How to Write a Narrative Essay

Everyone has a tale to share. You may talk about personal experiences with your loved ones, colleagues, classmates, or even people you don’t know. With this level of communication, it should be easy for you to create narrative essays for college.

If you’re not confident in your essay writing abilities, immersing yourself in the topic and narrative can assist in maintaining a steady flow of words – you might even struggle with the urge to remove anything! However, if you require guidance to create the ideal narrative essay, our proficient narrative essay writing service’s manual can aid you. So, let’s begin with a simple introduction to a narrative essay.

What Is a Narrative Essay?

Can you explain what a narrative essay is? It’s like telling a true story about yourself, but with a hero as the main character. These essays have storytelling elements but follow the structure of an essay. Narrative essays aim to share an experience with the reader, and while they may offer lessons, the objective is to tell a story without making any conclusions as the narrator.

Types of Narrative Writing

Narrative writing, which has been a long-standing tradition since ancient times, consists of a variety of stories. Despite their differences, all stories are categorized under narrative writing. The following are the most common types of narrative:

Linear Narrative

This kind of storytelling essay tells a tale by presenting the events in a consecutive order. There are different ways to achieve this, including using different perspectives such as first, second, or third person. The goal of the linear narrative is to immerse the reader into the protagonist’s life by showcasing the events in the order they happened. The essay has a clear beginning, middle, and end, allowing readers to easily follow along. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice provides examples of linear narrative essays, where the story’s events happen chronologically despite featuring different narrative perspectives.

Non-Linear Narrative

An essay with a non-linear narrative presents the story in a non-sequential manner, utilizing literary techniques such as flashbacks to shift the timeline back and forth. This is done to emphasize the emotional impact of certain events and to establish connections between thematically important occurrences. One of the earliest examples of a non-linear narrative can be found in Homer’s The Odyssey, which creates suspense by presenting events out of chronological order and leaving readers to wonder how the protagonist was faced with the challenges he faced. This technique is also used to maintain reader interest in the lengthy poem.

Quest Narrative

In a quest narrative essay, the main character continuously strives towards a particular objective. This aim usually requires a lengthy expedition, as it is distant from where they currently are. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein are excellent examples of the quest narrative. The protagonists in these books set out on a perilous journey, encountering numerous obstacles and difficulties along the way.

Viewpoint Narrative

A viewpoint narrative essay is crafted to showcase a specific stance or personal experience of one or more characters highlighted within the story. The narrator’s emotional state and sentiments are portrayed from their viewpoint in a viewpoint narrative essay. It bears resemblances to an explanatory essay, as it entails recounting a tale from someone else’s standpoint. The focal character’s perspective is often conveyed in the first-person narrative. On occasion, a third-person narrative may come into play, in which an omniscient narrator can alternate between different characters’ viewpoints. The possibility of an unreliable narrator arises with this form of storytelling. Building suspense is made more effective by causing the reader to scrutinize the narrator.

Lolita by Vladamir Nabokov is a prime instance of a viewpoint narrative. The narrative is conveyed through the perspective of Humbert Humbert, a man who has been institutionalized several times and recounts the entire story in his own subjective manner, which may not accurately convey the facts to the reader.

Elements of Narrative Writing

In order for a narrative essay to be complete, it requires certain components such as plot, setting, theme, characters, conflict, and point of view. Our team of professionals at the “write my essay” service have thoroughly analyzed each of these elements, which we will now delve into more deeply.

Plot

It is expected that every story has a plot, making this not a surprising statement. The plot acts as the foundation of your narrative essay, consisting of a series of occurrences such as the backstory, conflict, pinnacle moment, and resolution.

Setting

Including the setting in your narrative essay is crucial, as it is a fundamental part of the story and must adhere to the proper format. The setting revolves around the narrator and characters’ living environment that the story takes place in. The way you vividly describe the setting can make a significant impact on the quality of your essay, ranging from average to excellent.

Characters

All types of written stories encompass characters, and it is important that your story is no exception. Characters play a fundamental role in any narrative, thus, it is important to provide a vivid description of your characters in order for the reader to picture them in their imagination.

Point of View

To maintain coherence in personal narrative essays, it is important to maintain a consistent perspective. These essays are about recounting one’s own life story and therefore, it is crucial to use the first-person point of view for narration.

Theme

Your essay’s underlying idea must be straightforward and easy to understand. This is a crucial aspect of literature since the entire essay revolves around its central subject.

Conflict

In your narrative essay, the actions of the characters are fueled by conflict, which also impacts the plot and the underlying theme. Consider a significant conflict from your own life when preparing to write your story.

Narrative Essay Format

Paying close attention to the format of your essay is equally important as the substance of its contents. When formatting your narrative essay, there are some key things to consider.

Format

Select the narrative essay format that is appropriate for the task instructions. The common styles used by academic institutions include APA, MLA, and Harvard. It is advisable to verify the guidelines with your teacher to ensure you are using the correct format. If you choose the wrong narrative format, your paper may be dismissed in some circumstances.

Title page

Pay adequate attention to the title page as it will be the initial point of contact with the teacher. It is in your best interest to ensure that it is error-free, particularly when it comes to grammar and spelling.

References

Be mindful of the way you organize your citations. Various guidelines must be followed depending on the specific style. Ensure that the reference section matches the structure of your narrative essay exactly.

Guidelines for crafting a narrative essay may differ depending on your educational institution and teacher. Nevertheless, there is a fundamental principle that is necessary for composing a superior paper. It involves adhering to the instructions, using the appropriate essay format, refraining from plagiarizing, and utilizing descriptive language to the fullest extent. By embracing these fundamentals, you can produce a narrative essay that will receive an A+ rating.

