Writing a Narrative EssayWriting a Narrative Essay

Yun-hsiang Liu, M.S., Ed.Yun-hsiang Liu, M.S., Ed.HSNU English TeacherHSNU English Teacher

Copyright 2007Copyright 2007

Narrative Writing

Narrative writingIn using the form of narrative writing (telling a story), writers tell a story or create a personal essay by using story elements (character, event, time, place, action, sequence, and conclusion), to which the eye-catching details of an experience are added. For example, we may have students practice using this narrative form to write about a picnic they had with their families.(CEE 1983 A Taxi Ride; CEE 1984 How I Spent Yesterday Evening; CEE 1986 A Shopping Experience; CEE 1989 On the Way to School; CEE 1998 Being Caught in the Rain; CEE 2000 The Difficulties I Have with Learning English; CEE 2003 The Most Unforgettable Exam)

Narrative writing structure

Beginning: Give a setting, including who, what, Beginning: Give a setting, including who, what, when, where, what to do.when, where, what to do.

Body: Give a sequential description of events.Body: Give a sequential description of events.

Ending: Give a comment or something.Ending: Give a comment or something.

A Taxi Ride(CEE 1983)

請以 ” A Taxi Ride” 為題目，寫一篇 120到 150 個單詞左右的英文作文，敘述你搭乘計程車的一次經驗。 Please write an essay with the title "A Taxi Ride" in 120~150 words, in which you describe one of your experiences of riding a taxi.

Outlines

Give a setting (Give a setting (who, what, when, where, what to do)who, what, when, where, what to do)Describe the taxi (color, size, etc.)Describe the taxi (color, size, etc.)Interaction I (tell where to go)Interaction I (tell where to go)Describe the driver (age, height, manner, etc. )Describe the driver (age, height, manner, etc. )Interaction II (have a chat)Interaction II (have a chat)Describe the sights outside the windowsDescribe the sights outside the windowsTell the total time used to finish the rideTell the total time used to finish the rideInteraction III (pay taxi fare)Interaction III (pay taxi fare)Interaction IV (say good-bye)Interaction IV (say good-bye)Comment on the rideComment on the ride

Beginning (Give a setting, including who, what, when, where, what to do)

Who (passenger): I

What (vehicle): a taxi

When (time): one morning

Where to go (destination): downtown Taipei

What to do (thing): take a taxi from Guan-du to downtown Taipei

One morning, I took a taxi from Guan-du to Taipei.

Give a setting

Body (Give a sequential description of events)taxitaxi → driver → driver and I → sights → length of time → taxi fare

Describe the taxi

The color of the taxi was yellow.

The taxi was big.

The taxi looked brand-new.

The taxi, big in size and yellow in color, looked brand-new.

Describe the taxi

Body (Give a sequential description of events)taxi → driver → driver and Idriver and I → sights → length of time → taxi fare

Interact with the driver (I)

After / As soon as

I got in

I told the driver

where I was going / where to go / where I wanted to go

As soon as I got in, I told the driver where I was going.

Interaction I

Body (Give a sequential description of events)taxi → driverdriver → driver and I → sights → length of time → taxi fare

Describe the driver’s look

The driver was / looked young.

The driver was of average height (of medium build / neither tall nor short).

The driver was of average height and looked young.

The driver, who looked young, was of average height.

The driver, who looked young, was of medium build with short, dark hair.

Describe the driver 1

Body (Give a sequential description of events)taxi → driver → driver and Idriver and I → sights → length of time → taxi fare

Describe the driver’s manner of driving

The driver was good.

I respected the driver.

He was a good driver, so I respected him.

Because he was a good driver, I respected him.

He was such a good driver that I respected him.

Body (Give a sequential description of events)taxi → driverdriver → driver and I → sights → length of time → taxi fare

Put the reason why he was good

He drove carefully / with care.

He followed the traffic rules.

V1 ~ and V2 ~

all / on the way to the destination / throughout the ride

He drove with care and followed the traffic rules all the way to the destination.

Body (Give a sequential description of events)taxi → driverdriver → driver and I → sights → length of time → taxi fare

Put something good the driver did

He never ran red lights.

Describe the

driver 4

Body (Give a sequential description of events)taxi → driver → driver and Idriver and I → sights → length of time → taxi fare

Interact with the driver (II)

As the car moved along

We chitchatted.

about this and that / about (movies, celebrities, food, music, sports, etc.)

As the car moved along, we chitchatted about this and that.

As the car moved along, we had a chat. We talked about ~.

