NARRATIVE WRITING

Basically, your narrative essay will be judged based on your tenses, vocabulary,
sentence structures and the impression u make to the markers. From there they will
determine your marks.

WHY NARRATIVE ESSAY?

 you are only write the essay in past tense; therefore no confusion on tenses
 it lets you to imagine a situation; allowing to express creative ideas
 if you are lucky enough, the question given is plot-free (it’s you who create
the plot fitting to the question given)
 you can use wide vocabulary
 easier compared to open essay, factual essay and argumentative essay
 need not remember current issues around you

PRIOR TO THE EXAMINATION: WRITING PRACTISES:

1. To produce a good narrative essay, first you need to brush up your

grammar. It does not work if your grammar is not that good.

2. Buy if you can afford to, if not borrow grammar books, example of English
essays, and anything that is related from friends or library of your school
because by reading it will improve your English skills.

3. Identify your friends who have the highest marks in Continuous Writing. Read
his/her essay and try to relate his/her writing to yours. It is not a bad thing
to copy the way they write the essay as long as it involves study and
education.

4. Try to find time to write an additional essay (which is your own personal
essay; not homework) for two or a week times and ask for your teacher's
comments.

MY TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE A BETTER NARRATIVE ESSAY

1. BRUSH UP YOUR GRAMMAR

There is nothing more important than having a good grammar skills. So, language
must be taken into consideration when writing an essay. Refer to the above writing
practises.

2. ESSAY SHOULD DEPICT WIDE USE OF VOCABULARY AND

INTERESTING PHRASES
Unlike the other types of essays, a narrative essay requires you to have
a wide repertoire of vocabulary in the story you wrote. This is to avoid a dull story
to be presented to the reader; in this case the examiner. The marking system for
continuous writing is based on impression. Thus, to give good impression to the
examiner on the essay you wrote, you must include a wide range of vocabulary and
some interesting phrases. Study the examples given below:

Example 1
"It was a boring weekend. We were lazy to read books and study, so we planned for a
camping trip. After gaining permission from our parents, we brought necessary
camping things and food for the camping trip. Then, we went to Mount Tahan."

Example 2
"It was a mundane and lacklustre period after the school final examination. Danny,
Erik and I had had enough of reading books and studying, so we all set on going a
camping trip. After getting the green light from our parents, we equipped ourselves
with the necessary camping gear and enough food to last us for the two-day camping
trip. Then, we embarked on our journey to Mount Tahan with high spirits."

Between both examples, Example 1 depicts a dull story but Example 2 depicts a
colourful story although both are mainly telling the same idea. Why? Here are the
answers:
1. Example 1 lacks of vocabulary.
2. Reading Example 1 does not portray sense of maturity in writing unlike
Example 2.
3. Example 1 lacks of details but Example 2 has an adequate details in the
writing that added the value of interest.
4. The use of word/phrase like mundane and lacklustre, green
light,camping gear, embarked and high spirits added more sophistication to
Example 2.

So, how to make your essay more interesting to read?

 Find words or phrases that can replace a common word that you think can
be used for every essay you want to write. For example happy can be replaced
by cheerful, cheery, merry, joyful, light-hearted, jovial, gleeful, buoyant,
carefree, blithe, glad, elated, ecstatic, euphoric, overjoyed, exuberant, in
seventh heaven, propitious, auspicious and fortuitous. Actually these
replaceable words for happy are only a portion of it. A thesaurus may come
handy for this job. Try searching for sad, shocked, scared and so on.
 Insert at least two idiomatic expressions in your essay like Example 2 that
uses the idiom green light which means giving permission and high
spirits which means happy. From Example 2 which is a complete paragraph
there are already two idiomatic expressions. So, imagine if there are five
similar paragraphs!
  This next tips could be very ambitious. Try to insert common words and
phrases from Latin and modern languages which had been accepted and
used in English Language. Such words like ad initio (Latin) meaning from
the beginning, esprit de corps (French) meaning team spirit, genre
(French) meaning style and so on. These words can be found in English
dictionary.

3. HAVE A FIXED PLOT WHEN WRITING A NARRATIVE ESSAY

This is another important part in narrative essay writing. Plot. A good

narrative must have a strong plot. Beginning with an introduction, then there is a
rising action, a climax, then a falling action and lastly a resolution.

