How to Write a Narrative Essay Step by Step
Narrative essays combine personal storytelling with academic reflection. Unlike other essay types, they are not bound by strict requirements or the need for a bibliography. To write a narrative essay successfully, you’ll need to follow these steps:
Step 1: Pick a personal experience to share.
Step 2: Organize your story's main points.
Step 3: Start narrating your story with vivid details.
Step 4: Improve the flow and clarity.
Step 5: Check for grammar and spelling errors.
A narrative is a story told verbally or in writing. The story's purpose is shown through its events and details. In the following sections, our custom term paper writing will explore various aspects of this type of writing, from choosing a topic to structuring your essay effectively.
What Is a Narrative Essay
Narrative essay , as the name suggests, is characterized by the presence of a narrative. Unlike argumentative essays, which present and defend a position, or analytical essays, which dissect another text, narrative essays tell a coherent story. Their goal is to convey a point or impart a lesson through personal experiences. These essays are frequently assigned in high school and for college admissions.
Where to Use Narrative Essays
A narrative essay serves the purpose of sharing personal experiences and insights. It helps the writer connect with readers on an emotional level and illustrate a point through storytelling. Here are a few occasions where writing a narrative essay is commonly used:
- College Applications : To showcase personal growth and experiences, giving admission officers a glimpse into the applicant's character and background.
- Class Assignments : To develop writing skills and reflect on personal events, helping students learn how to express their thoughts and emotions effectively.
- Personal Blogs : To share life stories and engage with readers, building a personal connection and fostering a sense of community.
- Scholarship Essays : To highlight personal achievements and challenges, demonstrating resilience and dedication to potential sponsors.
Professional Development : To reflect on career experiences and lessons learned, providing insights that can be valuable for personal growth and future endeavors.
5 Steps to Writing a Narrative Essay
Writing a narrative essay can be a rewarding experience as it allows you to share your personal story and insights. Crafting engaging and well-structured ideas for a narrative essay is essential for capturing your reader's attention. To help you learn how to start a narrative essay effectively, follow these five simple steps.
Step 1: Brainstorm Narrative Essay Topics
The first step is brainstorming narrative writing topics. Begin by thinking about personal experiences that have made a significant impact on you. Consider moments of growth, challenge, joy, or change. These experiences can provide a rich foundation for your narrative.
How to Research Narrative Essay Topics:
- Reflect on Personal Experiences : Think about significant moments in your life. What stories do you often share with friends and family? These can be great starting points.
- Read Other Narrative Essays : Look at examples of narrative essays online or in books. This can give you ideas for structure and themes.
- Journaling : Write about your daily experiences and feelings.
- Ask for Feedback : Talk to friends, family, or teachers about your ideas. They might provide a fresh perspective or remind you of stories you’ve forgotten.
- Consider Your Audience : Think about what stories would resonate with your readers. Choose topics that are engaging and relatable.
10 Narrative Essay Topics:
- Describe a situation where your plans went awry but ended positively.
- Focus on a dish you've cooked or baked. Share the recipe's story, emotional impact, and significance.
- Reflect on a teacher who profoundly influenced your learning experience.
- Describe an encounter with nature's beauty or strength and its impact on your worldview.
- Recall a time you faced and conquered a significant fear, showing personal growth.
- Reflect on an interaction with someone from a different cultural background, exploring lessons learned and challenges faced.
- Explore the memories of a cherished item. How did you acquire it, and what significant events are tied to it?
- Write about a passionate endeavor where failure led to personal growth and resilience.
- Share a song or musical experience that deeply resonated with you and its significance in your life.
- Reflect on losing something valuable and what it taught you about perseverance and resilience.
For more ideas, check out the Narrative Essay Topic list.
Step 2: Make a Narrative Essay Outline
Once you've chosen your topic, start by outlining your narrative essay. For instance, if you're writing about a memorable trip, begin with a scene-setting paragraph. Then, describe key experiences and interactions in subsequent paragraphs. Conclude by reflecting on how the trip affected you. In your conclusion, summarize the main events and their significance to effectively wrap up your story. For a more systematic approach, make sure to check out how to write an essay conclusion .
