Reading and Writing Reviewer

Narrative Writing
Narrative writing focuses on telling a fictional story – one that is made up – or a real-life story where the
author follows a plot structure. It can also take the form of an essay where the author uses a personal story to
explain an issue or state an argument. Take note, Narrative Writing focuses on telling either a fictional story or
a real-life story.

Elements of a story
Setting –It is the when and where the story happens.
Theme – It is the subject talk or the basic idea of the story
Mood – It is the tone of the piece of literature it signifies the emotion/feelings of the narrator or speaker.
Characters – These are the people involved in the story it can be classified as the Protagonist or
Antagonist.
Plot - The plot is, arguably, the most important element of a story. It is the sequence of events. It includes
a climax or turning point at which the characters or events change.

An effective narrative essay also includes these elements:

• A thesis that sets up the action in the introduction
• Transition sentences that connect events and guide the reader to follow the story
• A conclusion that ends the story action and provides a moral, prediction, or revelation

The Introduction
The introduction is a paragraph that will start your story. It establishes the narrator’s tone, mood, voice,
and point of view; it introduces or alludes the conflict you plan on addressing in your story. The introduction
must contain a hook and a thesis.
The Thesis
The thesis expresses the main idea of the essay and states the structure of the information. However, in
a narrative essay, the thesis introduces the action that begins within the first paragraph of the essay.

The Body
In a narrative essay, the body contains most of the supporting information which is the plot. The sequence
in the plot can be arranged in numerous ways. One of the examples is the chronological order. In this method,
the story will begin with the first scenario, then the second paragraph will elaborate on the second scenario
and so on.

The Conclusion
Just like academic essays, narrative essays must have a conclusion. In the conclusion, you must write a
brief statement of the main point; it doesn’t mean that you have to rewrite everything. It is just a brief
description of your action. The last sentence can have two functions:

1. It can deliver the moral of the story by telling the reader what the character(s) learned from the
experience.
2. It can make a prediction or a revelation (disclosure of something that was not known before) about future
actions that will happen as a result of the events in the story.

Look at these examples:

Moral: The little boy had finally learned that telling the truth was the most important thing to do.

Prediction: I can only hope that one day I will be able to do the same for another traveler who is suffering
through a terrible journey.

Revelation: Every New Year’s Eve, my wife and I return to that magical spot and remember the selfless act
that saved our lives.

Descriptive Writing
Description is an important and useful communication skill. When writers use vivid descriptions, they do
not only make their writings more lively and interesting, but they also indicate their attitude towards the
subject through the choice of words and details.

The objective description aims primarily to present word pictures of a person, a scene, or an object. On
the other hand, the subjective description may be used blended with exposition or narration as in creative
writing.
Topic Sentence
The topic sentence in a descriptive paragraph is the topic while the controlling idea gives an overall
impression of the place that the author or the writer is describing.

Controlling Idea
The controlling idea is the main idea that the writer is developing in a composition. The controlling idea
usually expresses a definite opinion or attitude about the topic of the composition.

My bedroom at home is my refuge from the outside world.

The campus of our school is like a small city.
The cafeteria at lunchtime is the school's social center.

Supporting Sentences
As we all know, supporting sentences serve as the “meat” of the paragraph. They do not just support or
provide details to your topic sentence, but they also make your writing exciting and interesting.

EXEMPLIFICATION/CLASSIFICATION
The purpose of a classification paragraph is to sort ideas (persons, places, things, or events) according
to some basis or common shared characteristics.

We use categories or types to understand a larger concept by breaking down an idea into smaller
concepts.
Some transitional expressions:

Classification criteria:
Before writing, it is necessary to decide on the classification criteria. We should think according to what
properties we are going to classify things.

Organization:
Develops a general statement--the topic sentence--with one or more specific examples. Not only do these
examples illustrate and explain the topic sentence, but they also make your writing more interesting and more
convincing.

Sample classification essay:

Exemplification/Illustration
Making use of examples to illustrate a point; it means, to explain a general statement by means of more
narrowed details or specific examples. Detailed and well-chosen examples add interest, liveliness, and power
to your writing. It makes what we say more vivid and more exact. Writers often use illustration to develop a
paragraph. To write an effective exemplification essay, we need to employ a variety of examples which relate
to the readers and help them understand your main point.

Transitional expressions:

Comparison and Contrast Essay

The purpose of a comparison and contrast essay is to analyze the differences and/or the similarities of
two distinct subjects. Accurate topic evaluation can also be done through comparing and contrasting. In
order to make accurate evaluations about a given topic, you must first know the significant points of
similarity and difference.

A compare-and-contrast essay analyzes two subjects by either comparing them, contrasting them, or
both. The purpose of writing a comparison or contrast essay is not to state the obvious but rather to
illuminate subtle differences or unexpected similarities between two subjects. The thesis should clearly state
the subjects that are to be compared, contrasted, or both, and it should state what is to be learned from
doing so.

Techniques
Once you have determined what things to compare, we may scrutinize the content using the following
method:

1. Basis of Comparison

This technique requires having a specific basis, a common point of comparison or contract. By pointing out
the characteristics that the two components or topics have in common it will give you enough supporting
details or sub-details to make your sentences more sensible. With the common point of reference,
you can justify their similarities and differences.

2. Alternating Method

In the alternating method, it allows you take turns in discussing the characteristics of the first topic,
followed by the second one. For example, you may discuss initially the significance of using Facebook,
immediately followed by the importance of using Twitter. Then, you may state the similar attributes of both
the social media platforms preceded by their differences.

Introduction
Body Paragraph 1 (Subject 1)
Body Paragraph 2 (Subject 2)
Body Paragraph 3 (Subject 1)
Body Paragraph 4 (Subject 2)
Conclusion
3. Block Method

Writing a comparison and contract essay using this method is like developing your ideas in chunk.
The first paragraph will only contain the characteristics of the first topic. While the second paragraph will
contain discussions about the second topic.

Introduction
Body Paragraph 1 (Subject 1)
Body Paragraph 2 (Subject 1)
Body Paragraph 3 (Subject 2)
Body Paragraph 4 (Subject 2)
Conclusion

4. Combination Method

It refers to the combination of alternating and block method in writing. In this kind of strategy, you will
be able to write a more structured comparison and contrast essay. You may run through a series of sentences
or paragraphs with alternating method and then eventually use the block method to explain further your
thoughts.

Comparison and Contrast Essay

The main objective in using a cause-and-effect method of paragraph development is to explain to your
readers:
why a certain situation happened
the consequences connected to that particular
situation or event
a discussion of both

The thesis statement is the sentence

that states the main idea of a writing
assignment and helps control the ideas
Thesis Statement within the paper. It is not merely a
topic. It often reflects an opinion or
judgment that a writer has made about
a reading or personal experience.

Topic Sentence

Topic Sentence

Concluding Sentence
 Persuasion as Pattern of Paragraph Development
A persuasive essay presents your personal point of view in a certain topic or issue. In this manner
of writing, you are required to organize your arguments and provide explanation which may be
accompanied by evidence so that the readers will be persuaded in believing that your opinion is
acceptable. Moreover, a persuasive essay encourages the readers to do a certain action or decision.
Although it is closely related to argumentative essay, there are notable differences between the two.
Persuasive essay focuses mainly on your own perspective about the topic, with your emotions entangled
on it, while argumentative essay may present not just a one-sided argumentation but also the opposing
viewpoints in order to create fair counterclaims. Look at the table on the next page for a more detailed
comparison of argumentative writing and persuasive writing.

Good Luck!!!!!!