Lesson 17: Writing
Narrative Essay
A narrative essay is a form of writing that tells a story from the writer’s personal perspective. Unlike other types of essays that focus on analyzing or presenting arguments, a narrative essay typically recounts personal experiences, events, or interactions.
Key Features of a Narrative Essay:
Personal Perspective: The essay is usually written from the author’s point of view and often includes personal reflections and emotions.
Storytelling: It tells a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The narrative unfolds chronologically, guiding the reader through the sequence of events.
Descriptive Language: Vivid details and sensory language are used to create a picture in the reader’s mind and evoke emotions.
Character Development: Characters, including the narrator, are developed through their actions, dialogue, and thoughts, contributing to the overall narrative.
Theme or Message: While narrative essays recount personal experiences, they often convey a deeper message or insight about life, relationships, or personal growth.
Engagement: The narrative essay aims to engage the reader by drawing them into the story and making them feel connected to the experiences being shared.
Structure: While flexible, a narrative essay typically follows a structure that includes an introduction (setting the scene), a plot (sequence of events), characters (including the narrator), a climax (the turning point or most significant moment), and a conclusion (reflecting on the experience).
How to write a narrative essay?
Steps 1: Brainstorm ideas
Make notes of some ideas to include in your essay. You can use a mind map or down list to write details related your thesis statement (the central idea of the essay). This time you shouldn’t worry about the order or appropriateness of the points. Write down every possible related point.
Step 2. Select your points
Decide which one of the details you are going to include in your essay, which one of the points are relevant.
Try to further explain the points, giving support, example, numerical data, etc. you may need to refer different sources, in the library, Internet, news file etc for more detail information.
Step 3: Make plan
- Decide the number of paragraphs.
- Make outline in a logical order.
- Begin by listing the main points for each paragraph and supporting points un- der each main point
- Plan about how you are going to introduce the topic of your essay, thesis statement, some background information.
- Think about how you conclude your essay. You should restate your main points and possibly make a point about the future solutions/suggestions.
.
The following jumbled paragraphs form a coherent narrative essay.
Rearrange them in a logical order and form a coherent essay.
1.Back in his garden, first of all, Larry used a rope to tie a chair to his car door. Next, he tied the balloons to the chair and inflated them, one by one. Then, he packed a few sandwiches and a bottle of Coke, loaded an air-pistol, and climbed on to the chair. His plan was to float up lazily into the sky to about sixty meters, and then to pop a few balloons descend to earth again.
2.His preparations complete, Larry cut the rope. By this time, he didn’t float up, he shot up, as if he had been fired from a cannon! Not to sixty meters, but up and up and up, until about 3, 500 meters. If he had popped any balloons at this height, he would have plummeted to earth. Fortunately, just at that moment he just had to stay up there, floating around and wondering what to do.
3.Larry Waiters was a truck driver, but his lifetime dream was to fly airplanes. Then one day, he would watch the fighter jets criss-crossing the skies above his back garden and dream about the magic of flying. Eventually, he had an idea. He drove to the nearest hardware shop and bought twenty large balloons and five tanks of helium. Unfortunately, they were not normal brightly colored party balloons but heavy one- meter weather balloons used by meteorologist
4.As soon as he was on the ground he was arrested. A TV reporter shouted, ‘Hey man, why did you do it” Larry looked him in the eye, and said, ‘A man’s got to follow his dreams’.
5.However, night was falling and things were getting serious. Winds were blowing Larry out to the sea. By this time an amazed British Airways pilot spotted him and radioed the airport saying he’d just seen a man with a gun, sitting on a garden chair at 3,500 meters. Immediately a helicopter was sent to rescue him, but it wasn’t easy because the wind from their rotor blades kept pushing the home-made airship further away. Fortunately, they managed to drop a line down from above, and pulled him to safety.