Writing an essay, whether you find your mind blank or have too many ideas buzzing around, can be

difficult. But here's the key word: Passion. Be driven by passion and anything starts to become interesting
and intriguing. Narrative essays provide a great opportunity for students because you can score high
marks by telling a good story with passion, without having to focus on or master areas like literary
analysis or persuasive writing.

Steps

Be ready to tell a story. In basic terms, a narrative essay is a work of narration: storytelling. The most
important brick of building a narrative essay is a plot or storyline. Right after you get the topic in your
hand, take a fresh, vibrant page and start brainstorming your plot ideas.

 While brainstorming, let all your ideas flow. The possibilities for a good narrative essay
are as endless as the list of all things that can happen to a person, place, or thing. Stories come in all
forms, so let your imagination guide you, and don't feel hemmed into writing a narrative essay in only one
genre (unless your assignment specifies it)

Have some type of setting. You need to have a setting: a place where your story starts or takes place at
the beginning. You need to describe the setting- it's physical appearance, either with the help of
descriptive words or even with metaphor and imagery.
Build your reader's impression of your characters. How many characters you have is your choice, but
it's often best not to try to work in too many characters, particularly if it's a short story. Having a great
number of characters will mean you don't get a chance to flesh them out properly.

 To give the reader the full run-down on your characters, find ways to naturallydescribe
your characters' features, both how they look physically and how they act and feel; include their speech
and behavior in your narrations. Add small details about them to make your reader be able to picture
them more clearly.

Let the plot unfold. As you write, describe all the scenarios and characters' actions in such a way that
the reader can visualize them. Use sensory words relating to all five senses. Particularly if you're working
on a short story or essay, conveying a lot of sensory information using very evocative language can help
the reader feel transplanted into the setting. With this kind of essay, you have less time to earn the
reader's buy-in to your tale, so you have to make every word count.
Plan your climax, the twist in your story. It could be a death, a secret finally revealed, etc. Do not
introduce the climax right in the beginning or all of a sudden right at the end; prepare your reader slowly
for the climax and bring the plot naturally to it. This will keep the reader glued to the final word.

 As you are building for your climax, give the reader small hints, but don't give the whole
plot away.
Finish up your story. With shorter narrative essays in particular, don't get bogged down by an obligation
to wrap up every character's storyline or explain their future in detail. It's okay to leave the reader
guessing about what happens next, and how the characters turn out. As a writer, leaving your readers
satisfied with the plot but wanting to know more about your characters is the ideal balance.
Revise after writing. It's very rare to write a great story the first time through. You'll probably want to read
through your work, make proofreading and editing changes, and get input from others on your story.
Revision is just as important to the writing process as getting your initial ideas on paper.

What is a narrative essay?

When writing a narrative essay, one might think of it as telling a story. These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and
personal—allowing students to express themselves in a creative and, quite often, moving ways.

Here are some guidelines for writing a narrative essay.

 If written as a story, the essay should include all the parts of a story.

This means that you must include an introduction, plot, characters, setting, climax, and conclusion.

 When would a narrative essay not be written as a story?

A good example of this is when an instructor asks a student to write a book report. Obviously, this would not
necessarily follow the pattern of a story and would focus on providing an informative narrative for the reader.

 The essay should have a purpose.

Make a point! Think of this as the thesis of your story. If there is no point to what you are narrating, why narrate it at
all?

 The essay should be written from a clear point of view.

It is quite common for narrative essays to be written from the standpoint of the author; however, this is not the sole
perspective to be considered. Creativity in narrative essays often times manifests itself in the form of authorial
perspective.

 Use clear and concise language throughout the essay.

Much like the descriptive essay, narrative essays are effective when the language is carefully, particularly, and artfully
chosen. Use specific language to evoke specific emotions and senses in the reader.

 The use of the first person pronoun ‘I’ is welcomed.

Do not abuse this guideline! Though it is welcomed it is not necessary—nor should it be overused for lack of clearer
diction.

