The Narrative Essay: More than a story! English 9 Ms. Manzuk

What is a Narrative Essay? Yes, a narrative is a story but A narrative essay is a story that has a specific point A narrative essay strives to teach a lesson or A narrative essay strives to make a specific point A narrative essay is not a diary entry – the story is linked to the purpose of the essay

What Should Be Included in a Narrative Essay? Often written in 1st person – I or we – because it is based on a personal story Can also be written in 3rd person Can never be written in 2nd person Has specific sensory details to get the reader hooked on the story. Usually developed in chronological order Figurative language that help paint a picture and draw in the reader

What Else Does the Narrative Essay Need? Since this is a story, the narrative essay needs everything a story needs (these are known as the story elements): Has a plot Has characters Has a problem or conflict Has a climax Often uses dialogue

Planning the Narrative Essay Write a thesis statement, just as with any other essay Brainstorm about a prompt that illustrates or proves the thesis statement Create an outline of the important parts of the story Write an introductory paragraph that includes the thesis statement Because this is a story, use as many paragraphs as necessary to tell the story Write a conclusion that reflects on the thesis statement

Introductory Paragraph An introductory paragraph has three jobs: To hook the reader To provide a setting and introduce the characters What is the basic idea of the story? Where is the story taking place? When is the story taking place? Who is in the story? To give a purpose to the essay

Introductory Paragraph Hook Who What When Where This is to show the idea that the hook is a general idea to pull the reader in, but then the paragraph gets more specific by giving the reader more information (who, what, when, where) and then very specific with the thesis Thesis (the purpose of your essay)

What is your Hook? The hook is the FIRST sentence of the introductory paragraph. The purpose of a hook: To pull in the reader Grab the reader’s curiosity Your hook should transition smoothly into the rest of your introductory paragraph.

What is a thesis? Your thesis will depend upon the lesson or point of the story It is the PURPOSE of your essay. If you do not have a thesis, you do not have a purpose. The essay will be very confusing for the reader with no purpose. Your entire essay will develop to support your thesis. Your thesis is ONLY ONE sentence. Your thesis is the LAST sentence of your introductory paragraph.

The story is told in chronological order The Body Paragraphs The story is told in chronological order Climax: the event Rising Action: leading up the event Falling Action: what happens afterwards

Thinking about Transitions Transitions will help signal the end of one paragraph and the beginning of the next. They provide a link between ideas and paragraphs. They will give your essay a feeling of unity and allow the reader to follow the story easily.

Common Time Transitions Remember to use a comma after a transition. Before Second Later Meanwhile After Then At last Since During Finally Last Now First While Eventually Soon

Conclusion The conclusion must synthesize your specific point or lesson as well as provide your reflection. It can: Make a prediction or revelation about future actions that will happen as a result of the story It can challenge the reader’s thoughts and beliefs about the main idea It can tell what the writer has learned from her experiences.

Conclusion Synthesizing the specific point or lesson by reflecting on your event Synthesizing and reflecting are kinda merged together. The “clincher” sentence is the final-thought provoking sentence that lets the reader know that the essay is finished…a sense of completion Finishing Sentence “Clincher Sentence”

Some Final Tips Without a thesis, or a point, you are not really writing a narrative essay– make sure to have a point. You can get help finding a point when you: Think about sayings or quotes that teach a lesson Think about lessons learned from Aesop’s fables Think about a time when you learned something valuable Read quotations to spawn ideas Read your own journals for a time something happened worth telling others about

Remember, please have fun and express your creative side! Ready to begin? Remember, please have fun and express your creative side!