Step 3: Write Your Narrative Essay
When you're ready to start writing your narrative essay, refer to your outline to develop each section with clear and engaging language. Unlike academic essays, narrative essays don’t need to follow strict formalities or summarize everything in the introduction.
Tip : Write from your own perspective . Most narratives use the first-person point of view, so feel free to use pronouns like "I" and "me" to describe your experiences.
Tip : Use creative storytelling techniques . Drawing from fiction or creative nonfiction, employ methods like dialogue, flashbacks, and symbolism to captivate readers and convey the themes of your essay effectively.
Tip : Focus on a central theme or message . Identify a central theme or message that your narrative revolves around. This gives your essay coherence and depth, guiding your storytelling towards a meaningful conclusion.
Step 4: Revise Your Narrative Essay
Once you already understand how to write a narrative essay and finish your first draft, revise and refine your essay. Start by taking a break to gain fresh perspective before returning with a clear mind – this is a key strategy for enhancing your writing.
While reviewing, carefully examine it for logical coherence and smooth flow. Address any inconsistencies or gaps in the narrative, refining your writing to improve clarity. Pay attention to details such as tense, point of view, and narrative voice throughout.
Step 5: Proofread and Publish Your Narrative Essay
After writing a narrative essay, take time to thoroughly proofread for any remaining errors or typos. Ensure proper formatting and citation style, if required.
Sharing your essay with trusted individuals such as friends, family, or educators can provide valuable feedback and new perspectives. Incorporate this feedback, along with your own observations from the revision process, to strengthen the impact and effectiveness of your essay.
Meanwhile, if you’re willing to describe your life in greater depth, our guide on how to write an autobiography might be just what you need!
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Narrative Essay Examples
For more inspiration, check out a narrative essay example below prepared by our essay writer . Feel free to use it as a guide for your own story, ensuring that your unique voice and experiences come through in your work.
Final Thoughts
Now that you understand the basics of writing a narrative essay, you're probably excited to write your own! If you get stuck, our research paper writing service is here to help you. Whether you need a narrative essay or any other type of school paper, our services can provide personalized advice to fit your needs. Focusing on quality, affordability, and on-time delivery, we’ll make sure your story is told effectively!
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How Do I Start a Narrative Essay?
What makes a good narrative essay, how to end a narrative essay.
Daniel Parker
is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.
is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.
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- Narrative essays. (n.d.). Miami University. https://miamioh.edu/howe-center/hwc/writing-resources/handouts/types-of-writing/narrative-essays.html
- Mohammed, S. I. (2021). Suggested strategies for writing narrative essay . International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation , 4 (12), 30-39.
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How to Write a Narrative Essay
Last Updated: April 18, 2024 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,912,340 times.
Narrative essays are commonly assigned pieces of writing at different stages through school. Like any story, they have a plot, conflict, and characters. Typically, assignments involve telling a story from your own life that connects with class themes. It can be a fun type of assignment to write, if you approach it properly. Learn how to choose a good topic, get a solid rough draft on paper, and revise your narrative essay.
Choosing a Good Topic
- Most of the time, narrative essays will involve no outside research or references. Instead, you'll be using your personal story to provide the evidence of some point that you're trying to make. [3] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source However, in some cases using research may enhance your story because it will allow you to provide additional detail.
- Narrative essays are a common school assignment used to test your creative story-telling skills, as well as your ability to connect some element of your personal life to a topic you might be discussing in class.
- You experienced adversity and had to overcome
- You failed and had to deal with the consequences of that failure
- Your personality or character was transformed
- Bad narrative essays are generally too broad. "My senior year of high school" or "This summer" are examples of stories that would be far too big to tell in the amount of specific detail that a good narrative essay requires. Pick a single event from the summer, or a single week of your senior year, not something that takes months to unfold.
