A robust variety of essay types that students get assigned in college can be nothing but confusing. It might sometimes be challenging to fully comprehend all the essay format requirements and accurately distinguish between different essay types. However, essay writing is not always associated with a burden and a ton of confusion. Namely, essay writing can be a lot of fun, especially if it is a Narrative Essay. We prepared this article for you to learn how to write a narrative essay that will boost your grade and leave your reader utterly impressed.
What is a Narrative Essay?
Writing A narrative essay is considered to be one of the most exciting learning activities. Most students don’t feel anxious about narrative essay format because of its simple structure and precision. One can trace the point on a narrative essay in the narrative essay definition. According to the latter, such an essay requires the writer to interpret a particular topic the way they see it while referring to examples from the author’s life. Unlike an argumentative essay, writing a narrative essay does not challenge the writer with seeking statistical data and scientific facts. The essence of a narrative essay is simply in storytelling.
The author’s viewpoint and the perception of a particular issue are the fundamentals of a personal narrative essay. So, the focus is shifted from argumentation and facts to the narrative elements that contribute to the author’s story.
Difference Between a Narrative Essay and a Short Story
Although storytelling is the main component in a Narrative Essay, the latter is different from a short Story. First, a story describes a particular occasion and approaches to depict the sequence of events. Besides, a story does not stick to a format and may be relatively short.
A narrative essay has a motif and requires appropriate formatting. You tell a story because you have a motive, and not just because you want to talk about one day in your life. Such a story is a means of communicating your idea and delivering your critical point to the reader.
How to Choose a Topic for a Narrative Essay?
The trouble with coming up with narrative essay topics is a rare thing. Nonetheless, it might be difficult in case you have little motivation to write an essay. Here is what you can do. First, it would be useful to refer to the definition of a narrative essay once again: this essay requires you to think of a problem and talk about it in terms of your real-life example. Is there any topic that triggers your interest, the one that you are eager to talk about? Ensure that the topic you select is not alien to you: the one you can always spontaneously discuss.
It is better to avoid complicated and very knowledge-specific topics; selecting one can endanger your ability to communicate a message through a story. A transparent, explicit topic makes it facile for the reader to decode your message.
Elements of a Narrative Essay
As a rule, a narrative essay contains the following elements: character, motif, and dialogue.
- Character. When telling a story, you can use as many characters as you want – just make sure they all fit into it. Characters live their own lives and act in their way, draw readers’ attention, and so they largely contribute to a story. Also, they are roughly the reason you are writing a narrative essay.
- Motif. The motif is a critical element of a narrative essay that isn’t typical of another essay type. The motif should convey your idea and explain the importance of your story. Figuratively, a motif is a transition from your goal to the story.
- Dialogue. Dialogues are means of fitting your characters into a story. Such an important component ensures that all of the characters have their role. Besides, dialogues add some liveliness to your narrative essay.
Narrative Essay Outline
Writing an outline helps you get control over the structure of your paper and save some time. Here is what you should include in an outline.
Introduction
Since the introduction is usually the most challenging part of any essay, knowing how to start a narrative essay is fundamental. First of all, try to provide the reader with an insight: provide a tiny hint on what you will talk about in the essay. Then, introduce yourself – this is a good thing to do in a narrative essay. Finally, do not forget to mention a thesis statement – this will offer the reader an overview of your idea.
Main Body
Unlike it is with other essays, you should not necessarily write at least three body paragraphs. The main reason for writing a narrative essay is telling a story and sharing your thoughts with the reader. So, you may adapt body paragraphs the way you want. You can either keep main body shorts or write a few paragraphs – it depends on your goal and your paper’s organization.
Conclusion
A conclusion should logically end your story and provide the reader with some key takeaways. How did your story finish, and what are the possible implications? Most importantly, restate your thesis and specify its link to your motif. Finally, check whether you haven’t accidentally added an extra piece of information – this may confuse the reader. Narrative Essay Examples
Whenever you find yourself struggling with writing a narrative essay, it is rather a good idea to search for examples. By taking a look at a narrative essay example or two, you get an impression of how a paper should ideally look like. Referring to examples is especially useful when you feel confused by the difference between a short story and a narrative essay. Here are some nice examples:
https://academichelp.net/samples/academics/essays/narrative/
https://essayinfo.com/essays/narrative-essay/
Narrative Essay Writing Tips
Keep narrative essay elements in mind
Now that you are familiar with a narrative essay structure, you need to learn how to use characters and dialogues in an essay. First of all, come up with a scenario for your story and determine the necessary elements for your story to sound organic. Missing these components might make your paper lose the narrative part.
Narrow down your focus
When choosing a topic, you should try to select the narrowest topic possible. Discussing extensive issues can be tedious and time-consuming. Moreover, you may get lost halfway. Additionally, broad topics are just not really interesting: neither are they intriguing for a reader, nor they provide grounds for the writer’s creativity.
Read examples
Referring to some sound examples can leave a comprehensive impression about the structure of a narrative essay. It can tell you what an author usually aims at with his or her story. Besides, an example provides you with an overview of the author’s techniques to connect motif and narrative. Overall, if you don’t know where to start – take a look at a couple of examples.
Avoid unnecessary details
Details are critical: they enhance a story and make it sound exciting and memorable. However, don’t include these elements just for the sake of quantity. If you do so, you may end up in severe confusion. Unnecessary details do nothing but distract the reader and make him ignore your essay’s main idea. All in all, make sure that you include only those elements which are critical for comprehending your idea.
Proofread
Proofreading is a key to successful writing. Under no circumstances should one ignore proofreading unless they are indifferent about their grades. You can ask your friends or family to assist you in this final step, or you may also use online proofreading tools. Besides, you may always approach a essay writing service if you demand some high-quality proofreading.
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Essay writing should bring joy and a sense of fulfillment instead of fear and disappointment. Therefore, our essay service is always at your disposal if you feel like you need assistance. And if you find yourself suffering from an enormous workload – we will gladly take care of your narrative essay! We will support you at any time – just provide us with instructions and inform us about the deadline. Afterward, you may take your time and do your favorite things while we’re preparing a paper for you.