Example of a narrative essay:

From Terengganu 2010 Trial Examination; beginning with "I could not sleep
throughout that night..."
Stranded

I could not sleep throughout that night. Not even a minute. It was just
because I might miss the ships or boat that passed by the island. I
was shivering in cold even it was just a gentle breeze. I thought to myself that Introduction
things would have been different if I did not take part in that vacation. Never
in my wildest dream that a spectacular vacation on a cruise ship at the
beginning turned out to be a nightmarish affair.

The day before was a joyous one. I embarked on a three-day vacation trip on
a cruise ship. The vacation was amazing. The scenic view Raising
was splendid across the horizon of the sea as far as the eyes could see. The action
sea water was crystal clear and the sky was a magnificent azure.
My blissful day did not stop there. The dusk thrilled me as I sat on a chair.
The sky gave its golden appeal and the Sun looked like it was sinking into
the sea as night began to unfold. Then, the golden yellow background of the
sky changed to twinkling stars. I was staggered to see the view of
the opulent God's magnum opus.

As the night grew older, something totally different started to appear up to

the sky. The sky was too dark. It darken so much as the glimmering stars
started to disappear. To my instinct, something bad would happen any time
soon, but I just could not figure it out. I went into my room and soon dived
into a deep slumber.

'RIIIINNNNGGGG!!!!!!'
Climax

"This is your captain speaking. Abandon the ship! This ship is about to sink!"
The loud ringing sound really woke me up from my comfort bed and I was
taken aback to hear the announcement. To my horror, the ship was in topsy-
turvy. High jinks enshrouded the air. Then I realised, there was a storm
happening outside. To my flummox, I dragged myself outside and saw people
running higgledy-piggledy as they did not know what to do. As for me, the
only thing I could remember is that a huge wave came crushing upon the ship
and then everything seemed to darken.

Streaks steaks of light awaken me found out that I was on a beach. At last I
thought that my misery had ended. But a little exploration did not bring much Falling
hope. There was no one there. So, being an optimistic person, I built up a action
settlement near the beach. I laid upon my leaves bedding. I wondered. Could
I survive? Did my family know that I loved them? For how long did I have to
wait?

Out of the blue, an abrupt siren was heard from afar. Swiftly, I arose from my
leaves bedding and ran nearer to the beach. I shouted for my life while
waving my hands up on the air.

"Help! I'm here! On the island! Help! Help! I'm here!"

Then, the siren became louder and louder. At the moment, I knew they had
noticed me. Unexpected, tears of joy started to drop from my eyes. Before I Resolution
even thought my life was over, now the door back to my life was widely
opened. By the moment I stepped into the rescue boat, I know that it was the
time for me to go home.

That is an example of a complete narrative essay written within a week time trial
examination. This essay earned the student 45 marks out of 50 marks.

Note: The underlined words or phrases in the essay really help in earning high marks.

Now back to having a fixed plot. What is the meaning of a fixed plot? A fixed plot is
the plot that you will be using during your exam. How to do that?
The example essay above is from the question; beginning with "I could not sleep
throughout that night..."

But, what will happen if the question says; ending with "...It was truly the experience
of a lifetime." You are suggested to keep on using the same plot, NOT the same
essay by means memorising word by word, but change either the beginning or
ending with respect to the question given.
This an example for changing the ending with the same plot:

"...Then, the siren became louder and louder. At the moment, I knew they had noticed
me. Unexpected, tears of joy started to drop from my eyes. Now, looking back to what
had happened to me I realised that I am surviving alone at a deserted island. Not
everyone could say that they slept on leaves bedding and have the sky as the roof. It
was truly an experience of a lifetime."

By practising two or three times, you can easily remember the plot. When writing the
essay, try as much as you can to relate the plot to the question asked.

Note: The benefit of having a fixed plot is that the time that you usually used to plan
for your essay can be used to write.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON WRITING A NARRATIVE ESSAY

 Give a title to your essay (refer to the example essay given above; it has a
title). The title itself must be relevant to the plot. The title of an essay can be
anything as long as it fits the story.
 You must write more than 350 words. But, the essay must not be too long.
The longer you write, the more mistakes you write. An ideal essay should be
around 350 to 400 words.
 Use only one hour to write the essay and the same for Directed Writing; only
use 45 minutes. Be fair when writing the essay;
 Include wide range of sentence structures, vocabulary and must have
at least one dialogue (MUST HAVE - one of the characteristics of
excellent essay). Why you should have dialogue in your essay? When
you include a dialogue in your essay, it shows that you have the
knowledge in punctuation. This is what is special about narrative essay
because there is no dialogue in factual essay, right?
 At least include a word that plays a specific sound. In the example
the word 'RIIIINNNNGGGG!!!!!!'. In English, it does not mean a
thing, but it gives the reader a feel to the story you wrote.
 Include a wide range of vocabulary to your essay to keep the
interests of the readers.
 Check for any grammatical error after finishing the essay. Make sure it
is grammatically correct in order to get high marks.

