Narrative Writing

Preamble

What have you learnt in previous lessons about the Types of writing?
What do you know story writing?
General preview to different types of writing

Learning Outcomes
After learning this topic the students will
 Be familiar with the particular techniques of a Narrative Writing
 Be able to write a Narrative Essay
ARE YOU READY?
Have you ever narrate some experience to someone?
What strategies do you use to narrate that experience to your interlocutor?
Session 02.
Types of Essay Writing

Distinguishing between types of essays is simply a matter of determining the writer’s goal. Does
the writer want to tell about a personal experience, describe something, explain an issue, or
convince the reader to accept a certain viewpoint? The four major types of essays address these
purposes:

1. Narrative Essays: Telling a Story

In a narrative essay, the writer tells a story about a real-life experience. While telling a story may
sound easy to do, the narrative essay challenges students to think and write about themselves.
When writing a narrative essay, writers should try to involve the reader by making the story as
vivid as possible. The fact that narrative essays are usually written in the first person helps
engage the reader. “I” sentences give readers a feeling of being part of the story. A well-crafted
narrative essay will also build towards drawing a conclusion or making a personal statement.
In writing a narrative essay, remember to:
1. Include sensory and emotional details, so the reader will experience the story, not just
read about it
2. Have the story support the point you are making, and make reference to that point in the
first sentence.
3. Write in the first or third person
In a successful narrative essay, the author usually makes a point.
Features
1. The story should have an introduction that clearly indicates what kind of narrative
essay, it is (an event or recurring activity, a personal experience, or an observation), and
it should have a conclusion that makes a point.
 2. The essay should include anecdotes. The author should describe the person, the scene,
or the event in some detail. It's okay to include dialogue as long as you know how to
punctuate it correctly and as long as you avoid using too much.
 
3. The occasion or person described must be suggestive in that your description and
thoughts lead the reader to reflect on the human experience. For instance, I read an
excellent student essay that told the story of a young woman forced to shoot several
wolves that were attacking her cattle. She told her story and included the inner struggle
she faced as she made the choice of saving the cattle or saving the wolves. She shot the
wolves, but learned that whatever her choice had been, she would not have been
comfortable with it. One of life's lessons is that sometimes there is no right choice, and
that was the point of the essay.
 
4. The point of view in narrative essays is usually first person. The use of "I" invites your
readers into an intimate discussion.

4. The writing in your essay should be lively and show some style. Try to describe ideas and
events in new and different ways. Avoid using clichés. Again, get the basic story down,
get it organized, and in your final editing process, work on word choice.

Source: www.rscc.cc.tn.us.
www.purdue.edu

Examples
Following are excerpts from narrative essays:

"Looking back on a childhood filled with events and memories, I find it rather difficult to pick
on that leaves me with the fabled "warm and fuzzy feelings." As the daughter of an Air Force
Major, I had the pleasure of traveling across America in many moving trips. I have visited the
monstrous trees of the Sequoia National Forest, stood on the edge of the Grande Canyon and
have jumped on the beds at Caesar’s Palace in Lake Tahoe."

"The day I picked my dog up from the pound was one of the happiest days of both of our lives. I
had gone to the pound just a week earlier with the idea that I would just "look" at a puppy. Of
course, you can no more just look at those squiggling little faces so filled with hope and joy than
you can stop the sun from setting in the morning. I knew within minutes of walking in the door
that I would get a puppy… but it wasn't until I saw him that I knew I had found my puppy."
"Looking for houses was supposed to be a fun and exciting process. Unfortunately, none of the
ones that we saw seemed to match the specifications that we had established. They were too
small, too impersonal, too close to the neighbors. After days of finding nothing even close, we
began to wonder: was there really a perfect house out there for us?"
The following is an example of a famous narrative written by John Updike, "Hub Fans Bid Kid
Adieu":
"The afternoon grew so glowering that in the sixth inning the arc lights were turned on--always a
wan sight in the daytime, like the burning headlights of a funeral procession. Aided by the
gloom, Fisher was slicing through the Sox rookies, and Williams did not come to bat in the
seventh. He was second up in the eighth. This was almost certainly his last time to come to the
plate in Fenway Park, and instead of merely cheering, as we had at his three previous
appearances, we stood, all of us, and applauded."

Read more at http://examples.yourdictionary.com/essay-examples.html#Xy0DD6p5bkPhlbr7.99

Interactive Session

1. Narrative is...
A. A detailed chronological story B.Comparing and contrasting stories C. A detailed biography
2. What is the first step you should take when writing a narrative?
A. Write your conclusion B. Choose an interesting topic C. Think of a thesis statement
3. What sums up the story?
A. Conclusion B. Introduction C. Body
4.

Challenging Exercise:

1. Provide a list of interesting topics students can choose from (favorite hobby, childhood
memory, future goals, embarrassing story, family tradition).
2. Tell students they will write for a designated amount of time (2-5 minutes depending
upon the age/language level) without stopping.
3. When completed, allow students to read their essays aloud , or in pairs, so they can enjoy
one another’s work.

What did you learn?

(1) Differentiate between narrative and Descriptive writing.
(2) In which mode of writing a Narrative writing is used?

Home Work

i. Write an essay in which you tell the story of a book you have read or a movie you have
seen.
Next Lesson Preview
Next lesson is the continuation of types of essays (Discursive).