Understand the assignment

What is a narrative? The purpose of a narrative is to tell a story or to share an experience. The events in a narrative are usually told in chronological (time) order. Narratives use words that show time, like "after", "next", and "then." For a narrative to be complete, it should include all parts of a story. 

Brainstorm

Brainstorm to find a topic 

Think about an event that was memorable for you. It could be a very happy event, an event that taught you something important, a time you were surprised, or another important day or event. Don't choose an event that is too big. For example, don't write about your entire last year of high school or a family member being ill for ten years. There will be too many things to write about for this assignment. Instead, choose a smaller event, like your first day of college or the time you won an award.

Choose a focus

If the experience is very long, you may need to focus on a more specific part of the story (e.g., "My first day at the ELC" instead of "My first semester at the ELC".). Do not choose a story that is too long or complicated. Think about the part of the story that is most interesting, important, or memorable. 

Brainstorm for details

Once you have your topic chosen, think about the event or experience in as much detail as possible.

• Why was the event memorable?
• Where were you?
• Who was there?
• What did you see?
• What did you smell?
• What did you hear?
• How did you feel?
• Did you change? Why or why not? How?

Outline

 Just like all writing, a narrative needs an introduction, supporting ideas (major details), and a conclusion.

Once you write your topic sentence, organize your story by the order of events or by another type of organization. There are many ways you can do that. Look at basic example outlines.

Introduction

The introduction for a narrative should provide important information that readers need to know in order to understand the story that you will tell. These are the setting (place and time), the characters (people), and any other details readers need to understand your story (e.g., why you were there, or explaining what the event was). Your introduction may also include a hook—a sentence or question that catches readers' interest and makes them want to continue reading. 

In a narrative paragraph, your introduction might be just one or two sentences: a topic sentence and maybe a hook, too. These will be at the beginning of your paragraph. 

In a narrative essay, your introduction should be an entire paragraph. Usually, the introduction paragraph starts with a hook. Your thesis, or the sentence that tells the reader why the narrative is important (e.g., "The day I graduated from high school was the happiest day of my life."), might be right after the hook, with the other background information after it. Or, you might put the thesis at the end of the introduction paragraph, with the background information before it. Either way can be okay. 

Body

The body of a narrative contains the plot (the sequence of events, or what happens in the story). Divide your story up into major events and tell about each event in each of your supporting sentences. Each event you choose should support the thesis of your narrative.

Conclusion

The conclusion should tell how the story ended and re-emphasize the importance of the story. It should start by summarizing your main idea and end with a closing statement that in some way makes a prediction, suggestion, or opinion.

Exercises