This is to assist high school learners that are struggling with writing a narrative essay.

1. Planning for Success
How to write a narrative essay

2. What is a narrative essay
A narrative essay tells a story or tells of a past event.
It can be written from any perspective.
Example topics:
We were having a wonderful time. There was good food, good music and good
company. Suddenly there was an earth-shaking crash. Write about the incident.
or
The best story my grandfather told me.

3. Consider the following when writing a narrative
essay:
The story must have a strong story line and be convincing even if it is fiction.
 A narrative essay is usually written in the past tense.
 The introductory paragraph should capture the reader’s attention.
A good story often has a point to make.
An unusually interesting ending gives a story the final touch.
The reader’s interest must be maintained until the end. The style, rhetorical
devices and action must ensure sustained interest.
A successful narrative vividly highlights sensory details such as sight, sound,
taste, smell and tactile sensations.
A narrative essay often has a strong descriptive element.

4. Where to start…

5. Think about…
• What experience/story do you want to write
about?
o Is it an event , object, personal experience or fiction?
• Why is this experience/story significant?
o What is the reader supposed to gain from reading the
story?
o What is the main point of the story?

6. Brainstorming: Recollect the memories of the event
.
Topic
Setting
Where, when, who was involved
Action 1
What happened first
How
Why
Action 2
What happened next
How does it link to previous and future
event
Action 3
Climax of the story
What happened next
Resolution of the story
How was the story resolved?
Link it back to the introduction

7. Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Plot Character
Climax
Setting
Ending
Essay Structure Key elements of a narrative essay

8. Perspective: First Person vs Third Person
First Person Third Person
Character talks directly to the reader Narrator describes events occurring to others. Is
usually unknown and not implicated in the story.
Use of personal tone (I & me). Gives reader intimate
access into the character’s thoughts, experiences and
feelings.
Is generally objective as the narrator is distanced from
the story.
Usually used when narrating one’s personal
story/experience.
Is able to reveal unbiased insights about a character's
actions and personality (flaws, secrets, background
informing their actions).

9. Introduction
The introduction assists the reader to visualize and connect with the story.
 Grab the reader’s interest
 A captivating opening line
 Provide useful background information
Bring in the general topic for the paper
 What is the essay about?
 Establish tone and perspective of the story.
Set the story
 Where does it take place?
 Who are the characters?

10. Tips for a good introduction
• Be concise
• Get straight to the action by avoiding lengthy introductions and descriptions
of irrelevant details.
• Think like the reader
• Use detailed descriptions of the setting, characters and action to create an
authentic experience for the reader.
• Consider starting in the middle of the action to build suspense.
“I duck under my blanket and quickly feel two bodies land on top of me. As I try to catch my breath,
they are yelling at me…”
• Invoke an element of shock and mystery.
“The corpse lay in the black pool of blood, the air heavy with the smell of death. Who did it? No-one knew,
but it would change the course of my life.”

11. Body
This is usually 3 paragraphs which give a detailed account of the events
in the story.
Remember to:
• Structure your paragraphs according to the sequence of events that occur
in the story.
• Each paragraph should describe a distinct action in the story.
• This can differentiated according to time (last night…, In the morning…, later that
day…)
• Build towards the climax of the story
• Choose scenes/actions that create tension, build towards climax and the
resolution.
• Consider characters in the story
• How and when does each character appear and what role do they play in the
events in the story

12. Tips for a good body paragraph
• Ensure that each body paragraph has a point.
• Appeal to all five senses in your descriptions.
• Use imagery, metaphors and similes to enrich your descriptions.
• What do you smell, hear, taste, see and touch.
• Use concrete language for description.
• This ensures that the story and images are clearer and more realistic.
• Gives reader information that can be easily grasped.
• Identify exactly what you want to describe as imperative for the reader’s understanding of the
story.
• Person, place, memory, experience or object.
• Incorporate dialogue.
• This should resemble everyday speech and make the story more realistic.

13. Conclusion
• Reconnect to the introduction.
• Link the ending of the story to the scene in the introduction.
• Ending of the story.
• Conclude the story with the resolution of the plot.
• Go out with a bang!
• End the story with a surprising twist that captivates the reader

14. Review, revise and edit your essay!
Remember…
Spelling/grammatical errors annoy the reader
Step away from the essay for a few days before reviewing
Seek a second/third opinion from a fresh pair of eyes!

15. References
• Christine Strayer (29 November 2010) ,Introduction to Narrative Essays. Accessed 08
August 2022. https://www.slideshare.net/cstrayer/introduction-to-narrative-essays
• Jndrawbond (26 February 2010), Narrative Essay For Week 3. Accessed 08 August 2022.
https://www.slideshare.net/jndrawbond/narrative-essay-for-week-3
• Kate Simmons (22 February 2012), English descriptive writing. Accessed 08 August 2022.
https://www.slideshare.net/KateSimmons1/english-descriptive-writing
• Salina Saharudin (27 December 2010), Lecture 6 narrative essay. Accessed 08 August
2022. https://www.slideshare.net/salina2309/lecture-6-narrative-essay
• Sam Georgi (25 September 2016), Introduction Writing + What's the Purpose?. Accessed
08 August 2022. https://www.slideshare.net/srgeorgi/introduction-writing-whats-the-
purpose