- It's also good to limit the number of characters you introduce. Only include other characters who are absolutely essential. Every single friend from your fifth grade class will be too many names to keep track of. Pick one.
- Let your imagination fill in the gaps. When you're describing your grandmother's house and a specific weekend you remember spending there, it's not important to remember exactly what was cooked for dinner on Friday night, unless that's an important part of the story. What did your grandmother typically cook? What did it usually smell like? Those are the details we need.
- Typically, narrative essays are "non-fiction," which means that you can't just make up a story. It needs to have really happened. Force yourself to stay as true as possible to the straight story.
Writing a Draft
- It helps to limit things as much as possible. While it might seem like we need to know a bunch of specific details from your senior year, try to think of a particularly tumultuous day from that year and tell us that story. Where does that story start? Not the first day of school that year. Find a better starting point.
- If you want to tell the story of your prom night, does it start when you get dressed? Maybe. Does it start when you spill spaghetti sauce all down your dress before the dance? While that might seem like the climax of a story you want to tell, it might make a better starting place. Go straight to the drama.
- You don't need to write up a formal outline for a narrative essay unless it's part of the assignment or it really helps you write. Listing the major scenes that need to be a part of the story will help you get organized and find a good place to start.
- Don't switch perspectives throughout the story. This is a difficult and advanced technique to try to pull off, and it usually has the effect of being too complicated. There should only be one "I" in the story.
- In general, narrative essays (and short stories for that matter) should also be told in past tense. So, you would write "Johnny and I walked to the store every Thursday" not "Johnny and I are walking to the store, like we do every Thursday."
- You may be instructed to write in the 3rd person (such as he, she, it, they, them, their). If so, be consistent with your pronouns throughout the story.
- Particular details are specific and only particular to the character being described. While it may be specific to say that your friend has brown hair, green eyes, is 5 feet (1.5 m) tall with an athletic build, these things don't tell us much about the character. The fact that he only wears silk dragon shirts? Now that gives us something interesting.
- Try writing up a brief sketch of each principal character in your narrative essay, along with the specific details you remember about them. Pick a few essentials.
- Who or what is the antagonist in your story? To answer this question, you also need to find out what the protagonist wants. What is the goal? What's the best case scenario for the protagonist? What stands in the protagonist's way?
- The antagonist isn't "the bad guy" of the story, necessarily, and not every story has a clear antagonist. Also keep in mind that for some good personal narratives, you might be the antagonist yourself.
- Do a freewrite about the location that your story takes place. What do you know about the place? What can you remember? What can you find out?
- If you do any research for your narrative essay, it will probably be here. Try to find out extra details about the setting of your story, or double-check your memory to make sure it's right.
- A popular creative writing phrase tells writers to "show" not to "tell." What this means is that you should give us details whenever possible, rather than telling us facts. You might tell us something like, "My dad was always sad that year," but if you wrote "Dad never spoke when he got home from work. We heard his truck, then heard as he laid his battered hardhat on the kitchen table. Then we heard him sigh deeply and take off his work clothes, which were stained with grease."
Your words should have an impact. "Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think, to give you a glimpse into someone else's head."
Revising Your Essay
- Get the theme into the very beginning of the essay. Just as a researched argument essay needs to have a thesis statement somewhere in the first few paragraphs of the essay, a narrative essay needs a topic statement or a thesis statement to explain the main idea of the story.
- This isn't "ruining the surprise" of the story, this is foreshadowing the important themes and details to notice over the course of the story as you tell it. A good writer doesn't need suspense in a narrative essay. The ending should seem inevitable.
- Scene: "On our walk to the store, Jared and I stopped at the empty grass lot to talk. 'What's your problem lately?' he asked, his eyes welling with tears. I didn't know what to tell him. I fidgeted, kicked an empty paint bucket that was rusted over at the edge of the lot. 'Remember when we used to play baseball here?' I asked him."