WHAT TO AVOID?

1. AVOID WRITING SOMETHING THAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND

Narrative essay is relatively a little bit easier that the other types of essays; but it
depends on the question itself! If your do not understand a word or a phrase for a
particular questions; DO NOT even try to write about it! For example you are given
this question:

Write about your most propitious moment.

See the underlined word? Most of us do not understand the word "propitious, some
may guess that it means sad, surprise and so on where the real meaning is happy.
Avoid writing something that you are not sure.

2. AVOID MEMORISING THE ESSAY WORD BY WORD

Continuous Writing is very related to Directed Writing in terms of language. The
quality of language you portray in Directed Writing reflects the grammar knowledge
that you have.

Therefore, it is crucial for you to have a strong knowledge on basic grammar.

TITLE: THE DAY I LOST MY TEMPER

STEP 1: UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION

You should write about an occasion when you were angry. You should write about:

The reason why you were angry – an incident, a remark made by

someone, etc.

What you did or what your reactions were after the incident.

STEP 2: PLAN YOUR COMPOSITION

Jot down your ideas. Since you are writing a story, there should be a chain of events
or incidents where one incident leads to another. It is the plot of the story. Look at
the example below:
STEP 3 - MAKE YOUR STORY INTERESTING

A wide use of vocabulary would make your story interesting and lively. Good
vocabulary can be acquired through extensive reading. Below are some examples of
good use of vocabulary that describe the feelings and reactions of the people
involved.

You can also describe the boy. Look at the examples below.
STEP 4- COMPOSING THE ESSAY

After planning the plot and brainstorming on the vocabulary, now you are ready to
start composing the story. Keep in mind the 6 elements that you have learned when
writing a story.

The Day I Lost My Temper

“Ring......”, the shrill ringing of the school bell pierced the air, bringing to an
end the silence that reigned the class for the past fourty minutes. As the stalwart
figure of the Mathematics teacher stepped out of the class, there was a sense of relief
for Mr. Siva was a strict disciplinarian who would not tolerate any of our pranks.

There were squeals and peals of laughter amidst the din of conversation. It
was at this moment that Seng Chye bustled to the front of the class. Easily the most
detestable boy in the class, Seng Chye was an incorrigible prankster whose impish
behaviour was a source of irritation and annoyance to most of us, especially the girls.
As his diminutive figure inched his way to where I was seated, he had the familiar
mischievous grin which revealed a set of yellowish protruding teeth. As he
approached, he was grinning from ear to ear. Then, in the twinkling of an eye, he put
something on my desk. As he bolted out of the classroom, I could hear hysterical
screams. Perplexed as I was as to the cause of this sudden flurry of excitement, I knew
that Seng Chye was up to mischief again.

It was then that I saw the slimy, creepy creature staring at me with its moist,
beady eyes. All of a sudden with a husky croak and a single, giant leap, the four -
legged creature landed on my lap. I was frozen with fear. Then, when the truth finally
sank in, I let out a few ear – splitting screams that echoed along the corridor. All
around me, I could hear hilarious laughter while I was consumed by bitterness and
anger. The joke was at my expense.

As I seethed in anger and hurled verbal abuses at the top of my voice, Seng
Chye cowered in silence. His face has turned as red as a beetroot and he had guilt
written all over his face. The pandemonium that resulted was enough to catch the
attention of the discipline master who stalked into the class. Seng Chye and I were
summoned to his room. Each of us took turns to relate the incident. Seng Chye was
asked to apologise which he readily obliged and was let off with a stern warning.

As I stepped out of the room, I knew that this was one incident that would remain
in my memory for a long time to come. It was the day I lost my temper.

Source:

Maryann Sebastian. 2006. Step By Step Series Model Essays for SPM. Penerbit espi:
Sungai Petani.