1. With Eram Rahman

2. There are 4 types of essays in paper 1 of the English
language paper.
 Exposition-gives information about various topics to
the reader
 Description-describes in detail characteristics and
traits
 Argument-convinces the reader by demonstrating
the truth and falsity of a topic
 Narrative-tells a story from one persons viewpoint.

3.  A narrative essay is a kind of story which
is told from the viewpoint of a specific
person or people.
 It is considered a relatively informal
form of essay writing.

4. A narrative essay helps you tell a story
using the elements of
Plot/Setting
Character
Conflict
Climax
Resolution

5.  The focus of a narrative essay is its plot,
which can consist of a multitude of
characteristics:
1) Chronology,
2) Dialogue,
3) An evident purpose, and
4) Vivid descriptions.

6. A narrative essay can be:
 An event that is a part of your experience.
 An experience that occurred in the near past or
which is currently ongoing.
 An event that could have occurred in the life of
someone close.

7.  A narrative essay consists of three basic parts:
1. The Introduction
2. The Main Body
3. The Conclusion or Summary
 But WAIT! Before beginning the essay, you should
always MAP OUT the essay!

8.  It is essential to map out a narrative essay before
beginning to write.
 Why should you map it out?
1. It allows you to be able to come up with a
comprehensive and effective structure.
2. It prevents the essay from becoming disorganized or
cluttered as you write.

9.  Decide A Plot. Choose a plot in regard to the topic
provided to you. This plot can be from a personal
experience and can be fictional as well. Map out
specific details such as names and places as this will
add authenticity to the essay.
 Make A Timeline. It is heavily advised to make a
chronology of events that you will write in your essay.
This will allow you to have a strong, organized
structure in your essay and prevent it from becoming
irrelevant.

10. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Success Rate
After Mapping It
Out
Success Rate
Without
Mapping It Out
Failure Rate
After Mapping It
Out
Failure Rate
Without
Mapping It Out

11. For a 350 – 500 words essay, it should ideally
have these five paragraphs:
The Introductory Paragraph
First Supporting Paragraph
Second Supporting Paragraph
Third Supporting Paragraph
Closing or Summary Paragraph

12. Introductory Paragraph
 General Topic Sentence: memorable present
 Subtopic One: the reason it was given
 Subtopic Two: a description of it
 Subtopic Three: how you felt when you got it
First Supporting Paragraph
 Restate Subtopic One
 Supporting Details or Examples

13. Second Supporting Paragraph
 Restate Subtopic Two
 Supporting Details or Examples
Third Supporting Paragraph
 Restate Subtopic Three
 Supporting Details or Examples
Closing or Summary Paragraph
 Synthesis and conclusion of the thesis

14.  A narrative essay’s introduction has to catch the
attention of the reader and this can be done in a few
ways.
1. The Opening Statement:
An essay’s opening statement is often on what a
person judges an essay before even reading it.
Thus, it is important to make an impact from the
start.
 This can be done by having a general statement at
the start of the essay such as “It can be a great
experience to learn something new.”

15.  Write in the active voice
It is advised to use the active voice in your essay’s
introduction, as it is more powerful and is more likely
to catch the reader’s attention.
 Varying sentence structure
Do NOT bore the reader in the introduction.
Monotonous sentences often result in an uninteresting
introduction, to which the reader will naturally assume
that the entire essay was written in a similar fashion.

16.  Each supporting paragraph must provide a continuity of ideas
and expression.
 It is the primary means through which the plot moves
forward. Here are some basics when writing supporting
paragraphs:
1. Write a transition to establish the sub-topic
Each paragraph has to flow, one to the next.
2. Supporting ideas, examples and details must be specific
to the sub-topic.
Most people tend to add unnecessary and irrelevant details
to supporting paragraphs. This is a MAJOR negative. Please
avoid this.

17.  Vary Sentence Structure.
Do NOT be monotonous in your sentence structure. The
examiner will be more interested in an essay with a varying
sentence structure, rather than someone whose essay
monotonously drags on.
 “As I passed through the gates I heard a squeaky voice. A
diminutive middle-aged man came out from behind the trees
— the caretaker. He worked a toothbrush-sized stick around
in his mouth, digging into the crevices between algae'd stubs
of teeth. He was barefoot; he wore a blue batik shirt known
as a buba, baggy purple trousers, and an embroidered
skullcap. I asked him if he would show me around the shrine.
Motioning me to follow, he spat out the results of his stick
work and set off down the trail.”