 As always, be organized!

Have a clear introduction that sets the tone for the remainder of the essay. Do not leave the reader guessing about the
purpose of your narrative. Remember, you are in control of the essay, so guide it where you desire (just make sure your
audience can follow your lead).
 Types of Papers: Narrative/Descriptive

To write a narrative essay, you’ll need to tell a story (usually about something that happened to
you) in such a way that he audience learns a lesson or gains insight.

To write a descriptive essay, you’ll need to describe a person, object, or event so vividly that
the reader feels like he/she could reach out and touch it.

Tips for writing effective narrative and descriptive essays:

 Tell a story about a moment or event that means a lot to you--it will make it easier for
you to tell the story in an interesting way!
 Get right to the action!  Avoid long introductions and lengthy descriptions--especially
at the beginning of your narrative.
 Make sure your story has a point! Describe what you learned from this
experience.
 Use all five of your senses to describe the setting, characters, and the plot of your
story. Don't be afraid to tell the story in your own voice.  Nobody wants to read a story
that sounds like a textbook!

How to Write Vivid Descriptions

Having trouble describing a person, object, or event for your narrative or descriptive essay?  Try
filling out this chart:

What do you What do you What do you What do you What might you
smell? taste? see? hear? touch or feel?

         

Remember:  Avoid simply telling us what something looks like--tell us how it tastes,

smells, sounds, or feels!

Consider this…

 Virginia rain smells different from a California drizzle.

 A mountain breeze feels different from a sea breeze.
 We hear different things in one spot, depending on the time of day.
  You can “taste” things you’ve never eaten: how would sunscreen taste?

Using Concrete Details for Narratives

Effective narrative essays allow readers to visualize everything that's happening, in their
minds.  One way to make sure that this occurs is to use concrete, rather than abstract, details. 

Concrete Language… Abstract Language…

…makes the story or image seem clearer and ...makes the story or image difficult to
more real to us. visualize.

…gives us information that we can easily grasp …leaves your reader feeling empty,
and perhaps empathize with. disconnected, and possibly confused.

The word “abstract” might remind you of modern art.  An abstract painting, for example, does
not normally contain recognizable objects.  In other words, we can't look at the painting and
immediately say "that's a house" or "that's a bowl of fruit."  To the untrained eye, abstract art
looks a bit like a child's finger-painting--just brightly colored splotches on a canvas.
Avoid abstract language—it won’t help the reader understand what you're trying to
say!

Examples:

Abstract:  It was a nice day.  

Concrete:  The sun was shining and a slight breeze blew across my face. 

Abstract:  I liked writing poems, not essays.  

Concrete:  I liked writing short, rhythmic poems and hated rambling on about my
thoughts in those four-page essays. 

Abstract:  Mr. Smith was a great teacher. 

Concrete:  Mr. Smith really knew how to help us turn our thoughts into good stories
and essays.

Narrative Essays
The first important thing to remember about a narrative essay is that it tells a story. The author may write about

 an experience or event from his or her past

 a recent or an ongoing experience or event
 something that happened to somebody else, such as a parent or a
grandparent
The second important thing about a narrative essay is that the story should have a point. In the final paragraph, the author should
come to an important conclusion about the experience that has just been described.

Read this sample narrative essay, and then read the notes below.

1. The sample essay begins with a general statement, "Learning

something new can be a scary experience." This statement introduces
the subject of the essay, which is a particular learning experience that
the author had. The use of "I" in the essay indicates that what is being
described is a personal experience.

