Name ___________________________________ Date _______________ Period _________

The Narrative Structure: The Beginning

Todays Goal: I can write a lead that hooks my reader and establishes my narrative.
A personal narrative is a story about an important event in your life, a moment that is big in your
heart.
The beginningalso called the leadis the first word, the first sentence, the first paragraph, or
the first passage that introduces your subject to the reader. Your lead must hook the reader and
engage them in your narrative.
TYPES OF LEADS
Dramatic or Surprise
Lead

Action Lead
Imagery or Sensory
Detail Lead

Dialogue Lead
Title Lead
Character Lead

Mood and Time Lead

Circular Lead

EXAMPLES
In 1974, my family canceled Christmas. The Christmas Cactus
Your abuelito is dead, Papa says early one morning in my room. Papa Who
Wakes Up Tired in the Dark
A secret is like a torture device. If you let it go, it feels great. But if you keep
it, the pain just gets more and more unbearable. That is why I am writing this.
To ease the pain and make it better. The story of how I really broke my arm.
student narrative
Ba-room, ba-room, ba-room, baripity, baripity, baripity, baripityGood. His
dad had the pickup going. He could get up now. Bridge to Terabithia
The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the livelong year, like the seat of a ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The
weeks that come before are only a climb from the balmy spring, and those that
follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless,
and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons,
and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but
it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are strange and
breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to doing things they are sure
to be sorry for after. Tuck Everlasting
Where is Papa going with the ax? said Fern to her mother as they were
setting the table for breakfast. Charlottes Web
Seems like everything good that happens in my house happens in my
mommas kitchen. In My Mommas Kitchen
Some say Leroy Paige was born six feet three and a half inches tall, 180
pounds, wearing a size fourteen shoeIt would take him eighteen years to
grow to that size and about half that amount of time to realize that his hand and
a baseball were a perfect match. Satchel Paige
On a dusky January afternoon in 1925, Dr. Welch walked quickly toward the
outskirts on Nome. The Great Serum Race
From the top of the John Hancock building in 2007, I marveled at the view of
the Sears Tower, the state of Wisconsin, and the state of Indiana. Student
narrative
Beginning: People often ask me, What is your favorite sport? My answer is
always the same: Baseball.
Ending And thats why I love baseball. My Entire Football Career
Beginning: Heres a true story from when I was twelve. I never told it to my
mother, because Im sure she would have dropped dead on the spot.
Ending: And thats just one story I never told my mother. A Day at the Zoo

Name ___________________________________ Date _______________ Period _________

Think about your personal narrative and how you hook your reader.
Topic: ______________________________________________________________________
What type of lead do you use? ___________________________________________________
How do you start your narrative? (Write out your beginning.)

What type of other beginning may more effective? _____________________________________

Try re-writing your beginning using this new technique.

Which beginning is a better fit for your piece? Why?

Name ___________________________________ Date _______________ Period _________

The Narrative Structure: The Ending

A personal narrative is a story about an important event in your life, a moment that is big in your
heart.
The ending may well be the most important part of a piece of writing. It is the ending that
remains with the reader when the piece of writing has been finished. If the ending fails to satisfy
the reader, the writing is not complete.
TYPES OF ENDINGS
Circular Ending:
Begins and ends the
same way

EXAMPLES
Beginning: Heres a true story from when I was twelve. I never told it to my
mother, because Im sure she would have dropped dead on the spot.
Ending: And thats just one story I never told my mother. A Day at the Zoo

Surprise Ending

Story: After a woman unknowingly attends a funeral just to use the restroom in an emergency,
she receives a check in the mail.

The check was made out to Nicole Tomarelli in the amount of five thousand
dollars. It turned out that the deceased man in the funeral parlor had specified in
his will that any person who attended the wake was to be given a gift in that
amount. The astounded woman contacted her lawyer. He laughed and
suggested Nicole deposit the check. She did; the check cleared.
Unclear Ending

Some writers deliberately withhold the resolution to leave readers twisting in the wind. The
readers decide for themselves how the story is resolved.
Story: The Giver: The reader doesnt know what happens to Jonas and the boy at the end.

Emotional Ending

Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and

grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite took her place in his
heart. She is in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who
is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both. Charlottes Web
We said our goodbyes, and I left in pain. Not from my arm, but from my
decision to lie to everyone in the room. This story is to not be told to anybody.
Do not tell. Do not spread to anybody. student narrative
That was truly the only time I ever went to camp. But it made me a better
person. Before camp, I couldnt swim or work as a team member. By the end of
camp, I knew how to swim and dive, and I was running on two relay teams.
After that experience, I was ready for bigger challenges when school started in
the fall. Student narrative
Feeling the warmth of my mothers arms, I drifted off to sleep.

Ironic Ending: (the

opposite of what you
would think)
New Learning Ending

Reflection Ending
Step away from the action
and make an observation

Narrator removes herself from the time and place

We are quite alike, my mother and I, in some ways we look alike. In other
ways, we share the same interests, but one secret we shared was far more
important. We both knew the world was big, but we had each other. Student
narrative

Name ___________________________________ Date _______________ Period _________

Think about your personal narrative and how you end the story for your reader. Is your reader
satisfied?
Topic: ______________________________________________________________________
What type of ending do you use? ___________________________________________________
How do you end your narrative? (Write out your ending.)

What type of other ending may more effective? _____________________________________

Try re-writing your ending using this new technique.

Which ending is a better fit for your piece? Why?