4 Tips on Writing Narrative Essays
A narrative essay is a form of academic writing that aims to tell a story. As the author, your goal is to create the right atmosphere and a lifelike experience for your readers. As a rule, this type of paper is written from the first-person perspective. You have to put readers at the epicentre of the plot and keep them engaged. To do this, and to ensure the right atmosphere, narrative writing uses plenty of vivid details, descriptive techniques, etc.
The biggest challenge in writing a narrative essay is that it is always limited in length. Thus, your task is to take a complex story and narrow it down to incorporate its key points to fit into a short essay, while at the same time providing enough detail to keep readers engaged.
A major difference between narratives and rhetorical essays is that you give the reader vivid descriptions that will allow them to reach a certain conclusion. For you to accomplish this task, your essay should be well structured and contain all necessary components. To guide you on your journey here are a few tips.
1. Prewrite
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Before working on your assignment, think of what event in your life relates to the class theme. This stage is known as the prewriting phase. This is the point where you select your topic. Keep in mind that a topic can influence the outcome of a narrative. Select a topic that is important to you so you can compose the best story.
However, it doesn’t end here. After coming up with your personal narrative topic, identify all events and details that you want to include in your paper. Create an outline of how events should occur. This prompts you to create appropriate words narrative papers.
2. Be clear
Using complex words can confuse readers. Instead, use simple descriptive words that would convey the message you are trying to pass. Also, do not include all narrative ideas in the same paragraph.
Instead spread out narrative ideas between different paragraphs. Do not create in a clinical manner. Write the same way you would to your friends. Each description and statement should be vivid. After all, it’s the only way to get readers fully engaged with your story.
3. Use the 1st person
The whole idea of writing a narrative essay is to provide an autobiographical story of events you may have experienced. This means writing in the first person and not the second person. Writing in the first person gives you an opportunity to narrate events as though they were happening at the same moment. It is the best way for readers to connect with the main character of your story, which is you in this case.
4. Edit your narrative
After you have completed your narrative essay, make sure you revise it. Revising gives you chance to make corrections which may make an entire story more interesting. During this process, you can add events or remove ideas that don’t suit the story. Reread the entire narrative. Ask yourself the following questions while doing a review:
- Is there a smooth transition between events?
- Will the story attract readers?
- Will the narrative make readers continue reading?
- Are all events and characters described vividly?
- Will readers understand the main message of the stories?
If the answer to the questions on this list is yes, then you are on your way to understanding how to write a narrative essay.
Conclusion
Narrative writing is essential for students in high school and college. Selecting a narrative essay topic of your narrative essay is one of the most important steps in creating this type of assignment. When you select a topic you are passionate about it helps you write an exceptional and captivating story. Using narrative writing ideas helps you to write a more interesting story.