Various educational institutions might have distinct definitions for a narrative essay. Nonetheless, in general, it is a piece of writing comparable to a tale of a hero. The subject areas might differ, ranging from narrating a vacation experience to recounting a brief story about the most significant adventure of one’s life.

Narrative Essay Sample

Narrative Essay Structure

As previously stated, a narrative essay bears resemblances to a tale of heroism. It furthermore exhibits a parallel arrangement to that of a hero’s account, as depicted in the image.

Now, it’s time to examine the components of the narrative essay more closely.

Introduction

In the beginning of a story, the characters, setting, and main problem are presented. After providing detailed information about the characters, it is important to include a thesis statement to help readers understand them better. Although the conflict may not always be introduced immediately, it often leads to the rising action.

Rising Action

This segment of the narrative marks the point where the characters commence taking steps to address the impending conflict. In hero tales, this signals the start of the hero’s journey. It is an ideal juncture to introduce a crisis that spurs the protagonists into action. Additionally, this is where the central character begins their transformation, capitalizing on their encounters and facing adversity to emerge stronger as the tale reaches its climax. The primary objective in this section of the story is to establish suspense and maintain the reader’s interest in the forthcoming events.

Climax

The reader has been experiencing increasing anticipation up until now, contemplating what will unfold next. A pivotal moment in the narrative occurs when the protagonist’s actions result in the resolution of the conflict. In the traditional narrative structure of heroic tales, triumph over the antagonist marks the conclusion of the conflict. As the conflict comes to an end, the increasing tension in the plot is relieved, and the story begins to stabilize.

Falling Action & Resolution

Every great tale requires a fitting finale, which is where it all comes together. The final part of a narrative essay is known as the conclusion. In some cases, this section could span several chapters of a more extended narrative, like a novel. Conversely, falling action and resolution might be split up. The resolution resembles the introduction to some extent, except it features an account of the story’s conclusion, including a portrayal of the characters and setting.

In a brief written work, like a personal story essay, it’s possible to merge the falling action and resolution since they complement each other. This is because they both take place after the problem in the story has been resolved.

Step-by-step instructions for composing a narrative essay

Are you unsure how to write a narrative essay? No need to fret, as we will provide a detailed explanation on how to compose one. By the end, you will grasp the importance of this task and be able to come up with your own outline for a narrative essay.

How to Start a Narrative Essay

It may be unexpected, but composing an introduction is frequently the most difficult aspect of an essay. Therefore, before selecting your topic for a narrative essay, it’s essential to know how to begin a narrative essay. Once you have this knowledge, spend some time generating various topics for your essay to assist you in selecting the one you prefer. It’s a good notion to establish an essay outline as it will aid in appropriately organizing your work. When starting to write your introduction, bear in mind the narrative essay structure.

To provide your readers with a clear understanding of your vision, it is important to provide extensive details when describing your characters and setting.

Body

The main part of your essay should contain the events that lead up to the most important part of the story, the climax. Just like in the beginning, aim to provide clear descriptions, but this time focus on explaining your characters’ behavior in as much detail as possible. Remember that specifics can have a significant impact on the quality of your essay and could be the deciding factor between receiving a B+ or an A grade.

How to End a Narrative Paper

When writing the conclusion of your narrative essay, it is advisable to make it similar to the introduction. You can consider it as the continuation of events that took place following the turning point. Include comprehensive portrayals of the atmosphere, surrounding, and emotions of the characters. In books such as Harry Potter, the ending of a novel can act as a foundation for the subsequent volume and even act as an introduction to it when read continuously.

Narrative Essay Topics

Selecting the subject matter for a narrative essay can prove challenging for certain students. This is reasonable since numerous themes could lead to an inundation of ideas. Conversely, some students encounter complications with initiating the writing process.

Irrespective of the circumstances, a range of subject matters are provided for composing your narrative essay. Or, for those who would rather not, our paper service allows for online ordering of essays. Please note that the topics listed need not be mirrored in the essay title, but are intended to serve as inspiration for your writing.

List of topics:

• Your most exciting day of school.
• A field trip that your class took.
• Your favorite summer vacation.
• A journey that had an element of unforeseen occurrence or shock.
• Describe a moment in your life when you gained new knowledge that had an impact on you.
• The day that you got your first pet.
• A move from one place to another.
• Something funny that happened to you.
• Tell me a amusing incident involving a of your loved ones or companions.
• Can you share a moment of embarrassment from your personal experience?
• Your favorite birthday party.
• A time that the power went out.
• On a summer day, the temperature surpassed the predicted level by a significant degree.
• A moment in your life when you visited a place of entertainment.
• A time when you got lost somewhere.
• An unforgettable moment shared with a member of my family.
• A random act of kindness.
• What was the most thrilling experience you had while participating in a play, singing, playing an instrument, or dancing?
• A random act of kindness.

To Sum Up

Composing a personal narrative essay might pose a difficulty. But with obstacles come opportunities for artistic expression. In essence, this type of essay tells a heroic tale and adheres to a similar framework. Choose a suitable topic and emphasize detailed depictions to help readers envision the characters and environment. Finally, when organizing your essay, ensure that your grammar, spelling, and content are spotless and original.

In case you require assistance in generating interesting themes for your narrative essay or have been assigned a descriptive essay, you can reach out to  EssayHave without hesitation. Our services provide access to experienced writers who can support you in writing or revising your essay. In addition, you can purchase essays online and receive high-quality papers.