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How to Write a Narrative Essay | Example & Tips

Published on July 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A narrative essay tells a story. In most cases, this is a story about a personal experience you had. This type of essay , along with the descriptive essay , allows you to get personal and creative, unlike most academic writing .

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Table of contents

What is a narrative essay for, choosing a topic, interactive example of a narrative essay, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about narrative essays.

When assigned a narrative essay, you might find yourself wondering: Why does my teacher want to hear this story? Topics for narrative essays can range from the important to the trivial. Usually the point is not so much the story itself, but the way you tell it.

A narrative essay is a way of testing your ability to tell a story in a clear and interesting way. You’re expected to think about where your story begins and ends, and how to convey it with eye-catching language and a satisfying pace.

These skills are quite different from those needed for formal academic writing. For instance, in a narrative essay the use of the first person (“I”) is encouraged, as is the use of figurative language, dialogue, and suspense.

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Narrative essay assignments vary widely in the amount of direction you’re given about your topic. You may be assigned quite a specific topic or choice of topics to work with.

• Write a story about your first day of school.
• Write a story about your favorite holiday destination.

You may also be given prompts that leave you a much wider choice of topic.

• Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself.
• Write about an achievement you are proud of. What did you accomplish, and how?

In these cases, you might have to think harder to decide what story you want to tell. The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to talk about a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.

For example, a trip where everything went according to plan makes for a less interesting story than one where something unexpected happened that you then had to respond to. Choose an experience that might surprise the reader or teach them something.

Narrative essays in college applications

When applying for college , you might be asked to write a narrative essay that expresses something about your personal qualities.

For example, this application prompt from Common App requires you to respond with a narrative essay.

In this context, choose a story that is not only interesting but also expresses the qualities the prompt is looking for—here, resilience and the ability to learn from failure—and frame the story in a way that emphasizes these qualities.

An example of a short narrative essay, responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” is shown below.

Hover over different parts of the text to see how the structure works.

Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.

Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.

A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.

The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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If you’re not given much guidance on what your narrative essay should be about, consider the context and scope of the assignment. What kind of story is relevant, interesting, and possible to tell within the word count?

The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to reflect on a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.

Don’t worry too much if your topic seems unoriginal. The point of a narrative essay is how you tell the story and the point you make with it, not the subject of the story itself.

Narrative essays are usually assigned as writing exercises at high school or in university composition classes. They may also form part of a university application.

When you are prompted to tell a story about your own life or experiences, a narrative essay is usually the right response.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

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The Ultimate Narrative Essay Guide for Beginners

A narrative essay tells a story in chronological order, with an introduction that introduces the characters and sets the scene. Then a series of events leads to a climax or turning point, and finally a resolution or reflection on the experience.

Speaking of which, are you in sixes and sevens about narrative essays? Don’t worry this ultimate expert guide will wipe out all your doubts. So let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Everything You Need to Know About Narrative Essay

What is a narrative essay.

When you go through a narrative essay definition, you would know that a narrative essay purpose is to tell a story. It’s all about sharing an experience or event and is different from other types of essays because it’s more focused on how the event made you feel or what you learned from it, rather than just presenting facts or an argument. Let’s explore more details on this interesting write-up and get to know how to write a narrative essay.

Elements of a Narrative Essay

Here’s a breakdown of the key elements of a narrative essay:

A narrative essay has a beginning, middle, and end. It builds up tension and excitement and then wraps things up in a neat package.

Real people, including the writer, often feature in personal narratives. Details of the characters and their thoughts, feelings, and actions can help readers to relate to the tale.

It’s really important to know when and where something happened so we can get a good idea of the context. Going into detail about what it looks like helps the reader to really feel like they’re part of the story.

Conflict or Challenge 

A story in a narrative essay usually involves some kind of conflict or challenge that moves the plot along. It could be something inside the character, like a personal battle, or something from outside, like an issue they have to face in the world.

Theme or Message

A narrative essay isn’t just about recounting an event – it’s about showing the impact it had on you and what you took away from it. It’s an opportunity to share your thoughts and feelings about the experience, and how it changed your outlook.

Emotional Impact

The author is trying to make the story they’re telling relatable, engaging, and memorable by using language and storytelling to evoke feelings in whoever’s reading it.

Narrative essays let writers have a blast telling stories about their own lives. It’s an opportunity to share insights and impart wisdom, or just have some fun with the reader. Descriptive language, sensory details, dialogue, and a great narrative voice are all essentials for making the story come alive.

The Purpose of a Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is more than just a story – it’s a way to share a meaningful, engaging, and relatable experience with the reader. Includes:

Sharing Personal Experience

Narrative essays are a great way for writers to share their personal experiences, feelings, thoughts, and reflections. It’s an opportunity to connect with readers and make them feel something.

Entertainment and Engagement

The essay attempts to keep the reader interested by using descriptive language, storytelling elements, and a powerful voice. It attempts to pull them in and make them feel involved by creating suspense, mystery, or an emotional connection.

Conveying a Message or Insight

Narrative essays are more than just a story – they aim to teach you something. They usually have a moral lesson, a new understanding, or a realization about life that the author gained from the experience.

Building Empathy and Understanding

By telling their stories, people can give others insight into different perspectives, feelings, and situations. Sharing these tales can create compassion in the reader and help broaden their knowledge of different life experiences.

Inspiration and Motivation

Stories about personal struggles, successes, and transformations can be really encouraging to people who are going through similar situations. It can provide them with hope and guidance, and let them know that they’re not alone.

Reflecting on Life’s Significance

These essays usually make you think about the importance of certain moments in life or the impact of certain experiences. They make you look deep within yourself and ponder on the things you learned or how you changed because of those events.

Demonstrating Writing Skills

Coming up with a gripping narrative essay takes serious writing chops, like vivid descriptions, powerful language, timing, and organization. It’s an opportunity for writers to show off their story-telling abilities.

Preserving Personal History

Sometimes narrative essays are used to record experiences and special moments that have an emotional resonance. They can be used to preserve individual memories or for future generations to look back on.

Cultural and Societal Exploration

Personal stories can look at cultural or social aspects, giving us an insight into customs, opinions, or social interactions seen through someone’s own experience.

Format of a Narrative Essay

Narrative essays are quite flexible in terms of format, which allows the writer to tell a story in a creative and compelling way. Here’s a quick breakdown of the narrative essay format, along with some examples:

Introduction

Set the scene and introduce the story.

Engage the reader and establish the tone of the narrative.

Hook: Start with a captivating opening line to grab the reader’s attention. For instance:

Example:  “The scorching sun beat down on us as we trekked through the desert, our water supply dwindling.”

Background Information: Provide necessary context or background without giving away the entire story.

Example:  “It was the summer of 2015 when I embarked on a life-changing journey to…”

Thesis Statement or Narrative Purpose

Present the main idea or the central message of the essay.

Offer a glimpse of what the reader can expect from the narrative.

Thesis Statement: This isn’t as rigid as in other essays but can be a sentence summarizing the essence of the story.

Example:  “Little did I know, that seemingly ordinary hike would teach me invaluable lessons about resilience and friendship.”

Body Paragraphs

Present the sequence of events in chronological order.

Develop characters, setting, conflict, and resolution.

Story Progression : Describe events in the order they occurred, focusing on details that evoke emotions and create vivid imagery.

Example : Detail the trek through the desert, the challenges faced, interactions with fellow hikers, and the pivotal moments.

Character Development : Introduce characters and their roles in the story. Show their emotions, thoughts, and actions.

Example : Describe how each character reacted to the dwindling water supply and supported each other through adversity.

Dialogue and Interactions : Use dialogue to bring the story to life and reveal character personalities.

Example : “Sarah handed me her last bottle of water, saying, ‘We’re in this together.'”

Reach the peak of the story, the moment of highest tension or significance.

Turning Point: Highlight the most crucial moment or realization in the narrative.

Example:  “As the sun dipped below the horizon and hope seemed lost, a distant sound caught our attention—the rescue team’s helicopters.”

Provide closure to the story.

Reflect on the significance of the experience and its impact.

Reflection : Summarize the key lessons learned or insights gained from the experience.

Example : “That hike taught me the true meaning of resilience and the invaluable support of friendship in challenging times.”

Closing Thought : End with a memorable line that reinforces the narrative’s message or leaves a lasting impression.

Example : “As we boarded the helicopters, I knew this adventure would forever be etched in my heart.”

Example Summary:

Imagine a narrative about surviving a challenging hike through the desert, emphasizing the bonds formed and lessons learned. The narrative essay structure might look like starting with an engaging scene, narrating the hardships faced, showcasing the characters’ resilience, and culminating in a powerful realization about friendship and endurance.

Different Types of Narrative Essays

There are a bunch of different types of narrative essays – each one focuses on different elements of storytelling and has its own purpose. Here’s a breakdown of the narrative essay types and what they mean.

Personal Narrative

Description : Tells a personal story or experience from the writer’s life.

Purpose: Reflects on personal growth, lessons learned, or significant moments.

Example of Narrative Essay Types:

Topic : “The Day I Conquered My Fear of Public Speaking”

Focus: Details the experience, emotions, and eventual triumph over a fear of public speaking during a pivotal event.

Descriptive Narrative

Description : Emphasizes vivid details and sensory imagery.

Purpose : Creates a sensory experience, painting a vivid picture for the reader.

Topic : “A Walk Through the Enchanted Forest”

Focus : Paints a detailed picture of the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings experienced during a walk through a mystical forest.

Autobiographical Narrative

Description: Chronicles significant events or moments from the writer’s life.

Purpose: Provides insights into the writer’s life, experiences, and growth.

Topic: “Lessons from My Childhood: How My Grandmother Shaped Who I Am”

Focus: Explores pivotal moments and lessons learned from interactions with a significant family member.

Experiential Narrative

Description: Relays experiences beyond the writer’s personal life.

Purpose: Shares experiences, travels, or events from a broader perspective.

Topic: “Volunteering in a Remote Village: A Journey of Empathy”

Focus: Chronicles the writer’s volunteering experience, highlighting interactions with a community and personal growth.

Literary Narrative

Description: Incorporates literary elements like symbolism, allegory, or thematic explorations.

Purpose: Uses storytelling for deeper explorations of themes or concepts.

Topic: “The Symbolism of the Red Door: A Journey Through Change”

Focus: Uses a red door as a symbol, exploring its significance in the narrator’s life and the theme of transition.

Historical Narrative

Description: Recounts historical events or periods through a personal lens.

Purpose: Presents history through personal experiences or perspectives.

Topic: “A Grandfather’s Tales: Living Through the Great Depression”

Focus: Shares personal stories from a family member who lived through a historical era, offering insights into that period.

Digital or Multimedia Narrative

Description: Incorporates multimedia elements like images, videos, or audio to tell a story.

Purpose: Explores storytelling through various digital platforms or formats.

Topic: “A Travel Diary: Exploring Europe Through Vlogs”

Focus: Combines video clips, photos, and personal narration to document a travel experience.

How to Choose a Topic for Your Narrative Essay?

Selecting a compelling topic for your narrative essay is crucial as it sets the stage for your storytelling. Choosing a boring topic is one of the narrative essay mistakes to avoid . Here’s a detailed guide on how to choose the right topic:

Reflect on Personal Experiences

• Significant Moments:

Moments that had a profound impact on your life or shaped your perspective.

Example: A moment of triumph, overcoming a fear, a life-changing decision, or an unforgettable experience.

• Emotional Resonance:

Events that evoke strong emotions or feelings.

Example: Joy, fear, sadness, excitement, or moments of realization.

• Lessons Learned:

Experiences that taught you valuable lessons or brought about personal growth.

Example: Challenges that led to personal development, shifts in mindset, or newfound insights.

Explore Unique Perspectives

• Uncommon Experiences:

Unique or unconventional experiences that might captivate the reader’s interest.

Example: Unusual travels, interactions with different cultures, or uncommon hobbies.

• Different Points of View:

Stories from others’ perspectives that impacted you deeply.

Example: A family member’s story, a friend’s experience, or a historical event from a personal lens.

Focus on Specific Themes or Concepts

• Themes or Concepts of Interest:

Themes or ideas you want to explore through storytelling.

Example: Friendship, resilience, identity, cultural diversity, or personal transformation.

• Symbolism or Metaphor:

Using symbols or metaphors as the core of your narrative.

Example: Exploring the symbolism of an object or a place in relation to a broader theme.

Consider Your Audience and Purpose

• Relevance to Your Audience:

Topics that resonate with your audience’s interests or experiences.

Example: Choose a relatable theme or experience that your readers might connect with emotionally.

• Impact or Message:

What message or insight do you want to convey through your story?

Example: Choose a topic that aligns with the message or lesson you aim to impart to your readers.

Brainstorm and Evaluate Ideas

• Free Writing or Mind Mapping:

Process: Write down all potential ideas without filtering. Mind maps or free-writing exercises can help generate diverse ideas.

• Evaluate Feasibility:

The depth of the story, the availability of vivid details, and your personal connection to the topic.

Imagine you’re considering topics for a narrative essay. You reflect on your experiences and decide to explore the topic of “Overcoming Stage Fright: How a School Play Changed My Perspective.” This topic resonates because it involves a significant challenge you faced and the personal growth it brought about.

Narrative Essay Topics

50 easy narrative essay topics.

• Learning to Ride a Bike
• My First Day of School
• A Surprise Birthday Party
• The Day I Got Lost
• Visiting a Haunted House
• An Encounter with a Wild Animal
• My Favorite Childhood Toy
• The Best Vacation I Ever Had
• An Unforgettable Family Gathering
• Conquering a Fear of Heights
• A Special Gift I Received
• Moving to a New City
• The Most Memorable Meal
• Getting Caught in a Rainstorm
• An Act of Kindness I Witnessed
• The First Time I Cooked a Meal
• My Experience with a New Hobby
• The Day I Met My Best Friend
• A Hike in the Mountains
• Learning a New Language
• An Embarrassing Moment
• Dealing with a Bully
• My First Job Interview
• A Sporting Event I Attended
• The Scariest Dream I Had
• Helping a Stranger
• The Joy of Achieving a Goal
• A Road Trip Adventure
• Overcoming a Personal Challenge
• The Significance of a Family Tradition
• An Unusual Pet I Owned
• A Misunderstanding with a Friend
• Exploring an Abandoned Building
• My Favorite Book and Why
• The Impact of a Role Model
• A Cultural Celebration I Participated In
• A Valuable Lesson from a Teacher
• A Trip to the Zoo
• An Unplanned Adventure
• Volunteering Experience
• A Moment of Forgiveness
• A Decision I Regretted
• A Special Talent I Have
• The Importance of Family Traditions
• The Thrill of Performing on Stage
• A Moment of Sudden Inspiration
• The Meaning of Home
• Learning to Play a Musical Instrument
• A Childhood Memory at the Park
• Witnessing a Beautiful Sunset

Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

• Discovering a New Passion
• Overcoming Academic Challenges
• Navigating Cultural Differences
• Embracing Independence: Moving Away from Home
• Exploring Career Aspirations
• Coping with Stress in College
• The Impact of a Mentor in My Life
• Balancing Work and Studies
• Facing a Fear of Public Speaking
• Exploring a Semester Abroad
• The Evolution of My Study Habits
• Volunteering Experience That Changed My Perspective
• The Role of Technology in Education
• Finding Balance: Social Life vs. Academics
• Learning a New Skill Outside the Classroom
• Reflecting on Freshman Year Challenges
• The Joys and Struggles of Group Projects
• My Experience with Internship or Work Placement
• Challenges of Time Management in College
• Redefining Success Beyond Grades
• The Influence of Literature on My Thinking
• The Impact of Social Media on College Life
• Overcoming Procrastination
• Lessons from a Leadership Role
• Exploring Diversity on Campus
• Exploring Passion for Environmental Conservation
• An Eye-Opening Course That Changed My Perspective
• Living with Roommates: Challenges and Lessons
• The Significance of Extracurricular Activities
• The Influence of a Professor on My Academic Journey
• Discussing Mental Health in College
• The Evolution of My Career Goals
• Confronting Personal Biases Through Education
• The Experience of Attending a Conference or Symposium
• Challenges Faced by Non-Native English Speakers in College
• The Impact of Traveling During Breaks
• Exploring Identity: Cultural or Personal
• The Impact of Music or Art on My Life
• Addressing Diversity in the Classroom
• Exploring Entrepreneurial Ambitions
• My Experience with Research Projects
• Overcoming Impostor Syndrome in College
• The Importance of Networking in College
• Finding Resilience During Tough Times
• The Impact of Global Issues on Local Perspectives
• The Influence of Family Expectations on Education
• Lessons from a Part-Time Job
• Exploring the College Sports Culture
• The Role of Technology in Modern Education
• The Journey of Self-Discovery Through Education

Narrative Essay Comparison

Narrative essay vs. descriptive essay.

Here’s our first narrative essay comparison! While both narrative and descriptive essays focus on vividly portraying a subject or an event, they differ in their primary objectives and approaches. Now, let’s delve into the nuances of comparison on narrative essays.

Narrative Essay:

Storytelling: Focuses on narrating a personal experience or event.

Chronological Order: Follows a structured timeline of events to tell a story.

Message or Lesson: Often includes a central message, moral, or lesson learned from the experience.

Engagement: Aims to captivate the reader through a compelling storyline and character development.

First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s point of view, using “I” and expressing personal emotions and thoughts.

Plot Development: Emphasizes a plot with a beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.

Character Development: Focuses on describing characters, their interactions, emotions, and growth.

Conflict or Challenge: Usually involves a central conflict or challenge that drives the narrative forward.

Dialogue: Incorporates conversations to bring characters and their interactions to life.

Reflection: Concludes with reflection or insight gained from the experience.

Descriptive Essay:

Vivid Description: Aims to vividly depict a person, place, object, or event.

Imagery and Details: Focuses on sensory details to create a vivid image in the reader’s mind.

Emotion through Description: Uses descriptive language to evoke emotions and engage the reader’s senses.

Painting a Picture: Creates a sensory-rich description allowing the reader to visualize the subject.

Imagery and Sensory Details: Focuses on providing rich sensory descriptions, using vivid language and adjectives.

Point of Focus: Concentrates on describing a specific subject or scene in detail.

Spatial Organization: Often employs spatial organization to describe from one area or aspect to another.

Objective Observations: Typically avoids the use of personal opinions or emotions; instead, the focus remains on providing a detailed and objective description.

Comparison:

Focus: Narrative essays emphasize storytelling, while descriptive essays focus on vividly describing a subject or scene.

Perspective: Narrative essays are often written from a first-person perspective, while descriptive essays may use a more objective viewpoint.

Purpose: Narrative essays aim to convey a message or lesson through a story, while descriptive essays aim to paint a detailed picture for the reader without necessarily conveying a specific message.

Narrative Essay vs. Argumentative Essay

The narrative essay and the argumentative essay serve distinct purposes and employ different approaches:

Engagement and Emotion: Aims to captivate the reader through a compelling story.

Reflective: Often includes reflection on the significance of the experience or lessons learned.

First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s point of view, sharing personal emotions and thoughts.

Plot Development: Emphasizes a storyline with a beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.

Message or Lesson: Conveys a central message, moral, or insight derived from the experience.

Argumentative Essay:

Persuasion and Argumentation: Aims to persuade the reader to adopt the writer’s viewpoint on a specific topic.

Logical Reasoning: Presents evidence, facts, and reasoning to support a particular argument or stance.

Debate and Counterarguments: Acknowledge opposing views and counter them with evidence and reasoning.

Thesis Statement: Includes a clear thesis statement that outlines the writer’s position on the topic.

Thesis and Evidence: Starts with a strong thesis statement and supports it with factual evidence, statistics, expert opinions, or logical reasoning.

Counterarguments: Addresses opposing viewpoints and provides rebuttals with evidence.

Logical Structure: Follows a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs presenting arguments and evidence, and a conclusion reaffirming the thesis.

Formal Language: Uses formal language and avoids personal anecdotes or emotional appeals.

Objective: Argumentative essays focus on presenting a logical argument supported by evidence, while narrative essays prioritize storytelling and personal reflection.

Purpose: Argumentative essays aim to persuade and convince the reader of a particular viewpoint, while narrative essays aim to engage, entertain, and share personal experiences.

Structure: Narrative essays follow a storytelling structure with character development and plot, while argumentative essays follow a more formal, structured approach with logical arguments and evidence.

In essence, while both essays involve writing and presenting information, the narrative essay focuses on sharing a personal experience, whereas the argumentative essay aims to persuade the audience by presenting a well-supported argument.

Narrative Essay vs. Personal Essay

While there can be an overlap between narrative and personal essays, they have distinctive characteristics:

Storytelling: Emphasizes recounting a specific experience or event in a structured narrative form.

Engagement through Story: Aims to engage the reader through a compelling story with characters, plot, and a central theme or message.

Reflective: Often includes reflection on the significance of the experience and the lessons learned.

First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s viewpoint, expressing personal emotions and thoughts.

Plot Development: Focuses on developing a storyline with a clear beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.

Character Development: Includes descriptions of characters, their interactions, emotions, and growth.

Central Message: Conveys a central message, moral, or insight derived from the experience.

Personal Essay:

Exploration of Ideas or Themes: Explores personal ideas, opinions, or reflections on a particular topic or subject.

Expression of Thoughts and Opinions: Expresses the writer’s thoughts, feelings, and perspectives on a specific subject matter.

