What is a Narrative Essay?
As is evident from the word itself, a narrative essay relays a story. It involves presenting an argument or a lesson through the use of an autobiographical account.
Unlike most other kinds of academic writing, a narrative essay allows students to use the first person with creative language to evoke an emotional response in the reader. There is also no attempt by the writer to criticize anything or to persuade the reader to accept their point of view. These essays are simply meant to test the ability of a writer to tell a story in a distinct, impressive manner.
Much like short stories, narrative essays often feature characters, dialogs, a clear-cut plot, and vivid descriptions. But while a short story leaves scope for interpretation, a narrative essay provides a complete account of the event, interaction, or experience, leaving the reader with no further questions. Narrative essays are also often confused with descriptive essays, which use figurative language to elaborate on a person, place, object, or experience. The main difference between the two is that the plots in descriptive essays are either vague or non-existent.
Narrative ideas are also adopted in other kinds of essays as well as in personal statements for college applications.
Structuring a Narrative Essay
The three sections of narrative essays should convey the following information:
1. Introduction
The first paragraph in narrative essays should intrigue the reader and entice them to continue reading the essay. Incorporating a hook in the opening sentence(s) of the introduction can work well to catch the reader’s attention. Their interest can then be developed further and anchored through the remaining paragraph, where the scene is set and the theme is introduced. Additionally, the message the writer intends to convey through the narrative is concisely set down in one or two sentences, and this comprises the essay’s thesis statement.
2. Body
The body of the essay narrates the event over the course of multiple paragraphs. The plot and characters are developed, aided by literary techniques and dialogs. Given that narrative essays are often expected to be personal, the use of first-person pronouns is allowed and, in fact, encouraged. The tense should be kept consistent as well.
One of the earliest stages of the writing process should be to draw up an outline of the event. This helps in breaking it up into paragraphs. Transition words should be used judiciously too to build the progression of the story being relayed. Beginning each paragraph with a topic sentence, which sets up what follows, also helps shape the narrative while writing. And while creativity is a large part of such essays, non-linear narratives are not suitable, as skipping between timelines can cause confusion in the reader’s mind.
3. Conclusion
The significance of the story, which lies in its intended message, is driven home in the final paragraph of the essay. Without necessarily summarizing the story, the conclusion reiterates the main points in it and demonstrates how they justify the essay’s thesis. No ends are left loose, and the reader is left in little doubt about the point being made.
The Basic Outline of a Narrative Essay
- Introduction:
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- The hook engages the reader’s attention.
- The theme and the background information provide the reader with a contextual framework for the narrative that will follow.
- The thesis statement informs the reader of the narrative’s intended message/argument and significance.
- Body:
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- The story is narrated in a creative manner over multiple paragraphs.
- Topic sentences introduce and set up each paragraph.
- Every paragraph describes a specific portion of the narrative.
- Conclusion:
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- The manner in which the narrative supports the writer’s message/argument is specified.
An Example of a Narrative Essay
The following essay relating the events on a particular Thanksgiving is a good example of a narrative essay.
- Introduction:
The writer begins by introducing the theme of Thanksgivings and family.
“Thanksgiving marks the opening of a holiday season dominated by family. Entire families gather together, a lot of them not having seen each other since the previous Christmas. There is a lot of food and fun, and in some cases, a lot of friction as well. Most families develop traditions for celebration that are handed down through generations. While this leads to fun times aplenty, memories blend into one another so much that it becomes difficult to differentiate the years. However, once in a while comes a year so eventful that it remains starkly clear in memory. One of my earliest Thanksgivings falls into this category.”
The last two sentences in the above paragraph encompass the essay’s thesis.
- Body:
The story is broken into five sections, each of which is contained within one body paragraph. The scene is set in the first paragraph, and from there, the narrative progresses to its climax in the third and fourth paragraphs. The final body paragraph ends the story.
“The crisp, cool, cinnamon air filled the morning of Thanksgiving in 1987. Although I was only two years and eleven months old, I remember the scratchy, fuzzy, purple pajamas I was wearing that morning. After I woke up, I “helped” Mom make her famous orange-cranberry relish, got dressed in my cream sweater dotted with cherries and my navy pleated skirt, topped off with my favorite cream fuzzy tights, and we were on our way to my grandparents’ house. After an early dinner with them, my grandfather and dad left to catch the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day football game, leaving the rest of us to find entertainment of our own.
Upon their departure, Mom began gathering dishes, while Grandma and I played with my dolls. She was pretending to be one of my dolls in the playroom when we heard a yell in the kitchen. We looked at each other, stood up, and headed down the big hallway. Around the corner, we found my mother gasping. Her water had broken. This was a surprise because she was not due to give birth to my little sister for another two weeks.
We rushed out the door and into the car. Grandma did not put me in my car seat right, and I remember struggling to free my arms the entire ride. Mom sat in the front seat yelling and muttering words under her breath. I was afraid because she was in such a strange state, but I soon realized that she was yelling more at my grandmother than at her painful stomach. Every time we approached traffic, she gasped and turned behind her with her hand on my car seat to secure me. Years later, I would be regaled with all the stories about what a terrible driver Grandma was and how many cars she had damaged in various “incidents,” as Grandpa calls them.
We reached the hospital in plenty of time, but with one problem remaining; Dad and Grandpa remained uninformed and unreachable amidst thousands of intoxicated football fans. They were first paged over the intercom and when that failed to succeed, event staff members were sent to find them standing in line for the bathrooms. They finally arrived just in time to see Mom just before she was taken to the delivery room.
Once Chrissy, my sister, was born and both her and my mother were taken care of, Dad and I bought a stuffed Peter Rabbit and flowers for the two of them. I climbed onto Mom’s hospital bed, leaned my head against her shoulder and sighed.”
- Conclusion:
The conclusion revisits the thesis statement which, after the narrative, has been justified and left a deeper impact on the reader.
“Having been so young when it happened, I don’t remember every single detail of the day, but the major event and the accompanying emotions of panic, relief, and joy are printed forever in my mind. I’ve seen several more Thanksgivings since this one, some of them a little clearer, but this one remains the most eventful. It’s also my favorite, marking as it did, the arrival of a new family member and my best friend.”