2. The essay is essentially a story about something that happened. The

author gives sufficient details about the people, place, and events so
that the reader gets a clear idea of how the author feels about them. In
the essay, the author "stood timidly" and the teacher "smiled" and was
"patient." These words indicate the author's fears and the sense of
security provided by the teacher who helped the author get over her
fear. 
3. In the final paragraph of the essay, the author reflects on the larger
meaning or importance of the experience described. The author
concludes that learning to swim has helped her to feel more confident
about herself in other new situations. The idea that self-confidence
comes from conquering your fears is something that all people can
relate to. This is the point of the story.
4. The essay is well-organized. After the introduction, the author
describes the experience as it happened in time -- going to the pool the
first day, having the first lesson, and the result of the subsequent
lessons. The author might have chosen, however, to talk about the
things she learned in order of their importance or difficulty.
5. The writing in an essay should be lively and interesting. Try to
engage the reader's interest by adding details or personal
observations. Sharing personal thoughts and details invites the reader
into author's world and makes the story more personal and more
interesting.

Writing a Narrative Essay

There's nothing like reading a great narrative. Whether in novel or essay form, a narrative piece of writing transports
readers into the time and space of the world portrayed by the writing.

There's also nothing like writing a great narrative. Through reflecting upon an event, and through recreating the
experience for other readers, writing a narrative essay can enable you to develop new, subtle, and rewarding
perspectives.

Basic qualities of a narrative essay:

 A narrative essay is a piece of writing that recreates an experience through time.

 A narrative essay can be based on one of your own experiences, either past or present, or it can be based
on the experiences of someone else.

 In addition to telling a story, a narrative essay also communicates a main idea or a lesson learned.

First steps for writing a narrative essay:

 Identify the experience that you want to write about.
 Think about why the experience is significant.

 Spend a good deal of time drafting your recollections about the details of the experience.

 Create an outline of the basic parts of your narrative.

Writing about the experience:

 Using your outline, describe each part of your narrative.
 Rather than telling your readers what happened, use vivid details and descriptions to actually recreate the
experience for your readers.

 Think like your readers. Try to remember that the information you present is the only information your
readers have about the experiences.

 Always keep in mind that all of the small and seemingly unimportant details known to you are not
necessarily known to your readers.

Communicating the significance of the experience:

 It's often effective to begin your narrative with a paragraph that introduces the experience and
communicates the significance. This technique guarantees that your readers will understand the significance
of the experience as they progess through the narrative.
 Another effective technique is to begin the essay by jumping directly into the narrative and then ending the
essay with a paragraph communicating the significance of the experience. This approach allows your
readers to develop their own understanding of the experience through the body of the essay and then more
deeply connect to your expression of the significance at the end.

 You might also consider introducing the experience in the first paragraph but delaying your expression of the
significance of the experience until the end of the essay. This approach heightens your readers' sensitivity to
the significance of the narrative.

Revising your narrative essay:

  After spending time away from the draft of your narrative essay, read through the essay and think about
whether the writing effectively recreates the experience for your readers.
 Ask other people to read through the essay and offer their impressions.

 Identify where more details and descriptions are needed.

 Identify and consider removing any information that seems to distract from the focus and main narrative of
the essay.

 Think about whether you've presented information in the most effective order.

Potential prompts for your narrative essay:

If you're having trouble choosing an experience to write about, take a quick glance through these prompts. They
might help you remember or identify a particularly interesting or significant experience to focus on.

 A childhood event. Think of an experience when you learned something for the first time, or when you
realized how important someone was for you.
 Achieving a goal. Think about a particularly meaningful achievement in your life. This could be something
as seemingly minor as achieving a good grade on a difficult assignment, or this could be something with
more long-lasting effects, like getting the job you desired or getting into the best school to which you applied.

 A failure. Think about a time when you did not perform as well as you had wanted. Focusing on an
experience like this can result in rewarding reflections about the positive emerging from the negative.

 A good or bad deed. Think about a time when you did or did not stand up for yourself or someone else in
the face of adversity or challenge.

 A change in your life. Think about a time when something significant changed in your life. This could be
anything from a move across town to a major change in a relationship to the birth or death of a loved one.

 A realization. Think about a time when you experienced a realization. This could be anything from
understanding a complicated math equation to gaining a deeper understanding of a philosophical issue or
life situation.

