Writing A Narrative Essay

By the time you graduate high school you will have already written your fair share of essays, and that number will only grow once you reach college or university, even if you are studying the sciences. There are many styles and forms of essays, but the underlying structure never changes – you start with a thesis statement declaring your main idea, write your essay supporting that main thesis and then conclude with a closing statement that restates your thesis. That being said, it helps to know how to write specific styles of essays.

The narrative essay is a little different from most other essays, in that it is in many ways quite similar to writing creative fiction. It is one of the least formal styles of essays, providing an opportunity for a good deal of flexibility and creative license.

A narrative essay, typically written in the first person, is a personal account of an event or scene. You have the chance to share an experience with the reader, in an entertaining manner. In a narrative essay, your are invited to use more creative language, using adjectives and adverbs in order to engage the reader.

While the narrative essay is based on a real experience, either your own or that of someone else, it is written more in the style of a story, in that it is designed to be entertaining and captivating. At the same time, however, it is important to remember that it is an essay and must follow the standard essay conventions. It must have a main idea that is introduced in your opening paragraph, supported through the body of your essay, and concluded at the end.

When you write a narrative essay, you must be careful to not become confused with the line between narrative and creative fiction. Your essay, while creative in styling, must still remain factual, although of course subjectivity allows for some personal interpretation.

A narrative essay needs to remain focused and true to the actual experience, without fictional embellishments. This can be a challenge, particularly if there is no way for the reader to verify what is fact and what is fiction, but it can be a good challenge, to convey a scene in a engaging manner without diverging from what actual happened.

By: Jon Ginsburg

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