18. 

19.  This is the most difficult paragraph to write in any
narrative essay. Here are the points that must be in
your concluding paragraph:
1. End the essay effectively, leaving no loose ends in
your story. This is where a good structure comes in
handy.
2. Be powerful. This is your last chance to make any
sort of impact on the reader.

20. Edit and Revise Your Essay
1. Check your spelling and grammar. Check for
language and vocabulary mistakes, along with
errors in tenses.
2. Examine your essay for flaws in the logic and plot.
Be wary of loopholes and loose ends to your plot.
3. DO NOT EVER GIVE IN AN ESSAY WITHOUT GOING
OVER IT AT LEAST TWICE.

21. Do’s in Your Essay Don’ts in Your Essay
 Do use dialogues to make your
writing more vivid and life-like. But
avoid excessive use.
 Don’t be afraid to be creative
 Do give information in chronological
order.
 Don’t switch from past tense to present
and vice versa; stick to one tense for the
entire story.
 Do use senses and emotions to set the
scene for your story.
 Don’t start writing your narrative essay
before you decide on the ending for your
story
 Do enhance your writing with colorful
stylistic literary techniques, like
metaphors, epithets, distinguished
comparisons, bright allegories and the
like.
 Don’t change the sequence of events –
this will make it much harder for the
reader to follow the plot.
 Do include detailed descriptions of the
places, people and buildings that are part
of the story.
 Don’t be afraid to include elements of
descriptive writing in your narrative essay.

22.  Switching from third person to first person or vice versa.
 Overuse of verbs, to the point where the main point of a
sentence is lost, due to excessive use of verbs.
 The misuse of metaphors, idioms and similes is a common
error made by many essay writers. If you’re not sure about a
metaphor, play it safe and don’t use it.
 Students often use flashbacks and flash forwards to help the
story build to a climax. However these MUST be properly
connected to the story for clarity.

23. “I am terrified of heights. I have this fear. It causes my legs to shake. I
break out in a cold sweat. I start jabbering to anyone who is nearby.
As thoughts of certain death run through my mind, the world
appears a precious, treasured place. I imagine my own funeral, then
shrink back at the implications of where my thoughts are taking me.
My stomach feels strange. My palms are clammy. Of course, it’s not
really a fear of being in a high place. Rather, it is the view of a long
way to fall, of rocks far below me and no firm wall between me and
the edge. My sense of security is screamingly absent. There are no
guardrails, flimsy though I picture them, or other safety devices. I
can rely only on my own surefootedness—or lack thereof.”

24.  Our trip turned out to be a complete disaster. It all started
early on a Saturday morning. Me and my friends met at 5
am to load up for our trip. It took us a long time to load all
of our provisions, luggage and equipment that we were
going to take with us on the trip. We had so much stuff that
we hardly had room to cram it all in. Finally after all of this
preparation we took off on our trip with high hopes that
we would all have the great time we expected.
 Unanswered Questions : Where did you go? How long were
you going for? What kind of trip was it? What did you take?

25.  Q) ‘There was rustling, a faint groaning in the distance, an icy air all
around….’ Continue the story (although it does not have to be a complete
one) In your writing, you should bring out a sense of tension and the
unknown.
 There was rustling, a faint groaning in the distance, an icy air all around
and an eerie darkness. The chill made her shiver and she fled back inside,
slamming the door behind her. Before she could tell herself to calm down
and sit down to a cup of tea, the lights flickered and died out. There was
complete darkness now. She could still hear the groaning from outside
and a light tap-tap on the eastern window nearly stopped her heart. Son,
she thought, where are you?
 Like a blind woman, she groped about in the darkness for the candle on
the mantelpiece- remembering that her torch was out of battery- and
sighed in relief when her shaking fingers found the matches. A moment
later, a tiny flame was dancing on the wick. This small source of comfort
seemed to give her both hope and spirit for she puffed herself up and
yelled at no one in particular, considering that she was alone,
 ‘No silly urban legend’ll get the better of me! Hear that?’

26. Thank you for attending this
presentation, and I hope this has
been informative for you.
Any Questions?