1. Narrative Essay Writing
Expanding our Knowledge of Writing Styles

2. Reviewing Narrative Writing
With your partner, write down three important pieces of information that you remember about narrative writing.

3. A Narrative Essay Has similar features as a narrative paragraph
Introduction, Body, Conclusion
First person
Main idea
Setting
Reflection
Descriptive language
Transitions
Is about a single event
Chronological Order

4. The Structure of a Narrative Essay: Introductory Paragraph
A narrative essay expands on what we already know, but now we have an opportunity to develop our ideas more
The Structure of a Narrative Essay:
Introductory Paragraph
Body Paragraphs ( 3-4)
Concluding Paragraph
Now we will look at each part more closely.

5. 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

6. Introductory Paragraph
Another way to look at an 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)

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

8. It has a main idea and a claim.
What is a thesis?
Your thesis does the same job as the topic sentence in a narrative paragraph.
It has a main idea and a claim.
It is the PURPOSE of your essay. If you don’t have a thesis, you don’t have a purpose and your essay will be very confusing for the reader.
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.

9. The Body Paragraphs
The body paragraphs look similar to the body of a narrative paragraph. They develop the story.
Climax: the event
Rising Action:
leading up the event
Falling Action:
what happens afterwards
The story is told in chronological order.

10. 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.

11. 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

12. Concluding Paragraph
The concluding paragraph has the same function in a narrative essay as in a narrative paragraph. It must synthesize your main idea and claim 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.

13. Concluding Paragraph Another way to look at the concluding paragraph:
Synthesizing the main idea and claim
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”

14. Some Final Notes:
1. Choose details to move your essay forward and bring your experience to life for the reader by appealing to her 5 senses.
2. Choose details that are specific enough to show clearly what happened.
3. Control your tenses and transitions. Remember a narrative essay shares an event from the past, so you should write in the past tense.