5 TIPS FOR WRITING A GOOD NARRATIVE ESSAY   by Sean Craydim Writing a narrative essay is an essential talent for field research.
Rather than summing things up for your reader, it presents your experience and allows them to draw their own conclusions. The narrative
essay makes it point by subtly guiding the reader, rather than battering them the way a rhetorical essay would. By observing these basic
ideas, you can improve your narrative essay. 1. Clarity. Complex words and syntax are a hindrance to clarity and should be avoided. Ideas
should be clearly distributed between sentences and paragraphs. Example: Although I have never been to the races before, I was very
excited to behold them, yet also somewhat nervous, because of the type of people who go there. Improved: I'd never been to a horse race. I
was excited to go, but also a little nervous, since I wasn't sure about the people at the track. 2. Don't describe each and every one of your
own movements. Example: As I went in the door, I turned and saw a TV. I looked around and saw posters on the wall. As I went further in I
noticed everyone was watching M*A*S*H. Improved: I immediately noticed the posters on the wall, though everyone else's eyes were
focused on a TV playing M*A*S*H. 3. Avoid the second-person narrative. An important part of the narrative essay is the fact that the writer
experienced the events described. Example: As you go in the door, you will turn and see a TV. You look around and see posters on the wall.
As you go further in you notice everyone is watching M*A*S*H. Writing in the present tense is okay, however. 4. To interest the reader,
dynamic word choice is key. Avoid sounding too clinical. Use the same slang, idiom, and turns of phrase you would use in speech. Avoid
passive constructions. Example: I am presented an array of unpleasant photos in which many casualties are shown after automobile
accidents. Improved: They showed me a book stuffed with gruesome pictures of people who'd been in car wrecks. 5. Limit reference. MLA
format recommends including citations in the text, but in a narrative essay this is disruptive. If a work was helpful, cite it in a 'Works
Consulted' list after the essay. Explain yourself as you go along, rather than trying to refer your reader back to a previous statement.
Example: When I first saw the comic book fans jumping up and down, I thought as they would, "Lord, what fools these mortals be" (Gaiman
1989.) I later learned why they do this. Improved: The fans jump up and down. When I first saw this, I wondered what they were doing and
my mind conjured a quote from Shakespeare that Neil Gaiman used in his "Sandman": "Lord, what fools these mortals be." However, I
watched a bit longer and realized the company spokesmodels were throwing free merchandise. The fans wanted to get the most from their
day at the convention. The narrative essay is a keen rhetorical tool because it allows the readers to draw their own conclusions, but falling
into the traps above deprive it of its effectiveness. By avoiding these errors, you can subtly guide your reader in your desired direction. 

Purpose of a Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is a story written about a

personal experience.  Writing a narrative essay
provides an opportunity to get to know and
understand yourself better.  One of the best
ways to reveal who you are is to write about how
you became aware of something, gained a new
way of seeing the world, a new insight. While such awareness can
occur for apparently unexplainable reasons, it most often happens
when you encounter new ideas or have experiences that change you
in some way.  During the process of writing a narrative, you will
learn ways to articulate personal experience to inform and entertain
others. Narratives provide human interest, spark our curiosity, and
draw us close to the storyteller. In addition, narratives can do the
following:
Create a sense of shared history, linking people together.

Provide entertainment. Most people enjoy a thrilling movie or an intriguing book.

Provide psychological healing. Reading or listening to the narrative of someone who faced a life crisis
similar to one you are experiencing can help you through the crisis. They can also help the writer deal
with the crisis.

Provide insight. Narratives can help you discover values, explore options, and examine motives.

Characteristics of the Narrative

Narrative essays describe specific experiences that changed how you felt, thought, or acted.  The form of
a narrative is similar to a story in that it describes how your character is feeling by "showing" through
his/her actions, rather than by coming right out and "telling" your readers. However, a good narrative isn't
just an entertaining story, but has a point to make, a purpose to convey.  In writing a narrative essay, your
purpose is not to merely tell an interesting story but to show your readers the importance and influence
the experience has had on you. This experience may be used as a springboard for reflection.