- Analysis: "We finished walking to the store and bought all the stuff for the big holiday dinner. We got a turkey, cornbread, cranberries. The works. The store was crazy-packed with happy holiday shoppers, but we walked through them all, not saying a word to each other. It took forever to lug it all home."
- Anything spoken by a character out loud needs to be included in quotation marks and attributed to the character speaking it: "I've never been to Paris," said James.
- Each time a new character speaks, you need to make a new paragraph . If the same character speaks, multiple instances of dialog can exist in the same paragraph.
- Revise for clarity first. Are your main points clear? If not, make them clear by including more details or narration in the writing. Hammer home your points.
- Was the decision you made about the starting place of the story correct? Or, now that you've written, might it be better to start the story later? Ask the tough questions.
- Proofreading is one part of revision, but it's a very minor part and it should be done last. Checking punctuation and spelling is the last thing you should be worried about in your narrative essay.
Sample Essay
Expert Q&A
- Be sensible while writing. It is necessary to stay on the topic rather than moving away from it. Do not lose your focus. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- Divide your essay into paragraphs, according to your limit: an introduction, two body paragraph and one conclusion. Your introduction can be either a shocker one, or one just describing the setting; the conclusion can reveal a surprise, or end with just a hint of the climax, keeping the final question to be answered by the readers. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
- Write only when you have a perfect story to tell. When a reader finishes reading the story, he\she should feel all those emotions seep right through his\her rib cage. Only then as a narrator, have you succeeded. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
You Might Also Like
- ↑ https://examples.yourdictionary.com/narrative-essay-examples.html
- ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/narrative_essays.html
- ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/learning/lesson-plans/650-prompts-for-narrative-and-personal-writing.html
- ↑ https://miamioh.edu/hcwe/handouts/narrative-essays/index.html
- ↑ https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-narrative-essay
- ↑ https://crk.umn.edu/units/writing-center/how-revise-drafts
About This Article
To write a narrative essay, start by choosing an interesting personal story from your life to write about. Try to connect your story to a broader theme or topic so your essay has more substance. Then, write out your story in the past tense using the first person point of view. As you write your story, use vivid details to describe the setting and characters so readers are able to visualize what you're writing. Once you've written your essay, read it several times and make sure you've illustrated your theme or topic. To learn more from our Professor of English co-author, like how to write scenes and analyses, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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How to Write a Personal Narrative Essay
by Sue Weems | 0 comments
Learning how to write a personal narrative essay is a core skill in most middle and high school writing classes, but narrative essays are great practice for so much more! If you've ever wanted to nail an assignment, an interview, or just be a more interesting person, this practice is for you!
As an award-winning teacher, I always begin my courses with a personal narrative essay, whether I'm teaching beginning composition to college freshmen or English to eighth graders.
Why? Because you know the most about yourself and your own experience. Most students find they don't know what to write about when they get assigned an essay. A personal narrative doesn't require any research.
Plus, learning to tell a story about yourself and your experiences is so valuable for more than school assignments. Let's break down this type of essay, so you can learn to write a terrific one.
What is a personal narrative essay?
At the most basic level, this kind of creative writing essay recounts a personal experience with a point or lesson. it is not your entire life story, but a small slice of life that was significant.
The goal of a personal narrative is to entertain and sometimes to share wisdom or offer tribute to someone who's made a significant impact on you.
These essays are often compelling narratives of human experience, but they don't have to be about a flashy, newsworthy moment. Any life event or experience that changed you or helped you understand yourself or the world in a new way can be a terrific topic!
Why learn to write a personal narrative?
The first question I always address when I assign this type of essay is why it's even something you need to learn. At first glance, students question whether or not learning to write about themselves really matters. But it does!
Sure, you want to do well on your school assignments, and it's helpful to know that college essay applications require one or more types of personal essay for admissions.
But beyond your educational goals, learning to tell a focused story about yourself will serve you well in cover letters, interviews, and even an author biography.
