1. Reading and Writing Narrative Texts
Chapter 10 –
Reading and Writing Narrative Texts
© Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
© Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

2. © 2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Opening Activity
Storytelling predates reading and writing. Reflect on that, and then discuss the following questions:
In your everyday life, how often do you hear stories? What type of stories do you recall?
When might you need to tell a story in your college writing?
© Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

3. © 2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Learning Outcomes
By the time you finish reading and studying this chapter, you should be able to:
LO1 Understand narrative texts.
LO2 Read and respond to a narrative text (using a time line, asking the 5 W’s and H, and recording sensory details).
LO3 Plan a personal narrative.
LO4 Write the first draft.
LO5 Revise the writing.
LO6 Editing the writing.
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4. Understanding Narrative Texts
Narrative writers retell events to readers and relive the experiences themselves.
Types
Description
Personal Narrative
Re-creates a specific event or experience through vivid description and details
Personal Essay
Is similar to a personal narrative in that it shares an event or experience but also reflects on the significant of the event or experience
Autobiography and Memoir
Provides a detailed account of a specific aspect of the writer’s life
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5. Reading and Responding to a Narrative Text
To gain the most from reading narratives:
Use a Timeline
Follow key actions in the order they occur
Answer the 5 W’s and H
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Record Sensory Details
Focus on how the writer uses sensory details—sight, sound, smell, taste and touch
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6. Planning a Personal Narrative
Your narrative should focus on a special moment in your life. After you have selected a topic:
Create a timeline to help you organize the details chronologically.
Use showing details to make your story interesting. They include, sight, sound, smell, taste and touch but also:
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7. Writing the First Draft
Think about your purpose for telling the story, and consider using these storytelling techniques to interest your readers.
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8. Writing the First Draft
Your narrative essay should contain three main parts:
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9. Revising the Writing
Improve your writing by making nouns, verbs, and modifiers more specific.
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10. Editing the Writing
Include dialogue in your narrative to reveal the personalities of the people involved in the story.
(someone’s exact words)
(reporting rather quoting exactly)
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11. Editing the Writing
Correctly punctuate dialogue:

12. Editing the Writing Before submitting your narrative:
Use an editing checklist (Figure 10.8) to revise for style and correctness
Finish by adding an attention-getting title
Use a phrase from the piece
Use a main idea
Paint a picture in the readers’ minds
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13. © 2016. Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Closing Activity
Use what you have learned about narratives to write a short story.
Think of something memorable that happened to you in the last week.
Complete a prewriting activity of creating a timeline, answering the 5 W’s and H, and listing sensory details—sight, sound, smell, taste and touch
Can you add direct or indirect quotations?
Use your prewriting notes to write a story that will hold your readers’ interest.
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