Interaction II

Body (Give a sequential description of events)taxi → driver → driver and I → sightssights → length of time → taxi fare

Describe the sights outside the carAt times, I looked out the window.I saw so many interesting sights one after another.I saw a wide plain.I saw conspicuous / tall buildings.I saw vehicles / cars of all sorts.I saw many other things, too.

At times, I looked out the window, and interesting sights, such as a wide plain, conspicuous buildings, vehicles of all sorts, and many others, came into view, one after another.

At times, I looked out the window, interesting sights, such as a wide plain, conspicuous buildings, vehicles of all sorts, and many others, coming into view, one after another.

Describe the sights

Body (Give a sequential description of events)taxi → driver → driver and I → sights → length of timelength of time → taxi fare

Tell the total time used to finish the ride

About forty minutes later

We got to Taipei.

About forty minutes later, we got to Taipei.

It took us about forty minutes to get to Taipei.

length of time

Body (Give a sequential description of events)taxi → driver → driver and I → sights → length of time → taxi faretaxi fare

Pay taxi fare

I paid three hundred and fifty dollars to the driver.

I told him to keep the change.

V1 ~ and V2 ~

I paid three hundred and fifty dollars to the driver and told him to keep the change.

Ending (Say goodbye and comment on the ride)

Interact with the driver (IV)

Then, we said goodbye to each other.

Comment on the ride

What a nice ride it was!

It was really a nice ride, wasn’t it?

Ending

Full Text – A Taxi Ride

One morning, I took a taxi from Guan-du to downtown Taipei. The taxi, big in size and yellow in color, looked brand new. As soon as I got in, I told the driver where I was going. The driver, who looked young, was of average height. He was such a good driver that I respected him. He drove with care and followed the traffic rules all the way to the destination. He never ran red lights. As the car moved along, we chitchatted about this and that. At times, I looked out the window, interesting sights, such as a wide plain, conspicuous buildings, vehicles of all sorts and many others, coming into view, one after another. About forty minutes later, we got to Taipei. I paid three hundred and fifty dollars to the driver and told him to keep the change. Then we said goodbye to each other. It was really a nice ride.

Appendix 1: A sample student composition A Taxi Ride

Last Sunday, I took a taxi to Taipei. The color of the taxi was yellow. The taxi looked new. After I got in the taxi, I told the driver where I wanted to go. The driver, who looked young, was very tall. We talked to each other for a while. He was a good driver, so I respected him. He drove carefully and followed the traffic rules. He never ran red lights. As we moved along, I looked out of the window. I saw many interesting things. I saw beautiful trees and flowers. I saw tall buildings. I also saw many other cars. It took us forty minutes or so to get to Taipei. I paid two hundred dollars to the driver and told him to keep the change. Then I said goodbye to him. It was a nice experience. （ 140 words ）

Appendix 2: A simple style A Taxi Ride

One day I went to Kaohsiung by taxi. The color of the taxi was yellow. It looked new. It was a nice car. After I got in the taxi, I told the driver I wanted to go to Kaohsiung. The driver was a young guy. He was tall. He was a little fat, too. His hair was black and short. He was a nice driver. He drove carefully. He followed the traffic rules. He never ran red lights. I liked him so much. Sometimes, we talked to each other happily. We talked about everything, such as people, animals, movies, sports, books, and so on. Sometimes, I looked out the window. On the way to Kaohsiung, I saw many interesting sights. I saw mountains. I saw beautiful flowers. I saw green trees. I saw tall buildings. I saw shop signs. I saw birds flying in the sky. I also saw vehicles of various kinds. About half an hour later, I got to Kaohsiung. I paid three hundre

d dollars to the driver. I said goodbye to him. It was a really nice ride. (181 words)

Appendix 3: Grading

Organization 4%

Content 4%

Wording 4%

Grammar 4%

Spelling & punctuation 4%

Appendix 4: Temporal adverbial phrases

1. one day / morning / afternoon / evening2. one Sunday / Monday / Tuesday3. one Sunday morning / one Friday evening4. yesterday evening / last night5. one summer day / one spring morning6. one summer morning many years ago7. on a clear morning8. last summer vacation9. on a clear autumn afternoon10. on a cold winter / winter’s night

Appendix 5: Three model compositions as supplementaries

Going Shopping--Guided Composition for High School Students by Liu Yun-hsiang (2003) , ps 26~28, The Crane Publishing Co., Ltd.A Helping Hand--Guided Composition for High School Students by Liu Yun-hsiang (2003) , ps 39~41, The Crane Publishing Co., Ltd.A Trip to Sun-Moon Lake--Guided Composition for High School Students by Liu Yun-hsiang (2003) , ps 57~60 , The Crane Publishing Co., Ltd.劉老師英文作文專欄網站

http://140.122.126.5/yhliu/