of an author, and
the quotati on i s set of f wi th quotati on marks.
When you i ncl ude the exact words of more than one person i n
a text, you must make a new paragraph each ti me the speaker
changes.
Who did this? my mom shrieked, as my brother and I stood
frozen with fear.
Mark did it, I assured her shamelessly, as I pointed at my
quivering brother.
NARRATION
An i ndirect quotation does not gi ve the author s exact words,
but keeps the author s meani ng.
It i s not set of f by quotati on marks.

As Mark and I stood frozen with fear, our shrieking mother asked who
had done it. I assured her shamelessly that Mark had done it, as my
finger pointed at my quivering brother.
NARRATION
1. What type of narrati on i s thi s text?
a. fi rst person b. second person
2. The thesi s i s not stated di rectl y, but i t i s i mpl i ed. Usi ng your own
words, wri te the thesi s of thi s essay.
3. Kni ghton di vi des hi s essay i nto two ti me peri ods. What are they?
____________ ____________
4. How does Kni ghton real i ze that he i s l osi ng si ght? In two or three
sentences, expl ai n what happens.
5. Whi ch paragraph contai ns a defi ni ti on of a term.
6. Descri be what happens duri ng Kni ghton s encounter wi th the
wai tress.
7. Wri te down an exampl e of an i ndi rect quotati on from the essay.
8. Wri te down an exampl e of a di rect quotati on from the essay.
9. Narrati ve wri ters do more than si mpl y l i st a seri es of events.
Kni ghton expl ai ns why the events are meani ngful . What di d he
l earn?
OUT OF SIGHT