Narrative Essays

NarrativeEssaysAsamodeofexpositorywriting,thenarrativeapproach,morethananyother,offerswritersachancetothinkandwriteaboutthemselves.Weallhaveexperienceslodgedinourmemorieswhichareworthyofsharingwithreaders.Yetsometimestheyaresofusedwithothermemoriesthatalotofthetimespentinwritingnarrativeisintheprewritingstage.Inthisstage,writersfirstneedtoselectanincidentworthyofwritingaboutand,second,tofindrelevanceinthatincident.Todothis,writersmightaskthemselveswhatabouttheincidentprovidednewinsightsorawareness.Finally,writersmustdredgeupdetailswhichwillmaketheincidentrealforreaders.PrinciplesofWritingNarrativeEssaysOnceanincidentischosen,thewritershouldkeepthreeprinciplesinmind.Remembertoinvolvereadersinthestory.Itismuchmoreinterestingtoactuallyrecreateanincidentforreadersthantosimplytellaboutit.Findageneralizationwhichthestorysupports.Thisistheonlywaythewriter`spersonalexperiencewilltakeonmeaningforreaders.Thisgeneralizationdoesnothavetoencompasshumanityasawhole;itcanconcernthewriter,men,women,orchildrenofvariousagesandbackgrounds.Rememberthatalthoughthemaincomponentofanarrativeisthestory,detailsmustbecarefullyselectedtosupport,explain,andenhancethestory.ConventionsofNarrativeEssaysInwritingyournarrativeessay,keepthefollowingconventionsinmind.Narrativesaregenerallywritteninthefirstperson,thatis,using“I.”However,thirdperson(“he,”“she,”or“it”)canalsobeused.Narrativesrelyonconcrete,sensorydetailstoconveytheirpoint.Thesedetailsshouldcreateaunified,forcefuleffect,adominantimpression.Moreinformationonsensorydetailsisavailable.Narratives,asstories,shouldincludethesestoryconventions:aplot,includingsettingandcharacters;aclimax;andanending.