Reflection and Introspection: Often involves self-reflection and introspection on personal experiences, beliefs, or values.

Varied Structure and Content: Can encompass various forms, including memoirs, personal anecdotes, or reflections on life experiences.

Flexibility in Structure: Allows for diverse structures and forms based on the writer’s intent, which could be narrative-like or more reflective.

Theme-Centric Writing: Focuses on exploring a central theme or idea, with personal anecdotes or experiences supporting and illustrating the theme.

Expressive Language: Utilizes descriptive and expressive language to convey personal perspectives, emotions, and opinions.

Focus: Narrative essays primarily focus on storytelling through a structured narrative, while personal essays encompass a broader range of personal expression, which can include storytelling but isn’t limited to it.

Structure: Narrative essays have a more structured plot development with characters and a clear sequence of events, while personal essays might adopt various structures, focusing more on personal reflection, ideas, or themes.

Intent: While both involve personal experiences, narrative essays emphasize telling a story with a message or lesson learned, while personal essays aim to explore personal thoughts, feelings, or opinions on a broader range of topics or themes.

A narrative essay is more than just telling a story. It’s also meant to engage the reader, get them thinking, and leave a lasting impact. Whether it’s to amuse, motivate, teach, or reflect, these essays are a great way to communicate with your audience. This interesting narrative essay guide was all about letting you understand the narrative essay, its importance, and how can you write one.

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Narrative Essay

Definition of narrative essay, difference between a narrative essay and a short story, elements of a narrative essay, how to choose a topic for narrative essay, mla and apa formats in narrative essay, reflective narrative essay, examples of narrative essays in literature, example #1:  new directions (by maya angelou).

“Annie, over six feet tall, big-boned, decided that she would not go to work as a domestic and leave her “precious babes” to anyone else’s care. There was no possibility of being hired at the town’s cotton gin or lumber mill, but maybe there was a way to make the two factories work for her. In her words, “I looked up the road I was going and back the way I come, and since I wasn’t satisfied, I decided to step off the road and cut me a new path.” She told herself that she wasn’t a fancy cook but that she could “mix groceries well enough to scare hungry away and keep from starving a man.”

Example #2: Saturday Evening Post (by Russell Baker)

“When I burst in that afternoon she was in conference with an executive of the Curtis Publishing Company. She introduced me. He bent low from the waist and shook my hand. Was it true as my mother had told him, he asked, that I longed for the opportunity to conquer the world of business? My Mother replied that I was blessed with a rare determination to make something of myself. ‘That’s right,’ I whispered. ‘But have you got the grit, the character, the never-say-quit spirit it takes to succeed in business?’ My Mother said I certainly did.”

Example #3: Only Daughter (by Sandra Cisneros)

“Once several years ago, when I was just starting out my writing career, I was asked to write my own contributor’s note for an anthology I was part of, I wrote: ‘ I am the only daughter in a family of six sons. That explains everything.’ “Well, I’ve thought about that ever since, and yes, it explains a lot to me, but for the reader’s sake I should have written: ‘I am the only daughter in a Mexican family of six sons.’ Or even: ‘I am the only daughter of a Mexican father and a Mexican-American mother.’ Or: ‘I am the only daughter of a working-class family of nine.’ All of these had everything to do with who I am today.”

Function of Narrative Essay

Synonyms of narrative essay, related posts:, post navigation.

Unique Characteristics of the Narrative Essay

Seth French

Telling a Story vs. Exploring a Topic

Most essays you have written up to this point in your academic career have likely introduced you to a certain topic and then asked you to explore that topic with three or more main points/examples/arguments. The narrative essay, in contrast, requires you to tell a story in order to communicate the specific message related to your writing topic. While there is certainly nothing wrong with other types of essays, it is vital that you approach this essay differently than how you approached others in order to successfully achieved a narrative style that is required.

Once you receive your writing prompt, begin brainstorming by thinking about what experiences from your past relate to the particular topic you’re writing about. As you recall these experiences, try to narrow down the experiences you will include in your essay to the best one or two that you think would be most appropriate to write about. Since you are writing a narrative essay, not a narrative chapter or book, the more stories you include, the less detail you will be able to include because you will simply run out of space. So, it’s best to focus on one or two personal stories that correspond well with the writing prompt so you can go into as much detail as possible.

Once you have selected the best personal example(s) you will write about, remember that you are telling a story, so your essay should include elements which are typically present in stories, such as the setting, characters, problem/conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. While the level of detail you include regarding each of these elements will vary depending on your particular essay, be sure you don’t forget to discuss aspects that will help your reader better visualize the story you are telling them.

Use of Personal Pronouns

Language components of the narrative essay that separate it from other forms of writing are the common use of personal pronouns ( I, me, my, we, our(s), mine ), sensory language ( taste, hear, smell, feel, see ), dialogue, and the historical present / past tenses. Other forms of academic writing favor passive voice in which the agent is hidden and personal pronouns are limited, if not altogether absent. However, in the narrative essay you are sharing a personal experience with your audience, so it will sound most appropriate for you to use personal pronouns throughout your essay rather than use passive voice. In other words, if you were going to tell me about an event you attended with your friends, it would be more appropriate for you to say something such as, “We all had a really great time,” rather than, “A great time was had by everyone.”

Use of Sensory Language

Sensory language is often encouraged in narrative writing because it helps your audience bring themselves into your story as you share with them details that only you can tell them. When you read or hear some of your favorite stories, is it easy for you to visualize what the author is describing? If so, it is probably because the author is skilled at using sensory language to tell the story. While it is probably not necessary to include each of the five senses when you describe a particular event, you should consider which sensory details would be most useful for you to include in order to help your audience better visualize the setting(s) you describe. For instance, if your narrative setting were a concert, you would probably discuss the sights and sounds you experienced at that time as useful sensory details for your audience. On the other hand, if your narrative setting were a restaurant, it would perhaps make the most sense to discuss the smells and tastes you experienced. Thus, when you construct your narrative essay, consider which sensory details would be useful for you to include in order to more effectively engage your audience.

Use of Dialogue

The effective use of dialogue is another way of engaging your audience. Since your narrative essay contains characters who are interacting with one another, you should feel encouraged to share moments of dialogue within your narrative because it enables you to transition from simply telling your audience about what’s happening to actually immersing them in what’s happening.

Think for a moment about the conversations you have with your friends on a regular basis. When you’re telling them about an interaction you had with someone else or an event you witnessed, you probably include the dialogue from that other situation without even realizing it. The reason we do this often instinctively is because we understand that stories with dialogue are generally more interesting than those without dialogue.

For example, “When I was at Walmart the other day, I saw two men getting into an argument. The guy wearing the blue hat said, ‘I saw you trying to steal those. You better pay for them.’ Then the other guy said, ‘It’s none of your business.’ That made the guy in the blue hat mad, so he said, ‘You better pay for those, or else…’ They almost got into a fight. It made me really nervous to watch.”

Now, compare that to the following example: “When I was at Walmart the other day, I saw a guy with a blue hat arguing with another guy because the other guy was stealing something. They argued back and forth and almost got into a fight. It made me really nervous to watch.”

Which story is more intriguing, the first or the second? The first one, right? It’s funny how a small change like including dialogue can create such a significant difference in terms of engaging your audience.

Use of Historical Present and Past Tenses

Finally, the frequent use of historical present and past tense verbs also sets the narrative essay apart from other essays you may be used to writing. In many other academic writing contexts, present tense verbs are favored because they communicate general or ongoing events, truths, or realities. Present tense is a useful default tense to write in when your writing context is not particularly interested in the aspect of time. The narrative essay, in contrast, certainly emphasizes the aspect of time because you are telling a story which occurred in the past. Consequently, using the historical present or past tense to write about these events will work best in this context.

The historical present tense is useful when you are discussing an event that occurred in the past but would like to convey a sense of immediacy with it, as the following example illustrates: “So, I am at my house, and guess who calls me . . . My boss! I was worried at first, but then she tells me that she wants to give me a promotion! Isn’t that great?” In this example, the speaker is telling her friend about the unexpected call she received from her boss while she was at home. Rather than using all past tense verbs, the speaker uses the historical present tense to describe this event, which makes her friend feel as though she is experiencing the event at that moment rather than simply hearing about it.

Nevertheless, you should not feel as though you are restricted to using only these two verb tenses exclusively throughout your essay. Your thesis will likely be written using present tense verbs because your thesis will communicate some truth or realization you have learned through the experiences you share in your narrative. For example, if I were writing a narrative essay about a cultural tradition of the United States, I might write a thesis like this: “Celebrating Thanksgiving with my family reminds me that even though life can be hard and relationships can be complicated, I have so much to be thankful for.” As a general rule, use historical present or past tense verbs to discuss the events in your narrative which occurred in the past, and present tense verbs elsewhere. For more information regarding verb tense sequencing, refer to the appropriate link near the end of the “ Impact of the Thesis ” chapter under the “Useful Links” heading.

Chronological Organization

Since you are telling a story, it often makes the most sense to organize your essay chronologically in the order that the events happened. In other essays, you will likely organize your points/examples/arguments in the order of their importance or strength. The narrative essay, however, is easiest for your audience to follow if you structure the events chronologically. If your narrative contains two stories rather than one, either of the following organizational strategies can be effective:

• Oldest to most recent
• Most recent to oldest

Whichever organizational strategy you select, make sure the last story you share is strong because it will be the last opportunity you have to leave your audience with a positive impression of your essay.

Because the organization of the narrative is chronological, the transitional expressions you use within and between paragraphs will likely be chronological in nature as well. Consider using some of the following expressions and other similar expressions to transition from one event to the next as you construct your narrative essay: Then , Next , After that , Once that was over , When I/we had finished , Eventually, and Finally . Learning to use transitional expressions effectively will greatly enhance the quality of your writing.

Unique Characteristics of the Narrative Essay Copyright © 2020 by Seth French is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Narrative Essays

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What is a narrative essay?

When writing a narrative essay, one might think of it as telling a story. These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and personal—allowing students to express themselves in a creative and, quite often, moving ways.

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.

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

A good example of this is when an instructor asks a student to write a book report. Obviously, this would not necessarily follow the pattern of a story and would focus on providing an informative narrative for the reader.

• The essay should have a purpose.

Make a point! Think of this as the thesis of your story. If there is no point to what you are narrating, why narrate it at all?

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

It is quite common for narrative essays to be written from the standpoint of the author; however, this is not the sole perspective to be considered. Creativity in narrative essays oftentimes manifests itself in the form of authorial perspective.

• Use clear and concise language throughout the essay.

Much like the descriptive essay, narrative essays are effective when the language is carefully, particularly, and artfully chosen. Use specific language to evoke specific emotions and senses in the reader.

• The use of the first person pronoun ‘I’ is welcomed.

Do not abuse this guideline! Though it is welcomed it is not necessary—nor should it be overused for lack of clearer diction.

• As always, be organized!

Have a clear introduction that sets the tone for the remainder of the essay. Do not leave the reader guessing about the purpose of your narrative. Remember, you are in control of the essay, so guide it where you desire (just make sure your audience can follow your lead).

• Scriptwriting

What is a Narrative Essay — Examples, Format & Techniques

I was in the Amazon jungle the first time I wrote a narrative essay, enlightened and enraptured by the influence of ayahuasca. That’s not true. I’ve never been to South America nor have I ever taken ayahuasca. The purpose of that opening is to show how to craft a narrative essay intro — hook, line, and sinker. Narrative essays rely on hooking the reader, and enticing them to read on. But what is a narrative essay? We’re going to break down everything you need to know about these essays — definition, examples, tips and tricks included. By the end, you’ll be ready to craft your own narrative essay for school or for publication.

What’s a Narrative Essay?

First, let’s define narrative essay.

Narrative essays share a lot of similarities with personal essays, but whereas the former can be fictional or non-fictional, the latter are strictly non-fictional. The goal of the narrative essay is to use established storytelling techniques, like theme , conflict , and irony , in a uniquely personal way.

The responsibility of the narrative essayist is to make the reader feel connected to their story, regardless of the topic. This next video explores how writers can use structural elements and techniques to better engage their readers. 

Personal Narrative Essay Examples With Essay Pro

Narrative essays rely on tried and true structure components, including:

• First-person POV
• Personal inspiration
• Focus on a central theme

By keeping these major tenets in mind, you’ll be better prepared to recognize weaknesses and strengths in your own works.

NARRATIVE ESSAY DEFINITION

What is a narrative essay.

A narrative essay is a prose-written story that’s focused on the commentary of a central theme. Narrative essays are generally written in the first-person POV, and are usually about a topic that’s personal to the writer. Everything in these essays should take place in an established timeline, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. 

Famous Narrative Essay Examples

• Ticker to the Fair by David Foster Wallace
• After Life by Joan Didion
• Here is a Lesson in Creative Writing by Kurt Vonnegut

Narrative Writing Explained

How to start a narrative essay.

When you go to sleep at night, what do you think of? Flying squirrels? Lost loved ones? That time you called your teacher ‘mom’? Whatever it is, that’s what you need to write about. There’s a reason those ideas and moments have stuck with you over time. Your job is to figure out why.

Once you realize what makes a moment important to you, it’s your job to make it important to the reader too. In this next video, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker J. Christian Jensen explains the power of the personal narrative. 

Narrative Writing and the Personal Narrative Essay  •  Video by TEDx Talks

Anything and everything can be the topic of your essay. It could be as benign as a walk to school or as grandiose as a trip to the moon — so long as that narrative exists within reality. Give your thoughts and opinions on the matter too — don’t be afraid to say “this is what I think” so long as it’s supported by storytelling techniques. Remember, never limit yourself as a writer, just keep in mind that certain topics will be harder to make engaging than others.

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. For reference, check out the outline below.

Narrative Essay Format  •  How to Write a Narrative Essay Step by Step

Make sure to reference back to this outline throughout the writing process to make sure you have all your major beats covered.

Purpose of narrative essay writing

Narrative essays give writers the ability to freely express themselves within the structure of a traditional story. Nearly all universities ask applicants to submit a narrative essay with their formal application. This is done for two reasons: they allow institutions to judge the linguistic and grammar capabilities of its applicants, as well as their raw creative side.

If you’re considering studying creative writing in an undergraduate or graduate program, then you’re going to write A LOT of narrative style essays. This process may seem indomitable; How am I supposed to write hundreds of pages about… me? But by the end, you’ll be a better writer and you’ll have a better understanding of yourself.

One thing that all successful essayists have in common is that they make radical, often defiant statements on the world at large. Think Ralph Waldo Emerson, Virginia Woolf, and Langston Hughes for example.

Being a professional essayist isn’t easy, and it’s near-impossible to be one who makes a lot of money. Many essayists work as professors, editors, and curriculum designers as well. 

This next video features the late, award-winning essayist Brian Doyle. He explains all the things you need to hear when thinking about writing a story.

Narrative Essay Examples “Lecture” via Boston University

We can learn a lot from the way Doyle “opens” his stories. My favorite is how he begins with the statement, “I met the Dalai Lama once.” How can we not be interested in learning more? 

This brings us all the way back to the beginning. Start with a hook, rattle off the line, then reel in the sinker. If you entice the reader, develop a personal plot, and finish with a resolute ending, you’ll have a lot of success in essay writing. 

 Up Next

Narrative essay topics.

We've curated a collection of narrative essay topics that will spark your creativity and bring your experiences to life. Dive into the rich tapestry of your memories, explore the unique threads of your life, and let your narrative unfold.

Up Next: Narrative Essay Topics →

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How to Write a Narrative Essay: The Only Guide You Need

In this article, you’ll learn how to write a narrative essay.

The meaningful strategies, unique templates, and specific tips from this ultimate guide help college students write high-quality narratives. After reading it, you’ll have all the instruments you need to craft engaging stories in your academic papers.

So, let’s get to work.

Narrative: The Basics

What is a narrative essay?

The above narrative essay definition comes from our professional essay writer with ten years of experience in storytelling. He’s also shared details about a narrative’s elements, which you’ll see below.

Characteristics

First, it’s critical to understand the difference between a story and a narrative. That’s when you might hit a snag:

A narrative isn’t a story itself, but how you present that story to readers. In plain English, it’s a particular format you use to build your text.

Let’s say you describe events in chronological order; that’s one narrative. Then, you decide to shuffle the events to make your story non-chronological. That will be another narrative BUT the same story, even if it’s being told backwards.

That’s why we call our described essay “narrative”; it requires a particular way of telling a story. A student includes the storytelling elements in their essay but also follows the structure of an academic paper.

Remember that when choosing a topic and format for your assigned paper in school.

Narrative essay characteristics:

• Non-fictional
• Written in the 1st person (using “I” or “we”)
• Informal tone
• Presents events in chronological order
• Informs, without arguing or teaching anything
• Includes storytelling elements but follows the structure of a standard essay

For your essay to become a narrative, it needs five elements:

• Characters: A protagonist (you) and supporting characters (friends, teachers, etc.) to drive your story
• Setting: A location and time (when and where the story takes place)
• Plot: A chain of events happening in the story
• Conflict: A problem the protagonist (i.e., you) resolves
• Theme: A moral of your story

In classical storytelling, the path a protagonist travels is known as the “hero’s journey”:

A hero gets a call to adventure, sets off on a journey, meets obstacles, deals with conflicts, and returns home with a reward (a learned lesson).

The creator of this concept was the mythologist Joseph Campbell. He described the hero’s journey in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces . Another work to check out if you want to learn storytelling tricks is Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey . Vogler is a Disney screenwriter, so get ready to uncover the secrets behind the creation of your favorite movie and cartoon characters!

When writing a narrative essay, you’ll combine all of the above elements into a compelling writing piece. The structure all authors know as a “narrative arc” will help here.

Types: Personal Narrative Essay and Co.

When in college, you’ll deal with two types of narratives:

• Personal narratives. Focus on your personality, experiences, emotions, and reflections.
• Descriptive narratives. Focus on other characters and places, i.e., the story itself — you should avoid emotions or reflections here.

Personal narratives come in two forms: literacy and viewpoint .

• Literacy narratives are about experiences (meeting a person, reading a book, etc.) and how they influenced your life. You can also try this when writing a college application essay.
• Viewpoint narratives are about a character’s (your) inner world and reflections.

Descriptive narratives take two forms, too: historical and fictional .

• As a student, you may need to write historicals about a specific period in your life, aka memoirs.
• Fiction narratives are made-up stories in books or movies (sci-fi, thrillers, romance, etc.). They aren’t about narrative essays you write in class.

We know what you are thinking:

How to Write a Narrative Essay: 5 Steps

• Choose a topic
• Craft a structure
• Create an outline
• Write a draft
• Proofread and edit

And now (finally!), to the most intriguing part:

How to Write a Narrative Essay

Below is your practical guide on how to write a narrative essay step by step.

1. Choose a topic

Sure, a teacher can prescribe a particular prompt for your paper. However, students often choose a narrative essay topic themselves. For your future story to succeed, ensure that your topic meets the following criteria:

• It’s meaningful to you.
• It resonates with your personality.
• It’s thought-provoking and disturbing for society.
• It relates to a specific moment or experience in your life.
• It’s potentially interesting for your target audience. (Think of something that’s relevant to the course material you’ve been taught and that will be informative to those reading your paper.)

Below is the list of niches you could consider:

Organize a brainstorming session to think about what to tell in your narrative ( 1 ). Try a freewriting technique to boost inspiration: Write down all the ideas that come to your mind and then choose one to share with the world. Answer the question: “What message would I like to communicate in my essay?”

Remember that your narrative essay is not only about entertaining the readers with your story. It’s also about conveying a moral (a lesson) to them.

Tip: Choose topics that sound echoic to your interests. Your ability to turn a topic into an informative and emotional story depends on how much it resonates with you.

Do you need to see several narrative essay topics to understand the principle of choosing one for your paper?

We’ve got some narrative essay ideas. They can also serve as topics for a personal narrative essay:

2. Craft a structure

Remember how we discussed the storytelling elements your essay should have to become a narrative? ( See above .) Now, it’s time to combine them into a compelling writing piece.

Given that you’ll need to present story events in chronological order, a classic narrative arc can help here:

image source: Oregon State University

• Exposition: The introduction of your essay, aka your story’s setting
• Rising action (journey and discovery): The first body paragraph, aka the trigger leading to conflict
• Climax (crisis and confrontation): The second body paragraph describing the main event of your story, aka the conflict (you face the truth, you have to make a choice, etc.)
• Falling action: The third paragraph, aka the conflict resolution (the result of the main event from the previous section)
• Resolution: The conclusion, aka the theme or moral of your story

In plain English, a narrative arc is the sequence of the events in your story. Organize them beforehand to save time and ensure that you get all the required elements in your essay when writing a draft.

Below is a narrative essay structure you can use when planning your papers. As you can see, it includes all the storytelling elements yet follows the strict rules of academic writing.

3. Create an outline

The structure looks spooky, huh?

Well, such is a narrative essay format. That’s why it would help if you crafted an outline before writing to make sure that every paragraph is in its proper place.

A narrative essay outline is a plan for your paper. There, you note down what you’ll include in each paragraph. Thus, you’ll get all the details and ensure that your story looks cohesive and compelling.

What to include in an outline? Keep reading to get a template and see an example.

4. Write a draft

Now, it’s time to write your narrative essay. Follow the outline and start crafting each paragraph step by step. Stick to the narrative arc, but remember that you are writing an academic paper, not a fictional story.

Operate within the structure of a standard college essay. Organize your narrative like this:

• Introduction: A paragraph with a hook, a story’s background, and a thesis
• Body: Three or four paragraphs where you’ll describe the events, climax (conflict), and resolution
• Conclusion: A final paragraph with your thesis restatement, the moral of your story (reflection), and a call to action for the reader

5. Proofread and edit

Please don’t rush to submit your draft for the teacher’s review once it’s ready. First, reread it several times to ensure that:

• It has a logical structure and all the necessary narrative elements.
• You’ve formatted it according to the rules of academic writing.
• It’s free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes.

Tip: Edit your essay the day after you’ve written it. It will help you see it with “fresh eyes” and notice tiny errors you’d miss if you read it when tired.

Narrative Essay Outline: Template and Example

Of all the strategies and tips on how to write a narrative essay, its outline’s creation remains the most essential to know:

Craft a detailed plan for your narrative before writing — and you’ll see if your story is cohesive, complete, and compelling. Outlining allows you to evaluate the clarity of your topic, statements, and storyline, re-organizing and reinforcing them with supporting details if necessary.

Below is a narrative essay outline template for you to consider. Once you make notes on each point, it will be easier (and faster!) for you to write your essay.

Let’s clarify every point:

What’s in the introduction?

• Hook. It’s an attention-grabber to encourage the audience to read your story. Think of a wowing fact, an intriguing question, or a thought-provoking statement.
• Background. Here is a brief context (setting) for your story.
• Thesis. It’s a claim with your story’s main point.

Now that you know how to write a narrative essay introduction, we move on.

What’s in the body?

• Event(s). The initial situation. What happened?
• Turning point. The moment you realized the situation was significant and noticed the shift in your perspective.
• Climax. The peak of your story, i.e., the most transformative part of your described experience.
• Resolution. Your response to the climax. How did you resolve the situation, and what was the immediate aftermath?

What’s in the conclusion?

• Thesis restatement. Summarize the claim you made in the introduction. How does your story support it? What lessons did you learn?
• Moral. Reflect on those lessons, offering the insights gained. Why should readers care?
• Final words. It’s your message for the audience: a call to action, some food for thought, etc.

Here’s an example of a narrative outline to help you understand what to write there. (We bet you’ll guess the story we used for it!)

How to Write a Personal Narrative Essay

Personal essays are about your experiences and emotions. You are the hero here, so structure and outline your story accordingly. Also, don’t hesitate to add other characters and dialogues to your essay. They’ll help readers understand your motivations and deeds better.

That’s how to write a personal narrative essay:

• Write it in the 1st person.
• Follow the format: Ensure that you include all the storytelling elements.
• Don’t tell but show: Use descriptive language that helps readers “see” your story.
• Ensure that your essay has a conflict.
• Describe everything in chronological order.
• Specify the moral: What do you want to say? What did you learn from the story that happened to you?
• Write about real-life events and experiences. Narrative essays aren’t fictional stories.

How to Write a Good Narrative Essay

Now, this is important:

How to start a narrative essay?

Start it with a compelling essay hook to impress readers and grab their attention:

• Ask a provocative question.
• Write an intriguing yet relevant quote.
• Think of some engaging statement to evoke curiosity.

Get inspired by the opening lines of your favorite books. Here are several examples:

How to write a good narrative essay:

• Say no to slang and formal language.
• Choose descriptive and sensory words to evoke emotions.
• Add details: Tell about what you saw and heard, how it smelled, what you felt, etc.
• Use active voice to describe actions.
• Add dialogues if appropriate.
• Don’t write in the 2nd person (“you”).
• Follow the narrative arc but put it in the standard essay structure.

Final Tips on How to Write a Narrative Essay

To those craving more strategies and insights on how to write a narrative essay, keep reading:

Below are some extra tips for you on how to write a narrative essay.

Five Extra Tips on How to Write a Narrative Essay

• Write about a specific moment or experience. Don’t describe every tiny movement of your character; focus on those moving the plot forward.
• Avoid redundant -ly adverbs like “very,” “really,” “truly,” etc. Think of solid verbs instead; use a thesaurus for more attractive words in your narrative.
• If you are stuck on choosing a topic, try books or check other writing prompts for inspiration.
• Try experimenting with perspectives. For example, you can describe the event from a supporting character’s view. (Write it in the 3rd person, if so.)
• When writing a personal narrative essay, it’s okay to make it less formal than a standard academic paper. You can skip formatting it in MLA, APA, or another citation style. Be creative.

Still Need Help With Your Essay?

Now that you know how to write a narrative essay, it’s time to practice:

• Choose a meaningful topic that resonates with your personality.
• Write an outline, placing all the narrative elements according to the rules of academic writing.
• Tell your story, and remember to edit it for better clarity before sharing it with the audience.

Still looking for ‘ write my essay ‘ helpers in Google? Your search is over: Our experts are ready to assist with every pitfall you may have on your way to flawless essay writing. Just ask.

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Common Writing Assignments

7 The Narrative Essay

A narrative essay recounts a personal experience. Not just any personal experience, but usually one that taught the author an important life lesson. It is a common high school writing assignment.

The template for a narrative essay is usually simple and straightforward because the essay is typically presented in a series of linear paragraphs, arranged in chronological order. The thesis is often implied, rather than stated explicitly, in the introduction, but its reaffirmation in the conclusion may be more explicit, especially if the writer wants to stress the nature of the life lesson he or she learned from the experience the essay recounts.

A good narrative essay shares most of the qualities of a good essay in other rhetorical modes. It should be clear, detailed, interesting, and informative. The difference between narrative and other essay forms lies in its tone. The tone or voice of a writing assignment refers to the level of formality or informality evident in the writing style. An email or text message to your friend, with its use of slang, relative indifference to grammar, emojis, and inside jokes, is written in a very informal style. An article in an academic journal, with its sophisticated diction and perfect grammar, is written in a formal style. Most of your writing assignments will have a relatively formal tone, not to the level of an academic journal article, but far more sophisticated than your text messages.

A narrative essay, however, since it recounts a personal experience, told from the first-person (“I was in Bangladesh to visit…”) point-of-view, will tend to have a more casual, informal tone. Diction your teacher might frown upon in an argument essay (“It was the last sailing of the night and it was one wild ride”) is usually deemed acceptable in a narrative essay, which might also contain dialogue, rarely used in other rhetorical modes. A less formal sentence structure may also be more acceptable in a narrative than in a more academic essay (“And the curried prawns simmered in coconut milk. So good.”) It is not essential to share with readers an experience they can relate to, but it does help add human interest to a narrative.

Here is a famous example of a narrative essay, “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell (1903–1950), the English novelist and essayist, best known for his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four . When he was a young man, Orwell worked for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. “Shooting an Elephant” is based upon an incident he experienced there.

Example: Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell

In Moulmein, in lower Burma, [1] I was hated by large numbers of people—the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me. I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, petty kind of way anti-European feeling was very bitter. No one had the guts to raise a riot, but if a European woman went through the bazaars alone somebody would probably spit betel juice over her dress. As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so. When a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter. This happened more than once. In the end the sneering yellow faces of young men that met me everywhere, the insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance, got badly on my nerves. The young Buddhist priests were the worst of all. There were several thousands of them in the town and none of them seemed to have anything to do except stand on street corners and jeer at Europeans.

All this was perplexing and upsetting. For at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better. Theoretically—and secretly, of course—I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British. As for the job I was doing, I hated it more bitterly than I can perhaps make clear. In a job like that you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters. The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been Bogged with bamboos—all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt. But I could get nothing into perspective. I was young and ill-educated and I had had to think out my problems in the utter silence that is imposed on every Englishman in the East. I did not even know that the British Empire is dying, still less did I know that it is a great deal better than the younger empires that are going to supplant it. All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible. With one part of my mind I thought of the British Raj [2] as an unbreakable tyranny, as something clamped down, in saecula saeculorum , [3] upon the will of prostrate peoples; with another part I thought that the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts. Feelings like these are the normal by-products of imperialism; ask any Anglo-Indian official, if you can catch him off duty.

One day something happened which in a roundabout way was enlightening. It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism—the real motives for which despotic governments act. Early one morning the sub-inspector at a police station the other end of the town rang me up on the phone and said that an elephant was ravaging the bazaar. Would I please come and do something about it? I did not know what I could do, but I wanted to see what was happening and I got on to a pony and started out. I took my rifle, an old .44 Winchester and much too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem . [4] Various Burmans stopped me on the way and told me about the elephant’s doings. It was not, of course, a wild elephant, but a tame one which had gone “must.” It had been chained up, as tame elephants always are when their attack of “must” is due, but on the previous night it had broken its chain and escaped. Its mahout, the only person who could manage it when it was in that state, had set out in pursuit, but had taken the wrong direction and was now twelve hours’ journey away, and in the morning the elephant had suddenly reappeared in the town. The Burmese population had no weapons and were quite helpless against it. It had already destroyed somebody’s bamboo hut, killed a cow and raided some fruit-stalls and devoured the stock; also it had met the municipal rubbish van and, when the driver jumped out and took to his heels, had turned the van over and inflicted violences upon it.

The Burmese sub-inspector and some Indian constables were waiting for me in the quarter where the elephant had been seen. It was a very poor quarter, a labyrinth of squalid bamboo huts, thatched with palm-leaf, winding all over a steep hillside. I remember that it was a cloudy, stuffy morning at the beginning of the rains. We began questioning the people as to where the elephant had gone and, as usual, failed to get any definite information. That is invariably the case in the East; a story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes. Some of the people said that the elephant had gone in one direction, some said that he had gone in another, some professed not even to have heard of any elephant. I had almost made up my mind that the whole story was a pack of lies, when we heard yells a little distance away. There was a loud, scandalized cry of “Go away, child! Go away this instant!” and an old woman with a switch in her hand came round the corner of a hut, violently shooing away a crowd of naked children. Some more women followed, clicking their tongues and exclaiming; evidently there was something that the children ought not to have seen. I rounded the hut and saw a man’s dead body sprawling in the mud. He was an Indian, a black Dravidian coolie, [5] almost naked, and he could not have been dead many minutes. The people said that the elephant had come suddenly upon him round the corner of the hut, caught him with its trunk, put its foot on his back and ground him into the earth. This was the rainy season and the ground was soft, and his face had scored a trench a foot deep and a couple of yards long. He was lying on his belly with arms crucified and head sharply twisted to one side. His face was coated with mud, the eyes wide open, the teeth bared and grinning with an expression of unendurable agony. (Never tell me, by the way, that the dead look peaceful. Most of the corpses I have seen looked devilish.) The friction of the great beast’s foot had stripped the skin from his back as neatly as one skins a rabbit. As soon as I saw the dead man I sent an orderly to a friend’s house nearby to borrow an elephant rifle. I had already sent back the pony, not wanting it to go mad with fright and throw me if it smelt the elephant.

The orderly came back in a few minutes with a rifle and five cartridges, and meanwhile some Burmans had arrived and told us that the elephant was in the paddy fields below, only a few hundred yards away. As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me. They had seen the rifle and were all shouting excitedly that I was going to shoot the elephant. They had not shown much interest in the elephant when he was merely ravaging their homes, but it was different now that he was going to be shot. It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meat. It made me vaguely uneasy. I had no intention of shooting the elephant—I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary—and it is always unnerving to have a crowd following you. I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people jostling at my heels. At the bottom, when you got away from the huts, there was a metalled road and beyond that a miry waste of paddy fields a thousand yards across, not yet ploughed but soggy from the first rains and dotted with coarse grass. The elephant was standing eight yards from the road, his left side towards us. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd’s approach. He was tearing up bunches of grass, beating them against his knees to clean them and stuffing them into his mouth.

I had halted on the road. As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant—it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery—and obviously one ought not to do it if it can possibly be avoided. And at that distance, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of “must” was already passing off; in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about until the mahout came back and caught him. Moreover, I did not in the least want to shoot him. I decided that I would watch him for a little while to make sure that he did not turn savage again, and then go home.

But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. It blocked the road for a long distance on either side. I looked at the sea of yellow faces above the garish clothes-faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot. They were watching me as they would watch a conjurer about to perform a trick. They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly. And it was at this moment, as I stood there with the rifle in my hands, that I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man’s dominion in the East. Here was I, the white man with his gun, standing in front of the unarmed native crowd—seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind. I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib. [6] For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the “natives,” and so in every crisis he has got to do what the “natives” expect of him. He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it. I had got to shoot the elephant. I had committed myself to doing it when I sent for the rifle. A sahib has got to act like a sahib; he has got to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things. To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing—no, that was impossible. The crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man’s life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at.

But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with that preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. At that age I was not squeamish about killing animals, but I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill a large animal.) Besides, there was the beast’s owner to be considered. Alive, the elephant was worth at least a hundred pounds; dead, he would only be worth the value of his tusks, five pounds, possibly. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking Burmans who had been there when we arrived, and asked them how the elephant had been behaving. They all said the same thing: he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.

It was perfectly clear to me what I ought to do. I ought to walk up to within, say, twenty-five yards of the elephant and test his behavior. If he charged, I could shoot; if he took no notice of me, it would be safe to leave him until the mahout came back. But also I knew that I was going to do no such thing. I was a poor shot with a rifle and the ground was soft mud into which one would sink at every step. If the elephant charged and I missed him, I should have about as much chance as a toad under a steam-roller. But even then I was not thinking particularly of my own skin, only of the watchful yellow faces behind. For at that moment, with the crowd watching me, I was not afraid in the ordinary sense, as I would have been if I had been alone. A white man mustn’t be frightened in front of “natives”; and so, in general, he isn’t frightened. The sole thought in my mind was that if anything went wrong those two thousand Burmans would see me pursued, caught, trampled on and reduced to a grinning corpse like that Indian up the hill. And if that happened it was quite probable that some of them would laugh. That would never do.

There was only one alternative. I shoved the cartridges into the magazine and lay down on the road to get a better aim. The crowd grew very still, and a deep, low, happy sigh, as of people who see the theatre curtain go up at last, breathed from innumerable throats. They were going to have their bit of fun after all. The rifle was a beautiful German thing with cross-hair sights. I did not then know that in shooting an elephant one would shoot to cut an imaginary bar running from ear-hole to ear-hole. I ought, therefore, as the elephant was sideways on, to have aimed straight at his ear-hole, actually I aimed several inches in front of this, thinking the brain would be further forward.

When I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick—one never does when a shot goes home—but I heard the devilish roar of glee that went up from the crowd. In that instant, in too short a time, one would have thought, even for the bullet to get there, a mysterious, terrible change had come over the elephant. He neither stirred nor fell, but every line of his body had altered. He looked suddenly stricken, shrunken, immensely old, as though the frightful impact of the bullet had paralysed him without knocking him down. At last, after what seemed a long time—it might have been five seconds, I dare say—he sagged flabbily to his knees. His mouth slobbered. An enormous senility seemed to have settled upon him. One could have imagined him thousands of years old. I fired again into the same spot. At the second shot he did not collapse but climbed with desperate slowness to his feet and stood weakly upright, with legs sagging and head drooping. I fired a third time. That was the shot that did for him. You could see the agony of it jolt his whole body and knock the last remnant of strength from his legs. But in falling he seemed for a moment to rise, for as his hind legs collapsed beneath him he seemed to tower upward like a huge rock toppling, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree. He trumpeted, for the first and only time. And then down he came, his belly towards me, with a crash that seemed to shake the ground even where I lay.

I got up. The Burmans were already racing past me across the mud. It was obvious that the elephant would never rise again, but he was not dead. He was breathing very rhythmically with long rattling gasps, his great mound of a side painfully rising and falling. His mouth was wide open—I could see far down into caverns of pale pink throat. I waited a long time for him to die, but his breathing did not weaken. Finally I fired my two remaining shots into the spot where I thought his heart must be. The thick blood welled out of him like red velvet, but still he did not die. His body did not even jerk when the shots hit him, the tortured breathing continued without a pause. He was dying, very slowly and in great agony, but in some world remote from me where not even a bullet could damage him further. I felt that I had got to put an end to that dreadful noise. It seemed dreadful to see the great beast lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die, and not even to be able to finish him. I sent back for my small rifle and poured shot after shot into his heart and down his throat. They seemed to make no impression. The tortured gasps continued as steadily as the ticking of a clock.

In the end I could not stand it any longer and went away. I heard later that it took him half an hour to die. Burmans were bringing dahs and baskets even before I left, and I was told they had stripped his body almost to the bones by the afternoon.

Afterwards, of course, there were endless discussions about the shooting of the elephant. The owner was furious, but he was only an Indian and could do nothing. Besides, legally I had done the right thing, for a mad elephant has to be killed, like a mad dog, if its owner fails to control it. Among the Europeans opinion was divided. The older men said I was right, the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee [7] coolie. And afterwards I was very glad that the coolie had been killed; it put me legally in the right and it gave me a sufficient pretext for shooting the elephant. I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.

Shooting an Elephant

Study Questions

Respond to these questions in writing, in small group discussion, or both.

• Do you think “Shooting an Elephant” is a well-written and entertaining narrative? Explain your answer.
• The narrator’s decision to kill the elephant is influenced by the crowd of onlookers. Describe a time when you let other people’s expectations influence your actions.
• How would you describe the tone or voice of “Shooting an Elephant”? How does the author establish this tone?
• This narrative is notable for its long paragraphs, filled with vivid details. Select one such paragraph and analyze it in the context of the guidelines for effective paragraph development discussed in the previous chapter.
• “Shooting an Elephant” is not a racist narrative, yet some racist views are evident on occasion in the story. Provide two examples of racist elements and comment on the effect they have on the story Orwell tells.

Writing Assignments

• Keeping in mind the guidelines presented above for writing an effective narrative, write a narrative essay of approximately 750 words on a topic of your choice or one your teacher provides.
• Write a brief essay in which you examine the reasons why—the causes—the narrator shot the elephant. See the section later in this chapter on the cause/effect essay.

Text Attributions

• “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell is free of known copyright restrictions in Canada.
• Now known as Myanmar, it is a country in southeast Asia bordering Thailand, Laos, China and Bangladesh. ↵
• British rule in India. ↵
• A Latin phrase which expresses the idea of eternity. ↵
• Latin, a legal threat; here, to inspire fear in someone. ↵
• Dravidians are ancient race of southern India. Originally, “coolie” was a term meaning unskilled labourer; it is now considered a racially offensive term. ↵
• A term used by native inhabitants of India under the Raj to address a European of official status. ↵
• Dravidian labourer from the town of Coringa, India. ↵

Composition and Literature Copyright © 2019 by James Sexton and Derek Soles is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Narrative Writing: A Complete Guide for Teachers and Students

MASTERING THE CRAFT OF NARRATIVE WRITING

Narratives build on and encourage the development of the fundamentals of writing. They also require developing an additional skill set: the ability to tell a good yarn, and storytelling is as old as humanity.

We see and hear stories everywhere and daily, from having good gossip on the doorstep with a neighbor in the morning to the dramas that fill our screens in the evening.

Good narrative writing skills are hard-won by students even though it is an area of writing that most enjoy due to the creativity and freedom it offers.

Here we will explore some of the main elements of a good story: plot, setting, characters, conflict, climax, and resolution . And we will look too at how best we can help our students understand these elements, both in isolation and how they mesh together as a whole.

WHAT IS A NARRATIVE?

A narrative is a story that shares a sequence of events , characters, and themes. It expresses experiences, ideas, and perspectives that should aspire to engage and inspire an audience.

A narrative can spark emotion, encourage reflection, and convey meaning when done well.

Narratives are a popular genre for students and teachers as they allow the writer to share their imagination, creativity, skill, and understanding of nearly all elements of writing.  We occasionally refer to a narrative as ‘creative writing’ or story writing.

The purpose of a narrative is simple, to tell the audience a story.  It can be written to motivate, educate, or entertain and can be fact or fiction.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON TEACHING NARRATIVE WRITING

Teach your students to become skilled story writers with this HUGE   NARRATIVE & CREATIVE STORY WRITING UNIT . Offering a  COMPLETE SOLUTION  to teaching students how to craft  CREATIVE CHARACTERS, SUPERB SETTINGS, and PERFECT PLOTS .

Over 192 PAGES of materials, including:

TYPES OF NARRATIVE WRITING

There are many narrative writing genres and sub-genres such as these.

We have a complete guide to writing a personal narrative that differs from the traditional story-based narrative covered in this guide. It includes personal narrative writing prompts, resources, and examples and can be found here.

As we can see, narratives are an open-ended form of writing that allows you to showcase creativity in many directions. However, all narratives share a common set of features and structure known as “Story Elements”, which are briefly covered in this guide.

Don’t overlook the importance of understanding story elements and the value this adds to you as a writer who can dissect and create grand narratives. We also have an in-depth guide to understanding story elements here .

CHARACTERISTICS OF NARRATIVE WRITING

Narrative structure.

ORIENTATION (BEGINNING) Set the scene by introducing your characters, setting and time of the story. Establish your who, when and where in this part of your narrative

COMPLICATION AND EVENTS (MIDDLE) In this section activities and events involving your main characters are expanded upon. These events are written in a cohesive and fluent sequence.

RESOLUTION (ENDING) Your complication is resolved in this section. It does not have to be a happy outcome, however.

EXTRAS: Whilst orientation, complication and resolution are the agreed norms for a narrative, there are numerous examples of popular texts that did not explicitly follow this path exactly.

NARRATIVE FEATURES

LANGUAGE: Use descriptive and figurative language to paint images inside your audience’s minds as they read.

PERSPECTIVE Narratives can be written from any perspective but are most commonly written in first or third person.

DIALOGUE Narratives frequently switch from narrator to first-person dialogue. Always use speech marks when writing dialogue.

TENSE If you change tense, make it perfectly clear to your audience what is happening. Flashbacks might work well in your mind but make sure they translate to your audience.

THE PLOT MAP

This graphic is known as a plot map, and nearly all narratives fit this structure in one way or another, whether romance novels, science fiction or otherwise.

It is a simple tool that helps you understand and organise a story’s events. Think of it as a roadmap that outlines the journey of your characters and the events that unfold. It outlines the different stops along the way, such as the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, that help you to see how the story builds and develops.

Using a plot map, you can see how each event fits into the larger picture and how the different parts of the story work together to create meaning. It’s a great way to visualize and analyze a story.

Be sure to refer to a plot map when planning a story, as it has all the essential elements of a great story.

THE 5 KEY STORY ELEMENTS OF A GREAT NARRATIVE (6-MINUTE TUTORIAL VIDEO)

This video we created provides an excellent overview of these elements and demonstrates them in action in stories we all know and love.

HOW TO WRITE A NARRATIVE

Now that we understand the story elements and how they come together to form stories, it’s time to start planning and writing your narrative.

In many cases, the template and guide below will provide enough details on how to craft a great story. However, if you still need assistance with the fundamentals of writing, such as sentence structure, paragraphs and using correct grammar, we have some excellent guides on those here.

USE YOUR WRITING TIME EFFECTIVELY: Maximize your narrative writing sessions by spending approximately 20 per cent of your time planning and preparing.  This ensures greater productivity during your writing time and keeps you focused and on task.

Use tools such as graphic organizers to logically sequence your narrative if you are not a confident story writer.  If you are working with reluctant writers, try using narrative writing prompts to get their creative juices flowing.

Spend most of your writing hour on the task at hand, don’t get too side-tracked editing during this time and leave some time for editing. When editing a  narrative, examine it for these three elements.

• Spelling and grammar ( Is it readable?)
• Story structure and continuity ( Does it make sense, and does it flow? )
• Character and plot analysis. (Are your characters engaging? Does your problem/resolution work? )

1. SETTING THE SCENE: THE WHERE AND THE WHEN

The story’s setting often answers two of the central questions in the story, namely, the where and the when. The answers to these two crucial questions will often be informed by the type of story the student is writing.

The story’s setting can be chosen to quickly orient the reader to the type of story they are reading. For example, a fictional narrative writing piece such as a horror story will often begin with a description of a haunted house on a hill or an abandoned asylum in the middle of the woods. If we start our story on a rocket ship hurtling through the cosmos on its space voyage to the Alpha Centauri star system, we can be reasonably sure that the story we are embarking on is a work of science fiction.

Such conventions are well-worn clichés true, but they can be helpful starting points for our novice novelists to make a start.

Having students choose an appropriate setting for the type of story they wish to write is an excellent exercise for our younger students. It leads naturally onto the next stage of story writing, which is creating suitable characters to populate this fictional world they have created. However, older or more advanced students may wish to play with the expectations of appropriate settings for their story. They may wish to do this for comic effect or in the interest of creating a more original story. For example, opening a story with a children’s birthday party does not usually set up the expectation of a horror story. Indeed, it may even lure the reader into a happy reverie as they remember their own happy birthday parties. This leaves them more vulnerable to the surprise element of the shocking action that lies ahead.

Once the students have chosen a setting for their story, they need to start writing. Little can be more terrifying to English students than the blank page and its bare whiteness stretching before them on the table like a merciless desert they must cross. Give them the kick-start they need by offering support through word banks or writing prompts. If the class is all writing a story based on the same theme, you may wish to compile a common word bank on the whiteboard as a prewriting activity. Write the central theme or genre in the middle of the board. Have students suggest words or phrases related to the theme and list them on the board.

You may wish to provide students with a copy of various writing prompts to get them started. While this may mean that many students’ stories will have the same beginning, they will most likely arrive at dramatically different endings via dramatically different routes.

A bargain is at the centre of the relationship between the writer and the reader. That bargain is that the reader promises to suspend their disbelief as long as the writer creates a consistent and convincing fictional reality. Creating a believable world for the fictional characters to inhabit requires the student to draw on convincing details. The best way of doing this is through writing that appeals to the senses. Have your student reflect deeply on the world that they are creating. What does it look like? Sound like? What does the food taste like there? How does it feel like to walk those imaginary streets, and what aromas beguile the nose as the main character winds their way through that conjured market?

Also, Consider the when; or the time period. Is it a future world where things are cleaner and more antiseptic? Or is it an overcrowded 16th-century London with human waste stinking up the streets? If students can create a multi-sensory installation in the reader’s mind, then they have done this part of their job well.

Popular Settings from Children’s Literature and Storytelling

• Fairytale Kingdom
• Magical Forest
• Village/town
• Underwater world
• Space/Alien planet

2. CASTING THE CHARACTERS: THE WHO

Now that your student has created a believable world, it is time to populate it with believable characters.

In short stories, these worlds mustn’t be overpopulated beyond what the student’s skill level can manage. Short stories usually only require one main character and a few secondary ones. Think of the short story more as a small-scale dramatic production in an intimate local theater than a Hollywood blockbuster on a grand scale. Too many characters will only confuse and become unwieldy with a canvas this size. Keep it simple!

Creating believable characters is often one of the most challenging aspects of narrative writing for students. Fortunately, we can do a few things to help students here. Sometimes it is helpful for students to model their characters on actual people they know. This can make things a little less daunting and taxing on the imagination. However, whether or not this is the case, writing brief background bios or descriptions of characters’ physical personality characteristics can be a beneficial prewriting activity. Students should give some in-depth consideration to the details of who their character is: How do they walk? What do they look like? Do they have any distinguishing features? A crooked nose? A limp? Bad breath? Small details such as these bring life and, therefore, believability to characters. Students can even cut pictures from magazines to put a face to their character and allow their imaginations to fill in the rest of the details.

Younger students will often dictate to the reader the nature of their characters. To improve their writing craft, students must know when to switch from story-telling mode to story-showing mode. This is particularly true when it comes to character. Encourage students to reveal their character’s personality through what they do rather than merely by lecturing the reader on the faults and virtues of the character’s personality. It might be a small relayed detail in the way they walk that reveals a core characteristic. For example, a character who walks with their head hanging low and shoulders hunched while avoiding eye contact has been revealed to be timid without the word once being mentioned. This is a much more artistic and well-crafted way of doing things and is less irritating for the reader. A character who sits down at the family dinner table immediately snatches up his fork and starts stuffing roast potatoes into his mouth before anyone else has even managed to sit down has revealed a tendency towards greed or gluttony.

Understanding Character Traits

Again, there is room here for some fun and profitable prewriting activities. Give students a list of character traits and have them describe a character doing something that reveals that trait without ever employing the word itself.

It is also essential to avoid adjective stuffing here. When looking at students’ early drafts, adjective stuffing is often apparent. To train the student out of this habit, choose an adjective and have the student rewrite the sentence to express this adjective through action rather than telling.

When writing a story, it is vital to consider the character’s traits and how they will impact the story’s events. For example, a character with a strong trait of determination may be more likely to overcome obstacles and persevere. In contrast, a character with a tendency towards laziness may struggle to achieve their goals. In short, character traits add realism, depth, and meaning to a story, making it more engaging and memorable for the reader.

Popular Character Traits in Children’s Stories

• Determination
• Imagination
• Perseverance
• Responsibility

We have an in-depth guide to creating great characters here , but most students should be fine to move on to planning their conflict and resolution.

3. NO PROBLEM? NO STORY! HOW CONFLICT DRIVES A NARRATIVE

This is often the area apprentice writers have the most difficulty with. Students must understand that without a problem or conflict, there is no story. The problem is the driving force of the action. Usually, in a short story, the problem will center around what the primary character wants to happen or, indeed, wants not to happen. It is the hurdle that must be overcome. It is in the struggle to overcome this hurdle that events happen.

Often when a student understands the need for a problem in a story, their completed work will still not be successful. This is because, often in life, problems remain unsolved. Hurdles are not always successfully overcome. Students pick up on this.

We often discuss problems with friends that will never be satisfactorily resolved one way or the other, and we accept this as a part of life. This is not usually the case with writing a story. Whether a character successfully overcomes his or her problem or is decidedly crushed in the process of trying is not as important as the fact that it will finally be resolved one way or the other.

A good practical exercise for students to get to grips with this is to provide copies of stories and have them identify the central problem or conflict in each through discussion. Familiar fables or fairy tales such as Three Little Pigs, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Cinderella, etc., are great for this.

While it is true that stories often have more than one problem or that the hero or heroine is unsuccessful in their first attempt to solve a central problem, for beginning students and intermediate students, it is best to focus on a single problem, especially given the scope of story writing at this level. Over time students will develop their abilities to handle more complex plots and write accordingly.

Popular Conflicts found in Children’s Storytelling.

• Good vs evil
• Individual vs society
• Nature vs nurture
• Self vs others
• Man vs self
• Man vs nature
• Man vs technology
• Individual vs fate
• Self vs destiny

Conflict is the heart and soul of any good story. It’s what makes a story compelling and drives the plot forward. Without conflict, there is no story. Every great story has a struggle or a problem that needs to be solved, and that’s where conflict comes in. Conflict is what makes a story exciting and keeps the reader engaged. It creates tension and suspense and makes the reader care about the outcome.

Like in real life, conflict in a story is an opportunity for a character’s growth and transformation. It’s a chance for them to learn and evolve, making a story great. So next time stories are written in the classroom, remember that conflict is an essential ingredient, and without it, your story will lack the energy, excitement, and meaning that makes it truly memorable.

4. THE NARRATIVE CLIMAX: HOW THINGS COME TO A HEAD!

The climax of the story is the dramatic high point of the action. It is also when the struggles kicked off by the problem come to a head. The climax will ultimately decide whether the story will have a happy or tragic ending. In the climax, two opposing forces duke things out until the bitter (or sweet!) end. One force ultimately emerges triumphant. As the action builds throughout the story, suspense increases as the reader wonders which of these forces will win out. The climax is the release of this suspense.

Much of the success of the climax depends on how well the other elements of the story have been achieved. If the student has created a well-drawn and believable character that the reader can identify with and feel for, then the climax will be more powerful.

The nature of the problem is also essential as it determines what’s at stake in the climax. The problem must matter dearly to the main character if it matters at all to the reader.

Have students engage in discussions about their favorite movies and books. Have them think about the storyline and decide the most exciting parts. What was at stake at these moments? What happened in your body as you read or watched? Did you breathe faster? Or grip the cushion hard? Did your heart rate increase, or did you start to sweat? This is what a good climax does and what our students should strive to do in their stories.

The climax puts it all on the line and rolls the dice. Let the chips fall where the writer may…

Popular Climax themes in Children’s Stories

• A battle between good and evil
• The character’s bravery saves the day
• Character faces their fears and overcomes them
• The character solves a mystery or puzzle.
• The character stands up for what is right.
• Character reaches their goal or dream.
• The character learns a valuable lesson.
• The character makes a selfless sacrifice.
• The character makes a difficult decision.
• The character reunites with loved ones or finds true friendship.

5. RESOLUTION: TYING UP LOOSE ENDS

After the climactic action, a few questions will often remain unresolved for the reader, even if all the conflict has been resolved. The resolution is where those lingering questions will be answered. The resolution in a short story may only be a brief paragraph or two. But, in most cases, it will still be necessary to include an ending immediately after the climax can feel too abrupt and leave the reader feeling unfulfilled.

An easy way to explain resolution to students struggling to grasp the concept is to point to the traditional resolution of fairy tales, the “And they all lived happily ever after” ending. This weather forecast for the future allows the reader to take their leave. Have the student consider the emotions they want to leave the reader with when crafting their resolution.

While the action is usually complete by the end of the climax, it is in the resolution that if there is a twist to be found, it will appear – think of movies such as The Usual Suspects. Pulling this off convincingly usually requires considerable skill from a student writer. Still, it may well form a challenging extension exercise for those more gifted storytellers among your students.

Popular Resolutions in Children’s Stories

• Our hero achieves their goal
• The character learns a valuable lesson
• A character finds happiness or inner peace.
• The character reunites with loved ones.
• Character restores balance to the world.
• The character discovers their true identity.
• Character changes for the better.
• The character gains wisdom or understanding.
• Character makes amends with others.
• The character learns to appreciate what they have.

Once students have completed their story, they can edit for grammar, vocabulary choice, spelling, etc., but not before!

As mentioned, there is a craft to storytelling, as well as an art. When accurate grammar, perfect spelling, and immaculate sentence structures are pushed at the outset, they can cause storytelling paralysis. For this reason, it is essential that when we encourage the students to write a story, we give them license to make mechanical mistakes in their use of language that they can work on and fix later.

Good narrative writing is a very complex skill to develop and will take the student years to become competent. It challenges not only the student’s technical abilities with language but also her creative faculties. Writing frames, word banks, mind maps, and visual prompts can all give valuable support as students develop the wide-ranging and challenging skills required to produce a successful narrative writing piece. But, at the end of it all, as with any craft, practice and more practice is at the heart of the matter.

TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT NARRATIVE

• Start your story with a clear purpose: If you can determine the theme or message you want to convey in your narrative before starting it will make the writing process so much simpler.
• Choose a compelling storyline and sell it through great characters, setting and plot: Consider a unique or interesting story that captures the reader’s attention, then build the world and characters around it.
• Develop vivid characters that are not all the same: Make your characters relatable and memorable by giving them distinct personalities and traits you can draw upon in the plot.
• Use descriptive language to hook your audience into your story: Use sensory language to paint vivid images and sequences in the reader’s mind.
• Show, don’t tell your audience: Use actions, thoughts, and dialogue to reveal character motivations and emotions through storytelling.
• Create a vivid setting that is clear to your audience before getting too far into the plot: Describe the time and place of your story to immerse the reader fully.
• Build tension: Refer to the story map earlier in this article and use conflict, obstacles, and suspense to keep the audience engaged and invested in your narrative.
• Use figurative language such as metaphors, similes, and other literary devices to add depth and meaning to your narrative.
• Edit, revise, and refine: Take the time to refine and polish your writing for clarity and impact.
• Stay true to your voice: Maintain your unique perspective and style in your writing to make it your own.

NARRATIVE WRITING EXAMPLES (Student Writing Samples)

Below are a collection of student writing samples of narratives.  Click on the image to enlarge and explore them in greater detail.  Please take a moment to read these creative stories in detail and the teacher and student guides which highlight some of the critical elements of narratives to consider before writing.

Please understand these student writing samples are not intended to be perfect examples for each age or grade level but a piece of writing for students and teachers to explore together to critically analyze to improve student writing skills and deepen their understanding of story writing.

We recommend reading the example either a year above or below, as well as the grade you are currently working with, to gain a broader appreciation of this text type.

NARRATIVE WRITING PROMPTS (Journal Prompts)

When students have a great journal prompt, it can help them focus on the task at hand, so be sure to view our vast collection of visual writing prompts for various text types here or use some of these.

• On a recent European trip, you find your travel group booked into the stunning and mysterious Castle Frankenfurter for a single night…  As night falls, the massive castle of over one hundred rooms seems to creak and groan as a series of unexplained events begin to make you wonder who or what else is spending the evening with you. Write a narrative that tells the story of your evening.
• You are a famous adventurer who has discovered new lands; keep a travel log over a period of time in which you encounter new and exciting adventures and challenges to overcome.  Ensure your travel journal tells a story and has a definite introduction, conflict and resolution.
• You create an incredible piece of technology that has the capacity to change the world.  As you sit back and marvel at your innovation and the endless possibilities ahead of you, it becomes apparent there are a few problems you didn’t really consider. You might not even be able to control them.  Write a narrative in which you ride the highs and lows of your world-changing creation with a clear introduction, conflict and resolution.
• As the final door shuts on the Megamall, you realise you have done it…  You and your best friend have managed to sneak into the largest shopping centre in town and have the entire place to yourselves until 7 am tomorrow.  There is literally everything and anything a child would dream of entertaining themselves for the next 12 hours.  What amazing adventures await you?  What might go wrong?  And how will you get out of there scot-free?
• A stranger walks into town…  Whilst appearing similar to almost all those around you, you get a sense that this person is from another time, space or dimension… Are they friends or foes?  What makes you sense something very strange is going on?   Suddenly they stand up and walk toward you with purpose extending their hand… It’s almost as if they were reading your mind.

NARRATIVE WRITING VIDEO TUTORIAL

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

When teaching narrative writing, it is essential that you have a range of tools, strategies and resources at your disposal to ensure you get the most out of your writing time.  You can find some examples below, which are free and paid premium resources you can use instantly without any preparation.

FREE Narrative Graphic Organizer

THE STORY TELLERS BUNDLE OF TEACHING RESOURCES

A MASSIVE COLLECTION of resources for narratives and story writing in the classroom covering all elements of crafting amazing stories. MONTHS WORTH OF WRITING LESSONS AND RESOURCES, including:

NARRATIVE WRITING CHECKLIST BUNDLE

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (92 Reviews)

OTHER GREAT ARTICLES ABOUT NARRATIVE WRITING

Narrative Writing for Kids: Essential Skills and Strategies

7 Great Narrative Lesson Plans Students and Teachers Love

Top 7 Narrative Writing Exercises for Students

How to Write a Scary Story

What Is a Narrative Essay? Definition & 20+ Examples

Ever wondered how life’s vibrant, personal experiences could transform into compelling stories? Welcome to the world of narrative essays, where the art of storytelling meets the essence of self-expression.

This vibrant genre paints vivid pictures, provoking emotions and connecting readers to experiences, perhaps similar to their own or completely novel. Embark on this literary journey with us as we delve into the heart of narrative essays, unearthing the magic of narrating tales spun from threads of personal experiences, historical events, and more.

Prepare to immerse yourself in the fascinating universe where life and literature intertwine.

Table of Contents

Defining Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is a genre of writing that tells a story, often from the writer’s personal perspective. In this type of essay, the author provides a series of events, characters, and settings, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the experience. Although typically written in the first person, narrative essays can be written in the third person as well.

The purpose of a narrative essay is not only to entertain but also to convey a meaningful message or lesson. These essays can be drawn from real-life experiences or fictional scenarios, but they should be engaging and create an emotional connection with the reader. Narrative essays are often used to explore personal growth, relationships, and various worldviews and experiences.

In a narrative essay, it is essential to use vivid, descriptive language and a clear structure to help the reader follow the narrative. While engaging the reader’s emotions, the essay must maintain a consistent point of view and avoid unnecessary complexity or ambiguity.

History of Narrative Essay

The narrative essay has its roots in oral storytelling traditions dating back to ancient civilizations. The art of telling stories has been present across cultures and continents as a means to communicate, preserve history, and entertain. Early examples of narratives were usually passed down through generations of storytellers, which led narratives to transform and adapt over time.

In the Middle Ages , the invention of the printing press allowed for written narratives to become more widely accessible, leading to the rise of written narrative essays. Literature, like Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” and Boccaccio’s “Decameron,” showcased the importance of storytelling as a medium to understand and reflect on human experiences.

During the Romantic period in the 18th and 19th centuries , the narrative essay took on new life as authors like Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Edgar Allan Poe explored the genre’s creative and intellectual potential. They used narrative essays to express their individual perspectives and encouraged readers to think beyond conventions and social norms.

During the 20th century , the narrative essay became even more prevalent, with the rise of digital technology and the internet making it easier for writers to share their stories via blogs , social media , and online literary publications .

Today , the narrative essay has evolved into a versatile genre that continues to remain a popular form of expression in literature and the digital age.

Although the format of narrative essays has changed over the years, their central purpose — to share personal experiences , entertain readers , and reflect on the human condition — has remained consistent, contributing to the genre’s enduring appeal.

Functions of Narrative Essay

Storytelling.

Narrative essays serve as an effective platform for storytelling. Through these essays, writers impart exciting and entertaining tales to their readers as they incorporate essential elements such as plot , setting , and character .

One primary function of a narrative essay is to engage the audience by keeping them hooked. With its descriptive and vivid language style, it captures the reader’s imagination and evokes curiosity.

Narrative essays also play a role in imparting valuable knowledge and life lessons. They can portray real-life events and experiences that provide readers with a deeper understanding of the world.

These essays offer a medium for reflecting on personal experiences, growth, and emotional journeys, allowing both the writer and the reader to gain valuable insights from past events and decisions.

Though narrative essays primarily tell stories, they can also serve as a tool for persuasion. By presenting a narrative from a specific perspective, writers can subtly influence the reader’s opinions and beliefs on a particular topic.

Through sharing personal stories and experiences, narrative essays help build a connection between the writer and the reader. They create a sense of empathy and relatability, bridging the gap between different backgrounds and perspectives.

Exploration of Themes

Narrative essays allow for an in-depth exploration of themes ranging from morality to the complexities of human relationships. Writers can weave these themes into their stories to provoke thought and discussion.

Character Development

Character development is an essential aspect of narrative essays. By showcasing the growth and transformation of a character, the essay becomes more engaging and dynamic while also revealing insights into human behavior and psychology.

Characteristics of Narrative Essay

Narrative essay tells a story.

A narrative essay presents a story with a clear beginning , middle , and end . The writer’s goal is to engage the reader with vivid descriptions and captivating events, drawing them into the story and encouraging them to experience the emotions and events alongside the characters.

First-Person Perspective

Often written in first-person perspective, narrative essays allow the writer to share their experiences and thoughts with the reader. This point of view connects the reader with the protagonist, creating a more personal and intimate experience.

Characters and Dialogue

Well-developed characters and believable dialogue contribute to the overall authenticity of a narrative essay. The writer achieves this by creating dynamic characters with distinct voices and personalities, with the dialogue often propelling the story forward.

Descriptive Language

Using descriptive language helps paint a picture in the reader’s mind, immersing them in the story’s setting and atmosphere. Adjectives, sensory details, and imagery are essential tools in crafting a vivid narrative.

Plot and Structure

A narrative essay must have a clear, well-structured plot with a beginning, middle, and end. The writer unfolds the story in a way that builds tension and excitement, driving the reader to anticipate the resolution.

Chronological Order

Events in a narrative essay usually unfold in chronological order, following the natural progression of time. This allows the reader to follow the story easily and maintain their engagement.

Theme or Message

Narrative essays often explore themes or convey a message to the reader. The writer subtly weaves this message throughout the story, allowing the reader to understand and appreciate the underlying meaning gradually.

Conflict and Resolution

Conflict drives the story forward, creating excitement and tension that keeps the reader engaged. The narrative essay should present a central conflict that the characters encounter and, ultimately, resolve.

Narrative essays frequently include reflective moments, during which the writer pauses to consider the significance of the events, characters, or conflicts they are describing. These moments help the reader gain a deeper understanding of the writer’s thoughts and the message they are conveying.

Importance of Narrative Essay

Narrative essay enables individuals to articulate their emotions.

Narrative essays enable writers to express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. They provide an opportunity for individuals to articulate their emotions and insights through storytelling. This promotes a sense of self-awareness, helping individuals better comprehend their own actions and beliefs.

Narrative Essay Engages Readers

Narrative essays engage readers by presenting stories in artistic and imaginative ways. They captivate the audience through vivid descriptions, colorful language, and emotionally resonant themes. This creates an immersive experience, allowing readers to not only learn from the writer’s experiences but also feel emotionally connected to them.

Narrative Essay Enhances One’s Communication Skills

Writing narrative essays enhances one’s communication skills. It requires clear and concise language, as well as the ability to convey ideas in an organized and coherent manner. This practice hones one’s writing ability and overall communication skills.

Narrative Essay Promotes Empathy

A well-written narrative essay promotes empathy by allowing readers to experience events from different perspectives. It encourages understanding and appreciation for the distinct viewpoints of other individuals, fostering respect and appreciation for diversity.

Narrative Essay Challenges a Writer’s Critical Thinking

Developing a narrative essay challenges a writer’s critical thinking ability to evaluate experiences and draw meaningful conclusions. This process of reflection provides an opportunity for personal growth and learning, ultimately cultivating a well-rounded individual.

Narrative Essays Convey Themes or Messages

Narrative essays often relay themes and messages that reflect the writer’s beliefs or values. By sharing these themes, writers provide insights that readers may relate to and learn from, leading to personal growth and understanding.

Narrative Essay Builds Empathy

Sharing personal stories through narrative essays can help build empathy among readers. By connecting with the experiences and emotions presented, readers have the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of others and foster compassion in their own lives.

Narrative Essay Encourages Individuals to Explore

Narrative essays entice readers with engaging stories that are interesting and emotionally impactful. This motivation to read can foster an appreciation for literature, encouraging individuals to further explore and engage with written works.

Elements of Narrative Essay

In a narrative essay, the plot is the sequence of events that make up the story. It typically follows a chronological order and includes an exposition , rising action , climax , falling action , and resolution . Each event should contribute to the overall theme and message of the essay.

Characters are the people, animals, or other beings that participate in the story. They have individual personalities, motivations, and conflicts. The main character, or protagonist , is the central figure in a narrative essay, and readers often empathize with them as they undergo various experiences.

The setting is the time and place in which the story occurs. It can be a specific location or a more general environment. The setting contributes to the overall atmosphere and mood of the narrative essay, and it can influence how characters interact with one another.

Point of View

Point of view refers to the perspective from which the story is told. In a third-person narrative essay, the author uses “he,” “she,” “it,” or “they” to tell the story. This allows the writer to provide a more objective view, showing events and character actions without the bias of a first-person narrator.

Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces that drives the plot forward. It can be internal, within a character’s own mind or emotions, or external, between characters or against an outside force. Conflict creates tension and keeps the reader engaged in the story.

Theme refers to the underlying message or central idea that the writer wants to convey through their narrative essay. It can be a commentary on society, human nature, or other universal concepts. A strong theme helps to tie the essay together and contributes to its overall impact on the reader.

Dialogue is the conversation between characters in a narrative essay. It helps to establish character relationships, reveal information, and move the plot forward. Effective dialogue should sound natural and reflect the speaker’s personality and voice.

Narrative Structure

The narrative structure is the organization and arrangement of events in the essay. It includes elements like flashbacks , foreshadowing , and parallel plotlines to create a cohesive and engaging reading experience.

Description

The description is the use of sensory details and vivid language to help the reader visualize the story. It can include the appearance of characters, settings, and objects, as well as sounds, smells, and other sensory details. Effective description enhances the reader’s immersion in the story and supports the emotional impact.

Reflective Aspect

The reflective aspect of a narrative essay refers to the author’s insights and personal growth as a result of the events in the story. It is an opportunity for the author to analyze and reflect on the experiences and emotions they have conveyed, providing a deeper level of understanding for the reader.

Structure of Narrative Essays

Introduction.

Narrative essays generally begin with an introduction that presents the background and sets the stage for the story. This section introduces the main characters, their relationships, and the setting or context in which the story takes place.

The introduction also establishes the purpose or main idea of the essay, grabbing the reader’s attention and sparking their interest in the unfolding events.

Rising Action

The rising action includes a series of events or experiences that create tension and suspense, gradually building toward the pivotal point of the story. In this section, the writer conveys the various challenges and obstacles faced by the main characters while developing the plot and providing insights into their personalities and motivations.

The rising action helps the reader become emotionally invested in the characters and their journey.

The climax is the turning point or the most intense moment in the story, where the central conflict reaches its peak. It is at this stage that the main characters confront the challenges or adversities they have been facing, often resulting in dramatic, emotional, or transformative consequences.

The climax is a crucial moment in the narrative essay, as it determines the outcome of the story and the eventual fate of the characters.

Falling Action

Following the climax, the story enters its falling action phase . In this section, the events and repercussions of the climax begin to unfold, and tensions start to subside. The writer gradually moves towards a resolution of the main conflict while also tying up loose ends and potentially introducing ancillary outcomes that result from the central events.

Conclusion or Resolution

The conclusion or resolution offers a sense of closure or finality by addressing the outcome of the story. It may present the characters reflecting on their experiences, lessons learned, or the consequences of their actions. Ideally, the resolution leaves the reader with a feeling of satisfaction, having followed the characters on their journey and reached an appropriate conclusion.

A narrative essay may also include a reflection section, where the writer discusses the significance of the story or its broader implications. This section allows the writer to share their personal insights, thoughts, or feelings about the events in the narrative and may offer a deeper perspective on the themes or messages explored in the essay.

The reflection, when included, can help to elevate the narrative by adding depth and context to the overall story.

Popular Narrative Essay Topics

Personal experiences.

Narrative essays often focus on personal experiences as they allow the writer to share a unique story with their readers. These topics could include a memorable childhood event, a life lesson learned, or overcoming a significant obstacle.

Travel Experiences

Travel experiences are also popular in narrative essays, as they provide rich and vivid details for the reader to imagine. The writer can recount a fantastic trip, a cultural exchange experience, or even a challenging adventure, capturing the essence of the journey.

Achievements and Failures

Writing about achievements and failures enables the writer to reflect on their personal growth and share the lessons they’ve learned. Topics can range from winning a competition, conquering a fear, or overcoming failure to succeed in the end.

Relationships and Interactions

Narrative essays on relationships and interactions capture the emotions, lessons, and insights gained from interacting with others. The writer could tell a story of forming an unlikely friendship, navigating a challenging relationship, or learning from a mentor.

Historical or Current Events

Addressing historical or current events in narrative essays allows writers to share their perspectives and analyses. Stories could focus on significant moments in history, political events, or social movements, detailing how they’ve impacted the writer and their understanding of the world.

School and Work Experiences

School and work experiences can serve as compelling sources of inspiration for narrative essays. Writers can recount stories of innovative projects, first-time experiences, or memorable teachers and coworkers, sharing valuable insights and reflections.

Techniques Used in Narrative Essay Writing

When writing a narrative essay, authors should use various techniques to create an engaging and well-written piece. These techniques will help to capture the reader’s attention, establish a connection with the audience, and effectively convey the story.

Showing Rather than Telling

One critical technique used in narrative essay writing is showing rather than telling. It involves the use of vivid imagery and descriptions to draw the reader into the story. This allows the reader to create mental images of the events and experiences described in the essay.

For example, instead of merely stating that a character was sad, a writer could describe their frowning face or a tear rolling down their cheek.

Including conversations between characters helps to bring the story to life and provides insight into the thoughts and feelings of those involved. When writing dialogue, it’s essential to maintain a consistent tone and voice and pay attention to punctuation to ensure clarity for the reader.

The use of chronological order is also important when composing a narrative essay. Presenting events in the order they occurred is the most straightforward approach and helps the reader follow along effortlessly. While some writers may choose to mix up the sequence for a more dramatic effect, it is crucial to ensure that the narrative remains clear and easy to understand.

Character development plays a significant role in creating a compelling narrative essay. The thoughts, emotions, and experiences of the characters should evolve throughout the story. A well-developed character with realistic reactions and growth helps engage the reader and creates a deeper connection to the narrative.

Strong Narrative Voice

Employing a strong narrative voice is crucial to a successful narrative essay. The narrative voice can be the author’s own or a fictional character, but it should be consistent and engaging. The voice should provide a unique perspective on the events taking place and help guide the reader through the story.

Types of Narrative Essay

Personal narrative essay.

A personal narrative essay is written from the author’s perspective and shares a personal story or experience. This type of essay often involves reflection on the significance of the event, as well as how it has shaped the author’s life.

Biographical Narrative Essay

A biographical narrative essay focuses on telling the life story of an individual other than the author. It may cover key events or experiences from the person’s life and often requires research to gather accurate information about the subject.

Literacy Narrative Essay

A literacy narrative essay explores an individual’s experiences with reading , writing , or language . It can discuss how these experiences have shaped the individual’s understanding and use of language, as well as any challenges they have faced in their literacy journey.

Historical Narrative Essay

A historical narrative essay tells the story of a significant event, era, or person within a historical context. This type of essay requires the author to research and gather accurate historical information while weaving it into a well-structured narrative.

Reflective Narrative Essay

A reflective narrative essay involves the author discussing an experience or event in their life and examining its impact on their personal growth and development. The focus is on how the event has shaped the individual’s values, beliefs, or understanding of the world.

Descriptive Narrative Essay

A descriptive narrative essay aims to paint a vivid picture of a person, place, or situation through detailed observations and sensory language. It can evoke emotions and immerse the reader in the setting, creating an engaging narrative experience.

Examples of Narrative Essay in Literature

Short story, examples of narrative essay in pop culture, creative writing, how to write a narrative essay.

A narrative essay is a type of essay that tells a story or recounts an event, often through the author’s personal experiences. Writing a narrative essay can be an enlightening and engaging experience for both the writer and the reader.

Impacts of Narrative Essay on Literature

Narrative essays play a significant role in literature, as they provide authors with a platform to express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas in a compelling manner. They enable readers to connect with the story, allowing them to empathize with the author or the characters.

Understanding of Human Experience

Narrative essays offer an opportunity for writers to share their own life experiences, making them relatable and captivating to readers. This form of writing encourages a deeper understanding of human emotions, challenges, and growth.

Exploration of Themes and Issues

Through narrative essays, authors can delve into various themes and issues, such as love, loss, friendship, conflict, and societal norms. This allows readers to see multiple perspectives, fostering critical thinking and empathy.

Development of Narrative Skills

Aspiring writers can hone their narrative skills by writing narrative essays, learning to organize their thoughts, developing interesting plotlines, and creating captivating characters. This process helps writers improve their storytelling techniques, making their work more engaging.

Reflection and Learning

Writing narrative essays encourages self-reflection and introspection, allowing authors to analyze their own experiences and learn from them. It serves as a therapeutic outlet and a learning tool for personal growth and development.

Versatility

Narrative essays are versatile forms of writing that can be adapted to various genres and styles, such as fiction , nonfiction , and even poetry . This flexibility allows writers to experiment with different forms and voices, expanding their creative horizons.

Influence on Other Literary Forms

The narrative essay format has had a profound impact on other literary forms, such as novels , short stories , and memoirs . The storytelling techniques developed through writing narrative essays contribute to the richness and depth of these other literary works.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some common mistakes to avoid in a narrative essay.

Common mistakes to avoid when writing a narrative essay include a lack of focus, insufficient development of the story, and an unclear message. To avoid these pitfalls, ensure that the story has a clear central theme, develop the narrative with ample details, and convey a discernible message or lesson.

What is the difference between a narrative essay and a short story?

While both a narrative essay and a short story tell a tale, the main difference lies in their purpose. A narrative essay aims to share a personal experience and often a lesson learned from it, while a short story primarily aims to entertain. Narrative essays are usually written in the first person, while short stories can be written from any point of view.

Can a narrative essay be fictional?

Yes, while many narrative essays are based on personal experiences, they can also be entirely fictional. The key is to tell a compelling story that conveys a clear theme or message, whether it’s based on real events or is a product of the author’s imagination.

Narrative essays offer a compelling medium to share your unique stories, experiences, and perspectives. By weaving together the threads of plot, character, setting, and conflict, you can create an engaging narrative that captivates your readers, immerses them in your world, and leaves them with a lasting impression.

Remember, each narrative essay is not just about recounting a tale; it’s an opportunity to express personal growth, share lessons learned, and convey themes that resonate. So, the next time you have a story to tell, consider a narrative essay, where life’s experiences transform into a literary tapestry of meaning and connection. Happy writing!

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Home ➔ What's an Essay? ➔ What is a Narrative Essay?

What is a Narrative Essay?

A narrative essay is a common academic task that is liked more because of the creative freedom you can unleash when writing it. A chance to take a breather from all the analytical, persuading, and argumentative papers . This article is for you if you want to better understand what a narrative essay is and what its core components are.

The Definition of a Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is a written academic assignment in which a student has to narrate (tell) a short story (in most cases nonfiction). But the main purpose here is to focus on one particular point that you want to get across to the reader. If planned correctly, a story can be used as an effective tool that can either entertain someone, argue your point, or explain a concept.

One of the dictionary definitions of the word “narrative” describes it as “an account, report, or story, as of events and experiences.”

In some cases, it can even be a fictional story. But it might be difficult and rather time-consuming to come up with something really good if writing fiction is not your thing. And, telling something that genuinely happened to you can help you establish a better connection with the reader.

A narrative essay can be roughly divided into several types: fictional story, personal narrative, and general narrative. The last one is exactly what we will talk about in the following parts.

Note: You can learn more about essays and their features in general in this guide: What is an essay?

What’s a Personal Narrative?

A personal narrative essay is a paper that tells about something that is related to your personality. It focuses on your life events and experiences and your progression in life. This essay is generally narrated in the first-person (using “I”) and is often required as part of college admissions and various contests.

What’s a Literacy Narrative?

A literacy narrative essay is a type of essay that tells the story of the writer’s journey to literacy. It includes the challenges and successes that the writer has experienced on their path to becoming literate. Literacy narrative essays can be heartwarming, inspirational, and educational.

Main Characteristics of a Narrative Essay

Most academic essays are standardized, meaning they should be written and formatted in a certain way, following a set of rules. So make sure to check the formatting and citation style you have to use (usually MLA or APA) and check the step-by-step writing guide we linked to below.

Note: To learn out more about the writing stages for this paper, please consider reading the following article: How to write a narrative essay .

• Purpose: Emotionally engage your audience.
• Style: Descriptive first-person narration.
• Focus: One central point that you want to convey.
• Order: Chronological order of events.
• Dialog: You are allowed to use dialogs.
• Language: Clear and concise, only what matters.
• Level: Can be assigned in elementary, middle, high school, and college.

Now that you understand what a narrative essay is and what its types and features are, we will discuss the seven main elements a narrative is comprised of.

Seven Major Elements of a Narrative

Any seemingly complex machine can become simplistic once its disassembled and all its parts are thoroughly studied. Even the most complicated contraption can be simplified if broken into fundamental parts. Similarly, we will try our best to take a narrative essay apart and study its every major component in depth.

1. Plot (Storyline)

Any story is based on a plot that determines how the narrative begins, progresses, and ends. This is where you plan how events unfold and develop from one to another. It is important to think through the order in which you tell about events even if you are writing nonfiction.

Because narrative essays are much shorted than your regular stories or novels, you can’t afford to make the plot too complicated. So make sure to think about how you would engage the readers emotionally and define the main point that you want to highlight.

2. Setting (Backdrop)

The setting of a story tells us when and where the narrative takes place. It is the time, the geographic location, and the cultural circumstances.

When writing a narrative essay, describe the sounds, visuals, smells, and tastes to paint a vivid picture in the head of the reader and help them immerse in the story.

3. Characters

Everybody who’s in your story is a character, even animals if they play a significant role. Obviously, when writing a personal narrative essay, you are the main character. Side characters are also important, as they can be a good way to progress the story.

A motif is something that recurs in a narrative and helps you stitch the parts of your essay together. It can be some kind of idea, object, word, image, or thought that supports your main point.

For instance, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, the mockingbird is one of the main motifs of the story. It is a symbol of innocence, as the thought of killing it is viewed as a sin by both Miss Maudie and Atticus because it’s just a harmless bird singing songs.

Another good example is the motif of “doublethink” in the novel 1984 by George Orwell . Doublethink is this idea or reality distortion and control that manifests in the ability to fit two opposing thoughts in someone’s head and (what’s even scarier) accept the fake reality.

A mood in a narrative essay is a certain atmosphere you set for the story. By using various descriptive words and mysterious

A mood is the emotions you want the reader to experience when reading your narrative essay. If set up well, it will only compliment the main message of your story.

Moods can be created using a combination of methods:

• Setting. Let’s say you want the mood to be more peaceful and calm. You can use the weather and mention how still it is, without even a single gust of wind or a cloud, and how blue the sky is, with its seemingly endless vastness.
• Tone. When writing in the first person, you can express your opinions about the subject and change the mood accordingly. 
• Diction. One word can have many “shades” that can convey certain moods. For instance, if you aim to set an eerie mood, you can use adjectives that evoke more fear, such as “pungent,” “fetid,” “foul,” “trembling,” etc. 

6. Dialogue

Dialogue can surely be used in a narrative essay. Just make sure you really need to use it and that it is clear who’s talking and why.

Another thing to keep in mind is the dialog formatting: there’s a certain way you must write it.

All these points deserve a separate big guide, so until we have prepared our own, here are some of the articles we can It is a pretty huge topic to discuss, so here are a couple of guides that can help you if you want to use a dialog in your essay:

• Formatting: Dialogue and Monologue – Eastern Washington University
• Grammar and Style: Creative Writing: Dialogue – Florida GulfCoast University
• Function: What Role Should Dialogue Play in a Personal Narrative?

The purpose answers the “Why?” question. Why are you writing the essay? What’s the main idea you want to get across?

In most essays, the thesis statement is the “carrier” of this purpose. However, in narrative papers, a thesis usually serves as a transition to the paragraph that follows your introduction.

Remember that you will show this purpose only at the end of your narrative—in its conclusion.

There are a couple of ways you can approach this part:

I. Teach a Moral Lesson

You can base your essay on a valuable lesson and use your narrative as a way to teach, ending your writing with it.

Example 1: “And that day, I finally understood that friendship was far more important than all the money in the world.”

Example 2: “After that adventure, she realized that being honest with yourself was a key to her happiness.”

II. Make a Prediction

As another way to end your narrative essay, you can predict what can happen because of what you described in the story.

Example 1: “I just wish that someday I will be able to do the same for someone going through a similar crisis.”

Example 2: “And if my sister wants to take on such a huge project ever again, she will undoubtedly ask for help.”

III. Present a Revelation

A revelation tells how the events impacted the main character and changed or taught them.

Example 1: “Now I understand how much bravery, resolve, and dedication it takes to be a firefighter.”

Example 2: “Since that fateful day, my sister and I visit the memorial every month to honor the selfless act that saved our lives”

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Narrative Essays: Types, Features, Format, and Writing Tips

A narrative essay is a story told from a personal point of view. Narrative essays test your creativity and ability to tell a story in an interesting manner. You are not merely expected to narrate your experience; rather, you should narrate it in a way that will engage your audience. The aim is to move the audience and arouse their emotions, ensuring that they laugh, empathize, get annoyed, afraid, or happy, among others.

• 1 What is a Narrative Essay?
• 2 Our Sample Narrative Essays
• 3 Why Write a Narrative Essay?
• 4.1 Three Main Sections
• 4.2 Use of Sensory Language
• 4.3 Use of Dialogue
• 4.4 Chronological Order
• 4.5 Historical Present Tense
• 5.1 Autobiographical Narrative Essay
• 5.2 Descriptive Narrative Essay
• 6.1 Choose a topic
• 6.2 Start writing
• 6.3 Edit your essay
• 6.4 Proofread your final essay
• 6.5 Prices Starting At:
• 7.1 Introduction
• 7.3 Conclusion
• 8 Tips for Writing a Good Comparative Essay
• 9 Narrative Essay Topics

What is a Narrative Essay?

A narrative essay is a real or imagined story. Real narrative essays are based on personal experiences. Imagined narrative essays are based on the writer’s thoughts, creativity, and ability to create a lifelike experience. Since this type of essay is based on personal experience, writers are allowed to write in the first person (use of the pronoun ‘I’).

Our Sample Narrative Essays

Before you place your order, you may want to sample some of the example narrative essays written by our experienced narrative essay writers to gauge the quality of our writing.

From Strangers to Lovers  (Format: APA 7)

The End of the World  (Format: MLA)

Why Write a Narrative Essay?

Unlike other essay types, the main idea behind narrative essays is to tell a story. Writers are not required to analyze facts, provide evidence, make critiques, or persuade readers. It is up to the readers to make their own conclusions.

Narrative essays allow writers to exercise their creativity fully. Sometimes, the challenge is compressing an entire story into a few words. Most narrative essays have a word count of approximately 500 words.

Features of a Narrative Essay

Three main sections.

Like other essay types, narrative essays have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. What sets narrative essays apart from other essays is that the body has several parts. The body must have a clear plot, the story’s characters, setting, conflict, and the story’s climax/conflict resolution. The essay must also have the author’s point of view.

Use of Sensory Language

Narrative essay writers aim to create lifelike experiences in the story. This calls for the use of sensory language, which allows the reader to visualize the author’s ideas. The writer needs to consider which sensory details are important for a particular story. For instance, when writing about a haunted house, the writer should ensure that their choice of words appeals to ears and eyes. When writing about an experience they had in a restaurant, the sensory details to focus on would be taste and smell.

Use of Dialogue

Dialogue is a sure way of capturing your readers’ attention. Dialogue makes the story real and interesting. It enables the reader to immerse themselves in the story and momentarily forget that they are reading it. The story’s characters are the main drivers of dialogue in a narrative essay. Dialogue adds variety to the story since it allows the writer to shift from narrating the story to taking the readers to the story’s actual setting, albeit imaginary.

Chronological Order

It is easy for your reader to follow your story when you organize events in the order in which they occurred. This calls for the use of transition words, such as first, second, next, then, and finally. These words make it easy for the reader to follow the story.

Sometimes, writers choose to employ flashbacks or foreshadowing. This means that they do not necessarily narrate the story’s events in the order in which they occurred. These techniques are deliberate shifts in the story’s chronology with the aim of piquing the reader’s interest and creating suspense.

Narrative essays that stick to the story’s order of events are known as linear narratives. Contrarily, those that shift the story’s chronology are referred to as non-linear narratives.

Historical Present Tense

A narrative essay recounts past events as if they were happening in the present. As such, the use of the historical past and present tenses is important. The historical present describes past events as if they were happening now. Like other essays, the present and past tenses are also ordinarily used in narrative essays.

Types of Narrative Essays

Autobiographical narrative essay.

Just like an autobiography, autobiographical essays are real. The writer gives an account of what actually happened in their life.  This type of narrative essay places great emphasis on the actual occurrences and not the little details that would be captured in a descriptive narrative essay.

Descriptive Narrative Essay

The author uses vivid descriptions to relay their experience or memory with the aim of evoking the reader’s various senses. With descriptive narrative essays, the writer also seeks to tell their story in the simplest words possible. The story can be real or imagined, which allows the writer to exercise a lot of creativity.

How to Start Writing a Narrative Essay

Choose a topic.

Settle on a topic and then collect information about it. The topic should not be mundane or one that is overly done. A good starting point would be drawing inspiration from a real-life experience and crafting a captivating story out it. Ensure you stick to a specific theme and remain coherent.

Tips for Choosing a Good Topic

When asked to write a narrative essay, you will enjoy the flexibility that this essay type offers since you can write about almost any aspect of life, real or imagined.

Sometimes, your professor will assign you a specific topic to write about. Other times, you will be given an essay prompt that allows you to choose a topic you prefer.

Specific topics include writing about:

• A life-changing experience.
• Your discovery of a cure for a disease.

Prompts can be open-ended, such as writing about:

• Your first teacher.
• Your first time on a plane.

Interesting stories take unexpected turns along the way, which compels your audience and sustains their interest. Narrative essays are also an opportunity to showcase your personality and what you think about life. When writing a narrative essay for admission into school, ensure your story illustrates your qualities, such as empathy, hard work, resilience, and motivation, among others.

Choosing a topic is a mere starting point. Often, you will think of new ideas along the way that you did not anticipate. The story may take a different but interesting turn, which often sees students changing their essay topic eventually.

Start writing

This entails drafting an essay outline. Essentially, your story should have a three-part plot that has a setting, central point and focus of the essay (climax), and a conclusion. An outline helps you foresee where to incorporate twists and turns, where to add more details, where to add more spice, and where to end the story, among others.

Edit your essay

The editing stage looks out for structure, style, and content errors. As such, ensure your essay has a smooth flow, is void of repetitions, is simple, and is easy to understand.

Proofread your final essay

This stage focuses on the small details such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

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Format of a Narrative Essay

Introduction.

The first paragraph of a narrative essay is the introductory paragraph. It gives the essay’s background information as well as the writer’s main purpose for writing the essay. This paragraph sets the essay’s scene. The reader should be able to tell the essay’s setting, be it geographical, cultural, or historical setting, among others. The introductory paragraph also carries the essay’s thesis statement (e.g., I never attached so much value to online learning until the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world). A thesis statement gives the reader a brief overview of the essay’s key argument. It should not discuss the details; instead, it should give the reader a general idea in such a way that their interest in the topic is aroused. Ensure your introductory paragraph also has a hook that will capture the reader’s attention right from the start. A hook can be a famous quote related to your topic, an intriguing statement, or a question.

The essay’s body should have at least three paragraphs, although they can be more.

Body paragraph 1: the rising action (i.e., what leads to the main events in the story).

Body paragraph 2: the actual occurrence/essay’s climax

Body paragraph 3: the falling action/what happens after the actual occurrence.

The conclusion is a summary of the essay’s main points. Be careful not to repeat everything already discussed. Only focus on the major points to avoid redundancy. Remember to restate your essay’s statement (e.g., institutions, teachers, and parents should embrace online learning since it allows for the continuity of education in the wake of pandemics).

Tips for Writing a Good Comparative Essay

Involve your audience : A narrative essay must engage the audience as much as possible. As a writer, you should go beyond telling the story and recreate what actually happened. This requires the use of words that appeal to the reader’s sensory and visual senses.

A clear plot : Ensure you have a clear plot. The reader should be able to tell who the characters are and what the story’s setting is. Besides the plot, a narrative essay should have a climax.

Keep it simple : The simpler the wording, the easier it is for the reader to understand your story. Avoid complex word choices and focus on telling your story in the simplest words possible.

Leave out unnecessary details : Narrative essays require writers to use vivid descriptions. However, do not overuse vivid descriptions. Focus on describing what is important and leave out unnecessary details.

Minimize references : Narrative essays are often stories from personal experience. As such, the use of references is not necessary. However, you still need to credit sources if you used them in your essay.

Use the first person : Avoid writing in the second person. As mentioned earlier, the use of the first-person pronoun ‘I’ is acceptable when writing narrative essays. Strive to write the story from your own point of view.

The thesis statement does not have to be concrete : Your introductory paragraph should have a thesis statement, just like most essays. However, the thesis statement does not need to be concrete for this type of essay. At this point, you may be wondering if a thesis statement is necessary. Yes, it is! As much as the story is about you, the audience should be able to learn something from it. The narrative should have a universal meaning that the reader can relate with.

Narrative Essay Topics

Sometimes, your professor will give you a topic for your narrative essay. However, you might need to pick your own topic sometimes.

You can get essay topic ideas by:

• Thinking about personal experiences
• Searching the internet
• Watching the news on TV
• Thinking about your hobbies, favorite movies, novels, et cetera
• Taking a walk where you can brainstorm and come up with ideas

If you cannot think about a good topic, you can place an order on WritingElites.net and we will save the day for you!

Below are some good essay topics you can consider for your narrative essay:

• My first day at school
• The day you watched your favorite football team play live
• An embarrassing moment
• A blind date
• An encounter with racism
• Getting lost in a new city
• A life-changing experience
• A day you lived in another planet
• Your discovery of a cure for a disease
• Life in a remote village that has 30 hours in a day

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Narrative Essay | Elements, Tips and Outline of a Narrative Essay

Narrative Essay: A narrative essay is a way to tell a story about your personal experience in a clear and interesting way. In a  narrative essay, you have to imagine where your story begins and ends, and how to describe it with eye-catching language. To write a narrative essay you have to put yourself in that story.

It is a type of essay that has a main point around which the whole narrative revolves. All incidents, happenings, and characters are related to the same point. A narrative essay has characters, incidents, and dialogues which are written in a proper format.

Narrative essays tell a story, usually from one person’s personal point of view. A narrative essay has all the story elements — a beginning, middle and ending, as well as plot, characters, setting and climax all brought together to complete the story.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Elements of a Narrative Essay

A narrative essay mainly consists of three required elements: character, theme, and dialogue.

Character: Characters are an important element of a narrative essay. It is the lead role as the story revolves around the character. The person writing the essay is a character itself. It also involves some other characters who act, behave, and do like all other characters presented in stories and novels.

Theme or Motif

A narrative essay is not a type of an attractive story but it has a theme or a motif. Narrative essays teach a lesson to the reader.

It narrates people’s personal experiences to teach lessons to readers. In fact, it is like a story, but revolves around a motif. The main motif of the narrative essay is to make the readers aware of this single theme, central idea, or motif once they go through the essay. The major aim of narrative essays is to provide information about life experiences and lessons learned from those experiences.

Dialogue is used for the conversation between characters. In a narrative essay, dialogue is the third important element, which is used to develop an interest in the story.

Dialogue is very important in narrative essays without which the characters lose their worth and liveliness. Dialogues give life to the character in the essay.

Narrative Essay Outline

To write a good essay, the first thing you need is to create a proper outline. Creating an outline means it is half the way you go and it is an important part of a good essay.

Divide your essay into three parts.

Introduction

Start with something amazing. Add a detailed explanation of your topic and tell about what you are going to discuss in the main body. State a good story but you should have a motif or a good theme.

Follow these points for writing a great introduction.

• Introduce the topic
• Include supporting sentences
• State the thesis statement

Once you have attracted your readers, now you can start your story. If the introduction is good enough then only the readers move towards the body. Now start writing your story chronologically in a proper format.

The main body is the section where your entire essay is created. Add the following points in it:

• Try to keep your story in chronological order so that the reader can understand the storyline easily.
• Narrate the incidents in an order leading to the final conclusion.
• The beginning and the concluding lines must be related to the main part of the events described in the story.
• Write one idea in each paragraph

Make sure that your essay serves the main motif. Conclude your essay with your message. The conclusion must be strong enough to reach the heart of the readers.

• Summarize the key points of your essay
• Repeat your message so that your readers get reminders about the central message
• Try to leave the prints on the minds of the readers.

Easy Tips on Writing a Narrative Essay

When writing a narrative essay, remember that you are sharing personal and emotional details with the reader.

• Before writing a narrative essay it is very important to decide the motive behind it.
• The use of clear and concise language throughout the essay is necessary.
• Your words and sentences need to be attractive and heart-touching to help the reader feel the same feelings that you felt.
• Elements of the story must be used in the proper format..
• You may use flashbacks and flash-forwards to build the climax in the story so that the readers are interested In your story.
• Narrative essays are usually written in the first person, but the third-person view may also be used.

FAQ’s on Narrative Essay

Question 1. How is a Narrative Essay different from a Short Story?

Answer: A narrative essay has a specific motif, specific format and specific aspect to discover. It revolves around that motif or a theme set by the writer prior to writing the essay. Whereas a short story is different from a narrative essay in that it does not revolve around a specific motif, and also it does not have a specific format. Also, a short story always leaves readers in suspense with the desire to discover more. Whereas, a narrative essay ends when the readers are fully satisfied.

Question 2. How to begin a Narrative Essay?

Answer: Start the essay with an attractive statement followed by sensory details. You must use easy and attractive language from the beginning to grab the readers’ attention.

Following are different ways to start the essay:

• Start with a famous quote written by someone to catch your reader’s attention
• Use a mystery in the story.
• Make use of statements so that the reader can feel the same pain as if you..
• Be more precise so that the readers don’t find it messy.
• Your motif should be clearly highlighted.

Definition and Examples of Narratives in Writing

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

The definition of narrative is a piece of writing that tells a story, and it is one of four classical rhetorical modes or ways that writers use to present information. The others include an exposition, which explains and analyzes an idea or set of ideas; an argument, which attempts to persuade the reader to a particular point of view; and a description, a written form of a visual experience.

Key Takeaways: Narrative Definition

• A narrative is a form of writing that tells a story. 
• Narratives can be essays, fairy tales, movies, and jokes. 
• Narratives have five elements: plot, setting, character, conflict, and theme. 
• Writers use narrator style, chronological order, a point of view, and other strategies to tell a story.

Telling stories is an ancient art that started long before humans invented writing. People tell stories when they gossip, tell jokes, or reminisce about the past. Written forms of narration include most forms of writing: personal essays, fairy tales, short stories, novels, plays, screenplays, autobiographies, histories, even news stories have a narrative. Narratives may be a sequence of events in chronological order or an imagined tale with flashbacks or multiple timelines.

Narrative Elements

Every narrative has five elements that define and shape the narrative: plot, setting, character , conflict , and theme. These elements are rarely stated in a story; they are revealed to the readers in the story in subtle or not-so-subtle ways, but the writer needs to understand the elements to assemble her story. Here's an example from "The Martian," a novel by Andy Weir that was made into a film:

• The plot is the thread of events that occur in a story. Weir's plot is about a man who gets accidentally abandoned on the surface of Mars.
• The setting is the location of the events in time and place. "The Martian" is set on Mars in the not-too-distant future.
• The characters are the people in the story who drive the plot, are impacted by the plot, or may even be bystanders to the plot. The characters in "The Martian" include Mark Watney, his shipmates, the people at NASA resolving the issue, and even his parents who are only mentioned in the story but still are impacted by the situation and in turn impact Mark's decisions.
• The conflict is the problem that is being resolved. Plots need a moment of tension, which involves some difficulty that requires resolution. The conflict in "The Martian" is that Watney needs to figure out how to survive and eventually leave the planet's surface.
• Most important and least explicit is the theme . What is the moral of the story? What does the writer intend the reader to understand? There are arguably several themes in "The Martian": the ability of humans to overcome problems, the stodginess of bureaucrats, the willingness of scientists to overcome political differences, the dangers of space travel, and the power of flexibility as a scientific method.

Setting Tone and Mood

In addition to structural elements, narratives have several styles that help move the plot along or serve to involve the reader. Writers define space and time in a descriptive narrative, and how they choose to define those characteristics can convey a specific mood or tone.

For example, chronological choices can affect the reader's impressions. Past events always occur in strict chronological order, but writers can choose to mix that up, show events out of sequence, or the same event several times experienced by different characters or described by different narrators. In Gabriel García Márquez's novel "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," the same few hours are experienced in sequence from the viewpoint of several different characters. García Márquez uses that to illustrate the peculiar almost magical inability of the townspeople to stop a murder they know is going to happen.

The choice of a narrator is another way that writers set the tone of a piece. Is the narrator someone who experienced the events as a participant, or one who witnessed the events but wasn't an active participant? Is that narrator an omniscient undefined person who knows everything about the plot including its ending, or is he confused and uncertain about the events underway? Is the narrator a reliable witness or lying to themselves or the reader? In the novel "Gone Girl," by Gillian Flynn, the reader is forced to constantly revise her opinion as to the honesty and guilt of the husband Nick and his missing wife. In "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov, the narrator is Humbert Humbert, a pedophile who constantly justifies his actions despite the damage that Nabokov illustrates he's doing.

Point of View

Establishing a point of view for a narrator allows the writer to filter the events through a particular character. The most common point of view in fiction is the omniscient (all-knowing) narrator who has access to all the thoughts and experiences of each of her characters. Omniscient narrators are almost always written in the third person and do not usually have a role in the storyline. The Harry Potter novels, for example, are all written in third person; that narrator knows everything about everybody but is unknown to us.

The other extreme is a story with a first-person point of view in which the narrator is a character within that story, relating events as they see them and with no visibility into other character motivations. Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" is an example of this: Jane relates her experiences of the mysterious Mr. Rochester to us directly, not revealing the full explanation until "Reader, I married him."

Points of view can also be effectively shifted throughout a piece—in her novel "Keys to the Street," Ruth Rendell used limited third-person narratives from the point of view of five different characters, enabling the reader to assemble a coherent whole out of what first appears to be unrelated stories. 

Other Strategies

Writers also use the grammatical strategies of tense (past, present, future), person (first person, second person, third person), number (singular, plural) and voice (active, passive). Writing in the present tense is unsettling—the narrators have no idea what will happen next—while past tense can build in some foreshadowing. Many recent novels use the present tense, including "The Martian." A writer sometimes personalizes the narrator of a story as a specific person for a specific purpose: The narrator can only see and report on what happens to him or her. In "Moby Dick," the entire story is told by the narrator Ishmael, who relates the tragedy of the mad Captain Ahab, and is situated as the moral center.

E.B. White, writing columns in 1935's "New Yorker" magazine, often used the plural or "editorial we" to add a humorous universality and a slow pace to his writing.

"The barber was cutting our hair, and our eyes were closed—as they are so likely to be... Deep in a world of our own, we heard, from far away, a voice saying goodbye. It was a customer of the shop, leaving. 'Goodbye,' he said to the barbers. 'Goodbye,' echoed the barbers. And without ever returning to consciousness, or opening our eyes, or thinking, we joined in. 'Goodbye,' we said, before we could catch ourselves."—E.B. White "Sadness of Parting."

In contrast, sportswriter Roger Angell (White's stepson) epitomizes sports writing, with a quick, active voice, and straight chronological snap:

"In September 1986, during an unmomentous Giants-Braves game out at Candlestick Park, Bob Brenly, playing third base for San Francisco, made an error on a routine ground ball in the top of the fourth inning. Four batters later, he kicked away another chance and then, scrambling after the ball, threw wildly past home in an attempt to nail a runner there: two errors on the same play. A few moments after that, he managed another boot, thus becoming only the fourth player since the turn of the century to rack up four errors in one inning."—Roger Angell. "La Vida."

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• How to Summarize a Plot
• Organizational Strategies for Using Chronological Order in Writing
• Introduction to Magical Realism
• What Are the Parts of a Short Story? (How to Write Them)
• How a Narrative Arc Structures a Story
• Motifs in Fiction and Nonfiction
• How to Find a Narrative’s Climax
• A Princess of Mars: Study Guide
• Using Flashback in Writing
• Top 10 Must-Read Books of the 1920s
• How Denouement Is Used in a Narrative
• Exemplum in Rhetoric

Characteristics of Narrative Essays

Jana sosnowski, 26 sep 2017.

The narrative essay reports events or tells a story using elements of fiction. Plot, characters and details are included in a narrative essay. Generally, these essays are written in chronological order. The purpose of the narrative essay is to share a personal experience that a reader can identify with or learn from. The characteristics of a narrative essay include use of characters and setting, literary techniques, chronology and a moral to the story.

Explore this article

• Characters and Setting
• Literary Techniques
• Moral of the Story

1 Characters and Setting

Characters and setting are storytelling elements that give life to the narrative essay. It is important to choose the characters who are most important to the story development. Characters' personalities should follow the "showing, not telling" rule and demonstrate the qualities of each character. In developing the characters, use the actions and dialogue of the character to show personality and mood. Setting can include visual details, tastes, sounds and smells. Specific measurements can add to details about shape, time and size.

2 Literary Techniques

In addition to showing the actions and personalities of characters and giving visual details of the setting, add details and description to the narrative essay through the use of writing techniques. Use of figurative language, such as similes and metaphors, can add to the descriptive quality of the the narrative essay. These comparisons allow the reader to draw personal connections with the writing and topic. Monologues, humor and suspense increase the reader's interest in the narrative.

3 Chronology

A narrative essay is written in chronological order — that is, events told in the order of occurrence. Transition words should cue the passage of time. Examples of appropriate transition words include first, later, before, afterward and meanwhile. Flashback sequences are used in narratives to give context to the story.

4 Moral of the Story

The key point or reflection of the story is often presented as the moral of the story at the end of a narrative essay. In this final section of the essay, the writer reflects on the experience presented in the narration and discusses the lesson learned or larger importance of the story. The conclusion may also include the significance of the event to the author's own life or to a broader population.

• 1 Capital Community College Foundation: Guide to Grammar and Writing: Narrative and Descriptive
• 2 National Council of Teachers of English: 7 Narrative Writing Activities

About the Author

Based in Los Angeles, Jana Sosnowski holds Master of Science in educational psychology and instructional technology, She has spent the past 11 years in education, primarily in the secondary classroom teaching English and journalism. Sosnowski has also worked as a curriculum writer for a math remediation program. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in print journalism from the University of Southern California.

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Do you want to create a perfect narrative essay but need help figuring out how to do it? Please be assured that we have your back. To learn all you want to know about writing a perfect narrative essay, read this article.

In a narrative essay, you deliver a message while also telling a tale, often about a personal event. Therefore, the narrative serves two purposes: to entertain the audience and to highlight the significance of the experience. Essentially, narrative writing is like writing a story. A narrative can be either fiction or nonfiction, or it can lie somewhere in the middle, such as in the form of historical fiction, theatrical retellings of real-world events, or semi-autobiographical stories. A piece is narrative writing if it delivers a story using a narrative structure.

Essentially, writing a narrative is writing a story. Writers communicate their point of view chronologically by using a narrator style. There are various timelines and flashbacks. Essays, fairy tales, autobiographies, and news articles are a few common examples of narrative writing.

Table of Contents

What is a narrative essay for?

You may think about the reason your teacher assigned you a narrative essay. Narrative essay subjects might range from significant to insignificant. The way you convey the narrative, rather than the story itself, is usually more important.

You can demonstrate your ability to tell a story engagingly and straightforwardly by writing a narrative essay. You must consider the beginning and end of your story as well as how to tell it with engaging vocabulary and satisfactory pacing.

These abilities differ significantly from those required for conventional academic writing. For instance, it is recommended to utilise the first person in narrative essays as well as dialogue, figurative language, and suspense.

Types of narrative writing

There are multiple ways to write a narrative. The right narrative for your essay just depends on your goals for the article you are writing.

Linear narrative

In a linear narrative, the events of a story are revealed chronologically. The majority of stories in novels, movies, TV shows, and other forms of media are linear. Each scene in a linear story is followed by the one that has the most sense. There may be a gap between scenes, such as when the third chapter of a book picks up two years after the events of the second chapter.

The quest narrative is a particular kind of linear narrative that you might be familiar with. The quest of a character to accomplish a goal is the subject of different storytelling styles. This quest frequently entails going to a distant location and facing challenges in order to succeed.

The historical narrative is yet another distinct category of linear narrative that you may have come across. A historical narrative tells the story of a real event or series of events using a linear timeline.

Nonlinear narrative

A nonlinear narrative delivers the events of its story in a different order than a linear narrative does. We use a nonlinear description in our writing to stress our characters’ feelings and viewpoints on the story’s events. Additionally, you can draw attention to significant occurrences and incorporate scenes with crucial facts that otherwise wouldn’t fit into your story’s timeline.

Viewpoint narrative

In a viewpoint narrative, the emphasis is on the narrator’s interpretation of the story’s events. These stories tend to focus more on the characters than the storyline. You can explore different parts of your protagonist’s personality and let your readers in on their thoughts by using a narrative viewpoint. This kind of narrative works well for personal essays and stories with themes of perspective and personal development.

Descriptive narrative

A descriptive narrative focuses on the appearance and sensation of the story’s setting, characters, and objects. A viewpoint narrative seeks to establish immersion in a character’s inner world, a constrained perspective on the story’s world; this is different from how it aims to generate total immersion in the story’s world.

To discuss the subject you are addressing in a descriptive essay, you will employ descriptive narrative strategies. These include similes, personification, and the use of vivid imagery to introduce particular objects and concepts.

The length of a narrative essay

There is no predetermined length for narrative essays. Depending on who is assigning the work and which organisation is running the course, a different word count may be necessary. Some story essays are only 500 words long, while others may be several hundred words long. Your story essay rules may occasionally stipulate that you need at least 1,000 words.

If a word count is specified, such as 500–600 words, you must adhere to it. If there is no time limit, the length of your job is entirely up to you. At least a few hundred words should be included in an excellent narrative essay. It should have three or more body paragraphs and a distinct introduction and conclusion.

Your task should be concise and direct, regardless of how long it is. A narrative essay should summarise the main ideas of a story without necessarily going into great detail. Only the most significant individuals, settings, and events should be included. Don’t be afraid to use some descriptive language, but don’t use it excessively.

How to choose a topic for a narrative essay

The subjects for narrative essays can cover practically any facet of human existence, making them quite versatile. You can be given a topic to write about when asked to write a narrative essay, or you might be given the option to choose one yourself.

There are two types of prompts for topics that have been assigned: Specific and Open-minded.

Examples of specific prompts:

• Write about your most recent vacation.
• Write about your middle school senior year.

Examples of open-minded prompts:

• Describe an occasion when you completely believed that all hopes were lost.
• Describe a quick, seemingly unimportant event that ultimately had a huge impact on your life.

It is important to remember that a narrative essay is about telling a tale, and all great stories have a conflict of some kind at their core. Be careful to choose a topic that isn’t merely a routine occasion when everything turns out as planned. Unexpected challenges, detours, and turns make for much more fascinating writings and show more about personality and worldview.

Always keep in mind that when writing a narrative essay specifically for an admissions application, the readers will be looking at it to get a feel of both your writing skills and who you are as a person. In these situations, it’s a good idea to pick a subject and an experience from your life that exemplifies the traits the prompt is looking for, such as resiliency, perseverance, the capacity to remain composed under pressure, etc.

Additionally, it’s critical to keep in mind that your topic selection is just the beginning. Since many students discover new ideas and insights while writing their first drafts, your essay’s ultimate shape may have a very different focus from the one you originally started with.

How to outline and format a narrative essay

A narrative essay still requires a cohesive framework even though you’re not making a claim or demonstrating a point of view. As you narrate the story, your reader must be able to follow along and understand the bigger point you’re trying to convey.

Your handling of the subject and the organisation of your essay will be heavily weighed in your evaluation. Even if you’re the type of writer who prefers to “go with the flow” and follow the tale as it develops, you might still want to create a rough outline to give yourself some direction so you tell your story clearly and effectively.

The most fundamental markers to determine while structuring your narrative essay are the beginning and end of your story, as well as how many significant moments will occur in between. Pace and tone should also be taken into account.

A narrative essay should almost always be written in the first person, which is frequently a welcome change for students who are used to writing from an objective third-person perspective.

It’s also a good idea to seek opportunities to use rhetorical flourishes, like metaphor and analogy, that improve the expressiveness and originality of your essay when you’re outlining and structuring it. Try thinking about how your narrative connects to archetypes and well-known historical and literary figures from both the past and the present to get your creative juices flowing. To write better and connect your personal experience to a broader perspective, include these parallels in your essay.

Characteristics of narrative writing

Narrative writing is no different from other types of writing in that it has its own distinctive qualities. The following essential elements are present in most narratives.

• Descriptive language: Instead of explaining facts directly, this language stirs up emotions. Onomatopoeia, personification, similes, and metaphors are examples of illustrative language devices.
• Nearly every story requires a protagonist among the characters. The character whose tale is being recounted as they strive to achieve a goal or overcome a struggle is known as the protagonist, also known as the main character.
• The adversary is a character that appears in almost every story. The antagonist is just the person or thing the protagonist must face to overcome hurdles; they are not necessarily the “bad guy.” An adversary can be a character, a natural force, the protagonist’s society, or even a feature of the protagonist’s psyche in many stories.
• Plot: The storyline is the sequence of actions that take place in your story. A storyline might be straightforward with just one or two key events, or it can be intricate and have multiple layers.
• The beginning: The reader and your writing meet at this point. It’s important to get their attention right away.
• The middle: The action occurs amid your tale or essay. Here, your protagonist encounters one or more challenges and reaches the story’s climax, which occurs when the protagonist either succeeds or fails in achieving their goal and the narrative shifts focus to the descending action.
• The end: After the narrative’s climax, the conclusion ties up any unfinished business, satisfies any unanswered questions, and prepares the protagonist for life after the events of the story.

Cheat code for awesome narrative writing

Use your narrative to build characters.

When you write in the first-person view, one of the characters in your story serves as the narrator. Through their word choice, point of view, and responses to the events in the story, use this position as an opportunity to develop their character. Experiment with things like an unreliable narrator, a limited point of view, or alternate narrators (which offers the reader a sample of each character’s perspective). Your narrator doesn’t have to be omniscient, trustworthy, or even the story’s only narrator.

Listen to how people tell stories

The next time, when a friend tells you a story about their day, pay close attention to both the story itself and the way they deliver it. Pay attention to the forward and backward jumps, asides, tangents, and changes in your friend’s volume and animation intensity throughout the narrative. You’ll note that some passages are “fast-forwarded,” while others diverge from the narrative’s logical, linear flow and use more evocative, abstract language. 

Keep these storytelling ebbs and flows in mind while you compose your next narrative piece. Consider the instances in the story where your friends slowed down to create tension or changed their time to reflect their emotions. Through deliberate word selection and timing, you can achieve these effects in your writing.

Mix and match narrative styles

Even when writing a linear story, you can still include descriptive or perspective aspects. If the nonlinear essay you’re writing about the five finest summers of your life requires a passage describing everything you experienced while at camp, then write that passage.

Permit yourself to have fun. Create your own onomatopoeic phrases. Consider two separate characters and describe the same structure from each one’s point of view. Then, record the characters’ exchanges with one another concerning the structure. See where you wind up by following your stream of mind as far as it will take you.

Freewriting is the term for this creative writing style. It’s a wonderful method to develop your imagination and build a universe on paper. The writing you create during a freewriting session is the raw material you’ll mould and publish into a coherent narrative later; there are no structure rules and there’s no need to worry about grammar. Permit yourself to play for the time being.

Essential elements of narrative essays

Let’s first review the fundamentals. Argumentative essays, descriptive essays, expository essays, and narrative essays are the four primary forms of essays.

In-depth stories are typically told in narrative essays from the perspective of one individual. A narrative essay uses every component of a story, including a beginning, middle, and end as well as a plot, characters, setting, and climax, to bring the story to a satisfying conclusion.

The storyline, which is described in sufficient depth to develop to a climax, is the main emphasis of a narrative essay. This is how:

• Typically, it is told in chronological order.
• It always serves a reason. This is frequently indicated in your thesis statement in the opening paragraph.
• There might be a discussion. Here are the specifics of the hope discourse that should be punctuated for more information.
• The author engages the reader with vivid descriptions and sensory details. All of these specifics are somehow related to the writer’s main argument.

Quick tips on writing a narrative essay

Keep in mind that you are sharing sensory and emotional details with the reader when writing a narrative essay.

• Your words need to be vivid and colourful to help the reader feel the same feelings that you felt.
• Whatever point you are making, elements of the story need to be supported. And, you need to remember to refer to that point in the first sentence.
• As in any story, you should incorporate conflict and sequence.
• You may use flashbacks and flash forwards to help the story build toward a climax.
• Although it is typically written in the first person, it is also possible to employ the third-person viewpoint.

You can flex your creativity and tell a brilliant story in a narrative essay. This type of essay is often a welcome departure for students who are used to writing persuasive or expository essays.

Explore the basics of the narrative essay and ace your narrative writing when you might be asked to write one.

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Narrative Essay: Inside Out

What is a narrative essay?

How is it different from other essay types?

How to write a narrative essay so it would impress a teacher, or any other reader, and be worth sharing and retelling?

This ultimate guide on narrative writing gets all the answers straight.

Table of Contents:

• Purpose of narrative essays
• Characteristics of narrative essays
• Choose a topic
• Outline the details
• Write a draft
• Revise the draft
• Edit your narrative essay
• Do’s and don’ts of your narrative essay
• Narrative essay samples

What is a Narrative Essay?

Why do we call it narrative?

Because you use a particular way of telling your story and explaining its events, known as “narrative.” Here goes the narrative definition:

Beemgee described it best:

Essay Outline: General

Narrative turns a story into information and influences the way how readers will perceive it. In other words, narrative builds your story .

So, your narrative essay is a type of paper, where you tell a story using a particular format and all elements of storytelling.

Okay, we know what you are thinking:

Source: Giphy

Keep calm! Everything is much easier than it seems.

Purpose of Narrative Essays

Narrative essays are about telling stories to your readers. It’s their fundamental purpose. You, the writer, tell about the personal experience but also make a point for readers to understand why you tell about it and why your story is important to share.

In a narrative essay, you simply guide a reader and allow them to draw own conclusions. You don’t criticize anything and don’t try to persuade them with arguments or prove them anything. That’s exactly what makes a narrative essay different from other academic papers.

Let’s compare:

Feel free to check our ultimate guide on how to write a persuasive essay and see the difference between these two essay types in more details.

Why write personal narrative essays?

Doing so, you learn to voice your opinion, views, and beliefs to the world. You learn to express and share thoughts consistently and intriguingly so people would get involved and inspired by your story.

It’s all about storytelling:

A human brain retains 70% of information through stories and 95% – through emotions; so the only way to make people want to listen to you is to tell them a story.

Source: One Spot

And such writing assignments as narrative essays help you learn how to tell stories so that others would listen to you.

Your narrative, if written right, is the best way to share views and make others see the world through your eyes. It’s the best way to make them listen, broaden the mind, and be more creative about own experience and lives.

The power of personal narrative is hard to overestimate. Just watch this awesome TED talk by Christian Jensen! Isn’t inspiring and motivating enough?

Characteristics of Narrative Essays

A narrative essay doesn’t equal a short story. It’s not fiction. It’s still an academic paper, non-fiction writing about an experience that actually happened.

If you write a fictional story, it’s no longer a narrative essay.

So, the narrative essay characteristics are:

• Informal, written in the 1st person. (You are a storyteller here.)
• With a purpose to inform, not argue or teach.
• Describes a person, a scene, or an event in details and chronological order.
• Non-fictional, tells about the actual experience.
• Includes the elements of a story but follows the structure of an essay.

The Structure of a Narrative Essay

As well as any other college paper , a narrative essay has its structure. But given that it’s kinda informal writing about your personal experience in real life, it will have a format and elements peculiar to narratives (storytelling).

Here they go:

1 – Elements

Every narrative should have five elements to become a story: plot , setting , character , conflict , and theme . Sounds difficult at first glance, but what if look closer?

• Plot: it’s the events happening in your essay (story). For example, you write about how you learned swimming and describe what you did/how it influenced your mood and swimming skills.
• Setting: it’s when and where the events happen; in other words, it’s location and time. For example, you learned swimming in the pool of your local school, in the winter of 2013.
• Character: it’s a protagonist who drives a plot of your story. Also, there can be supporting characters. Thus, you are the protagonist of your essay about swimming, and the supporting characters are your friends May and Jerry who went to the pool with you.

In classical storytelling, a character is a hero who has to set off on a journey and deal with all antagonists and conflicts to come back home with a reward or wisdom.

Source: SlideShare

It was Joseph Campbell, mythologist who developed the hero’s journey in literature. Read his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces if want to learn the tricks behind writing compelling stories.

Or, check The Writer’s Journey , the book by Disney’s screenwriter Christopher Vogler to reveal storytelling secrets behind all movie blockbusters. It’s a kinda practical guide to above mentioned The Hero with a Thousand Faces .

• Conflict: it’s a problem the character resolves, a moment of tension he needs to win through. In our example, the conflict was the challenge for you to swim with legs and arms together.

In literature, a conflict is defined as a hero’s struggle with opposing force. These forces are three: other characters (enemies), outside forces (society, nature, technology, fate), and a hero himself (his internal conflict).

In your narrative essay, feel free to use any of those three conflict types.

• Theme: it’s the moral of a story. What have you learned? What do you want the readers to understand? Back to the example with the essay about swimming: you’ve learned to swim; you want to encourage readers to learn new things, be brave and not afraid of challenges.

To combine all the five elements into a strong narrative essay, make sure you follow the format known as the narrative arc . It’s five phases your plot should get through to become a story.

In short, a narrative arc is the sequence of the events in your story.

In details, it’s the chronological construction of your plot, and it consists of five components: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Back in 1863, German novelist Gustav Freytag studied common patterns in stories’ plots and described a narrative arc as a pyramid:

Read more about a narrative arc at Reedsy .

And here’s a short description of narrative arc components, with Cinderella as an example.

• Exposition: it’s the introduction of your story, with the background information about main characters and setting. Cinderella: awful life, evil stepmother and sisters.
• Rising action: it’s the moment when conflict appears, a trigger that creates tension and makes the readers understand what your story is about. Cinderella: gets invited to the ball, makes clothes.
• Climax: it’s the main event of your story, the height of tension, when the protagonist faces the truth, needs to make a choice, etc. Cinderella: goes to the ball, meets a prince.
• Falling action: it’s the result of that choice, the moment of conflict resolution. Cinderella: time to go, back to the awful life but with the new experience.
• Resolution: it’s the conclusion of your story, with a moral or point of view you wanted to share. Cinderella: the prince finds her, they live happily.

If you want your narrative essay to rock, make sure you format it with all five components in mind. Or, use three basic ones at least: exposition (in the introduction), climax (in the essay body), and resolution (in your essay conclusion ).

3 – Structure

You need to structure a narrative essay by the rules of academic writing. For that, use a standard 5-paragraph essay format:

Write an introduction (the exposition of your narrative essay). Don’t forget to add a hook, a thesis statement, and a description of your topic.

Craft three paragraphs of your essay body (the rising action, climax, and falling action). Tell about the setting, the characters, events that happened, conflict, and its aftermath.

And write a conclusion (the resolution). Explain the moral of your story, why it’s significant, and what the audience might want to do after reading it.

Narrative Essay Structure

4 – Language

More often than not, narrative essays are about personal experience and thoughts. So you need to express them with a big voice for readers to believe your story. In writing, it refers to language patterns and sentence structures, as well as your tone and ability to “draw” images with words so readers could imagine themselves in the described situation.

How to do that?

• Stay consistent: follow the narrative arc of your story, and don’t tell anything that didn’t happen.

How to Write a Narrative Essay: Step by Step

The process of narrative essay writing is not that different from other college assignments. First, you need to choose a topic and do research on it. Second, you craft the outline with as many details as you can and start writing a draft. Third, you revise the essay, edit it, and submit to a teacher for review.

Like taking candy from a baby, right?

Here’s how to write a personal narrative essay so that it will not only help you get a high grade but also wow and inspire the readers.

Step 1 – Choose a Topic

As a rule, teachers give you the freedom of choice when it comes to the narrative essay topics. And that’s the problem. You just sit and can’t come up with the idea of what to write. Here is the risk of choosing the very first topic that comes to your mind, but don’t do that!

The success of your narrative essay depends on its topic too. You need to choose something both interesting to you and appealing enough to hook the audience. For that, do brainstorming:

• Ask yourself questions on what bothers you and what you’d like to tell or discuss with others.
• Use social media for brainstorming your narrative essay topic: what your peers discuss, what they share, what message you’d like to send with your essay.
• Take a walk and think, think, think until you come up with an idea.
• Try free writing: take a pen and a notebook and just start writing down all thoughts that come to your mind. Re-read what you’ve written. Are there any ideas you could use as a topic for your narrative essay?

Here go topic examples. (If stuck with choosing yours, feel free to ask our writers for help.)

Topics to Choose for Your Next Narrative Essay

Experience: – The most frightening experience I ever had. – How I learned swimming (cooking, playing guitar, etc.) – It was the moment I changed my life philosophy. – The most embarrassing moment of my life. – Why I’ll never support vegans again.

School years: – My favorite subject in school was… You’ll never guess. – Why my English teacher could be your best friend. – How my best friend from school influenced my life. – The day when my parents said no to my homework. – I participated in primary school events, and I regret it.

Childhood: – My most memorable birthday party. – Why I’ll never say thank you to my father. – How I stole a cat that meowed on my dog. – The only game I miss from childhood. – The day when I cried for the first and last time in my life.

Relationships: – This friendship breakup cost me a year of life. – My worst quarrel with parents. – The friend zone none of you would handle. – About Cathy, a person I fear losing the most. – This joke cost me the best friend.

Morality: – It was the hardest decision for me. – They’ll never call me a coward again. – That’s why it’s okay to lie sometimes. – How to treat strangers well if they don’t do the same. – Are you ready for rebel acts for the sake of goodness?

Interests: – The song/movie that touched me the most. – The book character I associate myself with. – The famous person from the past I’d like to meet. – If I were a politician, I’d be… – The superpower I’d like to have, and why.

Traveling: – The place in the world everyone needs to visit. – It was my worst trip ever. – How travels to the countryside can change your world view. – The best place for a family vacation. – Top things to take with you to the mountains.

Student life: – The most exhausting exam I had in college. – How I dropped out of college and what happened. – The moment I’ve understood: college life put me in depression. – This person influenced my social life in college. – Why I decided not to enter university.

Imagine if: – You had a time machine. – You were a book character. – You were born in a different country. – You’ve become a superhero. – You’ve wakened up being an animal.

Step 2 – Outline the Details

Unlike with argumentative essays, narrative ones are about your personal life and experiences; so, you won’t need any specific research to support facts, arguments, or your thesis statement .

However, you need to organize thoughts so you could make a claim for your thesis and see if there are any gaps in your knowledge to describe all the details in your narrative essay. For that, create an outline .

Here’s the sample for you to follow:

Narrative Essay Outline (Sample)

I. Introduction (one paragraph)

a) hook and background information b) specific moment that makes your essay matter c) thesis

II. Body (three paragraphs minimum, but don’t limit yourself if the assignment requirements allow)

a) the point that led you to the conflict (think of feelings and emotions you experienced) b) the actual moment (the climax of your story): write about tension, anxiety, or other feelings you experienced; compare them with some universal ideas so your readers would understand you c) the result (resolution): write about the lesson you’ve learned, think of questions your readers might ask, answer them in your essay

III. Conclusion (one paragraph)

a) restate the thesis and major points of your essay (back to lessons learned) b) think of a question or a call to action for readers: what’s in there for them in your essay; what can they learn from it?

Once the outline is ready, evaluate the clarity of your topic and re-organize your thoughts if necessary.

Make sure that your outline has enough supporting details to reinforce the claim and tell a compelling story.

Step 3 – Write a Draft

Now it’s time to start writing and organize the content of your essay right.

Divide your outline into three parts: a setup of your story, its main part with the climax, and a conclusion. Describe each, following the course of events. Remember about the narrative arc and don’t miss any details: readers weren’t there, so stay clear and “paint” the picture for them to get involved in your story.

Oh yes, and write your narrative essay from the 1st person. It’s your story, after all.

Step 4 – Revise a Draft

Once the first draft is ready, put it aside and wait for a few hours before revising it. Take a walk, a nap, a cup of coffee, whatever. You need to abstract yourself from the story for a while so you could evaluate your writing from a fresh perspective.

Read through your narrative essay and make sure it includes all elements of a story. Identify where more details are needed and what details to remove so they wouldn’t distract readers from the plot.

Answer the questions:

• Is my essay easy to read and understand for an average reader?
• Do I involve readers in my experience?
• Are my words descriptive enough? Do I show or just inform readers about the events?
• Have I conveyed the message? Will the reader understand the connection between the event and its meaning?
• Do I follow the structure of narrative essays? Does my story have a clear introduction and conclusion?

Step 5 – Edit Your Narrative Essay

This stage refers to finding rough spots in your narrative essay, proofreading it to avoid spelling and grammar mistakes, and revising its language and style for better clarity and readability.

When editing, use applications like Grammarly or ProWritingAid to check grammar and spelling. Remove double spacing, replace misspellings, and rewrite too complex sentences into simple ones.

Don’t use terms of many meanings. Delete all repeats: words, arguments, ideas. Paraphrase where it’s hard to understand the sense and verify the citations wherever needed.

Ask someone to read your essay before you submit it to a teacher. They may notice the mistakes you’ve missed or share their opinion on your essay. It can help you improve the story and make it more compelling.

Still not sure if your narrative essay is ready to captivate readers and earn you A+? You may ask professional here on Bid4Papers for help and advanced tips on essay writing.

Do’s and Don’ts of Your Narrative Essay

To make this long guide easier for you to grasp, here is the short list of do’s and don’ts to remember when writing your narrative essay.

• Start with some provoking info to hook readers: a question, a definition, a quote, a fact, etc.
• Write from the 1st person. (A 3rd person is okay, too.)
• State a point: what do you want to say by your essay?
• Try to evoke all five senses in your essay: what you saw, heard, felt, smelled, etc.
• Follow the format: include all components of a good story to your narrative essay.
• Make sure your story has a conflict.
• Describe events in chronological order.
• Use clear and descriptive language: power words, transition words , short sentences.
• Avoid slang, too formal language, and arguments like in persuasive essays.
• Avoid second-person narrative.
• Don’t tell, show. And make a point.
• Avoid writing about each and every movement of your character in the essay: specify key points that drive the plot.
• Don’t format references the way you do it in MLA essays .
• Remember that your narrative essay is not a short story. Write about true events, don’t create fiction stories.

Narrative Essay Samples

• How to Write an Essay: 10 Easy Steps
• Narrative Essay: Characteristics and Examples
• How to Write Narrative (video by Jeremy Thompson)
• 500 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing
• The Narrative Essay: It Differs From a Simple Story

And now, citing the above mentioned Christian Jensen and his TED talk:

“How will you use the power of your own personal narrative to accomplish things that no one else can?”

Frequently Asked Questions

First of all, for students, we have collected a small base of answers to questions about how narrative writing is constructed and what you will need for writing. Thanks to this, you can cope successfully with the task and get a positive grade from the teacher.

– What is a Narrative Essay?

A classic personal narrative essay involves telling a specific story with its own moral, main body, conclusion, and beginning. Such a research paper develops writing skills and allows you to share your creative experiences. The main feature is that you will be able to use your experience, vision of the situation, and conclusions that you were able to make. That is why this type of work is one of the most favorite among students.

– How to create a Narrative Essay

We first recommend seeing personal narrative examples to understand better the work’s essence and the result you should get. You need to analyze the chosen topic and make a list of arguments that you will use. You will then be able to develop ideas and give examples from personal experience. You should also follow a standard structure with main, initial, and concluding parts.

– What is the difference between a narrative essay and a descriptive essay?

If you look at personal narrative essay examples, you will immediately see the difference. In a narrative essay, you need to tell as complete a story as possible, which will look like a research paper. On the other hand, narrative essays are relatively short descriptions of a particular concept, object, or situation. The first assignment is usually much more creative.

– How to start a narrative essay?

It is best to begin any scholarly work, especially creative work, with a hook. That way, you can hook readers right away and give them a chance to read your essay to the end. You can initially give an interesting figure, fact, or statistic. Well, and of course, do not forget about the classic structure, which means writing a full-fledged introduction.

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• Narrative Writing

Narrative Writing - Definition, Types, Tips and Techniques

Narrative writing is a style of writing that uses the technique of narration to present a series of events that leads to an expected or unexpected end. In other words, it is a writing style that is used to tell a story. Read through the article to learn more about narrative writing, the types of narrative writing, and the tips and techniques you can use to write a narrative piece.

Table of Contents

What is narrative writing – meaning and definition, characteristics of a narrative – the 7 key elements, types of narrative writing, linear narrative, nonlinear narrative, descriptive narrative, viewpoint narrative, list of narrative forms, how to write a narrative piece – tips and techniques, examples of narrative writing, frequently asked questions on narrative writing.

A narrative gives an account of events that happen at a particular time and place; it can be fictional or non-fictional. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines a narrative in three different ways – “a description of events”, “the part of a novel that tells the story, rather than the dialogue”, and “a way of explaining events to illustrate a set of aims or values”. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms explains ‘narration’ as “the process of relating a sequence of events”, and a ‘narrative’ as “a telling of some true or fictitious event or connected sequence of events, recounted by a narrator to a narratee (although there may be more than one of each)”.

A narrative includes the smallest of details to the most important information. It is a mixture of these that make the narrative interesting, informative and appealing. A narrative, especially when written in the form of a story, must have the following elements.

• Point of view

Characters refer to the animate and inanimate objects that are involved in the story. They drive the story from the beginning till the end. A narrative story can have just one character or a number of characters, all of them contributing to the process in the most minute or most noticeable way.

Setting refers to the surroundings where the story or the events being narrated happen. It can be any place – a house, a forest, a car, a classroom, a playground, a bus, the middle of the road, etc. The setting of the narrative plays an important role in setting the mood of the entire piece.

Plot refers to all the events that contribute to the story. It has a starting point – the exposition – where the story begins, and the characters and the setting are introduced to the audience. This is followed by the rising action – the point where the main character(s) faces an impediment that disturbs the course of the narrative. Climax comes next and is the turning point in the story, which then leads to the falling action. It is here that the problem starts resolving. This finally leads the story to a conclusion. In simple words, it can be said that the plot is the order in which the events take place.

Conflict is the point of tension in the narrative where a problem arises. This point changes the course of the narrative and leads it to the expected or unexpected end.

Theme refers to the central idea the narrative is based on. The whole piece revolves around it. Popular themes include good and evil, justice, love, friendship, brotherhood, change, music, etc.

Style is characterised by the kind of language used by the writer to narrate, and this differs from genre to genre.

Point of view refers to who tells the story. It can be a first, second or third-person narrative. First-person narration is when a character who is part of what is happening tells the story from their perspective. It is characterised by the usage of pronouns such as ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’, ‘mine’, ‘myself’, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, ‘ourselves’, ‘ours’, etc. Second-person narration is characterised by the usage of pronouns such as ‘you’, ‘your’, ‘yourself’, and ‘yourselves’. Third-person narration is when there is a narrator (a character who is not part of the story) or a character in the story who narrates what is going on in the story. It is done with the usage of pronouns such as ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, ‘they’, ‘his’, ‘hers’, ‘him’, ‘hers’, ‘their’, ‘theirs’, ‘himself’, ‘herself’, ‘themselves’, etc.

Narratives can include historical pieces, novels, short stories, epics, ballads, etc. Poetry can be narrative too. An example of a narrative poem would be ‘Snake’ by D.H. Lawrence. However, narrative writing can be divided into four main types, namely,

• Descriptive

In this type of narrative, the writer follows a chronological order of narration. The fictional or non-fictional narrative is presented from the beginning till the end. Bildungsroman (also known as coming-of-age novels) follow the linear narrative style. ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D. Salinger, ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ by Mark Twain, ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens, etc., are some famous examples of linear narratives. Historical pieces, biographies and autobiographies are also forms of writing that follow a narrative style.

The movie ‘Moana’ is a perfect example of a linear narrative. It starts with Moana as a little girl who is taught all about her culture and her duties towards her tribe. This style perfectly supports the theme and the plot. You see that Moana is always drawn to the ocean, identifies the purpose of her life and travels across the ocean to save her people from complete doom.

A nonlinear narrative is one in which the happenings are not narrated chronologically. This is the kind of narrative that includes flashbacks. It starts at a point and goes back and forth. Most suspense thriller novels and movies follow this style of narration. There are also lighter themes that are presented in this fashion. ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Bronte, ‘The Sound and the Fury’ by William Faulkner and ‘Catch-22’ by Joseph Heller are some examples of novels that follow the nonlinear narrative style.

Stream of consciousness is a nonlinear narrative technique that presents all the thoughts and feelings that go on in the mind of the narrator as things happen. Through this technique, one can also portray the character’s flow of thoughts in a realistic manner. James Joyce’s novel ‘Ulysses’ is a well-known example that uses this technique.

The series ‘This Is Us’ is a great example of the nonlinear narrative style. You will see the story of the Pearson family always oscillating between the past and present. Every episode is a series of events that happened on the same day during the different stages of their lives or the same emotion experienced by the different characters. This is an effective way of telling a story as it keeps the viewers always wanting to know more.

This is a narrative style in which the audience is made to see and feel the characters’ world. In a descriptive narrative, the writer uses descriptive words and phrases that create vivid images in the minds of the readers. ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ by Stephen Chbosky, ‘The Song of Achilles’ by Madeline Miller, and ‘The God of Small Things’ by Arundhati Roy are some examples of descriptive narrative.

Most of you may have watched both ‘Avatar’ and ‘Avatar: Way of the Water’. The descriptive technique is used in both movies. The way of the Avatar realm is portrayed in a manner that makes the audience feel one with the characters and the setting.

A viewpoint narrative is a style of writing in which there is the presence of a first, second or third-person narrator. The usage of pronouns changes based on who narrates the happenings in the story. The most common viewpoint narratives seen are the first-person narrative and the third-person narrative. Autobiographies are written in the first-person point of view, and biographies in the third-person point of view.

‘The Fault in our Stars’ by John Green and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee are examples of a first-person narrative. ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott and ‘Beloved’ by Toni Morrison are two among the many examples of third-person narratives. There are not as many books in the second-person narrative as in the first and third-person narratives. However, there are some that are wonderfully presented. ‘Ghost Light’ by Joseph O’ Connor and ‘If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler’ by Italo Calvino are novels written in the second-person narrative. Try reading these novels and analyse the kind of effect the different viewpoints have on the readers.

Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi), the protagonist, narrates throughout the movie, ‘The Life of Pi’, thereby rendering it an example of a first-person narrative. Bagheera, the panther in ‘The Jungle Book’, narrates how Mowgli came to live with the wolves and all that has happened and is happening in the present. This, therefore, can be considered to follow a third-person narrative structure.

The narrative style of writing is commonly employed in the following forms.

• Short stories
• Biographies
• Autobiographies
• Travelogues

Here are some tips and techniques you can follow to write a good narrative piece.

• Before you start writing your first draft, brainstorm your ideas.
• You will not know what will inspire you. So, when you talk to people, pay attention to how they are narrating; read the works of different authors in the genre that you are planning to write; explore the different voices and employ them creatively to suit your characters and narrative on the whole.
• Jot down who your characters are and how you expect them to be; visualise the setting and lay out the details; think about the point at which you want your narrative to start and end.
• The point of view you are using to narrate plays a major role. If you want your readers to be a part of what is happening, use the first-person point of view. This will help your readers see and feel it just like you do. If you want your readers to be a spectator and analyse everything, you can use the third-person point of view. Contrary to both, if you want your readers to be a part of everything and have their own experiences, use the second-person narrative.
• Remember that you can have more than one narrator. Using multiple narrators will help you build different perspectives of a given situation.
• Use descriptions to give your readers a magnified and clearer view of the setting and characters.
• Have a strong theme and see to it that it reaches your audience.
• Bear in mind that every word matters. The diction you choose and the manner in which you employ them to form sentences is what builds the desired effect.
• Also, remember that you need not stick to one narrative style. For instance, you can write a linear or nonlinear descriptive first-person narrative. Do not limit yourself too much with the style. Choose what suits your narrative best and use them in the best possible way.
• When you write, you have your freedom. Make up your own techniques, style, and use literary devices to support your writing. Nothing works better than authenticity.
• Allow your creative mind to work at its own pace. Do not interrupt or force the flow of thoughts.
• Proofread before you finalise the final draft.

Here is an example of a narrative verse – the first few lines of the poem ‘Snake’ by D.H. Lawrence. See how the poet uses words to narrate the incident of the snake appearing at his water trough and everything that happens further.

“A snake came to my water-trough

On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat,

To drink there.

In the deep, strange-scented shade of the great dark carob tree

I came down the steps with my pitcher

And must wait, must stand and wait, for there he was at the trough

He reached down from a fissure in the earth-wall in the gloom

And trailed his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down, over

the edge of the stone trough

And rested his throat upon the stone bottom,

And where the water had dripped from the tap, in a small clearness,

He sipped with his straight mouth,

Softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack long body,

This short paragraph given below is an excerpt from the novel, ‘If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler’ by Italo Calvino. See how second-person narrative works. The narrative style makes the reader feel included and one with the characters in the story. In the following example, the writer instructs the reader to get comfortable and do everything that is necessary so as to not be disturbed in between the reading.

“Adjust the light so you won’t strain your eyes. Do it now, because once you’re absorbed in reading there will be no budging you. Make sure the page isn’t in shadow, a clotting of black letters on a gray background, uniform as a pack of mice; but be careful that the light cast on it isn’t too strong, doesn’t glare on the cruel white of the paper, gnawing at the shadows of the letters as in a southern noonday. Try to foresee now everything that might make you interrupt your reading.”

What is narrative writing?

Narrative writing is a style of writing that uses the technique of narration to present a series of events that leads to an expected or unexpected end. It can be fictional or non-fictional.

What is the definition of a narrative?

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines a narrative in three different ways – “a description of events”, “the part of a novel that tells the story, rather than the dialogue”, and “a way of explaining events to illustrate a set of aims or values”. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms explains ‘narration’ as “the process of relating a sequence of events” and a ‘narrative’ as “a telling of some true or fictitious event or connected sequence of events, recounted by a narrator to a narratee (although there may be more than one of each)”.

What are the elements of a narrative?

A narrative, especially when written in the form of a story, must have the following elements.

What are the types of narrative writing?

Narrative writing can be characterised into four categories, namely,

• Linear narrative
• Nonlinear narrative
• Descriptive narrative
• Viewpoint narrative

List some narrative forms.

Some examples of narrative forms are epics, ballads, short stories, novels, biographies, autobiographies, and travelogues.

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The Personal Statement Topics Ivy League Hopefuls Should Avoid

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Yale University

A compelling personal statement is a critical component of an Ivy League application, as it offers students the unique opportunity to showcase their personality, experiences, and aspirations. Kickstarting the writing process in the summer can give students a critical advantage in the admissions process, allowing them more time to brainstorm, edit, and polish standout essays. However, as students begin drafting their essays this summer, they should bear in mind that selecting the right topic is crucial to writing a successful essay. Particularly for students with Ivy League aspirations, submitting an essay that is cliche, unoriginal, or inauthentic can make the difference between standing out to admissions officers or blending into the sea of other applicants.

As ambitious students embark on the college application process, here are the personal statement topics they should avoid:

1. The Trauma Dump

Many students overcome significant hurdles by the time they begin the college application process, and some assume that the grisliest and most traumatic stories will attract attention and sympathy from admissions committees. While vulnerability can be powerful, sharing overly personal or sensitive information can make readers uncomfortable and shift focus away from a student’s unique strengths. Students should embrace authenticity and be honest about the struggles they have faced on their path to college, while still recognizing that the personal statement is a professional piece of writing, not a diary entry. Students should first consider why they want to share a particular tragic or traumatic experience and how that story might lend insight into the kind of student and community member they will be on campus. As a general rule, if the story will truly enrich the admissions committee’s understanding of their candidacy, students should thoughtfully include it; if it is a means of proving that they are more deserving or seeking to engender pity, students should consider selecting a different topic. Students should adopt a similar, critical approach as they write about difficult or sensitive topics in their supplemental essays, excluding unnecessary detail and focusing on how the experience shaped who they are today.

2. The Travelogue

Travel experiences can be enriching, but essays that merely recount a trip to a foreign country without deeper reflection often fall flat. Additionally, travel stories can often unintentionally convey white saviorism , particularly if students are recounting experiences from their charity work or mission trips in a foreign place. If a student does wish to write about an experience from their travels, they should prioritize depth not breadth—the personal statement is not the place to detail an entire itinerary or document every aspect of a trip. Instead, students should focus on one specific and meaningful experience from their travels with vivid detail and creative storytelling, expounding on how the event changed their worldview, instilled new values, or inspired their future goals.

3. The Superhero Narrative

Ivy League and other top colleges are looking for students who are introspective and teachable—no applicant is perfect (admissions officers know this!). Therefore, it’s crucial that students be aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and open about the areas in which they hope to grow. They should avoid grandiose narratives in which they cast themselves as flawless heroes. While students should seek to put their best foot forward, depicting themselves as protagonists who single-handedly resolve complex issues can make them appear exaggerated and lacking in humility. For instance, rather than telling the story about being the sole onlooker to stand up for a peer being bullied at the lunch table, perhaps a student could share about an experience that emboldened them to advocate for themselves and others. Doing so will add dimension and dynamism to their essay, rather than convey a static story of heroism.

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Similarly, many students feel compelled to declare their intention to solve global issues like world hunger or climate change. While noble, these proclamations can come across as unrealistic and insincere, and they can distract from the tangible achievements and experiences that a student brings to the table. Instead, applicants should focus on demonstrable steps they’ve taken or plan to take within their local community to enact positive change, demonstrating their commitment and practical approach to making a difference. For instance, instead of stating a desire to eradicate poverty, students could describe their extended involvement in a local charity and how it has helped them to discover their values and actualize their passions.

5. The Sports Story

While sports can teach valuable lessons, essays that focus solely on athletic achievements or the importance of a particular game can be overdone and lack depth. Admissions officers have read countless essays about students scoring the winning goal, dealing with the hardship of an injury, or learning teamwork from sports. Students should keep in mind that the personal essay should relay a story that only they can tell—perhaps a student has a particularly unique story about bringing competitive pickleball to their high school and uniting unlikely friend groups or starting a community initiative to repair and donate golf gear for students who couldn’t otherwise afford to play. However, if their sports-related essay could have been written by any high school point guard or soccer team captain, it’s time to brainstorm new ideas.

6. The Pick-Me Monologue

Students may feel the need to list their accomplishments and standout qualities in an effort to appear impressive to Ivy League admissions officers. This removes any depth, introspection, and creativity from a student’s essay and flattens their experiences to line items on a resume. Admissions officers already have students’ Activities Lists and resumes; the personal statement should add texture and dimension to their applications, revealing aspects of their character, values and voice not otherwise obvious through the quantitative aspects of their applications. Instead of listing all of their extracurricular involvements, students should identify a particularly meaningful encounter or event they experienced through one of the activities that matters most to them, and reflect on the ways in which their participation impacted their development as a student and person.

7. The Pandemic Sob Story

The Covid-19 pandemic was a traumatic and formative experience for many students, and it is therefore understandable that applicants draw inspiration from these transformative years as they choose their essay topics. However, while the pandemic affected individuals differently, an essay about the difficulties faced during this time will likely come across as unoriginal and generic. Admissions officers have likely read hundreds of essays about remote learning challenges, social isolation, and the general disruptions caused by Covid-19. These narratives can start to blend together, making it difficult for any single essay to stand out. Instead of centering the essay on the pandemic's challenges, students should consider how they adapted, grew, or made a positive impact during this time. For example, rather than writing about the difficulties of remote learning, a student could describe how they created a virtual study group to support classmates struggling with online classes. Similarly, an applicant might write about developing a new skill such as coding or painting during lockdown and how this pursuit has influenced their academic or career goals. Focusing on resilience, innovation, and personal development can make for a more compelling narrative.

Crafting a standout personal statement requires dedicated time, careful thought, and honest reflection. The most impactful essays are those that toe the lines between vulnerability and professionalism, introspection and action, championing one’s strengths and acknowledging weaknesses. Starting early and striving to avoid overused and unoriginal topics will level up a student’s essay and increase their chances of standing out.

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