E-LEARNING ITEM 50 FORM 3

Learning Area: English Language

Topic: Composition writing skills

Sub-topic: Narrative essay: Types of narrators

Objectives:

 state the importance of an opening in narrative essays.

 identify types of endings in narrative essays.
 write powerful endings in narrative writing.

Introduction

Another key issue in narrative writing is the type of narrator that presents your story to the
reader. Well before you start writing your narrative essay, you should decide on the type of
narrator.

Narrator

 A narrator is a character who tells the reader what is happening in your story.
 In some stories a narrator may or may note

Types of narrators

 There are two types of narrators you could use to tell the reader what is happening in
your story.

 These are: (1) The First Person Narrator (2) The Third Person Narrator

 Before you write your essay choose the type of narrator who best suits your story.

The First Person Narrator

 In this type of narrative, you tell the story through the eyes and mouth of the protagonist
by using the first person pronoun “I”

 The advantages of the first person narrator are that: (a) the reader, in this case the
examiner, identifies with the narrator by stepping into the shoes of the narrator owing to
the use of the pronoun “I” (b) the reader gets firsthand information from the horse’s
mouth.

 The disadvantages of the first person narrative are that:

(a) a narrator cannot tell with certainty what the other characters will do next.
(b) a narrator cannot tell with certainty what the other characters will say next.
(c) a narrator cannot tell with certainty what the other characters will think next
(d) a narrator does not know what will happen next in terms of the storyline.

The Third Person Narrator

 This type of narrator is also known as the omniscient narrator.

 In this type of narrator, you tell the story as if you were God, that is, an all-knowing and
all-seeing narrator.

 In this narrative use the following pronouns and nouns: “he”, “she”, “they”, “we”, “it”,
“John”

 In the third person narrator the roles of the writer and the characters are clearly defined
just like in the first person narrator.

 Where you write,” During the last streaks of the day, Mary looked in on her sister,” is a
good example of a situation where your role of intruding upon the story is clearly
defined. That is known as authorial intrusion.

 The advantages of the third person narrator/omniscient narrator are:

(a) the omniscient narrator is in charge of the plot .

(b) the omniscient narrator is in charge of the characters.
(c) the omniscient narrator knows what the characters think.
(d) the omniscient narrator knows what the characters in the story feel .
(e) the omniscient narrator knows what characters will do next.
(f) the omniscient narrator knows the fate or what is in store for all the characters.

Task

Give out questionnaires to members from your Home English Group. Use all questions from 1 to
9 in your questionnaires.

1. What is a narrator?
2. State two types of narrators in narrative writing
3. What type of narrator uses the first person pronoun “I”?
4. State two advantages of the first person narrator
5. State four disadvantages of the first person narrator
6. State six advantages of the omniscient narrator
7. What is the other name for an omniscient narrator?
8. Write a paragraph of not more than six sentences from the angle of the omniscient narrator
9. Write a paragraph of not more than six sentences from the angle of the first person narrator.

Conclusion

Choose a narrator who suits your narrative story perfectly. The advantages and disadvantages of
each type of narrator will determine the type of narrator you need to choose over another for
your story. Following on is an item in which a sample narrative essay is presented and question
on it are asked of you. Give the said essay a reading. You will never ever forget it in a hurry.