Narrative Essay

1. Objectives
2. Definition of a narrative
essay.
3. The structure of a
narrative essay.

Definition a narrative essay

is an essay that tells a story

A story will have the

following elements:
plot, setting, characters,
theme

A narrative essay
usually has 3 parts:
1) The Introduction: the
narrative hook, background
information, and the
thesis.
2) Body Paragraphs:
transitional expressions.
3) The Conclusion: theme

The Narrative Hooks

Question Have you ever had
to make a decision in which all
of your choices are terrible?
Quote For the love of money
is the root of all kinds of
evil(Timothy 6:10).

Anecdote- My grandmother
always told me to mind my
own business.
Action Stop! I heard
someone scream. Or
I
heard the loud screeching of
tires, and then the crunching
of colliding metal and
breaking of glass.

Interesting
Statement/Fact/Statistic
According to National Safety
Council, cell phone use while
driving leads to 1.6 million
crashes each year.
A group of pugs is called a
grumble.

The Thesis
It introduces the action
that begins in the first
body paragraph of the
essay.
It is the last sentence of the
first paragraph. It may
simply hint at the meaning.

Thesis:
-- On that day I learned
what that quote meant.
-- I realized that my
grandmothers advice way
right(or wrong).
-- My whole attitude about
money changed that day.

Body paragraphs:
Told in chronological
order/sequence of
events
break apart the story into
episodes 1. beginning, 2.
middle and 3. end

Break apart the story into

episodes
1. beginning, 2. middle and 3. end
1. my sister asked to borrow money,
2. I developed a strategy for
making bank
3. I got caught and taught a lesson

Transitional
Expressions
Provide a road map for
your reader
In other words, they
provide clarity for your
reader.

The Conclusion:
In the concluding paragraph, you
finish describing the action in the
essay.
Tie up/conclude the action and
add the moral.

The final sentence can have 2 functions:

a.) It can deliver the moral for the
story, or tell the reader what the
character(s) learned from the
experience.
b.) It can make a prediction/revelation
about future actions that will happen
as a result of the events in the story.

Moral:

In the end, my son

finally learned that
telling the truth was
the easiest and most
important thing to
do.

Prediction/Revelation: