Narrative Writing

Topic, Audience, & Purpose

Topicany personal experience that illustrates an important idea about the world or the human condition

Audienceyour readers, including peers and adults

Purpose• to entertain• to tell a story that

conveys an important idea about life and the human condition

What does narrative writing contain? A narrative is a story. If the writer is telling a story, the essay should include all the elements of a story.

characters

setting

conflict

plot

theme

point of view

Elements of Narrative

Setting: time and place

Characters: people or animals who participate in the action

Conflict: a problem, tension, struggle

Plot: the action; the series of events in a story that move the reader from the exposition to the climax to the resolution; the beginning, middle, and end

Elements of Narrative

Point of View: the vantage point of the storyteller 1st person point of view—the

storyteller participates in the action and refers to himself/herself as “I”

2nd person point of view—the storyteller speaks directly to the reader as “you”

3rd person point of view—the storyteller tells the story from the outside looking in and refers to characters as “he” or “she”

3rd person limited—only follows one character

3rd person omniscient—follows all characters; knows all

Elements of Narrative

Theme: the writer’s message about life and the human condition

THE STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVE WRITING: PARAGRAPH 1 (EXPOSITION)

The narrative begins with the exposition, which provides information the reader needs to know to understand the setting, characters, and conflict. The writer ends the exposition ends with the central idea. Exposition: brief description of setting, characters, and conflict

Setting: When did this happen? Where did it happen?

Characters: Who was involved?

Conflict: What was the basic problem?

Central Idea: the writer’s theme: the point of the story; the big idea; the lesson learned; the insight gained through the experience

What did you learn from the experience? What insight did you gain that the reader should know?

THE STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVE WRITING: PARAGRAPH 2 (RISING ACTION)

This paragraph contains the rising action, which includes the events that lead to the climax.

THE STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVE WRITING: PARAGRAPH 3 (CLIMAX)

This paragraph contains the climactic moment, or the greatest point of tension in the story. The climax represents a turning point in the story when an important decision is made.

THE STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVE WRITING: PARAGRAPH 4 (FALLING ACTION & RESOLUTION)

This paragraph contains the falling action, which shares the events that happen as a result of the decision that was made at the climax of the story. The resolution tells the reader how the story ultimately ends.

THE STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVE WRITING: PARAGRAPH 5 (CONCLUSION)

The conclusion explains why the experience was important. The writer tells the reader what insight was gained from the experience.

Tips: Audience

Identify your readers. Consider your readers’ needs and expectations. Craft your message to satisfy your readers.

Tips: Purpose & Central Idea

Do not leave the reader guessing about the purpose of your narrative. Make sure your story has a point! Clarify what you learned from this experience.

Tips: Point of View

Write from the first-person point of view. Refer to yourself as “I.”

Tips: Verb Tense

You are telling the story of a past experience. Write in the past tense.

Tips: Elaboration

Provide enough information to help the reader understand the setting, characters, conflict, and plot.

Tips: Organization, Coherence, & Unity

To improve organization, tell your story in chronological, or sequential order. What happened first, second, third, and next?

To improve coherence, use transitions between sentences and paragraphs to serve as cues that help the reader determine the relationship between ideas.

To improve unity, only include information that relates to your central idea.

Tips: Diction

Your diction is your word choice. Use words with the appropriate connotation that are vivid, specific, and precise.

Tips: Sensory Details

Appeal to the reader’s imagination with sensory details, or descriptions of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures.

Tips: Figurative Language

To delight the reader, use plenty of similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification.

Figurative language evokes interesting images in the mind of the reader and often help clarify your meaning.

SimileHer eyes were like

jewels.

MetaphorHe is an animal.

PersonificationThe wind whispers its secrets to us.Hyperbole

I have a million things to do!

Tips: Dialogue

Bring your characters to life with realistic dialogue. Include what they say and how they say it.

“What?” she asked. “Are you

kidding me?”

Tips: Tone

Tone refers to the writer’s attitude. Use specific diction, images, and figurative language that communicate your attitude about the experience.

Tips: Voice

Don't be afraid to reveal your personality in the writing. Readers want to hear the human voice behind the words.

Tips: Rhythm

Use a variety of sentence types and sentence lengths to create a musical rhythm.