Narrative Essay Examples and Tips to Writing a Good Narrative Essay

Filed in Education by on April 9, 2021

Narrative Essay Examples: There are numerous kinds of essays you may be assigned to write. And sometimes, it can be hard to understand the difference between two similar papers.

Most often, a narrative essay is commonly confused with the descriptive one. But this article will enlighten you on what is a narrative essay.

Also, it will lead you through all the necessary steps and help you need to write a good narrative essay. Furthermore, it shows you some narrative essay examples

Thus, in this article you shall get to know:

What is a Narrative Essay?

Before talking about narrative essay examples, note. A narrative essay is a type of essay that has a single motif, or a central point, around which the whole narrative revolves.

Also, in this essay, all incidents, happenings, and characters revolve around a single motif presented in the narrative.

Furthermore, a narrative essay is similar to a simple five-paragraph essay. And this is so because it has the same format. Also, it is only different in that it is a narrative, having characters, incidents, and dialogues.

Additionally, the main purpose of a narrative essay is to tell the reader about events. Also, to tell about interactions. And the experience that has happened to the author during the particular period of time. It always has a vivid plot.

Essential Elements of a Narrative Essay

As you’re prepared to see narrative essay examples, note. There are essential elements that distinguish a narrative essay from other essays. A narrative essay has three required elements: character, theme, and dialogue.

  • Character

Characters are an important part of a narrative essay. And even if the essay is autobiographical in nature, note. The person writing the essay is a character involving some other characters who act, behave, and do like all other characters presented in stories and novels.

  • Theme or Motif

A narrative essay revolves around a theme or a motif. And this theme or motif is presented in its thesis statement, which breaks it down into three distinct pieces of evidence. Also, these three distinct pieces of evidence are then further elaborated through characters in body paragraphs.

  • Dialogue

Dialogue is used to capture the conversation between characters. Also, in a narrative essay, dialogue is the third important element, without which the characters lose their worth and liveliness.

Furthermore, the focus of a narrative essay is the plot, which is told with enough detail to build to a climax. Below are some other essential elements of a narrative essay:

  • It’s usually told chronologically.
  • Also, it always has a purpose. Often, this is stated in the thesis statement in the introductory paragraph.
  • Furthermore, it may use dialogue.
  • Additionally, it’s written with sensory details and bright descriptions that involve the reader. All these details relate in some way to the main point the writer is making.

Some Functions of a Narrative Essay

As we about to see some narrative essay examples, please note. A narrative essay describes people. Also, it presents their conversation and narrates their experiences to teach lessons to readers.

Furthermore, it is like a story, but different in that it is weaved around a motif. A motif is given before the incidents of the essay. And readers become aware of this single theme, central idea, or motif once they go through the essay.

Additionally, its major aim is to provide information about life experiences and lessons learned from those experiences.

Tips to Writing a Good Narrative Essay

Before reading some narrative essay examples, note. To write a breathtaking narrative essay quickly, follow these tips:

1. Be Prepared

Before your creative process actually starts, note. Learn a bit more about the general requirements inherent in this kind of essay. Choose a good topic, and collect some relevant information to use it as the reference.

Also, while preparing, think of what to write about. Furthermore, think of what is required of you. Also, reflect on where to search for evidence.

2. Understand the Writing Process

Obviously, this stage is the most time-consuming. However, it can be less if you take into account the following:

  • Making a structure and outlining.
  • Also, providing information in first-person.
  • Furthermore, describing the characters and places.
  • Additionally, adding a little spice.

3. Editing

After crafting the first draft, revise it thoroughly. You will definitely find one, two, or a few rough spots while looking through your essay. Make sure you don’t miss any important points. Below are some tips for successful editing:

  • Don’t start to search for mistakes right after finishing the essay. Have a rest and only then take a fresh look at it.
  • Also, transform big and complicated sentences into simple ones. This is to make them compelling.
  • Also, avoid the use of terms of many meanings.
  • Additionally, find all repeats of ideas or arguments and delete them.
  • Furthermore, verify all citations and formatting in general with a guide.
  • Also, paraphrase where it is hard to grasp the sense.
  • Additionally, reconsider the structure of the essay.

Other Information About Narrative Essay

A narrative essay uses tools such as flashbacks, flash-forwards, and transitions. These tools often build to a climax. Also, the focus of a narrative is the plot.

However, when creating a narrative, authors must determine their purpose. Also, they must consider their audience, establish their point of view, use dialogue, and organize the narrative. A narrative essay is usually arranged chronologically.

Furthermore, in a narrative essay, you tell a story. And often it is about a personal experience. However, you also make a point. As such, the purpose is not only to tell an entertaining tale but also to expound on the importance of the experience.

Some Narrative Essay Examples

Below are some narrative essay examples:

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.”

This paragraph is an example from a narrative essay of Maya Angelou. She has described how a girl looks, and how she behaves. She has also written direct dialogues to show that it is a narrative.

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.”

In this piece from a narrative essay by Russell Baker of the famed Saturday Evening Post, the author has fully described the efforts of his mother by her dialogue. Both character and dialogue are very clear.

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.”

In this essay, the author has given a full description of a daughter – how she looks and how she behaves.

With the above information, I guess you now know what a narrative essay is. Follow the above tips in writing a good/captivating narrative essay.

CSN Team.

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