Narrative essay Prompt

In addition to a purpose and a story with a beginning, middle, and end, good narrative essays share other qualities, as well:

Action (Something happens!)

Conflict (There is some kind of problem or challenge.)

Resolution (The problem is solved, or the challenge is overcome. Sometimes, the resolution might be that the narrator has failed to solve the problem or overcome the challenge. The conflict must be resolved one way or the other.)

Consistent Point-of-View (Use first person or third person — I or he/she — not both. A first person narrative would be you, the writer, telling a story that happened to you. A third person narrative would be you telling a story that happened to someone else.)

Description (Set the scene to make the story come alive for your readers. Use some of the five senses or figurative language.)

Dialogue (Quote what people actually said in your story. Providing dialogue makes for a more vivid story than simply summarizing what was said. Dialogue reveals character.)

Including enough details:

Narratives, like other types of writing need rich, specific details if they are to be convincing.

Each detail should help to create a picture for the reader

Even exact times, dates, and locations (places) can be helpful.

Many narratives present events in their exact order, moving from first event to last.

When you write a narrative essay, you must be careful to keep verb tenses consistent and accurate so that your readers can follow the sequence of events.

Using transitions (connecting words or phrases help link events in time, enabling narratives to flow smoothly.

Directions: Tell us what happened one day in your life that you will never forget.

1. The essay must be at least two pages, and each paragraph must have at least five sentences

2. Use 12 fonts, double space, Times New Roman.

3. Give a title to your essay.

4. Your thesis should be the last sentence of the introduction.

5. For any secondary source you used, give MLA style citation in a Works Cited page.

6. Make sure that in every paragraph, the minimum number of sentences should be five.

7. Use appropriate transition words and phrases (and, but, because, however, etc.)

8. When you are done writing the essay, drop it in the Dropbox (click on ASSIGNMENT) and bring hard copy to class.

Narrative Essay Outline: (optional)

Introduction

Thesis: Event to be narrated

II. Event or division #1

Support topic

1.Specific support

2. Specific support

Support topic

III. Event or division #2

Support topic

Specific support

Support topic

Specific topic

etc.

In narration, have a point in mind (the point of the story)

A beginning- middle– and an end

Tell the story from a consistent point of view – 1st person or 3rd person story telling

– Think about what the story means to you.

– Did you learn something through the experience?

– What would you like the reader to learn by reading your story?

-What feeling or attitude would you like the reader to have about the story you are

telling?

*Write down what happened first, second, third, etc. Try not to leave out anything the reader will need to understand the story.

*Try to divide the action into major blocks.

*Try to describe the people involved accurately & colorfully.

*Try to make the feelings, you experienced at different times, clear to the reader.

Narration Thesis samples

*My car accident was the most terrifying experience of my life.

*Our family’s Christmas vacation turned into a disaster.

*We began our Christmas vacations the same way we always did, by leaving for grandma’s house before dawn.

Conjunctive Adverbs & transitional – Expressions in narrative.

Afterwards in the end

At last meanwhile

At the sometime subsequently

At this point soon after

By that time then

Eventually to begin with

Finally next

First, second, third…etc.