A good narrative:
involves readers in the story. 
 It is much more interesting to actually recreate an incident for readers than to simply tell about it.

relates events in sequence. 

The creation of specific scenes set at actual times and in actual places. Show, don't tell. Re-create an
event by setting it in a specific time and space.

includes detailed observations of people, places, and events. 

Do you recall sights, sounds, smells, tactile feelings, and tastes? Use actual or re-created dialogue?
Give actual names of people and places.

presents important changes, contrasts, or conflicts and creates tension. 

Do you grow from change? Is there a conflict between characters? Is there a contrast between the past
and the present?

is told from a point of view--usually the author's point of view.

focuses on connection between past events, people, or places and the present. 
How relevant is the event today? How relevant will it be in your future?

makes a point, communicates a main idea or dominant impression. 

Your details, specific scenes, accounts of changes or conflicts, and connections between past and
present should point to a single main idea or dominant impression for your paper as a whole. While not
stating a flat "moral" of the story, the importance of your memory must be clear to your reader.

Planning the Narrative Essay

To plan a narrative, your job is:

first, select an incident worthy of writing about,

second, find relevance in that incident (writers might ask themselves what about the incident provided
new insights or awareness),

finally, dredge up details which will make the incident real for readers.

Good stories occur everywhere and can be told about anything.

They are as likely to occur in your own neighborhood as insome
exotic locale. Potential stories happen daily; what makes potential
stories actual stories is putting them into language, recounting
them, orally or in writing. Good stories are entertaining,
informative, lively, and believable; they will mean something to
those who write then as well as to those who read them.  Subjects
for good essays have no limits. You already have a lifetime of
experiences from which to choose, and each experience is a
potential story to help explain who you are, what you believe, and
how you act today. When beginning, you might want to ask
yourself:
Did you ever have a long-held belief or assumption shattered? Can you trace the change to one event
or a series of events?

Is there a particular experience that you observed that has had a profound influence on your life?

Is there a person that who has greatly influenced you?

Is there a decision that you had to make, or a challenge or an obstacle that you faced?

Was there ever a moment in your life when you decided to reform, to adopt a whole new outlook?

How would you characterize your attempt? (Successful? Unsuccessful? Laughable? Painful?)

Here are some subject suggestions:

Winning and Losing

Winning something-a race, a contest, a lottery-can be a good subject, since it features you in a unique
position and allows you to explore or celebrate a special talent. The truth is that in most parts of life, there
are more losers than winners. While one team wins a championship, dozens do not. So there is a large,
empathetic audience out there who will understand and identify with a narrative about losing. Although
more common than winning, losing is less often explored in writing because it is more painful to recall.
Therefore, they are fresher, deeper, more original stories  to tell about losing.
Milestones
Perhaps the most interesting but also the most difficult experience to write about is one that you already
recognize as a turning point in your life, whether it's winning a sports championship, being a camp
counselor, or surviving a five-day solo camping trip in mid-winter. Writers who explore such topics in
writing often come to a better understanding of them. Also, their very significance challenges the writers
to make them equally significant for an audience that did not experience them. When you write about
milestones, pay special attention to the physical details that will both advance your story and make it
come alive for readers.
Daily Life
Commonplace experiences make fertile subjects for personal narratives. You might describe practicing,
rather than winning the big competition, or cleaning up after, rather than attending the prom. If you are
accurate, honest, and observant in exploring a subject from which readers expect little, you are apt to
pleasantly surprise them and draw them into your essay. Work experiences are especially fruitful
subjects, since you may know inside details and routines of restaurants and retail shops that the rest of us
can only guess.

Writing the Narrative Essay

A few things to remember when writing a narrative essay:

Narratives are generally written in the first person, that is, using I. However, third person (he, she, or it)
can also be used.

Narratives rely on concrete, sensory details to convey their point. These details should create a unified,
forceful effect, a dominant impression.

Narratives, as stories, should include these story conventions: a plot, including setting and characters;
a climax; and an ending.