Additionally, the personal narrative essay is a staple of memoir writing. If you're hoping to write a memoir, a shorter essay is perfect practice for the type of storytelling skills you need to produce a book length memoir. (And it's the type of writing you would likely produce to promote a memoir once your book is published!)
What are the key elements of a personal essay?
I tell students you need a story from your life that recounts a meaningful experience. It will be a personal experience with one central idea.
You'll likely need all the elements of good storytelling, like a main character (that will be you!) with a goal, conflict, action, a crisis, and a choice or epiphany that results in change. You'll want to use vivid details, a setting, and some dialogue when appropriate.
So here's your (very short!) personal narrative checklist:
a story from your life (think one scene or one focused experience)
the one sentence lesson or wisdom you learned from that experience
If you need help figuring out a story or deciding which one to choose, let's discuss what makes for a great essay topic.
How to choose a personal narrative topic
Many students don't feel they have anything to write about. They claim to have a boring life and can't possibly have lived anything worth an entire essay.
They're wrong.
Your life is worth writing about because you're you. No one else has had the exact same experience you have–not even if you grew up in the same household.
No one has your voice. And only you can articulate what made an encounter life-altering.
Sometimes you will get a list of narrative essay topics to choose from. Other times you have to develop your own from a life event or life lesson. But either way, you can create a short list of ideas based on the moments that matter most for you. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Tell about a moment that left a mark. It can be a physical mark, like a scar or an emotional mark—positive or negative. Think about the activity you love most. Make a list of the three most memorable moments doing that activity (could be when you first started, a time you were successful or failed, etc.) When was a time you won or lost (or felt you did), but the experience was as gratifying as the outcome?
Whatever you choose, make it something that you care about that showcases your personality, voice, or strengths. For a full set of possible personal narrative writing prompts, check out our article here.
How to start a personal narrative
Once you have an idea about the story you want to tell, along with the statement of what it meant to you (the lesson or wisdom you learned), you're ready to begin writing.
Some assignments will ask you to write an introduction. If they require it, then write one. It might start with something related to the prompt or the lesson you learned.
For example, if the prompt is “Write a personal narrative about a favorite childhood memory,” you can use words from the prompt to begin your essay. “One of my favorite childhood memories happened in [time and setting] when I learned about the [hint at lesson].”
I prefer to jump in with the story and grab the reader from the first line. In this case, it will begin more like a story, where your first job is to show us a character in a setting with a problem.
The wind whipped my coat open on the middle school activity field. It was January and if the group of kids swinging on the soccer goal post was any indication, no teachers were on duty yet. “Come play with us on the goal!,” my friend Katie shouted, as she lifted another student to grab the bar.
Notice how an opening like this is straightforward. We know where we are (middle school activity field in winter)and what the initial problem is (friends inviting me to swing on a goal that's likely against the rules).
How to organize a personal narrative essay in 8 steps
When you tell the story, you can use a simple structure to guide the writing and then finish with the lesson. Here are eight steps to guide you:
- Begin with a character (that's you!) in a setting with a problem.
- Expand by helping us see who else is there and why (use sensory details here!).
- Then show us how you try (and possibly fail) to solve the problem or reach the goal.
- Repeat the try/fail cycle as needed, and remember to tell the story using dialogue where appropriate and details to make the scene vivid to readers.
- Build to a crisis point–the moment when a decision is presented (think about what you stand to gain and lose and the cost of either choice).
- The climax is the choice or high point–show what you chose or what happened.
- The denouement is what happened as a result of your choice in the climax.
- Finish by using a few sentences to explain the significance of the experience.
How to end a personal essay
You don't have to summarize the story or repeat the lesson over and over as you finish. Connect the story to the lesson or epiphany or significance, then turn toward the purpose of the essay.
Let's say you wrote about a person who inspired you–maybe a coach from your soccer team who stayed after one game to show you how to do something you'd failed at over and over. You could close your essay with a sentence or two about what the coach taught and why it still matters today.
