Narrative Argument

A narrative essay is one that uses a story, usually presented in chronological order, to make some kind of point. When
you are writing a narrative argument, that point is persuasive or argumentative.
Here are two examples:
Let’s say you want to make a point about gun control, and you want to argue for stricter gun control laws. In a narrative
argument, you may not make this actual claim until the end. Instead, you should focus your essay on telling a story about a
child who was killed because someone should not have had access to a gun.

Maybe you want to write an argument about climate change but know your audience is emotional about the topic. Instead of
presenting statistics, you tell the story of one geographic location that has experienced some negative effects of climate
change. You tell the story of the people who have been impacted.

Narrative Structure
You’re likely to see a lot of variation in the structure of narrative arguments. In many cases, your teacher may want you to
write a traditional introduction with a thesis statement and then use the body of your essay to tell your story. You may
also be asked to include a traditional conclusion at the end.
However, you may encounter opportunities to write narrative arguments that save the thesis statement until the end or
even use an implied thesis statement.

So, when writing a narrative argument, there may be options.

The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano is an example of a slave narrative, or an autobiographical account of a person’s
life as a slave. Most slave narratives, written when slavery was a legal practice, have an implicit, or unstated, persuasive
purpose: to expose the evils of slavery and, in so doing, turn the public against the practice. Equiano’s account combines
factual details and personal reflections with powerful descriptive language that constitute emotional appeals to his
readers. Notice, for example, how words such as shrieks and groans evoke sympathy and outrage in this depiction of the
ship that brought Equiano from Africa:

The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost
inconceivable.
The abolitionist movement in the United States owed much to the revelations of former slaves. Only the hardest of hearts
could fail to be moved by Equiano’s narrative.
Annotate the reading by identifying the following:
1. At least 3 passages from the autobiography that give important, impactful factual details.
2. At least 3 passages that convey personal reflections that strike an emotional chord with you.
3. At least 3 passages that feature strong descriptive language.
4. In the margins, explain the persuasive impact of each passage you chose.

Write your own narrative argument in the space below or attach a handwritten, loose-leaf version of your narrative.
1. Look at the https://www.procon.org/ to identify issues that might benefit from your own personal narrative
argument.
2. Choose an event from your personal life and write a short autobiographical description, patterned after Equiano’s
autobiographical excerpt and Cameron Jones’s “Walk a Mile” that puts your private experience in service to a
broader public problem or issue.
3. Choose Option #1 for the structure: traditional introduction, body, and traditional conclusion.
4. Use Equiano’s strategy of balancing factual details, personal reflections, and strong descriptive language/word
choice.

“The best thing about baseball is there's no homework” (Dan Quisenberry). Quisenberry addresses a
pressing topic in the world of education. Should there be homework for the learning youth? The first step in the
right direction is the elimination of homework on the weekends.
I have been a student basically my entire life. I have conformed to weekend homework being in existence,
but at some point, it must stop. I am currently writing this at 9:21 PM on Sunday night when this paper is due at
8 am tomorrow, because of other priority occupying my time this weekend. I have been told not to procrastinate
and get your work done as soon as possible, but I have two reasons why this is impossible or just unlikely. First,
this weekend, I had a Water Polo Tournament and not to mention a social life. Secondly, do the people telling
me to not procrastinate actually never procrastinate? Anyways, homework on weekend is a punishment to the
students who must endure it.
Last weekend, I had a project due for my French class. This project was done in groups and needed us to
create a presentation on the imparfait. So, I get assigned this on Friday and go home exhausted from the week. I
collapse onto my bed and knock out. I wake up slightly rested at 1 pm on Saturday. Instead of having fun and
relaxing, I get to work on the French Project. I contact the people in my group, and we work for a solid 2 hours
until I had to go. I had to go to a Water Polo game, and we did well. We won and my team functioned better
than normal, but I was again exhausted. I get home and collapse. The next morning, I get back to work on the
project. Tired, stressed, and sore from the game I plunge on. After another 2 hours, I am victorious! I have
finished the project and I am now free. I think to myself, “Oh wait, I got a Boy Scouts of America meeting in 30
minutes!” I rush off to help out and organize the meeting. After the long, tiring 2-hour meeting, I come home
and collapse. *The alarm rings* “I’m up! I’m up!” I slam my hand onto my phone and feel how sore and tired I
am. Its Monday morning and I must get to school, or I’ll be late. Still exhausted, I roll up to school ready to start
a new week.
As described in my experience, students need a time to destress and relax. This 24/7 constant motion of life
isn’t as beneficial to student as teachers and advisors think. Once the body has time to destress better overall
performance is found. We need to ban homework on the weekends for the future of education.