Narration

You can think of narration as telling a story. A narrative essay is often anecdotal (relates a short story), experiential, and personal. This essay, similar to the descriptive essay, allows for the possibility of deep reflection, expression, and creativity. 

Here are some guidelines for writing a narrative essay:

If written as a story, the essay should include all the parts of a story.

This means that you must include an introduction, plot, characters, setting, climax, and conclusion.It does NOT mean you're writing a short story. Rather, you're using a story to make a point. We'll see a few examples of what this looks like next week.

When would a narrative essay not be written as a story?

A good example of this is a book report. 

The essay should have a purpose.

Just like the descriptive essay (and all essays!), this one should be making a point. If I tell you about a turtle walking across the road, I'd better have a point to it. Was it dangerous? Did it escape near disaster? Is it a story of courage? Or did it make me think about something profound about life on earth? Whatever the point, it has to be more than a turtle crossing a road.

The essay should be written from a clear point of view.

These essays are typically written from a first person (I) point of view, but it's not required. Whatever the viewpoint, stay consistent. 

As always, be organized!

Introduction, body, and conclusion--these parts will be present in most of the essays we write. We lead the reader in, present our material (description, narration, argumentation, etc.), then leave the reader with something to think about.