Coach Wall taught me so much more than dribbling that day. She taught me what it meant to persevere and showed me that failure didn't have to be final. As I approach new situations that feel overwhelming at first today, I often think back to Coach Wall and that phrase she taught me: “It's hard because it's new. Keep at it.”
Write your own personal essay
Whether you're writing for school, family, or personal fun, practicing a personal narrative is valuable storytelling practice. These are the stories our parents and grandparents tell us around the table. They are the stories we tell each other as friends.
Learn to tell a great personal story and enjoy the connections you make.
What are your best tips for personal narrative? Share in the comments .
Set the timer for fifteen minutes . Choose one of the prompts above and collect your list of ideas, including a story and lesson for each. With the time left, start writing one of the stories.
When finished, share in the Pro Practice Workshop and leave feedback for a few other writers.
Sue Weems is a writer, teacher, and traveler with an advanced degree in (mostly fictional) revenge. When she’s not rationalizing her love for parentheses (and dramatic asides), she follows a sailor around the globe with their four children, two dogs, and an impossibly tall stack of books to read. You can read more of her writing tips on her website .
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A narrative essay is a type of essay that tells a story about a particular experience or event, often from the writer's own perspective. The purpose of a narrative essay is to engage the reader and create an emotional connection through a well-crafted storyline.
Today we will learn how to write a narrative essay fast and easy. This type of paper requires you to share your experiences in an entertaining and creative way. A writer has to tell the original story and make it interesting to the reader. This task is not that complicated if you know the key points and the logic of the text. In the present blog, we will learn how to write a truly powerful narrative paper starting from the initial concept and ending with a fabulous conclusion. So, let’s get down to business right away!
What Is a Narrative Essay
According to narrative essay definition, it is a type of writing that requires telling a personal story. It can be either about your personal experiences, funny incident, or any other notable event. Teachers assign such tasks to test students' abilities in storytelling. Firstly, a good story has to be interesting for a potential reader. Secondly, it has to be understandable to the general audience. Finally, it has to follow the regular structure of essay . In many other regards, it can be very creative and even experimental. Unlike many other essay types, narrative essays are action-driven. The main goal is to tell the story in a creative way. In view of its purpose, a great essay requires the following elements:
- An intriguing personal story to tell
- The right choice of words to highlight key points
- Good hook to get the reader’s attention
- Smooth flow and original style
- Truly valuable experience to share
A narrative essay is widely regarded as one of the most creative writing essay types. A writer can afford more expressive language and a more unusual style of writing. Use some metaphors, figurative language, dialog or bold examples. Also, the first-person perspective is appreciated in narrative writing. Which is not really typical for academic writing, as you probably know. However, it is not obligatory and you can tell a story from a third-person perspective as well. You may need a step-by-step guide for explanatory writing for your future assignments. You will find it in our database.
Narrative Essay Outline
A narrative essay structure is very similar to that of other academic papers. It features 3 major parts - introduction, body and conclusion. Regularly, this essay is about five paragraph essay long - one for intro, 3 paragraphs in body and one to sum up your thoughts.
- Introduction - introduces the story, explains the purpose of the story and attracts reader’s attention
- Body paragraph #1 - developing action, raising the tension
- Body paragraph #2 - the climax of the story
- Conclusion - in which way this story was cautionary and useful
However, this number of paragraphs is not fixed, and you can expand it if you want. Still, do not fill your essay with watery text, it will be regarded as a negative factor during the review.
How to Write a Narrative Essay Step by Step
Essay structure is an important thing to keep in mind when you are thinking over the outline of your future work. So it will be definitely helpful to see what it will be for the narrative essay format. So, let’s see how it should be done!
How to Start a Narrative Essay
Narrative essay introduction is where you describe the setting, the characters and introduce the mood of the story. A good introduction always deserves a good hook in essay or even several good hooks. You can ask theoretical questions and outline the mystery that will be uncovered further in your story. Just like in other essay types, narrative essay thesis statements are featured in the intro section.
Thesis Statement
Many professional writers believe that a thesis statement is the first thing you need to come up when writing an essay. Your paper thesis always has to sum up the main points of your writing, so this writing tip actually makes sense. Make your working thesis clear, informative and short. The finest thesis can be no longer than a single sentence. Make it brief, attractive and meaningful. Sounds a bit mind-boggling? Buy personal narrative essay done for you from scratch to avoid any hassle.
Create Main Body
All the action in a good narrative paper happens in the body part. In most essays, you uncover your key points in the classic three body paragraphs. However, a more action-driven paper of this kind is more about facts, and emotions. That’s why it’s a rare essay type where your body part would probably require chronological order of narration. Think well about how to separate your story into logical segments and don’t get too much into detail. An essay is not about length but always about the quality of writing .
How to End a Narrative Essay
A narrative essay conclusion is very similar to any other paper ending. In this part, you sum up your experiences and the outcomes of the story. Indicate what exactly had changed in your life during its course. Because if nothing had changed, then it’s not an essay-worthy story after all. Feel free to use quotations and examples to compare your experience. A narrative essay is a metaphor-friendly and figurative language-friendly format. So don’t miss your chance to enrich your text with additional expression.
Tips to Writing a Narrative Paper
Now, when you know how to write a personal narrative paper, you are almost there. However, there are also several tips that we wanted to give you to facilitate success. So, here they are:
- Read various personal narrative ideas .
- Choose the best story that you got - choice of the story is essential to the success.
- Think over how you spread facts and arguments along the paper.
- Write an introduction with a strong hook and clear thesis statement.
- Write an action-driven body part.
- Make sure your conclusion includes really valuable experiences and implications.
- Review and rewrite the parts that you don’t like.
- Proofread the text, use special tools to save your time and effort.
If you follow all the steps mentioned above, it will be much easier to maintain control over your writing and create a powerful text. Also, we have prepared several great writing tips. If you have some stylistic questions or you are puzzled about how reliable you need to be as a narrator, consider the following tips:
- Alter the story a little if it will make it more entertaining. Don’t stick to the facts so hard.
- Write from a first-person perspective first. Change it if you want later.
- Be a reader-oriented writer, don’t make it too subjective and personal.
- Check out such texts by famous writers for inspiration.
This type of paper is a fun and creative form of academic writing. If you have enough time, you can easily enjoy this assignment and even learn something new about yourself. Just in case, a site that writes essays would also do great for your GPA.
Narrative Essay Examples
A good narrative essay example may be hard to find. Luckily, we have prepared it for you in advance. It will help you understand the style and flow of narrative writing and give some inspiration for your own masterpiece. Check out the top-notch narrative essay sample below.
Narrative Essay: Bottom Line
Now you know how to write narrative essays. This type of paper is easy to write when you know the main aspects of it. So use this guide to make the essay writing process fast, interesting and fun! However, sometimes there is just not enough time to meet the deadlines. Many students face this issue on a daily basis looking for fast and practical solutions. Hiring a narrative writer is perhaps the optimal choice.
Our professional academic writing service may be a great idea! If you need some help with a paper, order a narrative essay or any other kind of academic writing from our finest writing team.
FAQ about Narrative Essay
1. how to write a personal narrative essay.
A personal narrative essay is written from the first-person perspective. It should contain strong personal opinions and stories of the narrator. This type of writing is predominantly action-driven and narrates the writer’s personal experiences.
2. How to write a literacy narrative essay?
In a literacy narrative paper, you need to share your personal experience of language, reading and writing. In this paper type, the narrator has to detail the personal experiences and attitude towards language. It can be dedicated to a certain book, writer or part of the language.
3. How long is the narrative paper?
A regular narrative essay is between 500 and 1000 words. It features a standard 3-part, 5-paragraph paper structure.
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Learn the definition, structure, and tips for writing a narrative essay, a type of essay that tells a story. Follow the five steps from topic choice to proofreading and see an example outline and FAQs.
Learn how to write a narrative essay that tells a story about a personal experience and expresses a theme or lesson. See an interactive example, tips, and common prompts for narrative essays.
Learn how to write a narrative essay by breaking down various narrative writing strategies. Find out how to start a narrative essay, what makes a good narrative essay, and how to structure a narrative essay with examples.
Learn how to write a narrative essay with personal storytelling and academic reflection. Follow the five steps: brainstorm topics, make an outline, write your essay, revise and edit, and check for grammar and spelling errors.
Narrative Essay Outline How to write a narrative essay. First step, game plan. You're going to want to map out the story from beginning to end, then mark major story beats in your document. Like all stories, your narrative essay needs a clear beginning, middle, and end. Each section should generally conform to a specifically outlined structure.
Generally, narrative essays involve 2 main components: a story and some analysis of that story. A narrative essay may be "about" a particular issue, theme, or concept, but it uses a personal story to illustrate that idea. Most of the time, narrative essays will involve no outside research or references.
Learn the definition, structure, and tips for writing a narrative essay that combines personal storytelling with academic argument. See examples of narrative essays and learn how to use creative language and universal lessons.
Learn the key elements, structure, and tips for writing a personal narrative essay that recounts a personal experience with a point or lesson. Find out how to choose a topic, start, organize, and end your story with vivid details and dialogue.
Learn how to write a narrative essay by telling your personal stories and finding meaning from your life experiences. Explore the fundamentals of narrative essays, such as thesis, personal experience, meaning from chaos, literary devices, and insight.
Learn how to pick a topic, plan, write descriptively, draft, and proofread your narrative essay. A narrative essay is a story that makes a point or illustrates an idea, often personal and written in the first person.
How to write a narrative essay. Writing a narrative essay can sometimes be a challenge for students who typically write argumentative essays or research papers in a formal, objective style. To give you a better sense of how you can write a narrative essay, here is a short example of an essay in response to the prompt, "Write about an experience that challenged your view of yourself."
A narrative essay is a type of essay that tells a personal story in a creative and engaging way. Learn how to write a narrative essay with this ultimate guide that covers the elements, structure, format, examples and tips.
Learn how to write a narrative essay by following the guidelines of story structure, purpose, point of view, language, and organization. Find out the difference between a narrative essay and a book report, and explore the modes of discourse.
Learn how to write a narrative essay that tells a personal story in an engaging and creative way. Follow the structure, tips and examples in this definitive writing guide.
Here's an easy step-by-step guide on how to write a narrative essay. The Pre-writing Stage. Select the topic of your narrative; If no prompt is provided, the first step is to choose a topic to write about. Think about personal experiences that could be given an interesting twist. Readers are more likely to like a tale if it contains aspects ...
Learn how to write a narrative essay with easy steps, examples, and advice. Find out the types, features, structure, and tips of this creative writing genre.
Learn the definition, purpose and format of a narrative essay, a five-paragraph document that tells a story about your own life. Follow the steps to choose a topic, create an outline, write in first-person, use creative language and proofread your writing.
A narrative essay is a type of essay that has a single motif, or a central point, around which the whole narrative revolves. It has three required elements: character, theme, and dialogue. See how to choose a topic, format, and write a reflective narrative essay.
How To Write a Narrative Essay in 10 Steps. Letâ s look at the steps to write a narrative essay: Step 1: Choose a Captivating Topic. The first step in writing a narrative essay is selecting a topic that resonates with you. Consider personal experiences, memorable events, or significant moments in your life.
Step 5. Make a Narrative Essay Conclusion. You're almost there. You just need to write good concluding sentences for your essay. The conclusion is as important as an introduction. It leaves the aftertaste. Here you should make some final comments about your narrative. Restate some of the essential ideas and details and mention the most ...
A narrative essay is a captivating form of storytelling that allows writers to convey personal experiences or fictional tales in a compelling manner. Whether recounting real-life events or weaving imaginative narratives, the essence of a narrative essay lies in its ability to entertain, inform, or persuade the reader. Let's learn how to write a narrativeContinue reading